Bethlehem, West Bank, Nov 11, 2009 / 03:39 am (CNA).- Less than half a mile from where Mary and Joseph found shelter to deliver the baby Jesus 2,000 years ago, Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem is providing care to impoverished women and their newborns today.

Holy Family Hospital, an obstetrical/gynecological facility, is the designated health care provider for four refugee camps in Bethlehem operated by the United Nations. Given its state of the art natal and neonatal intensive care, the hospital is the only one in its region that can assess and treat the complicated medical conditions of women living in extreme poverty.

Every month, more than 200 women deliver at the Holy Family despite obstacles such as curfews, roadblocks and road closures. Women are received and given treatment regardless of creed, ethnicity or ability to pay. The hospital serves more that 22,000 women and children each year.

With Advent and Christmas approaching, schools around the U.S. are initiating service-oriented projects to support Holy Family Hospital.

Colleen Marotta, Executive Director of the U.S. based  foundation which supports the hospital, has stated that the generosity of Americans, despite current economic difficulties, is what helps make Holy Family's care possible. “Through the generosity of these school groups, mothers in Bethlehem will have an opportunity to experience the joy of birth, while being cared for at Holy Family Hospital,” said Marotta, who remarked, “It is amazing to see how Christians are opening their hearts to mothers who are half-way around the world.”

Holy Family Hospital also relies on donations to offer impoverished women baby showers. Parishes are also able to help support the hospital through a “parish missionary program.”  

Servant of God Pope John Paul II declared Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem as one of the top 100 projects of the Third Millennium for Christians around the world. 

To learn more about Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem, visit: www.BirthplaceofHope.org.

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