{"id":253,"date":"2018-02-08T17:03:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T22:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rialzo.meridianhs.org\/2022\/?p=253"},"modified":"2018-02-09T11:52:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T16:52:46","slug":"meridians-rialzo-2018-theme-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rialzo.meridianhs.org\/2022\/blog\/2018\/02\/meridians-rialzo-2018-theme-announced\/","title":{"rendered":"Meridian\u2019s Rialzo 2018 Theme Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"from The Muncie Journal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Muncie, IN\u2014Meridian Health Services\u2019 Rialzo, its annual charity gala, will have a distinctively magical feel this year designed to focus on the new Maternal Treatment Program.<\/p>\n

Beth Clark, Meridian\u2019s Vice President of Marketing, unveiled the theme for Rialzo IX at a press conference yesterday which is,\u00a0Meridian\u2019s Magic Carpet Ride \u2013 Elevating the Maternal Treatment Program.\u00a0 \u201cStyled with an\u00a0Arabian Nights d\u00e9cor\u00a0with hints of the Aladdin story in the entertainment and room design will express the beautiful elegance of the theme,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Information on Rialzo IX and Meridian\u2019s Maternal Treatment Program was presented at a press conference at the Suzanne Gresham Center on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Vibrant jewel tones of pink, purple, orange, teal and gold, the suggested attire, and a romantic desert theme stands in stark contrast to the serious work Meridian does with drug-addicted mothers and their infants, a pledge started a year ago that continues this year and in 2019 to better support the heightened demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Board of Directors for Meridian Health Services is committed to making a difference,\u201d said Hank Milius, Meridian\u2019s CEO. \u201cThe board pledged $50,000 a year for three years in memory of longtime board member and community icon, Al Rent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combined with money raised at Rialzo VIII, Meridian has given well beyond $150,000 toward the cause so far.<\/p>\n

Rialzo IX is Saturday, April 14 at the Horizon Convention Center.<\/p>\n

The entertainment this year is\u00a0The Ballroom Blasters, the featured 14-piece party band with four horns, five national-caliber vocalists and a song list of 800, is set to play for three and a half continuous hours.<\/p>\n

Rialzo consistently sells out.\u00a0Last year, colors were green and gold, correlating with the event\u2019s Wizard of Oz, \u201cThere\u2019s No Place Like Home\u201d\u00a0theme. Nearly 1,000 guests attended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Maternal Treatment Program, located at Meridian\u2019s Suzanne Gresham Center, 3620 White River Blvd., opened last summer and already has helped 30 women and their babies,\u201d said Scott Smalstig, VP of\u00a0 Fund Development. The referral-based program helps pregnant women, who are drug-addicted, overcome their addiction, receive critical prenatal care and give new moms a place to buy diapers and children\u2019s clothing.<\/p>\n

Rialzo IX will include a silent auction with a distinct Arabian bazaar market feel.<\/p>\n

The need for addiction care for mothers was pinpointed more than a year ago by Terri Milius, wife of Meridian\u2019s CEO Hank Milius. The former nurse, retired teacher and volunteer at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital\u2019s Cuddler program, felt the tug to do more for infants born into addiction.<\/p>\n

These babies suffer from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or NAS. According to the latest available data from the New England Journal of Medicine, admissions of infants suffering from withdrawal into NICUs nationwide have nearly quadrupled from 2004 to 2013.<\/p>\n

More than 13,500 babies are born each year in the United States with an addiction. At IU Ball Memorial Hospital, one in two babies are born addicted. According to hospital statistics, of the more than 1,400 babies delivered last year at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, 15 percent were tested for maternal drug use and 8.5 percent showed positive results. Nationwide \u2013 in\u00a0 2013, according to the latest available data from the Center for Disease Control \u2013 a baby was born addicted to narcotics every 25 minutes in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Maternal Treatment Program by viewing the video below.<\/p>\n