LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The 43rd Annual Children’s Miracle Network City Bank Celebration Broadcast on KCBD NewsChannel 11 is Wednesday, Sept. 16.
UMC is the only Children’s Miracle Network hospital in the region. The broadcast highlights the partnership between KCBD and UMC Children’s Hospital. Viewers can meet this year’s Miracle Kids as the broadcast raises money for patient care at UMC Children’s Hospital.
The broadcast runs all day, from Daybreak through the 10 p.m. newscast, including a 30-minute special at 6:30 p.m. It will feature Miracle stories and show how donations to Children’s Miracle Network have supported the hospital.
How to donate
The United Supermarkets Phone Bank can be reached at 806-747-KIDS (5437). Miracle Makers pledge $20 a month for one year. All money donated stays at UMC Children’s Hospital to purchase equipment and fund special services. Donations can also be made online at www.umchealthsystem.com/giving/give-now/.
NICU transport equipment
This year’s donations will support the transport team of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The transport team uses one incubator designated for air transports and one incubator for ground transports. The new system can do both but the cost of one is $303,665.
Last year alone, the NICU transport team conducted 107 transfers, the closest being in Brownfield and the farthest in the Big Bend region.
Dr. Melissa Piepkorn, director of the NICU, said, “Our goal when we go pick up a baby from another hospital is to take the ICU to them. So everything that we do here in Lubbock at UMC, we want to be able to do on the road and in the air.”
Dr. Brian Payne, chief medical officer of UMC Children’s Hospital, said, “The equipment lasts about 10 years, and this equipment is hitting its end of life from this last time. We had CMN help us previously with this project years ago. And it’s time again for us to emphasize this project and help it succeed. The technology is also improved now with the different pieces and components that can go with it.”
Piepkorn said, “There’s always new advancements. And so we are needing to purchase some new transport isolettes and transport equipment that go on the isolettes. And those are hundreds of thousands of dollars. So very, very costly.”
Payne said, “Every day we’re having patients transferred in here because we provide that care that no one else can. There’s a lot of services that no other hospital in this whole panhandle of Texas and Eastern New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma that are on this side of it that we provide. We really do provide specialty care that without us and the support and the equipment we have and received from CMN, we couldn’t be providing what we have now. Whether they’re the NICU baby or one of our trauma patients, time is critical.”
Recent additions
The consolidated UMC Children’s Hospital in the East Tower was ceremonially opened in August 2025, alongside the new Panda Pediatric Playground. Both were supported by Children’s Miracle Network and funded through past CMN Broadcast donations.
Right now, there’s an ongoing renovation of the NICU, intended to make the NICU match the rest of the new UMC Children’s Hospital. It’s also designed to give families more privacy and a quieter space for babies, using special flooring and surfaces.
About UMC Children’s Hospital
UMC Children’s Hospital has served children in the region since 1978 and was the first pediatric hospital in the region. Along with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, it provides care from research-based experts.
UMC is the only hospital in the region verified as both a Level 1 Trauma Center and a Pediatric Level 2 Trauma Center. It has a Level 4 NICU and a Level 4 Maternal Care Facility, the highest levels available for each. UMC is certified Baby-Friendly by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc.
UMC houses the Timothy J. Harnar Regional Burn Center, the region’s only pediatric burn center within 400 miles. UMC Children’s Hospital is home to Sable, the first and only facility dog at any children’s hospital in West Texas.
UMC Children’s Emergency Center provides more resuscitation and trauma rooms for children than any other in West Texas. The Children’s Behavioral Health Clinic, sponsored by UMC Children’s Hospital and Texas Tech University, supports recovery from general mental health concerns and traumatic events.
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