Temple Health recently partnered with State Senator Sharif Street for his fourth annual Community Baby Shower: a free event for expecting parents and families in our community, held at Temple University’s STAR Complex.
With Temple Women & Families Hospital opening on September 3rd, team members from our Labor & Delivery, Maternity, Pediatrics, Behavioral Health, Substance Use Disorder, and Population Health departments were on hand to meet community members, distribute resources, and discuss services at the new campus.
“We provided bassinets, onesies, diapers, breastfeeding resources, safe sleep information, and prenatal care guides,” says Tanise L. Branche, MD, Medical Director of Labor and Delivery and Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. “We also connected attendees with our Maternity Care Navigators, Social Workers, and Community Health Workers.”
“These resources are critical because they target some of the leading drivers of poor outcomes: complex medical conditions in pregnancy, lack of breastfeeding support, unsafe sleep environments, and missed opportunities for prenatal engagement,” Dr. Branche explains. “Offering these tools in a non-clinical, welcoming, and fun setting helps families feel empowered and supported.”
A New Vision of Dignity, Compassion, and Clinical Excellence
While Temple Health began sponsoring the Community Baby Shower before we announced our plans to open Temple Women & Families Hospital, both are driven by our commitment to addressing Philadelphia’s maternal mortality crisis and providing resources, support, and highest-quality care so parents and babies in our community can thrive.
“Opening Temple Women & Families Hospital is vital for addressing our community’s needs,” Dr. Branche explains. “It’s a facility designed with women’s health at the center—not as an add-on to other hospital services. This means dedicated Labor & Delivery space, triage areas for pregnancy concerns, integrated Behavioral Health, and close collaboration with Social Work and Community Health teams. By concentrating expertise, resources, and wraparound services in one place, we can identify risks sooner, manage complications more effectively, and ensure our patients feel seen, heard, and respected in their care.”
In her remarks at the event, Dr. Branche told attendees, “This Baby Shower is more than a celebration: it’s a public declaration that you matter. Your life. Your health. Your voice. We’re here today to bridge gaps, to meet you where you are, and to say: you deserve care that listens to you, sees you, and honors your whole experience.”
“Temple Women & Families Hospital is a space designed to center the care of women and children with dignity, compassion, and clinical excellence,” she continued. “This isn’t just a new building—it’s a new vision. One where we do more listening. One where community and medicine walk hand in hand.”
“That wasn’t just a speech,” she reflects. “It was a promise. A promise that the opening of Temple Women & Families Hospital is just the beginning of a larger movement to ensure every mother in our community has a safe, supported, and dignified pregnancy and birth experience.”
Bridging Gaps and Building Trust
“The Community Baby Shower is such a crucial event because it meets families where they are—not just physically in our neighborhood, but emotionally and culturally,” says Dr. Branche. “We’re making sure we acknowledge and address our patients’ everyday, real-life needs, and provide tangible support through baby supplies, health education, and direct connections to resources. These connections help bridge critical gaps, foster trust, and build familiarity with available community resources. They also amplify awareness, spreading the word to other families about what Temple Health and our city offer to support growing families.”
It’s an approach that has paid off: local awareness of the Community Baby Shower has grown over the last several years, and it’s become an eagerly anticipated event for new and expecting parents. Attendees spend the afternoon gathering resources and making connections, and enjoying a day when everyone is there to uplift and celebrate them—and genuinely cares.