Children’s of Alabama has received a $600,000 gift on behalf of The Bill and Pam Smith Family Foundation. This contribution enables Children’s to offer specialized Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) services to the region.

NAM is a pre-surgical cleft lip and palate therapy designed to reduce the size of the cleft by molding and repositioning the nose and mouth tissues prior to surgery. Infants wear a custom-fitted appliance, similar to an orthodontic retainer, for an estimated 12 weeks, as long as 23 hours a day. Children tend to adapt well to the treatment, latching onto the appliance like a pacifier. NAM often reduces the number of surgeries needed to repair the lip and palate, and the treatment leads to better outcomes.

“When you have a child with medical complexity, it changes you,” Pam Smith said. “You see the world through a different lens.”

Bill and Pam Smith’s donation is inspired by their daughter Caroline. Following her birth in 2019, the Smiths navigated challenges seeking therapy for her cleft palate. At the time, NAM was not available in Alabama, requiring the family to travel back and forth to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment.