About
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Neonatologist, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of South Carolina, FirstHealth Physician Group
Bio:
Laura Valleni is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is board certified in both Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. Laura is an attending neonatologist at FirstHealth Moore Regional Medical Center, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and a clinical faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics for Neonatology at the Prisma Health System of the Midlands in Columbia, South Carolina. In September of 2022, Laura launched the "Babies with Books" Neonatal Intensive Care Program and an annual NICU read-a-thon at FirstHealth Moore Regional Medical Center's NICU which focuses on the importance of early literacy, family bonding and infant brain development. She has worked with Heart to Heart International in Haiti post the Earthquake (Emergency Medical Response Team) and in China and Tibet teaching the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. She has also volunteered with Resource Exchange International focusing on neonatal-perinatal medical outreach in Vietnam. She works with the March of Dimes to improve the health of mothers and babies, including serving as the 2018 Chair of the March of Dimes Signature Chef Event. Laura was the co-chair for South Carolina's "Famously Hot New Year" celebration – an event that drew tens of thousands of people to South Carolina for a free colossal New Year’s Eve celebration from 2016 to 2019. A collaborative project with 3 other Liberty Fellows, was to improve cardiac arrest outcomes by integrating a mobile app with Emergency Medical Systems throughout SC to allow for effective CPR-trained citizen bystander response to cardiac arrest events. Laura completed a fellowship in Neonatology at the Medical University of South Carolina, earned her Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in Public Health Epidemiology from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, and her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California at Riverside. Laura is a Fellow of the 11th class of the Liberty Fellowship Program (2016) and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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