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License plate proceeds support 7 programs
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Thanks to people who thought of the Children’s Hospital when they
renewed their license, there will be more Toby Tracheasauruses roaming
the hallways.
The plush toys that come with a tracheostomy tube will be used by the
division of Pediatric Otolaryngology to ease the anxiety of those
children who have to have a tracheostomy and provide education to those
children and their families. It’s just one of seven beneficial programs
that were funded through the sales of a special South Carolina license
plate project to raise money for the Children’s Hospital.
Endorsing recommendations of its finance committee, the Children’s
Hospital Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) announced in March the
recipients of grants totaling $12,000 that will go to provide full or
partial funding for seven programs. This is an increase of $2,000 from
last year when the program started.
Christine Messick, Children’s Hospital volunteer coordinator, said VAC
is one of 17 programs under the umbrella of the Children’s Hospital
that offers current volunteers a leadership position within the
program. The mission of the group is to develop and implement
programs and activities that enable Children’s Hospital volunteers and
staff to provide best-in-class service to patients and their
families. The grant program is one avenue to accomplish that goal.
“The awards support special projects within the Children’s Hospital
dedicated to the tasks of improving the care of patients and improving
the hospital experience for patients and their families,” she said.
2010 VAC grant recipients
- The
Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology received full funding of $350 to
provide 30 Toby Tracheasauruses. This will supply the department with
enough for almost two years.
- The
Children’s Services Ambulatory Care received partial funding of $2,250
out of a requested $5,500 to outfit rooms with wall-mounted toys. This
will fund 15 additional wall-mounted toys for exam rooms in three
different clinics. This is a signature project for the VAC because of
the high visibility of the clinics, which have about 75,000 visits each
year. This will bring the total to 55 rooms out of 77 that have been
improved by the efforts of VAC for the past two years.
- The
Cystic Fibrosis Clinic got partial funding of $500 to be used towards a
Wii Fit game package. While exercise is an important component of
healthy living, it is even more important for patients with cystic
fibrosis. Exercise helps to clear the patients’ airways and improve
lung function in these patients.
- The
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit got full funding of $4,700 to purchase
AccuVein 300 (AV) to assist with peripheral IV starts as a means of
decreasing patient pain, increasing nursing efficiency, and improving
patient and family satisfaction. The AV 300 will be shared among
departments. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit will use this on four to
five patients a day, with the unit also being used by other departments
via a mobile cart to improve upon what can be a difficult experience
for families and hospital personnel.
- Ozzie’s
Project, a support and normalization program for patients on isolation,
received $2,000 of a requested $10,000 to use for therapeutic
resources, such as Netbook computers with Webcams, to reduce the
isolation that these children experience. The funds will be distributed
between Ozzie’s Closet, isolation patients on 7E, and Sarah
Beth’s Closet, isolation patients on 8D, for therapeutic toys.
Appropriate items will be distributed to each patient upon submission.
Since the project began, 175 patients have been served through various
components of Ozzie’s Project.
- The
Child Life Library Project got $400 of a $2,700 request to fund
therapeutic and resource books for patients and families. The funding
will enable Child Life staff to purchase a bar code scanner and
software to catalog therapeutic resources and books in the atrium. This
will ultimately improve access to materials, as well as help in the
retention of library materials.
- The
Children’s Hospital Bereavement Program received full funding of $1,800
to improve the quality of services provided by the Passages Program
providing supplies for hand-crafted memory boxes and accessories and
educational support for the grieving process. The services provided
from VAC funding in 2009 have had a strong impact on families and the
Children’s Hospital staff. Last year, 54 memory boxes were distributed
to families who lost a child.
Messick
said that VAC received 19 requests for a total of $97,000 in funding
requests, and that she expects that number will increase next year. “We
are encouraging everyone—staff, patients, families and volunteers—to
purchase a plate to help us support more of the unmet needs in the
hospital.”
The MUSC Children’s Hospital license plate is available through the
state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Of the $50 fee to purchase
the plate, $42 goes to the Children’s Hospital.
Supporters can donate each year when they renew the use of the license plate along with their vehicle registration.
To purchase a special Children’s Hospital license plate, visit http://musckids.com/news/license_plate.htm or inquire at a local DMV office.
Friday, April 16, 2010
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