L to R: Rena Jordan, VP, Development, Stacie Rokosny, RN, BSN, CLC, Director of Patient Care Services, Anne Reilly, MS, CCLS, Coordinator of Child Life Department, Joshua Rosenblatt, MD, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Darrell K. Terry, Sr., mha, mph, fache, fhela, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (center with check), Spirit of Children representatives (Tom Aquilino, Damian Davis, Jenna Rivera and Laurie Green), Sarah Graham, CCLS, and Kim Hudock, CCLS at the Spirit of Children presentation ceremony to award $114,249 to the Child Life program at Children's Hospital of New Jersey.
NEWARK, NJ (February 8, 2023) – The Spirit of Children Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Spirit Halloween awarded $114,249 to the Child Life program at Children's Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ) at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. This is the fourteenth annual donation from the Spirit of Children Foundation which has been supporting the Child Life Program at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey since 2010. In the last 14 years The Foundation has generously donated $971,464 in grant funding.
“Child Life Specialists are essential members of the pediatric care team at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. In the fall, we experienced a surge in pediatric patients due to a number of respiratory viruses spreading throughout the state and our Child Life team provided essential support and therapeutic healing tools for our young patients. The funding that we receive from the Spirit of Children Foundation helps support our Child Life specialists and we greatly appreciate, their unwavering commitment to our patients and the delivery of this kind of comprehensive pediatric care,” Darrell K. Terry, Sr., MHA, MPH, FACHE, FHELA, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey.
The Children’s Hospital of New Jersey Child Life program uses these funds to provide vital support to children and their families in the form of healing through play therapy. Child Life therapists use emotional and therapeutic healing tools including, educational equipment, iPads and distraction toys for use during procedures as well as toys created specifically for physical and developmental limitations. In addition, the Spirit of Children Foundation supports Child Life specialists in creating a fun and safe, Halloween experience for patients which includes donating costumes, activity books, crayons, and treat bags.
All proceeds for the Spirit of Children Foundation grant are collected at area Spirit Halloween stores, where one hundred percent of local donations stay within the community.
About Spirit of Children
At the heart of Spirit Halloween is Spirit of Children, bringing smiles, laughter, and a much-needed escape to thousands of pediatric patients in more than 150 hospitals across the United States and Canada. One hundred percent of the money collected each year is given directly to the Child Life Departments at local partner hospitals, such as Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Since its inception in 2007, Spirit of Children raised more than $110 million in support of their mission. To learn more about Spirit of Children, visit SpiritofChildren.com
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a 665-bed regional care teaching hospital that provides comprehensive health care. Newark Beth Israel is home to one of the nation’s top 15 heart transplant centers, RWJBarnabas Health’s Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program which has performed more than 1,100 heart transplants; New Jersey’s only Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program and a Valve Center that performs complex cardiac valve procedures, including minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVRs). The Newark Beth Israel robotic surgery program is the most experienced in northern New Jersey. The Frederick B. Cohen, MD, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and the new Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Breast Health Center provide seamless integration of cancer prevention, specialized care and treatment options.
Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ), located at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, cares for children from birth through adolescence, with more than 30 specialized pediatric services including New Jersey’s largest Valerie Fund Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders; and the Children’s Heart Center that offers a complete range of medical and surgical treatments for the most complex cardiac abnormalities. Children’s Hospital of New Jersey also includes a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a Level IV Regional Perinatal Center that offers New Jersey’s first Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy; and the highest level of intensive care for both mothers and newborns.
Contact:
Patricia Mitrano
Patricia.Mitrano@rwjbh.org
973-926-7531