Campbell’s Soup has launched a $10 million initiative that will target reducing childhood obesity in Camden children over the next 10 years.

Michael Goodman, MD, Chief of Pediatrics at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, remarked at the event announcing the initiative that “39.8% of Camden’s children (ages 3-19) are considered obese based on Body Mass Index (BMI), compared to 29% nationally. The Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper shares in Campbell’s vision of educating and supporting families in the community in making healthier choices.”

6ABC was among the several media outlets who covered the press event at Campbell’s Soup where Dr. Goodman spoke. Click below to view their report.

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Cooper University Hospital would like to congratulate gretchen Lawhon, RN, PhD, Clinical Nurse Scientist at the Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UMDNJ/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, for receiving the “Advancement in Clinical Applications” award by the March of Dimes New Jersey Chapter.

This award honors nurses throughout New Jersey who have demonstrated excellence in the practice of nursing; and contribute through research, community services, education, and advocacy to give all people a fighting chance against the threats to their health.

Dr. Lawhon is the Developmental Specialist in the Division of Neonatology at Cooper, and the Director of the Mid Atlantic NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) Center. A multidisciplinary approach to care, NIDCAP is supportive of each infant and their family. The program works in developing an individualized, developmentally appropriate method of support to maximize physical, mental, and emotional growth and health and to improve long-term outcomes for preterm and high medical risk newborns. Dr. Lawhon led the efforts of the Cooper Newborn Intensive Care Unit to achieve NIDCAP Nursery Certification in 2009, becoming the second nursery in the world to be certified by the NIDCAP Federation.

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Barbara McCarty, Child Life Coordinator at Cooper; Michael H. Goodman, MD, Chief, Department of Pediatrics at Cooper; Genesis Almonte, Age 9, from Camden, NJ; Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of The Cooper Foundation; Robyn Harvey, RN, BSN, MBA, Senior Director of Patient Care Services/Maternal Child Health Division at Cooper

This holiday season, thanks to several generous donations, spirits were bright for the patients at The Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper.

The Bright Spirit Children’s Foundation, which provides entertainment technologies such as video games, computers, televisions, and audio for hospitals that work with seriously ill children, donated six new iPads with security cases and seven new flat screen televisions to Cooper’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. This will provide therapeutic care and comfort to patients as they recuperate from their injuries. Bright Spirit programs are designed to uplift a child’s spirit in the hospital, distract them from their illnesses, and help them to cope with fear, anxiety, and boredom.

“Cooper is extremely grateful for this kind gift,” said Robyn Harvey, Senior Director of Patient Care Services/Maternal Child Health Division at Cooper. “It’s hard for children to be away from their family for long periods of time, especially during the holidays. Donations like this keep their mind off of the pain they are experiencing and allow in some enjoyment.”

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Barbara McCarty, Child Life Coordinator at Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper and motorcyclists from the Chrome Riders Group collects toys for pediatric patients. (Barb is the one with glasses holding the game board)

On Saturday, October 23, 2010, 75 motorcyclists joined the Chrome Riders Motorcycle Organization for the 16th Annual “Toy Run” for pediatric patients at Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper. Each rider brought with them a new, unwrapped gift for a child at Cooper. The Chrome Riders also arrived with a moving van full of toys and “wish list” items including sippy cups, children’s underwear, character bandaids, DVD/VCR players, portable CD players, infant mobiles, and other merchandise totaling several thousand dollars.

The Chrome Rider Motorcycle Group has selected Cooper University Hospital as the sole beneficiary of its fundraising efforts, working all year to collect toys, gifts, money as well as other items that can be used for pediatric patients and their families. When children leave Cooper, each receives a gift to help them remember a positive experience associated with their hospital stay.

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A Little Generosity Goes A Long Way

Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of the Cooper Foundation, Isabella Knapp, Jessica Baals and Michael Goodman, MD. Chief, Department of Pediatrics

Toward the end of last school year, while most students were busy planning pool parties and other summer activities with friends, 12-year-old Jessica Baals from Minotola, NJ, had something else on her mind — giving back.

In May, Jessica and her friend Isabella Knapp, 12, both students at Notre Dame Regional School, held a yard sale for a school fundraising project.   Together, the pair gathered books, toys, and clothes to sell to their local community. All of the proceeds from the yard sale, $120, were donated to The Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper at a special check presentation on Tuesday, August 31, 2010.

A former patient at Cooper, Baals had two kidney surgeries as an infant and her family credits her recovery to the exceptional medical care of the physicians and nurses at Cooper.  Although her home is 45 minutes away, Baal’s parents said they would choose no place other then Cooper to receive care.