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.”
The Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper also received many other heartfelt donations during this year’s holiday season. The Chiarella family, of North Wildwood, collects toys every year and delivers them to Cooper during Christmas in memory of their daughter Gia, a former pediatric patient who passed away several years ago. The donations continue to grow with each visit back to the hospital. This year, the Chiarella’s arrived with a moving van filled with 12 recycling bins of toys each labeled with a photo of Gia and this year’s date.
Johnson Steidler has been coming to Cooper for the last 21 years, bringing with him one-of-a-kind stuffed animals for pediatric patients in memory of his wife, who was also a patient. Mr. Steidler has a significant visual impairment that requires additional assistant, yet he makes sure to visit the children at Cooper every holiday season, including this one because, he says, “it gives meaning to my life.”
Cooper also had residents from Cadbury Senior Center bring and distribute build-a-bears, donated by Build-A-Bear Company to patients on the Pediatric floor.
“We are so grateful to the families that provided their donations this holiday season to honor their loved ones,” said Susan Bass Levin, President and CEO of the Cooper Foundation. “It’s important to our program, but more importantly, it’s important to the donors to find a way to bring someone else happiness during the holiday season.”