The center, which will be named…
By Adam Kramer
Schneider Children’s Hospital in Glen Oaks has received a $200,000 donation from Kohl’s Department Stores to build a resource center that will serve as a base for families accompanying their sick children to the hospital.
The center, which will be named after the chain, will aid parents of sick children by providing them with information, health education and a child life specialist to give emotional support.
“We are very grateful to Kohl’s for this most generous gift,” said Dr. Philip Lanzkowsky, chief of staff at Schneider Children’s Hospital. “It will allow us to create a much needed family respite as well as an educational resource center, where today’s information and computer savvy parents can have access to a library stocked with books, videos, medical journals.”
He said the center will have all the comforts of home and will be outfitted with computers, the Internet, TVs and VCRs, which will allow parents to research information on their child’s illness. A staff member will also be on hand to answer any of the families’ questions, he said.
Patricia Weiner, director of child life and educational services at North Shore-LIJ, said the center is the first one built at Schneider.
Schneider Children’s Hospital is a full-service comprehensive hospital that cares for children from infants to young adults. The 154-bed hospital treats childhood diseases to cancer to epilepsy.
Prior to the new center the only way for a parent to get information about a illness or a child’s particular case was from the doctor, nurse or social worker.
She said centers similar to the one being built at Schneider are the trend at hospitals around the country. The centers are “critically important” to giving families access to all the information available, she said.
“When people have more information, they feel empowered,” Weiner said. “They have more information to ask questions of doctors, nurses and social workers, which gives them a better sense of what is going on.”
The new center is scheduled for completion by the fall.
Schneider Children’s Hospital is part of LIJ Medical Center, an 829-bed facility on the Queens-Nassau boarder, which also includes Long Island Jewish Hospital and Hillside Hospital.
The gift comes from the “Kohl’s Cares For Kids” program, which started in July 2000 and donates money to children’s hospitals across the country. The $200,000 gift to Schneider will be delivered over a three-year period.
The chain has raised $2.6 million for children’s hospitals by donating 100 percent of the profits from the sale of certain items. This spring the chain promoted two children’s books by Margaret Wise Brown called “Goodnight Moon” and “Runaway Bride” to raise funds.
“We are extremely pleased with the impact Kohl’s will be making at Schneider Children’s Hospital,” said Julie Gardner, Kohl’s vice president of marketing. “The kids are the ultimate winners here, and we are delighted that so many children and their families will benefit from the Kohl’s Family Resource Center.”
She added, “We are grateful for the generosity of the community and with its continued support, we can make this and ongoing commitment to the children.”
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
