$38K for St. Mary’s Hospital

St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside received a $38,000 grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC-NYTSA) of the New York Tri-State Area recently, to help expand its programs for grievously ill children and their families.
“This generous grant enables St. Mary’s to expand our innovative and compassionate Palliative Care services and therapies to children with life-threatening as well as life-limiting conditions,” remarked Dr. Burton Grebin, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children. “We are grateful for their ongoing support of St. Mary’s and our children,” he said.
A portion of the grant will be used to expand St. Mary’s innovative “Doula Program” to include families that receive home health services. Doulas are trained volunteers who help guide children and families through the end-of-life process, offering emotional, spiritual, and logistical support.
St. Mary’s is credited for pioneering the first inpatient pediatric palliative care program in the United States. They use a holistic approach to palliative care, which combines complementary therapies such as art and music therapy, guided imagery, Reiki, therapeutic touch, and aromatherapy along with more traditional pain and symptoms medical management.
In May, the Palliative Care Program was honored with an award by Children’s Hospice International. In addition, it has received the prestigious Circle of Life Award for innovation in palliative care from the American Hospital Association and the New York State Quality Award for Best Practice in Pain Management and Palliative Care from the State Department of Health in 2004.
Since 1992, RMHC-NYTSA has provided more than $5 million dollars to local non-profit organizations whose programs improve the well-being of children and their families. In 2006, RMHC-NYTSA awarded a $25,000 grant to St. Mary’s to expand the hospital’s Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders