ArtWorks Surprise! Supplies Program To Be Launched at Hackensack University Medical Center
By Mel Fabrikant Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 04:22 PM EST
On Thursday, February 4, at 4 p.m., ArtWorks will introduce Surprise!Supplies, a program that provides art supplies for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses, to both the Tomorrows Children’s Institute and the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Inpatient Unit, divisions of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center.
The goal of Surprise!Supplies is for these children, and their siblings who accompany them, to have their own kit of crafts to keep them busy creating while anticipating a long day in treatment, enduring an extended stay in the hospital or accompanying a sibling to a procedure. In addition to the assortment of art supplies and craft kits, ArtWorks will provide two custom designed mobile Art Carts designed by Pop Artist Ed Heck, to store and transport these materials with ease. Each unit also receives an ArtWorks Bulletin Board to display patient’s paintings and drawings.
Both the outpatient clinic of the Tomorrows Children’s Institute and the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology inpatient unit treat children with cancer and serious blood disorders. Once implemented, the Surprise!Supplies program is estimated to impact 90 patients and 75 siblings each month in the outpatient clinic and an additional 15 patients and 10 siblings in the inpatient unit. This program provides children with the means to unleash their creative energy, helping them cope with the challenges of stressful and painful hospital visits and admissions.
The Surprise!Supplies program in the outpatient clinic of the Tomorrows Children’s Institute is being sponsored by Ira’s Run (http://www.irasrun.com), a 5K run held each year to honor the memory of Ira Sohn and to raise funds for organizations assisting children and their families battling illness and other disabilities. The Surprise!Supplies program in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology inpatient unit is being sponsored by The Caroline Fund, a fund created to aid children suffering from cancer and blood disorders, by the parents of Caroline Sakovits, a 6-year old Washington Township resident who is a two-time survivor of pediatric cancer. Caroline was treated at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and, while her recovery included numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, many hospitalizations, and procedures, the Child Life program at the hospital was a vital part of her healing process, allowing her to express herself through art.
The goal of Surprise!Supplies is for these children, and their siblings who accompany them, to have their own kit of crafts to keep them busy creating while anticipating a long day in treatment, enduring an extended stay in the hospital or accompanying a sibling to a procedure. In addition to the assortment of art supplies and craft kits, ArtWorks will provide two custom designed mobile Art Carts designed by Pop Artist Ed Heck, to store and transport these materials with ease. Each unit also receives an ArtWorks Bulletin Board to display patient’s paintings and drawings.
Both the outpatient clinic of the Tomorrows Children’s Institute and the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology inpatient unit treat children with cancer and serious blood disorders. Once implemented, the Surprise!Supplies program is estimated to impact 90 patients and 75 siblings each month in the outpatient clinic and an additional 15 patients and 10 siblings in the inpatient unit. This program provides children with the means to unleash their creative energy, helping them cope with the challenges of stressful and painful hospital visits and admissions.
The Surprise!Supplies program in the outpatient clinic of the Tomorrows Children’s Institute is being sponsored by Ira’s Run (http://www.irasrun.com), a 5K run held each year to honor the memory of Ira Sohn and to raise funds for organizations assisting children and their families battling illness and other disabilities. The Surprise!Supplies program in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology inpatient unit is being sponsored by The Caroline Fund, a fund created to aid children suffering from cancer and blood disorders, by the parents of Caroline Sakovits, a 6-year old Washington Township resident who is a two-time survivor of pediatric cancer. Caroline was treated at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital and, while her recovery included numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, many hospitalizations, and procedures, the Child Life program at the hospital was a vital part of her healing process, allowing her to express herself through art.
