St. Joseph's Children's Hospital of Tampa — Starting Out Healthy

Up Close & Personal

Heart Heroes

Photo of During the event, participants enjoyed arts and crafts activities provided by Sprouts, an early learning activity center in Valrico.
During the event, participants enjoyed arts and crafts activities provided by Sprouts, an early learning activity center in Valrico.
Photo of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital physicians Dr. Rene Chapados and Dr. Elsa Suh with a young heart surgery patient and her parents.
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital physicians Dr. Rene Chapados and Dr. Elsa Suh with a young heart surgery patient and her parents.
On April 3, 2010, more than 300 people, including 70 children who have undergone heart surgery at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, came together as one special group to celebrate life during the 5th Annual Heart-to-Heart Reunion. During the event, the young patients and their families enjoyed food, arts and crafts and entertainment while meeting and spending time with other pediatric heart surgery families. The event also provided an opportunity for families to reunite with the physicians and nurses who make every day possible for young boys and girls who undergo the complex, delicate, life-saving procedures performed routinely at the hospital.

Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s Luncheon

Photo of St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation Board Chair Elaine Shimberg, St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation Board Member Donna Jordan, Sherry Lansing and Gayle Sierens.
St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation Board Chair Elaine Shimberg, St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation Board Member Donna Jordan, Sherry Lansing and Gayle Sierens.
More than 250 people attended the annual Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s luncheon Feb. 23, 2010. This year’s keynote speaker was Sherry Lansing, cofounder of Stand Up To Cancer and the only woman ever to lead a major Hollywood studio. Some of her many hit Paramount films include Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Titanic. Proceeds from the event will help support women’s health, children’s health and child advocacy efforts at St. Joseph’s Hospitals.

Philanthropic Women of St. Joseph’s is a leadership network of community-minded women who want to change and save lives in the Tampa Bay community by investing annual membership gifts in collaboration with other women leaders. To learn more, visit www.sjhfoundation.org or call (813) 872-0979.

St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Opens the First Hospital-based Safety Store in Florida

Photo of The Safety Store
The Safety Store is open Monday through Friday. For more information, please call (813) 443-3057 or visit www.stjosephschildrens.com.
Every year, more than 3 million U.S. children ages 14 and younger are treated in emergency centers for accidental injuries that occur in the home, and more than 2,000 of these children die as a result of their injuries. In an effort to reduce the number of preventable injuries in the Tampa Bay area, in April St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital opened The Safety Store — the first hospital-based safety store in the state of Florida.

Located in the lobby of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, The Safety Store provides a comfortable environment for families to shop, learn and ask questions about how to keep their children safe. Low-cost injury-prevention products available for sale include safety gates, bike helmets, child passenger safety seats, cabinet locks, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and window blind cord wraps.

“Although there is no substitute for active supervision, using injury-prevention products provides an extra layer of protection and added peace of mind,” said St. Joseph’s Children’s Advocate Rebecca Kynes. “As the primary provider for children’s health needs in the area, we know firsthand how devastating injuries can be, as well as how easily they can be avoided with some simple prevention measures.”

The store is staffed by trained Child Advocates who help families determine their safety needs and select appropriate products. The specialists also provide free education on how to use and maintain the safety products, including demonstrations on how to install a child passenger seat and the correct way to wear a bike helmet.

Senator Visits St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital

Photo of During the visit, Senator Nelson personally met with several pediatric patients and their families to hear their health care stories firsthand.
During the visit, Senator Nelson personally met with several pediatric patients and their families to hear their health care stories firsthand.
On April 26, 2010, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson took a tour of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in an effort to learn more about pediatric health care issues and to better understand how federal health care reform will affect children’s hospitals.