Student Contributor -Z. Romero Becker
Providence’s Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital works with medical specialists to serve the Inland Northwest. Sacred Heart hosts Spokane’s only pediatric intensive care, psychiatry, hematology and oncology programs, as well as specialized trauma care for children with emergency medical needs.
As the largest regional pediatric hospital, many students in our classrooms who have chronic or acute medical issues have spent time inside Sacred Heart. In order to meet the needs of their patients, the non-profit hospital partners with other non-profit organizations such as Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Starlight Foundation, Candlelighters, Rypien Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Inland Northwest, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, and more.
My kindergarten class wrote get well soon cards for the children of the oncology ward. They wrote sentences of encouragement and drew a picture for patients their age in the hospital. I have a personal connection to one of the staff members in this ward, so I was able to get feedback on the cards.
Other ideas could be:
Fundraising or holding a drive for the hospital Wish List of needed items
Making gifts (friendship bracelet, paper flowers, writing a book) for the patients
Older students could volunteer on site in the hospital in various capacities
