UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center Gift Book

o B t o f k i G

You

can make a wish come true!

Dear friends, Your wonderful generosity in response to our last Gift Book brought comfort to so many young patients in our children’s hospital. I honestly can’t thank you enough!

We’re back with a new catalog, full of items that make a real difference to a sick child in the hospital.

Fighting a disease or injury is only part of the challenge for these kids … it’s often just as tough to fight the fear and anxiety that accompany a hospital stay.

The gifts in this book—backpacks filled with toys, new pajamas, digital thermometers for parents who can’t afford them—help children and their families remain hopeful and calm during a stressful time.

When you donate a gift—or several—you will make a genuine difference in the life of one of our youngest patients. Please be generous!

With my heartfelt thanks,

Scot Bateman, MD, Physician-in-Chief UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center

Child Life assistants

Child Life programs help children and their families cope with the stress and anxiety of a hospital stay. We provide a child-friendly, warm environment and offer recreational, educational, and therapeutic play opportunities. Programs include child-appropriate preparation for procedures to reduce fear, pet therapy, supervised play and craft activities, and visits from the “Clown Care Unit.”

#201 $450 pays for one Child Life Assistant for 1 week, 104 needed

Bereavement support packages

When a family experiences the tragic death of a child, we offer them a package of remembrances and support resources, including such items as a charm of their baby’s fingerprint, a clay mold of their baby’s foot, and a variety of resources to help them cope with their grief.

#202 $75 each, 20 needed

Headphones

For listening to music, books-on-tape, and guided meditation, headphones minimize outside noise and help patients and families relax.

#203 $16 each, 10 needed

Find the Gift Book online at: give.umassmemorial.org/giftbook

Backpacks filled with small toys

When children are abruptly removed from their homes due to suspected abuse or neglect, they are rarely able to collect their favorite blanket, toy, or stuffed animal to bring with them. These children need special attention and consolation during their medical journey. We provide each child with a small backpack filled with comforting toys and diverting activities.

#204 $15 each, 375 needed

Music therapy program

Music therapy, provided by experts and tailored to each child’s medical and developmental status, helps alleviate stress, reduces the perception of pain, and promotes relaxation. Music-making, song-writing, or simply listening helps children express emotion and feel empowered during hospitalization.

#205 $1,060 pays for a music therapist for 1 week, 52 needed

Easing pain and stress of diffcult childhood treatments

Sometimes caring for children who come to the Children’s Medical Center requires tests that are painful. Nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) provides a safe and comfortable way to treat children through painful and anxiety-provoking tests and procedures.

#206 $9,347

Sound machines

To help patients and their families get a much-needed night’s sleep by masking noise.

#207 $20 each, 15 needed

Digital thermometers

For small children, especially infants, a fever can be a medical emergency. Many of the families that come to our clinic don’t own thermometers, and have no way of knowing how serious their child’s fever is.

#208 $15 per pack of 5, 10 packs needed

Autism & special needs patient essentials

Hospitalization and medical procedures make most of us feel anxious, but for children with sensory disorders, these experiences can be overwhelming. A variety of products and tools are proven to have a calming effect during times of high stress. Sets include weighted blankets, squishy balls, tactile discs for therapeutic play, and soothing sound systems.

#209 $260 per set, 5 needed

Cough Buddy™ post-operative pillow

These special pillows, shaped like stuffed animals, are firm and flexible. They help the patient cough and breathe deeply after thoracic or abdominal surgery by supporting the child as they hug the pillow during recovery, thus minimizing pain.

#210 $30 each, 25 needed

Neonatal “cribette”

As babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit progress, they no longer need an incubator or radiant warmer. Cribettes are larger than bassinets, but smaller than standard cribs—perfect for babies with chronic health issues who no longer require a heater.

#211 $500 each, 4 needed

Handheld computer tablets for recording medical data

These will facilitate the tracking of a patient’s medical progress by allowing care providers to record high-resolution audio and visual snapshots of the child’s condition over time, and import them directly into a patient’s electronic medical record.

#212 $300 each, 2 needed

Digital tablets

When children come to one of our pediatric clinics for exams, tests, or treatments, they are often anxious or fearful about what will happen.

Tablets (such as iPads) loaded with age-appropriate videos and games distract and entertain them during medical or surgical procedures.

#213 $300 each, 25 needed

Crib Mobiles

To distract, soothe, and entertain babies.

#214 $20 each, 15 needed

Feeding pumps for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

When babies are born prematurely they are often unable to coordinate breathing and sucking, so feeding pumps are required to safely deliver nutrition.

#215 $2,300 each, 25 needed

Breakfast for Parents Program

We offer breakfast for any mom or dad who stays overnight with their sick child. They can eat in their child’s room instead of going to the public cafeteria. Parents tell us it helps them to feel that extra bit of “normal” during a difficult time and it allows them to be there to speak with the medical team when doctors come by during rounds.

#216 $20 per 10 breakfasts, 90 needed

Books for all ages

Reading is one of the few activities that sick kids and their parents can enjoy together, and that precious time can be calming during a medical experience.

#217 $15 each, 600 needed

Stuffed animals

Every child admitted to the Children’s Medical Center receives a cuddly stuffed animal friend to hug and play with while they’re here, and to take home when they leave.

#218 $10 each, 1,000 needed

Buzzy® device for pain relief

When a child needs a blood test or the insertion of an IV, the Buzzy device uses a combination of cold and vibration to replace the pain— just like cool water soothes a burn. Designed to look like a friendly ladybug or bumblebee.

#219 $125 each, 35 needed

Bins stuffed with toys

Each unit should have a toy bin, filled with toys chosen to comfort and distract patients from anxiety and pain. Each large plastic bin includes spinning light toys, bubbles, stress balls, rain sticks, musical toys, I Spy™ books and puzzles, and magnetic drawing boards.

#220 $100 each, 25 needed

Small cooler bags

Infusion patients spend many long hours in the infusion room.

Many are on special diets or have allergies, so they must bring their own food. They need a cool place to store it throughout the day.

#221 $15 each, 30 needed

Specialty feeding kits

Young patients with certain medical challenges or special needs have difficulty eating, and are at risk of not getting enough nutrition.

These kits include a variety feeding therapy tools, each designed to help these children learn to feed themselves.

#222 $30 per kit, 40 needed

Clothing Fund for foster children

We treat many foster children each year in our clinics, and it’s heartbreaking when they arrive with very little clothing—especially in winter. Our caregivers take each child by the hand and give them the opportunity to pick out an outfit of weather-appropriate clothing to help keep them healthy and warm.

#223 Any amount to our Clothing Fund will be gratefully received

Overnight essentials kits

For parents who have unexpected stays at the hospital with their children: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving cream, soap, sleep masks, cozy socks, etc.

#224 $10 each, 50 needed

Hats and wigs

Children feel painfully embarrassed when they lose their hair due to illness or chemotherapy. For families that can’t afford them, we provide hats and wigs and an extra boost of positivity during a rough time.

#225 $50 per wig, 20 needed #226 $15 per hat, 20 needed

iPads with communication technology for patients with autism

These powerful communication systems give a voice to children who cannot speak due to autism or developmental disabilities. They are easy to learn and use, and have been proven to help patients express themselves and increase their language skills.

#227 $1,000 each, 4 needed

Cool mist humidifiers

Humidifiers effectively prevent and treat upper respiratory infections in young children, but they are rarely covered by insurance. We care for many low-income families who simply can’t afford them.

#228 $25 each, 20 needed

Hospital cafeteria vouchers

Families often spend days or weeks with their child in the hospital, and buying cafeteria meals day after day, can quickly become prohibitively expensive. Cafeteria vouchers will help caregivers pay for simple meals to help them stay nourished and strong while remaining by their child’s bedside.

#229 $10 each, 400 needed

Cooling blanket

Children and adolescents who arrive at the hospital’s emergency room with severe concussion or traumatic brain injury are at risk for brain damage. A cooling blanket can provide neurological protection and reduce the negative effects of trauma, helping children to recover and preserve brain function.

#230 $10,000

Pajamas

Some children arrive at the hospital without pajamas—either their families can’t afford them or they didn’t have time to pack—and hospital gowns seem unfamiliar and embarrassing. Cozy, comfy pajamas go a long way toward making sick kids feel better.

#231 $20 each, 250 needed

Spanish autism information guide

The hospital has an in-depth, English language guide for families of children who receive a diagnosis of autism. It includes information about autism, local resources, instructions for applying for social services, directories of play groups and rehab services, and more.

Translation and printing services would make this guide available to our many Spanish-speaking families.

#232 $1,500 to translate and print 500 copies

Travel and Transportation Fund

Parking, gas, and other travel expenses can easily become an impossible burden for families when their child requires frequent trips to the hospital or clinic for long term treatment of a chronic disease.

#233 Any amount will be gratefully received

Sickle cell disease and cancer support groups

One of the hardest things for children with serious, chronic disease is finding that their peers can’t relate to what they’re going through.

Regularly scheduled support groups create a safe space to share feelings, talk about the challenges they face, and discuss coping strategies.

#234 $900 per year for sickle cell disease support group #235 $900 per year for cancer support group

Pill box organizers

For families to take home when they leave the hospital, these colorful pill boxes help them organize multiple medications and make sure their child never misses a critical dose.

#236 $8 each, 240 needed

Teen Time Fund

Long hospital stays are especially isolating for adolescents. At this age, their lives tend to revolve around friends and social activities, so being an inpatient can be especially lonely. This fund will be used to provide age-appropriate outings and events. Comedy shows, ice cream socials, Red Sox games—these activities and others like them help teens and pre-teens have fun and get their minds off their illnesses.

#237 Any amount will be gratefully received

Thank You!

Gift Book

Worcester, MA 01655

Office of Advancement 55 Lake Avenue North

Permit No. 176

Worcester MA

PAID

U.S. Postage

Nonprofit Org.