La Rabida Children's Hospital

Food Farmacy is back at La Rabida to provide patients and families with freshly harvested produce from their farms and important information about seasonal foods. Chef Kennedy visits us once a month to give kid-friendly cooking demonstrations so our kids can learn about healthy nutrition and get to taste new foods! This month Chef Kennedy talked about the vitamins found in swiss chard and cooked up sautéed swiss chard with carrots and a citrus salad with a vinaigrette mixed by La Rabida patients. This is one of our favorite things about summer at La Rabida!

We had the privilege of welcoming the Chicago Hounds to La Rabida for their FIRST visit to a Chicago children’s hospital. Armed with lots of swag and plenty of muscle, the players brought a ton of joy and fun interactions to our patients. We know there will be lots of new Hounds fans rooting the team to victory this weekend thanks to their kindness. Go Hounds!

Congratulations to our recent service awards honorees. We honored some impressive individuals at our annual La Rabida Service Award Ceremony last month. Dedication to La Rabida and its mission is one of the things that sets our team apart from the rest. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing commitment to our mission. Special congratulations to a few members of our team reaching decades-long service: Sylvia Williams Manager, Patient Experience, Patient Care Administration (40 years), Denise Mosinski (35 years), Dr. Qumar (30 years), and Jerry Antos, staff nurse (30 years).

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM! In Chicago, we don’t need to remind you that it’s hot, but thanks to American Hydrotech our patients forgot all about the heat when they delivered ice cream and books last week. This heartfelt gesture brought big smiles to our patients at the start of summer.

Shout out to Girl Scout Troop 70182 for their kind and thoughtful donation of craft carts for our patients. During their visit these Girl Scouts went on on a small tour of the hospital and learned more about the impact of their gift. Each cart they deliver is inspired by one of the troop’s favorite projects from the past year. How fun! Help us thank these inspiring young women for their big hearts and amazing crafts!

📣 Big Milestone Alert Layoni Achieved a whole HOUR in her stander! 💪

The stander is a game-changer for Layoni, boosting her lung development, core strength, and digestion. It helps her muscles grow and lets her experience more of life! It’s also great for Layoni’s social and cognitive development too, giving her a stable base to use her hands effectively. We can do everything from walks to reading books and drawing. She gets even more chatty and vocal, as well. It’s such a joy to see!

Join Amelia Miller, Infant Mental Health and Developmental Specialist, for a unique and enriching experience specifically for caregivers and their babies. Infant massage is a gentle, loving touch technique that promotes relaxation, healthy development, and strengthens the bond between parent and baby!

La Rabida is a sanctuary of hope. Juneteenth reminds us that healing isn’t just about medicine, it’s about love, understanding, and the fierce belief that every child deserves an opportunity to experience the joy and freedom of life. On Juneteenth, we come together to honor the strength, resilience, and freedom of Black communities.

There’s still time to Register for La Rabida’s 35th Annual Golf Classic! Join us on August 5 at Harborside International Golf Center for 18 holes, contests, auctions, raffles, and plenty of fun! Can’t join us for the full day? Join us for our NEW Clinic at the La Rabida Golf Classic. More info below.

https://larabida.org/golf-classic/

Happy Father's Day from La Rabida Children's Hospital!

This week, we honor the incredible contributions of our dedicated Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). These crucial members of our team are always here to support our patients and families by reading to and playing with our patients, taking vitals, calming frightened patients, and changing linens. Join us in saying “Thank You” to these amazing individuals by sharing your love in our comment section or giving some props to a special CNA in your life!

👟☀️Parks are good medicine for everyone! We had a wonderful time talking about nutrition and physical activity at last weekend's Wellness Walk. Our staff and friends had a great time in the sun stretching our legs and recharging out mental batteries. Join us for our next Wellness Walk on July 13 when we'll discuss pediatric development and milestones. Register here: bit.ly/LaRaWW
Chicago Parks Foundation

We are incredibly proud to share that La Rabida was awarded a grant yesterday as part of Cook County Health's Stronger Together Initiative, which aims to address behavioral health inequities across the region. With this grant, we can increase our efforts and wrap-around services to reduce disparity in services for children with behavioral, educational, and medical needs, including an integrated school liaison within our outpatient care clinic. La Rabida was one of 53 grants that were awarded, among 320 applicants. Thank you Toni Preckwinkle and Congratulations to all the grantees!
Read More Here: https://bit.ly/3XkkszZ

Register for our FREE virtual Summer Safety Series today! Join us on June 12, 5:45 – 6:45 p.m. for “Child Trafficking 101: How to Keep Your Children & The Community Safe”. We know that the most important and hardest job we have as caregivers is keeping our kids safe. And you will come out of this series with knowledge and tools to help keep our community safe. Hope to see you there!

La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center La Rabida Children's Advocacy Center

For Cantron, summer in Chicago arrived at the perfect time because he was ready to take his first walk outside with Mom this week. Cantron has spent most of his life inside a hospital, so getting out and going for a stroll is a major milestone and gives families a sense of normalcy. Looking good in your shades, Cantron!

See you Saturday for our second Wellness Walk in Jackson Park! During this walk, our pediatric providers will be discussing nutrition and physical activity with walkers. Sign up today! bit.ly/LaRaWW

We wrapped up another great year of tutoring by celebrating our tutoring students’ hard work and dedication to their education with an end-of-year pizza party. Along with our volunteers and the kids’ parents and caregivers, we at pizza, talked about achievements and books for summer, and everyone got to take home a new toy just in time for summer break! Congratulations to everyone on a successful year. Have a wonderful summer break!

May was National Speech-Language Hearing Month, and our speech-language pathologists went the extra mile walking our halls to help all of us understand and experience exactly what they do with patients every day demonstrating various alternative ways to communicate, including low- and high-tech options, including buttons on the iTalk4, apps like TouchChat, and switch toys. They even made communication boards for everyone to use with patients to alleviate communication breakdowns. Thanks for teaching us something new, and for all you do for our patients every day!

Bricks of Hope delivered more than 500 LEGO sets for our patients today! Adam Petraglia, founder of Bricks of Hope, has delivered more than 10,000 LEGO sets to pediatric hospitals all over Illinois since its inception. AMAZING! A BIG thank you to Bricks of Hope for their continued support for La Rabida as part of their mission – creating moments of joy and play is so important to the overall care and support of our patients, and our kids just light up when they receive one of these sets!

Don’t forget to sign up for our next Wellness Walk with Chicago Parks Foundation on June 8. During this walk, our pediatric providers will be discussing nutrition and physical activity with walkers. We hope to see you at this family-friendly activity!

chicagoparksfoundation.givepulse.com

We are excited to receive a The Toy Foundation Children’s Hospital Play Grant to improve the care and wellbeing of our children with the power of play! This grant will fund therapeutic toys, crafts, and journals for patients served by our Behavioral Health programs. Pediatric therapy relies on many resources to engage in behavioral interventions, such as the use of fidget toys or coloring to cope with anxiety, or journaling and reading for depression. We also use a wide range of tools to develop coping skills like pinwheels, stress balls, jewelry making kits, and even guided imagery cards. However, our families often do not have resources to purchase these items to practice at home. Now we can provide patients the tools they need to practice at home, helping them be more engaged in therapy, thus achieving their therapy goals.

Visit LaRabida.org/golf-classic to register!

🚨 Exciting News! 🚨 Don’t hit the brakes yet - The NASCAR Giveathon has been extended through the weekend! With a matching gift of $77,000 from Gainbridge every donation will be matched up to $500 each until the money is gone. THAT MEANS YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO HELP OUR KIDS! Let's cross this finish line together and drive to $5,000 before 9 AM on Sunday. Donate now and double your impact! NASCAR Foundation 🏎🏆 🏁

La Rabida Childrens Hospital - NASCAR Day Giveathon 2024 Raising Possibilities of a Lifetime

LAST CHANCE! We have raised a little more than $2,500 towards our goal for this year’s NASCAR Giveathon. DONATE NOW before the Giveathon ends at 7:00!

La Rabida Childrens Hospital - NASCAR Day Giveathon 2024 Raising Possibilities of a Lifetime

Don’t stop now! You’ve made your donation, but have you shared our posts with your colleagues, friends, and family? Don’t forget to spread the word to help us build awareness and support for our mission. Every donation counts!

La Rabida Childrens Hospital - NASCAR Day Giveathon 2024 Raising Possibilities of a Lifetime

We’re off to a great start, team La Rabida! We just need ONE $25 donation each hour to be eligible to receive up to $500 in sponsor matching gifts or a $500 bonus grant from The NASCAR Foundation. Remember to try to donate at the top of the hour.

La Rabida Childrens Hospital - NASCAR Day Giveathon 2024 Raising Possibilities of a Lifetime