Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Happy Father’s Day to all the incredible dads and father figures who love and support us unconditionally. We meet superhero dads every day in our clinics and hospital and watch as they help their kids be brave – we are honored to be a part of each family's story.

Lindsay Finney, LICSW, a clinical social worker at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s, gathered her colleagues the day after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas to take a moment to acknowledge what happened and how they felt about it.

That conversation bloomed into another about what they would do if such a mass casualty event were to happen in the Tacoma community, given they work at the region’s pediatric trauma center.

Lindsay is now the manager of the Mary Bridge Children’s Child Abuse Intervention Department (CAID) as well as the Children’s Advocacy Center of Pierce County, and partners with local law enforcement to organize a firearm giveback events.

Taking a stand against gun violence - MultiCare Vitals A social worker at Mary Bridge Children’s partnered with law enforcement to organize a series of gun giveback events in Tacoma to support community safety.

Mary Bridge Children’s is proud to be part of the Children's Hospital Association. We are proud to support their work during Family Advocacy Day as they advocate for pediatric care with lawmakers in Washington D.C. We are hopeful these initiatives will increase awareness about the rising youth mental health crisis, enhance Medicaid support, and strengthen our workforce.

Family Advocacy Day 2024: Team CHA From June 12-14, patients and their loved ones will elevate their stories and educate lawmakers in Washington, D.C., about the ongoing and essential care children’s hospitals provide.

Tamara Chang, MD, hematologist and oncologist, designs personalized cancer survivor care plans for pediatric patients that revitalize the mind, body and spirit.

What it means to be a cancer survivor at Mary Bridge Children's We celebrate our former cancer patients — but it’s important to recognize survivorship comes with its own challenges.

We have another quirky tidbit to share about our new hospital's construction journey:

The new campus will have enough sheet metal to make a sidewalk from Tacoma to Gig Harbor! 🚶

Struggling with picky eating? Let's tackle those challenges together!

Our pediatric registered dietitians will share practical tips to ease the stress of mealtimes, build your child’s eating confidence, and how to expand your child’s food preferences in a positive way for long-term success.

Register for the free webinar: https://multica.re/3VqfTm9

We always have fun with team members from our construction crew! 👷 💜

Orion, 4 years old, and Athanasio, 3 years old, both enjoyed spending time with members of our construction crew and loved receiving construction helmets with their LEGO Duplo sets. Athanasio had a blast playing with a remote-control digger, which was gifted to him when it was time to go.

9-year-old artist Meilani created two colorful masterpieces to inspire patients during their hospital visits. She is hopeful her artwork can comfort kids for 50 years! Thank you for your heartwarming gift, Meilani. 🎨

The first Sunday in June is National Cancer Survivor’s Day. As we celebrate our circle of prior oncology patients, it’s important to recognize that survivorship comes with its own challenges.

While most of the attention during Stroke Awareness Month is focused on adults, it’s important to recognize the signs and symptoms of pediatric stroke as well. Mary Bridge Children’s treats dozens of children for symptoms of pediatric stroke every year.

Stroke Awareness Month: Do kids get strokes? Yes, kids can suffer strokes. Unfortunately, their diagnosis isn't as simple as in adults. “Recognizing stroke in a timely manner is essential because early treatment can improve outcomes,” says Pin-Yi Ko, MD, pediatric neurologist at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. “Strokes aren’t as com...

Today, Hudsyn has recovered and, unless something recurs with severe headaches or balance issues, he’s free from follow-up visits. Now he spends his time enjoying preschool and playing on a T-ball team, where his favorite thing is throwing the baseball and running in the field with his friends.

Hudsyn is making plans to visit Dr. Grondin again to show him how much he's grown!

When Hudsyn was diagnosed with syringomyelia, the care team at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital provided physical therapy and conducted three brain surgeries. With determination and persistence, Hudson is healthy and playing his favorite sport, T-ball, again.

For more on Hudsyn’s story and : https://bit.ly/4a3GSbA

On Friday, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital celebrated the completion of our new hospital’s structural steel framing. Hospital staff past and present, patient ambassadors, and our construction teams brought their families to partake in the builder’s topping out tradition. Attendees had the opportunity to sign a beam that will forever be part of our new campus.

Thank you Layton Construction, Abbott Construction, Towne Park, Schuff Steel for building the next generation of pediatric care in Pierce County.

Thank you Gamers Outreach! 🎮

During National Hospital Week, we celebrate the hardworking teams at our hospitals systemwide. From clinical care to support staff, we are thankful for the innovative ways that our hospitals support the health and ongoing needs of our communities.

If you happen to be at one of our campuses this week, please show your appreciation to our staff. 💜

To the mothers who raised us and the mother figures who came into our lives right when we needed them, we celebrate you today and every day. Whether you’re a biological, foster, adoptive or bonus mom, your love and support is irreplaceable.

Happy Mother's Day 💐

Meet Sparkle the unicorn who visited our patients this week. 🦄 ✨

When not in her magical costume, Kristine Esslinger is an MA who works in the adult oncology unit at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital. She set up a special visit with us so she could bring joy to our patients—thank you Kristine!

Whale, hello there, nice to sea you—here's a fun fact for your Friday!

Our new hospital campus will have 2,415 tons of steel, the same as 13 blue whales. 🐋

Whether you’re a biological, foster, adoptive or bonus mom, or mother-like figure, you play an important role for the children in your life. In honor of Mother’s Day, we talked to several Mary Bridge Children’s providers who not only care for children every day at work, but also at home as mothers.

Mother's know best: Celebrating Mother's Day through the eyes of Mary Bridge providers Read about how several Mary Bridge Children's physicians balance work and life, caring for children at work and at home.

Nurses are the backbone of care teams. In celebration of Nurses Week, we’re highlighting the collective wisdom of some Mary Bridge Children’s nurses who’ve dedicated more than 20 years each to caring for children in our community.

Nurses Week: Learning from 220 collective years of nursing experience Happy Nurses Week to each of our incredible pediatric nurses at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's. Meet a few of our nurse heroes who've dedicated more than 20 years of work and services at Mary Bridge Children's.

National Nurses Week is an opportunity to celebrate our nurses throughout the Mary Bridge network. Your dedication and compassionate care is invaluable to our patients, their families and the communities we serve. Help us honor our incredible nurses and give them a shout out in the comments!

May the Fourth be with you! Take a look back on Jedi, Mandalorian, Rebel Alliance, and even Grogu meeting our young padawans. Thank you for traveling across the galaxy to visit us. ✨

We're grateful to partner with the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association who will come to our campus for monthly drum and ukelele sessions. The drum visits will be hosted in our playroom, and the ukelele visits can be done bedside. Recently one of our patients and her dad enjoyed spending time with Tommy learning a fun drumbeat. 🥁 🎶

April is Occupational Therapy Month. 💜

Occupational therapy helps children achieve independence and develop necessary skills for all aspects of their lives. Our OTs use play, engaging activities, specialized equipment, and caregiver education to provide children and their families the greatest opportunity to succeed. They may also support children and teens who are experiencing depression or anxiety, to enhance their participation in a variety of developmental and daily activities, from play to social experiences to community participation and more.

Join us in saying thank you to our to our occupational therapy team in the comments!

This week we celebrated Olaf the facility dog's service anniversary with a little pawty— he has worked at Mary Bridge Children's for the last 5 years, 35 in dog years! 🐾💜

His handler and Mary Bridge child life specialist, Kristen, is so proud of the impact Olaf has each day. "There’s no way I could have imagined the impact Olaf would have in my work as a Child Life Specialist. I have often described a 'magic' about Olaf that is beyond something another human could offer. He is attentive and careful, playful and silly, and quiet and calm. I am so grateful for the healthcare goals he and I have helped patients accomplish and the care that we’ve provided together."

It was a day filled with fun activities with our patients and staff throughout the hospital. Thanks so much to everyone who came by to celebrate with us!

Thank you for helping our young patients, Patty! 💜

Patty Nevins first connected with MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital as a Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation donor. After retiring as a preschool teacher in 2010, Foundation staff introduced her to the hospital’s volunteer coordinator, as she wanted to continue working with children.

For 13 years, Patty offered art projects in the playroom; assisted with the Beads of Courage™ program — where young patients tell their stories through beads representing their treatment journey; and sewed masks and gowns during the pandemic. Today, she makes activity kits for various clinics, volunteers for the Mary Bridge Loves to Read inpatient literacy program and is a trustee on the Mary Bridge Brigade’s board and Lakewood guild member.

“Through my years here, I have seen the many services the hospital provides in the area, the dedication of the staff and all those involved with the day-to-day activities,” Patty shares. “This continues to give me a sense of pride, and I am fortunate to be a part of it.”

Thank you for your beautiful legacy of helping South Sound kids, Patty!

March Gladness is Communities In Schools of Puyallup's, district-wide community service initiative to encourage students to give back. This year, the students at Stewart Elementary School in Puyallup chose to collect toys for patients at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital as a way of giving back to a community that has either provided care for them or a family member.

Thank you for your donations! 💜

You can play a role in making a child’s hospital stay happier as a MultiCare volunteer. Visit support.multicare.org/volunteer for more information.

National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to recognize volunteers across MultiCare Health System who lift up patients, families and providers across our communities.

In 2023, 857 volunteers donated more than 127,000 hours of their time as patient ambassadors, compassionate hospice helpers, operating department assistants and more. Their generosity and selfless commitment to service play an essential role in providing high-quality care.

This week, you’ll meet some of our MultiCare volunteers who are making a difference. Please join us in thanking them and the many more who transform lives every day!