Sick children at Humber River Hospital have enough stress when it comes to operations and procedures. However, thanks to the donation of one doctor, little patients will now be riding to the operating room empowered, more relaxed—and in sporty style.
The doctor, who would like to remain anonymous, is a surgeon at Humber and recently donated a mini luxury vehicle to the hospital’s Child Life Program.
“The cars and their little faces light up. Kids can play music as they drive themselves pass the doctors and nurses,” says Alex Christofides, Certified Child Life Specialist at Humber River Hospital. “This donation means so much to our little patients and their families in our program. It truly helps to put parents’ minds at ease and can help create good memories for children during what can be an otherwise stressful time.”
About Humber River Hospital
Humber River Hospital (HRH) is one of Canada’s largest acute care hospitals, serving a vibrant and culturally diverse community of more than 850,000 people in the northwest Greater Toronto Area. The HRH team’s powerful commitment to compassionate, professional, respectful care is reflected in the number of hospital programs and services that have been, and remain, recognized provincially, nationally and internationally. On October 18, 2015, HRH opened its new acute care facility – North America’s first fully digital hospital. A 1.8 million square foot facility based on the design principles of lean, green and digital to support the best in patient and family centred care, it integrates the finest available medical and communications technology across all hospital systems, services and workflows. The new hospital has 656 acute inpatient beds, including 48 critical care beds, 3,400 staff, approximately 600 physicians with privileges, and over 500 volunteers. The hospital has formal affiliations with 3 the University of Toronto and Queen’s University Medical Schools, and is the Toronto hospital of choice for Queen’s University Medical School.
About the Child Life Program
The Child Life Program supports children and their families by sharing information about the hospital experience, at an age-appropriate level, including providing information and fielding questions on medical procedures, illness and injury.