This year is Mental Health Awareness Month and we know that mental health support is essential for children.
A nonprofit organization is making health care more accessible as well as more affordable. An outreach program is currently being conducted at the Connecticut Children’s Center in Hartford.
Lights, cameras, action, and Ellie Macomber is on the air! From the Connecticut Child and Family Resource Center, she has the ability to broadcast to rooms throughout the hospital.
It may seem like a fun game, but it’s actually part of your therapeutic programming.
“When you come to the hospital, it can be a little scary, but all of a sudden, things that you’re used to at home are happening,” said Evan Macomber, Ellie’s father and also the Connecticut Children’s Education and Resource Coordinator. ,He said.
This program is made possible by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The country’s nonprofit organization funds mental health support programs such as art, music, and pet therapy.
“We have this amazing LEGO display in front of us, and everything here was patiently put together,” said Evan Macomber, whose Family Resource Center is home to children and their families. It also has books, art supplies, video games, a quiet area and a computer for children.
Ellie’s father works in the space, but she is a patient who frequently spends time there.
“What’s your favorite thing about being at the hospital?” Evan Macumber asked his daughter.
“Video games!” she replied.
An 11-year-old Wethersfield boy has been diagnosed with Down syndrome and is examined by multiple doctors.
“She’s doing very well, but she still needs a lot of follow-up care from doctors,” Evan Macomber said. “She sees a little bit of everything: cardiology, ENT, gastrointestinal, PT, OT, ophthalmology.”
The Family Resource Center gives Ellie the respite she needs.
Funding for these programs comes from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which aims to remove barriers to medical and mental health support in communities across the country. There are also grants available to help families with medical expenses.
“When you come to the Connecticut Children’s Center, a lot of things are taken care of that insurance doesn’t cover, and we get to experience that,” Macomber said.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals funds 170 hospitals that together serve 12 million children annually.
“Each community’s needs are very unique because they have different demographics, different geographies, different socioeconomic factors,” said Amy, President and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Dr. Daly said.
As such, there are no restrictions on funding and each hospital is empowered to use the funds as they wish to meet their greatest needs.
“For some hospitals, that may require special equipment specific to pediatric patients,” Dr. Daly said. “Some of them may adapt or introduce new programs such as play therapy, music therapy, art therapy, or create a more healing environment.”
Dr. Daly has personal experience as a patient who has benefited from this nonprofit organization. A few years ago, she gave birth to her two children months early and they spent the beginning of their lives in the neonatal intensive care unit of a member hospital.
“My children are alive today because of the incredible support we received as a family,” she said.
Last year, $2.7 million was donated to the Connecticut Children’s Center to help children like Ellie, who is now a Patient Ambassador.
The program takes her to events such as HuskyTHON, where she dances, interacts with the UW men’s basketball team and tells jokes in front of a crowd of 4,000 people.
One of her favorites?
“Concon. Who’s there? A cow who’s in the way. Who’s a cow who’s in the way?”
“Moo!” Ellie said, gleefully delivering the punch line.
It’s just one of many much-needed laughs she and her father are experiencing.
“Her journey is going to be long because it’s her whole life,” Evan Macomber said. “Those little things are the big things.”
