Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

Darrell K. Terry, Sr. President and Chief Executive Officer, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (center with check) joins the medical team and NBIMC senior leaders to thank Spirit of Children, the philanthropic arm of Spirit Halloween, for their ongoing support of Children’s Hospital of New Jersey.

Receives $127,776 Grant from the Spirit of Children Foundation

Spirit of Children, the philanthropic arm of Spirit Halloween, recently presented Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ) at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center with a $127,776.00 grant to support the hospital’s Child Life program.

This is the thirteenth annual donation from the Spirit of Children Foundation. In the last 13 years the foundation has raised $857,214 in support of the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey.

“Healing play is an essential element of the experience at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. Our Child Life program offers emotional support and age-appropriate activities to support our young patients in their healing process, and Spirit of Children has demonstrated a true commitment to this type of innovative care,” said Darrell K. Terry, Sr., MHA, MPH, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey, “We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish together.”

These funds provide vital support for the Child Life program which offers children and their families emotional and therapeutic healing tools to enhance medical treatment, including educational equipment, iPads and distraction toys for use during procedures as well as toys created specifically for physical and developmental limitations. Their donations have also supported additional Child Life specialists and helped the program expand into the pediatric emergency room at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

Beginning in 2020, Spirit of Children created contactless activities that would allow pediatric patients to enjoy Halloween during the pandemic, including reverse trick-or-treating, Halloween Care Packages, and costume activities.

About Spirit of Children

Since its inception in 2007, Spirit of Children has brought smiles, laughter, and a much-needed escape to thousands of pediatric patients in more than 150 hospitals across the United States and Canada. One hundred percent of the money collected each year is given directly to the Child Life Departments at local partner hospitals, such as Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Spirit of Children raised over $16 million in 2021, bringing its total collections total to more than $96 million since the program’s inception.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a 665-bed regional care teaching hospital that provides comprehensive health care. Newark Beth Israel is home to one of the nation’s top 15 heart transplant centers, RWJBarnabas Health’s Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program which has performed more than 1,100 heart transplants; New Jersey’s only Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program and a Valve Center that performs complex cardiac valve procedures, including minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVRs). The Newark Beth Israel robotic surgery program is the most experienced in northern New Jersey. The Frederick B. Cohen, MD, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and the new Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Breast Health Center provide seamless integration of cancer prevention, specialized care and treatment options.

Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ), located at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, cares for children from birth through adolescence, with more than 30 specialized pediatric services including New Jersey’s largest Valerie Fund Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders; and the Children’s Heart Center that offers a complete range of medical and surgical treatments for the most complex cardiac abnormalities.

Children’s Hospital of New Jersey also includes a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and a Level IV Regional Perinatal Center that offers New Jersey’s first Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy; and the highest level of intensive care for both mothers and newborns.