Since 2005, the Good Mourning Support Group at Akron Children’s has provided a compassionate space for children and families to navigate their grief together. According to the group’s facilitator, Nancy Carst, LISW-S, CT, who is also one of the hospital’s bereavement coordinators, “The program is designed to help children, and their parents and extended families, […]
Narrative medicine, patient journals support patients on their health care journey
As narrative medicine coordinator, Nicole Robinson witnesses on a daily basis the healing power of listening to the stories of our patients, their families and our hospital staff. “Narrative medicine is the use of literary arts to help patients, families and staff tell and listen to stories,” she said. “For children and families, it may […]
Funding allows Palliative Care to offer adaptive footwear at no cost to Akron Children’s patients
Six-year-old Evelyn Horsfall has lived in northeast Ohio all her life but has never been able to play in the snow. This winter was different. For the first time, Evelyn played with her siblings in the snow in a pair of winter boots that stayed on securely. Evelyn, who has spastic cerebral palsy, wears leg […]
Families donate to Akron Children’s NICU and Palliative Care to honor and remember their babies
When Nate Evins learned his co-worker’s baby boy had passed away 11 days after birth, he felt a lot of sympathy. He and his wife had also experienced the loss of their baby, who lived 28 days after she was born. He asked his wife if she was willing to talk to his colleague, Brittany […]
Researchers get a global audience for work on narrative medicine
A team from Akron Children’s recently presented at the 21st Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET) Conference at the University of Cork, in Cork, Ireland. The presentation was on “Integrating Narrative Medicine in a Pediatric Clinical Setting: Understanding the Illness Experience of Children While Improving Health Outcomes.” Akron Children’s has one of the few hospital-based narrative […]
Palliative care helps Marissa Anderegg live her best life
There is no shortage of love in the Penrod household. It flows between Lori and Marv Penrod and Marissa Anderegg, their 19-year-old daughter who has several life-threatening conditions. From there, it extends to include Akron Children’s Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center, which has made caring for Marissa at home possible. “Palliative Care has always […]
