Providing distraction, education and relaxation through special programs
Novant
Health Hemby Children’s Hospital provides distraction, education
and relaxation by providing a variety of special programs for
children of all ages.
To learn more about our patient programs, please contact our child life team:
Pet therapy
Sharing
affection with a pet can help during your child’s recovery process
by lowering blood pressure and enhancing mood and self-esteem. At
Hemby Children's Hospital, we bring certified pet therapy dogs to visit three times a
week. Your child can pet a large dog or cuddle a smaller dog in their bed to
enjoy the comfort, encouragement and acceptance that animals bring.
For more information about pet therapy or to learn about the
certification process for your dog, contact volunteer services at
704-384-4854.
Victory Junction
Hemby Children’s Hospital was the first hospital in North Carolina
to partner with Victory Junction to
provide their Hospital Outreach Program (HOP) and is proud to offer
this fun-filled distraction free of charge to patients. The program
brings the magic of camp to children who are in the hospital. Victory
Junction staff provides one-on-one visits with patients on a weekly
basis, bringing activities such as arts, crafts, puppets, videos and
music production. They also offer monthly Camp Days, which are set up
in Hemby Theatre and include camper favorites such as bowling,
suction cup archery, and campfire games.
Discovery Place
We are proud to partner with Discovery Place,
one of the leading hands-on science centers in the country, to bring
science, nature and technology to our pediatric patients and
families. Once a month, Discovery Place visits Hemby to conduct
age-appropriate science experiments for children of all ages. They
have activities for a group setting and they also take the
experiments room-to-room for kids who aren’t able to leave their
room. Each month’s activity is different and past experiments have
included “astronaut adventures,” “dinosaur discoveries” and
“micro mania.”
Beads of Courage®
Hemby Children's Hospital is excited to bring Beads of Courage to our
pediatric patients and families. Beads of Courage is a national program that partners
with member hospitals to help children with serious illnesses record,
tell and own their stories of survival through beads, Hemby is the
only hospital in the Charlotte area to offer Beads of Courage to
our patients. Each colorful bead represents a procedure, hospital
stay, treatment or milestone along a medical journey.
All hematology, oncology, cardiology,
chronic illness and NICU patients at Hemby can participate in this
program free of charge. Each eligible patient is first given a string
and beads that spell their name. From there, they are given different
beads to represent different procedures and milestones throughout
their journey.
To make a financial gift to help serve seriously ill children in our region, please
donate online or call:
Dream On 3
Dream On 3 is a charitable organization that partners with Hemby Children’s Hospital to bring dreams to life for children with chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities or life-altering conditions who are passionate about sports. Dream On 3 creates personal experiences with children’s favorite athletes, sporting event or sports team. They work with social workers, physicians and child life staff to identify children who need assistance making their sports dream a reality. For more information about Dream On 3, please email [email protected].