What is the New Hospital Center?
The Schreiber Family Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness is the new addition that will be at Lurie Children’s Hospital in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. It will supply schools and other organizations with many resources, including mental health care kits and training for nursing mothers. It plans to help expectant mothers, especially in making the home and cars safe for the baby to be in. It’s community-centered and will focus on childhood development from birth all the way until five years old. The program also plans to have a special focus on Chicago’s West side.
Dr. Thomas Shanley, Lurie’s President and CEO, said in a November 4 news conference announcing that this new center is about, “building the child rather than repairing the broken man.”
He also stated that what happens to children during their early stages of development will change the trajectory of their lives. He explained how methods of conducting research have greatly improved and are very important, but it is also important to address all of the needs of the youth. There needs to be support for the factors like racial and health inequalities in children. That’s exactly what the center plans on implementing.
Resources Provided
The new center will also be focused on helping even before birth with programs for expectant parents. They will offer doulas or professional birth coaches that help mothers with the emotional, physical, and mental aspects of pregnancy. The center will also provide care coordination along with home visit programs. The center wants to ensure that the new parents will have adequate access to social services, healthcare, and all tools needed to keep babies safe in all environments. Including cars, their home, and even while the baby is sleeping. Other programs will focus on the children themselves and their social-emotional well-being. The center will also use the funding to conduct more research on ways to support newborns and children who are impacted by inequities and disinvestment within the city and create community-responsive programs.
Mariana Glusman, the new Associate Medical Director for the Schreiber Family, expands on how bad childhood experiences, especially pertaining to racial and social inequalities, not only negatively impact the child’s development, but also could be associated with poor adult health. Recent research has proven that having a healthy childhood with nurturing relationships can diminish this impact. Glusman states how the Schreiber Family Center is going to work with partners to help support parents and caregivers to improve the child’s long-term outcome.
Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities
A project also made by Lurie’s, that supports education and health organizations all throughout the city. Lurie’s Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities has also said that they would expand their services to organizations supporting children under five years old, including the new center. The Schreiber Family Center is a part of the Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities The Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities is where Lurie Children’s Hospital handles all community initiatives.
Funding For the Hospital’s Center
The center was founded by Kathleen and John Schreiber of Lake Forest and will be created with the $25 million they announced they were donating at the Nov. 4 news conference. The news conference was held at the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, 3701 W. Ogden Ave., in North Lawndale. This center has been a collaborator with early childhood programs at Lurie’s.
Parents and educators, especially those on the West Side, can look forward to this advance in support of mental health and overall wellness for the city’s children.
Written by Alyssa Calderon
Sources:
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago: $25M Gift From Schreiber Family Addresses Health Inequities For Youngest Kids
Chicago Sun-Times: New center at Lurie Children’s Hospital to focus on early childhood wellness
WGN TV: $25 million gift to create early childhood center at Lurie Children’s Hospital
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Inset Image by Rotor Guru, courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
