A Day at GHS: Through the Eyes of Boosterthon
In early November, members of the Boosterthon Greenville team spent the day at Greenville Health System Children’s Hospital! Keep reading to find out more about their experience from the point of view of Brooke Kelly, Senior Program Leader. The entire Boosterthon organization is devoting time to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, and we are so thankful to have a partner looking to support us in every way they can.
Last week, four of our Boosterthon team members got the chance to take a tour of the
Children’s Hospital here in Greenville, SC. As we arrived, we were excited to get started and
truly get a feel for what these children and families go through on a day to day basis. We first
met with Jennifer, who would be our tour guide for the next two hours. She greeted us with a
huge smile on her face and was excited to have us.
We began our tour in the lobby where we learned all about the fish tank and the brand new technology that had been placed there for patients to enjoy. Jennifer went on to explain why each element of the lobby was important. Everything involved putting the patient first. Thinking through, “what would they like to look at?” and “this is helpful for getting their mind off of what is going on and it’s helpful for learning!”. Jennifer also pointed out the fact the the “fish” theme that starts in the lobby, continues all around the hospital to keep the patients calm as they continue their journey.
As we began to walk throughout the hallways our team learned about the history of the hospital and what is to come in the future. Our team had plenty of questions and wanted to learn more and more as the tour went on. I’m sure we could have stayed all day if they would have let us! One of our favorite moments was being able to talk to a former patient and hearing her experience. This patient overcame two brain tumors before the age of 18. Now, she is a volunteer at the hospital in one of the fun activity rooms. Being able to see first hand what Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals can do, and how we can help is an incredible and eye opening experience.
At the end of our tour, we were given the opportunity to make place mats that would be used on Thanksgiving Day by the patients and their families. As we started to channel our creativity, Jennifer brought out paper, ribbon, stickers and markers. Needless to say, we had a ball! If Jennifer would have let us, I believe we could have gone through the entire stack of paper. Our team loved every second of it!
We loved our experience that day with Jennifer and CMN Hospitals. It was helpful and eye opening for each of us. But there is one thing that stood out to us the most, and we see it within our own team as well. Within the culture of Booster, we always want to “put the client at the center of our map”. Which means we put the clients needs and wants above all else. Our team loved the fact that CMN Hospitals is putting the patients, their “clients”, at the center of their map. They have taken the time to think through every detail and every potential outcome-no matter the situation with the child’s best interest at hand. From the books in the waiting room, to what photos are on the walls, to how patients can get from point A to point B (by wagon!). CMN Hospitals has truly put the patients and their families at the CENTER of their map.
The Boosterthon team truly loves that we get to have this incredible partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. We look forward to coming back again soon and helping out in anyway that we can.
To learn more about Boosterthon and their partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, please contact Natalie Weston at nweston@cmnhospitals.org.