Children's Hospitals Today - Summer 2024 - 14

FEATURE / PARTNERSHIPS
life-altering disease. The hospital care
team worked tirelessly to treat them,
and child life teams and social workers
made extraordinary efforts to support
them socially and emotionally, but it
was something else entirely that often
made the biggest difference to the kids.
" It wouldn't be uncommon that I
would work with families who spent
two months in the hospital, and I would
spend hours and hours of time with
them. And they would go off to camp for
a weekend and come back and say, 'our
life was changed,' " said Rogovin, MSW,
LICSW, who is now the senior director
of clinical services at Team IMPACT.
" That's how families feel about Team
IMPACT because it's putting them back
in the community, and everything in
their life no longer revolves around
their child being sick. "
Last year, Team IMPACT matched
A child is " signed " onto a college
athletic team, becoming an official
member who attends practices, games,
and other team events. The immersive,
multi-year experience provides a sense
of belonging, support, and inspiration,
helping children build confidence and
resilience throughout their journey.
They're like my second family.
-Kyle, a Team IMPACT teammate
" It makes me happy because I know
if I'm sad, I have someone to cheer me
up. And when they're having a bad day,
I can cheer them up, " said Kyle, a young
boy with cerebral palsy who is matched
with John's Hopkins University men's
lacrosse. " They're like my second family. "
Though the program centers on
sports teams, the actual athletics are
secondary to the social connections
fostered between the team and the
Team IMPACT match. There's Averi,
who waited patiently in the locker
14
CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Summer 2024
room for her friends on the University
of Tennessee softball team to return
from the College World Series and
play Barbies with her. There's Hailey,
whose favorite memory is when her
teammate met her at the hospital and
led her on a blindfolded Easter egg
hunt. There's the young girl who felt
alone at school and
looked out from the
stage of her musical
as the Yale University
women's
basketball
team cheered wildly
from the audience.
" For parents and their kids with a
serious diagnosis, what underlies their
lives is a fear of their child feeling they
are different, " said Joe Daniels, CEO
of Team IMPACT. " They love knowing
their kid is being embraced by a team
and feel they belong somewhere. They
see it in their child's face. It's been the
most beautiful part of my experience. "
When she was a social worker at
Hasbro Children's Hospital, Rachel
Rogovin encountered a pattern among
patients whose lives were changed by a
565 kids with college athletic teams, totaling
3,348 since the program's inception.
To help more children match with
teams and provide hospitals greater
accessibility to the program, Team
IMPACT has partnered with Children's
Hospital Association, which serves
more than 200 children's hospitals
across the country.
" Team IMPACT's mission aligns with
the missions of our children's hospitals, "
said Matt Cook, CEO of Children's
Hospital Association. " Children's hospitals
provide not only specialized medical
care for children but also holistic care,
including social and emotional wellbeing
for kids and their families. CHA is
excited to embark on this partnership. "
More than an experience
Instead of focusing on one big experience,
Team IMPACT seeks to make longterm
connections that improve outcomes.
" Team IMPACT is not just about
providing amazing experiences, though
that certainly is an aspect of it, " Daniels
said. " It's the clinical underpinning and
the long-term social connections that
Children's Hospitals Today - Summer 2024

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