A visit to the emergency department or stay at a hospital can be an anxious time for pediatric patients and their families.
The Marisa Tufaro Foundation is helping to alleviate such stress through a generous donation to the Child Life Program at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick.
The nonprofit’s donation supports a portable Nintendo gaming station that can be rolled anywhere in the hospital and iPads with a full range of apps and accessories needed to enable virtual education and play sessions, psychosocial care delivery, and access to virtual support groups.
Optimized for flexible use in a healthcare setting, the Starlight Foundation partners with Nintendo to create the durable gaming unit, which is specially designed for longevity, sanitation, and ease-of-use.
The gaming station will primarily be utilized in the pediatric emergency department, helping to provide positive engagement and ease the caregiver burden while children experience the anticipation of the hospital environment. The gaming station will also help provide distraction and visual stimulation when admitted patients are in isolation and unable to leave their rooms.
The iPads similarly will allow virtual programming and diversion activities to reach patients in isolation who are unable to visit the common rooms and playrooms. They will amplify existing support, providing new opportunities for support and connection for pediatric patients coping with separation.
With the hospital enduring a recent increase of pediatric patients admitted due to respiratory infections, the gaming station and iPads are even more valuable.
The donation has special meaning to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose namesake benefited immensely from child life services during hospitalizations at multiple medical centers, including BMSCH, and because she was under the loving care for her entire life of Joseph Gaffney, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief, Pediatric Cardiology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and RWJUH.
The hospital’s team of child life specialists is specially trained to help children and their families understand and manage challenging life events and stressful healthcare experiences. Specialists provide developmental, educational, and therapeutic interventions that support growth and development, recognize family strengths and individuality, and respect different methods of coping.
“As parents, we witnessed firsthand the impact that child life programs and outstanding child life specialists can have on the lives of children and their families as they cope with a hospital stay,” said Cyndi and Greg Tufaro, who established The Marisa Tufaro Foundation in loving memory of their daughter to assist pediatric patients and underserved children throughout the greater Middlesex County area.
“Marisa endured an inordinate number of hospitalizations and child life specialists played a paramount role in helping her cope. We are grateful to have the opportunity to honor Marisa’s memory by supporting The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital, which assists thousands of children who receive treatment and their families each year.”
Marisa Tufaro, who would have graduated last year from Edison High School, survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder) in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.
Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctors appointments, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.
Since its inception five years ago, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has made a profound impact, donating more than a quarter of a million dollars to fulfill its mission.
The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.
In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $26,500 in academic scholarships to 38 Middlesex County high school seniors and 13 scholarships to middle and elementary school students to attend a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.
Supporting BMSCH and the families it serves has and will continue to be a focal point of the foundation’s efforts.