(L.-R.) Ed Chewens, Administrative Director, Department of Pediatrics at Winthrop; Melanie Bucholtz, Child Life Specialist at the CCFK; Patty Tenaglia, co-founder, the Miracle Foundation; Linda Sweeney, Practice Manager, CCFK; Warren Rosenfeld, MD, Chairman, Department of Pediatrics at Winthrop; Joseph Castronovo, President, the Miracle Foundation; and Irene Koundourakis, Director, The Miracle Foundation. The Cancer Center for Kids (CCFK) at Winthrop-University Hospital was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Miracle Foundation to support its Child Life Program. Positioned within the framework of Winthrop's broad-based pediatric programs, the Cancer Center for Kids meets the complex challenges of children's cancers and related blood disorders.

The Miracle Foundation grant, which was received in Spring 2009, is the fourth of its kind received from the Foundation. In 2006, with the Foundation's help, the Cancer Center for Kids hired a full-time Child Life Specialist to address the psychosocial needs of its pediatric oncology/hematology patients.

The Miracle Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients. Thanks to the Foundation's ongoing generosity, the CCFK has been able to once again see dramatic improvements in the quality-of-life services it offers pediatric cancer patients. The Center's Child Life Program - which includes a Child Life Specialist, a Creative Arts Therapist, and a horticultural therapist - meets patients' emotional, psychosocial and educational needs. The Child Life specialist orchestrates all child life activities, implementing and expanding the Center's multi-faceted programs, which foster health and healing among patients and families alike.

"Attention to the emotional needs of our patients is an integral part of our mission," said CCFK Practice Manager Linda Sweeney. "We are so proud of our Child Life Program which helps mitigate the challenges our children often face when dealing with hospitalization and illness."

Partnered with the Miracle Foundation, the CCFK continues to create a haven of comfort and caring for pediatric cancer patients and their families. The Center's dedication to improving the lives of its children and their families meshes well with The Miracle Foundation's mission to improve patient care, increase cancer awareness, and fund worthy scientific research.

For more information about Winthrop's Cancer Center for Kids, visit www.winthrop.org/cck or call (516) 663-9400.