Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Our construction crew hosted 20 high school students from Tacoma Public Schools in the Career & Technical Education program, which gives students a firsthand look at trades and worksite learning. Everyone on the tour wore hard hats and PPE, then had the opportunity to hear directly from the laborers and tradespeople who are building our new hospital campus. Thank you to Layton Construction, Abbott Construction, Hermason, Aerotek, ESH Safety Management, Bigfoot, Tucker-Weitzel and all the project partners who answered questions and spent the morning with us.

At 17, Nathan Eller was a competitive athlete who dreamed of running Division I track in college. But during his junior year of high school, Nathan was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, a rare cancer, and received treatment at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. The experience later inspired him to pursue a career in diagnostic ultrasound — and led him right back to the place and health system that helped him heal. “When I found out I was coming back to Tacoma for my clinical internship, I was over the moon,” Nathan says. “It was amazing to think that my experience was coming full circle.”

In partnership with U.S. Department of Agriculture Mary Bridge Children's is providing free summer lunches for children under 18, now through Aug. 30. “Many kids struggle to get their nutritional needs met in the summer months because they often lose access to free or reduced-priced meals at school,” says Erica Lewis, RD, health promotion program manager at the MultiCare Center for Health Equity & Wellness. “Mary Bridge Children’s aims to fill that nutritional gap with healthy food that kids enjoy.” For more information: https://multica.re/4etdNJP

We love when Rhubarb stops by, especially when he brings friends ⚾ Pitcher Trevor Kelly and infielder Jake Slaughter stopped by to visit with our patients in Piper's Playhouse. Thank you to the Tacoma Rainiers for always bringing plenty of fun and smiles when you visit!

Mary Bridge Children’s is proud to be part of the Children’s Hospital Association. We are proud to support their work during Family Advocacy Day as they advocate for pediatric care with lawmakers in Washington D.C. We are hopeful these initiatives will increase awareness about the rising youth mental health crisis, enhance Medicaid support, and strengthen our workforce. #FAD2024 #TeamCHA

Lindsay Finney, LICSW, a clinical social worker at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s, gathered her colleagues the day after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas to take a moment to acknowledge what happened and how they felt about it. That conversation bloomed into another about what they would do if such a mass casualty event were to happen in the Tacoma community, given they work at the region’s pediatric trauma center. Lindsay is now the manager of the Mary Bridge Children’s Child Abuse Intervention Department (CAID) as well as the Children’s Advocacy Center of Pierce County, and partners with local law enforcement to organize a firearm giveback events.

What a busy weekend! I Got to spend some time today at Camp Erin. Camp Erin is a free weekend bereavement camp for youth grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Children and teens ages 6 to 17 attend a weekend camp experience that combines grief education and emotional support with fun, traditional camp activities. Led by bereavement professionals and caring volunteers, Camp Erin offers participants a safe environment to explore their grief, learn essential coping skills and make friends with peers who are also grieving. So thankful for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Foundation, Bridges Staff, Volunteers and community partners that allow this experience to happen!

The first Sunday in June is National Cancer Survivor’s Day. As we celebrate our circle of prior oncology patients, it’s important to recognize that survivorship comes with its own challenges.

How are the children? A question that I am committed to asking myself and community to ensure we are truly creating behavioral health responses that are innovative and adaptive to our kids, families and communities. Last week Kids Mental Health Pierce County brought together over 70 community providers to connect and celebrate the amazing outcomes we have been able to achieve through partnership and the shared belief that these are all of our kids. Special thanks to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and MultiCare Health System for being the backbone of this community coalition. For more information and to learn more about this important work visit https://lnkd.in/gxvyWHUB

We’re looking for pediatric RNs to join our incredible team at Mary Bridge Children’s. Come grow with us as we expand our comprehensive regional network of health services for children across the Pacific Northwest. Sign-up for a virtual event to learn more about our pediatric nursing careers and get your questions answered. Learn more and RSVP today: https://multica.re/4dQIGYq