Adventist Health has a special place in its corporate heart for kids. To that end, its hospitals have numerous programs and services designed especially for these special little people. While staffers wish a kiss and a Band-Aid could always make it better, they’re prepared when something more serious happens. They’re also committed to helping kids stay strong through health education and free immunization programs, all the while encouraging and supporting their biggest fans—mom and dad.

About Face

Brothers Kevin and Mario Hernandez share the same loving parents, the same peaceful home and the same devastating birth defect. The brothers—just 10 months apart—both were born with cleft palates, a malformation in the roof of the mouth. Left untreated, the condition can cause serious problems, including severe facial deformities, chronic dental and hearing problems, even malnutrition.

Enter White Memorial Medical Center’s (WMMC) Cleft Palate Program. Beginning with just six patients in 1995, the program now sees hundreds of children a year and is just one of the highly sophisticated specialty pediatric programs available at the East Los Angeles hospital.

Thanks to the expertise of surgeons, dentists, therapists and other specialists at WMMC, the Hernandez brothers can now speak, breathe and eat without the stares they once received.

“They look like normal children again,” said their mother. “No one can tell they were born with a birth defect. I am so grateful to the staff at White Memorial. They are so patient and loving to my children.”

At WMMC, a comprehensive approach is taken to repair cleft palate, giving kids a far more normal childhood. The hospital’s treatment team includes professionals in a wide-range of medical specialties. A baby can begin care in the Cleft Palate Program within 24 hours of birth.

A bilingual team mobilizes to teach essential feeding skills to the mother, as feeding a newborn with cleft lip or cleft palate can be challenging. The baby’s first surgery usually occurs at three months of age (for cleft lip) and at 10 months for surgical correction of both cleft lip and palate. Free transportation (within 10 miles) is also available for patients and their families.

Cleft Palate Program Manager Brittany Berg, a speech pathologist, has been with the program for more than five years. “Many parents feel isolated and scared and are very thankful there is a program like this they can turn to,” said Berg.

Saving Lives and Money

Preventing the preventable is a big priority to Adventist Health. That’s why San Joaquin Community Hospital (SJCH) in Bakersfield, Calif., is committed to ensuring that area kids stay healthy. With the only hospital-based immunization program in Kern County, SJCH offers free immunizations to children against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Statistics indicate that only 64 percent of children at age two in Kern County are current on their immunizations,” said Gina Hayden, director of marketing and public relations at SJCH. “Since the national goal is 90 percent, SJCH is proud to continue its healing ministry by helping parents protect their children with free immunizations.”

What began as a very small program in 1996 has grown into one of the largest programs in Kern County—vaccinating more than 3,500 children in 2004 via a mobile clinic that rolled into Bakersfield as well as numerous other outlying communities.

“Everyday we have the joy of walking away from work knowing that children are being protected from deadly diseases because of this program,” said Rachelle Portillo, immunizations program coordinator at SJCH. “This program gives children the opportunity to live healthy lives.”

The program is saving more than lives. According to a recently released report by the Applied Research Center at California State University, Bakersfield, the childhood immunizations have saved the community more than $5 million.

“We provide this program because we believe our mission is to bring health care to our community,” said Robert Beehler, hospital president and CEO. “The fact that we also are able to provide significant cost savings is just icing on the cake!”

In Sickness and in Health

Finding quality child care is often a big worry for working parents. Thanks to Child Care Connections at Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC), hospital employees and community members have access to a variety of reliable child care programs at two convenient locations in Glendale, Calif. In addition to full-time day care for children ages six weeks to five years, Child Care Connections offers several unique child care options: Play Connection, Back-Up Connection and R&R Connection.

When parents need a “time out,” Play Connection can help. Evening and weekend care is available for children ages three months to eight years. When planned or regular child care arrangements change unexpectedly, Backup Connection is another convenient option.

What really sets child care at GAMC apart is its R&R Connection. Opened in 2001 to meet a specific need in the community, it provides quality child care for mildly ill kids ages three months to 12 years who are unable to participate in a typical child care setting.

“Parents who work in medical or clinical settings often have a difficult time leaving work on short notice, especially if they’re involved in patient care,” explained Judy Crawford, director of GAMC’s Children’s Center Services. “If their child is not seriously ill and is able to move to a more comfortable place to be cared for, it can be a workplace life-saver for the parent.”

Staff members administer medication if needed and approved, document a child’s daily activity and condition, and provide medical consultation. As with the other child care services offered at GAMC, playroom activities are available along with homework support for older kids.

Each of the hospital’s child care locations is fully licensed and accredited. Employees—who have access to a child care right on the hospital campus—pay only $3/hour; members of the community pay $6/hour. In addition to its two child care centers; the hospital also manages the Discoveryland Preschool based at the La Crescenta Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“By responding to parents’ busy lives at home and at work, we provide optimal child care programs that meet a variety of needs,” said Crawford. “These services are definitely an extension of our mission.”