include an
Arts in Medicine (AIM)
Program
that provides educational and artistic
opportunities for patients designed to help
heal the whole child. Activities of our AIM
Program include dance and musical theatre
productions, art projects, songwriting, cultural
dance, acting, writing and more.
Another example of a novel supportive care
program is
Purple Songs Can Fly
, which provides
a unique opportunity for patients and their
siblings to work with professional composers
and musicians to write and record their
own songs.Through a highly creative, musical
environment many children are better able to
express the many and varied thoughts and
feelings that emerge during treatment.Through
Purple Songs Can Fly, children are able to share
their music with friends and family in the form
of individual CD recordings of their songs.
Our patients may also have the opportunity to
attend several activity camps.
Camp Periwinkle
is a week-long summer camp that allows time
away from a hospital setting and gives patients
the chance to experience the joys of childhood
in a healthy environment. In addition, we support
patients who go to
CampYOLO
(You Only
Live Once), a twice a year special weekend
camp for teenage cancer patients to enjoy the
outdoor lifestyle with their physicians, nurses
and members of their support team. Selected
patients also gather yearly at Grand Teton
National Park in Jackson Hole,Wyoming for
the
Grand Adventure at Teton Science Camp
,
where they are educated and trained about
nature in a beautiful landscape rich with wildlife
and breathtaking views.
The international Program
The International Program at Texas Children’s
Cancer and Hematology Centers is dedicated
to the care and treatment of pediatric
hematology and cancer worldwide. In the area
of hematology, we are conducting neonatal
sickle cell screening in sub-Saharan Africa. In
a world where 80 percent of children with
cancer in industrialized countries are cured
and 90 percent of children with cancer in
sub-Saharan Africa die, we are making a
difference. For example, we provide direct
care and treatment for children with cancer in
Botswana and Uganda and provide consultation
for the over 90,000 children with HIV who
are treated in the Baylor International Pediatric
AIDS Initiative Network. Simultaneously, we
train local nurses and doctors in these locations,
building skills and leadership for pediatric
hematology-oncology programs in these
countries for the future.
outpatient facilities
Our child-friendly, state-of-the-art outpatient
clinic is located on the 14th floor of the Clinical
Care Center, the ambulatory care building of
Texas Children’s Hospital.To help patients feel
at home, the clinic has waiting areas, play areas,
The Johnny Klevenhagen Family Education
Room and the Joan and Stanford Alexander
Learning Center. Activities such as arts and
crafts, videos and computer games are available.
The clinic conducts over 35,000
outpatient visits per year with
patients that have traveled
from more than 35 states and
26 countries.
