"We are so excited to have so many students who are willing to give back to their community," said Caitlin Moses, senior program coordinator for Project Sunshine. "This is the first time that an entire school on Long Island has participated in this project. Barry Tech is a pioneer that we hope will pave the way for involvement by other schools in the area."
Putting himself in the childrens' shoes, Russel Mattes, a Valley Stream Central senior studying video production at Barry Tech, said he could empathize with kids facing surgery because he underwent several heart surgeries as a baby and a hernia operation at age seven. "I'd understand more if a doctor explained an operation using one of these dolls. I'd feel more at ease."
One of the committee members who worked closely with the project is school psychologist Dr. Shelly Rebaudo, who hopes to bring the project back every year.
Fifty dolls each will be delivered to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola and Schneider Children's Hospital at North Shore in Manhasset. In keeping with hospital policy, 32 students - 16 for Winthrop and 16 for Schneider - will be selected by lottery to help with each delivery. The rest will be delivered to hospitals throughout the country.
"We are pleased that The Joint Commission has acknowledged our commitment to meeting their state-of-the-art national standards for health care quality and safety," said Alan D. Guerci, MD, president and CEO of Mercy Medical Center. "We are dedicated to providing the highest level of care and complying with the Joint Commission's standards on a continuous basis." "We are committed to doing our best every day to provide quality patient care at Mercy, and this recognition by The Joint Commission is another important milestone for us," said Nancy Simmons, Mercy's executive vice president.
