St. Mary’s Kids Build Social and Athletic Skills All Part of Rehabilitation
(Long Island, NY) In an effort to encourage sports and exercise and promote rehabilitation for children with special needs at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, North Shore Athletics Club offered their program, “Be Your Best Sports” to patients of all ages. The program consisted of soccer related activities and was adapted to give children with disabilities the opportunity to play sports while building social and athletic skills. Professional coaches and volunteers worked one on one with St. Mary’s Kids who battle complex medical and life-limiting conditions due to serious illness, injury and complications of premature birth, teaching them warm-up exercises, drills such as shooting, dribbling and ball control.
“Our mission is to provide a fun, yet challenging environment in which children will develop both individual soccer skills and the important values of teamwork and social interaction,” said Michael Furino, President of North Shore Athletics Club.
St. Mary’s Kids receive intensive rehabilitation and specialized medical care at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children each and every day and this program is just another way to encourage rehabilitation and help them heal and grow in a non-competitive environment. St. Mary’s Kids also enjoyed interacting with volunteers and building new friendships.
About St. Mary’s Healthcare System
Today one in five children has a special healthcare need. St. Mary’s provides intensive rehabilitation, specialized care, and education to 4,000 children each day in the New York Metropolitan region and beyond through our family-centered inpatient, home care, and community programs. A pediatric healthcare innovator, St. Mary’s created the nation’s first pediatric palliative care program, NY State’s first long-term home healthcare program, and NYC’s first certified traumatic brain injury program, as well as one of only nine interdisciplinary pediatric feeding disorder programs in the U.S.
For more information, visit www.stmaryskids.org
