A Moment to Shine

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has been selected as one of the recipients of a $25,000 grant from The Toy Foundation’s Children’s Hospital Play Grants program. The Hollywood-based pediatric facility’s grant will support the Power of Play program, which uses play therapy to help relieve children’s fear and anxiety about being in the hospital and maximizes the benefits of their medical treatments.

The Toy Foundation (TTF), the charitable organization for the North American toy industry, created the program to improve pediatric care through the healing power of play at hospitals in communities with the greatest need. The program is a partnership of the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), which represents over 200 children’s hospitals in the nation.

“Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is designed around the power of play as a healing force,” said Shannon Bajwa, child life manager at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “Our job as specialists is to reduce fear and anxiety for children in the hospital in order to maximize the benefits of their medical treatments, create an atmosphere of hope, restore balance, and improve their overall health and well-being. The Toy Foundation’s Children’s Hospital Play Grant gives us the tools to do that while using the power of play.”

A hospital stay can be an unbearable time for a child and their family. Incorporating play therapy into daily care can relieve stress, positively impact the child's well-being, and measurably improve treatment outcomes.

"The extraordinary physical, emotional, and educational benefits of play are well documented," said Pamela Mastrota, executive director of The Toy Foundation. "We are delighted to support Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in delivering the healing power of play to the children and families they serve every day."

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital was one of 19 children’s hospitals selected to receive a Children’s Hospital Play Grant from TTF. View the full list of recipients for 2022/2023 from CHA’s website.

About The Toy Foundation

The Toy Foundation (TFF) is a 501 (c)3 children's charity whose mission is to be the uniting force for the collective philanthropy of the toy industry for the benefit of all children in need. In collaboration with the industry, TTF aims to create a world where every child experiences the comfort, joy, and extraordinary physical, emotional, and educational benefits of play through three program areas – The Toy Bank, Play Grants, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Since 2003, TTF’s signature Toy Bank has delivered nearly $286 million in toys to 31 million children around the world since 2003. In 2022, TTF provided $1.9 million in play grants to children’s hospitals nationwide and global partner organizations actively assisting thousands Ukrainian refugees. TTF launched its DEI program in 2022 working with a network of colleges and universities to attract diverse talent to career pathways in the toy industry.

Aharon (Ari) Sareli, MD, a critical care physician and longtime clinical and executive leader, has been named chief medical officer by Memorial Healthcare System. In a related move, Memorial appointed Holly Neville, MD, its associate chief medical officer.

The new partnership brings both adult and pediatric specialists with medical and surgical expertise to CMO positions and directly connects the system’s executive leadership to the front lines of care. Both Dr. Sareli and Dr. Neville will maintain their current roles; he as chief physician executive of the Memorial Employed Physician Enterprise, and she as chief of pediatric general surgery and program director of Memorial’s surgical residency program.

“Both Ari and Holly have worked throughout our system, earning respect and elevating patient care through collaborations with fellow physicians, nurses, and operational teams,” said K. Scott Wester, Memorial Healthcare System CEO. “They and our many other medical leaders will maintain a focus on delivering clinical quality and critical services to patients while also educating the next generation of physicians.”

Memorial’s executive team solicited feedback from a variety of stakeholders before creating the CMO partnership and further aligning its medical community. “Pairing Dr. Neville and I enables the position to span the depth and breadth of clinical operations.

Ari Sareli, MD

Throughout my career, I’ve embraced servant leadership and never shied from doing what was needed to advance the delivery of care, whether at the bedside or executive suite,” said Sareli.

Dr. Sareli first joined Memorial Healthcare System as an intensivist in 2009, after completing his specialty training at the University of Pennsylvania with quadruple board certification in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care, and sleep medicine. He was appointed director of Memorial Hospital West’s Critical Care in 2010 and chief of critical care for the system in 2012. Promoted to chief physician executive of the Memorial Physician Group (MPG) in 2019, Sareli served in an executive role with clinical leadership of the evolving organization. Under his leadership, MPG has grown to include 350+ physicians and 220 advanced practice providers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sareli played a key role in front-line clinical leadership in critical care and served on Memorial’s COVID-19 Clinical Steering committee.

Holly Neville, MD

In addition to being chief of pediatric general surgery at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Dr. Neville is also program director of Memorial Healthcare System’s surgical residency within its Graduate Medical Education program. She co-founded and is the lead coach of the American Pediatric Surgery Association’s coaching program. Neville also serves on the education and wellness committee for the American Pediatric Surgical Association and on the boards of the University of Florida College of Medicine and the Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundations.

It was a perfect day for golf, and fundraising for a special cause, at St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton. The club was the site of the second annual “Catch the Love Classic,” an event that raised $420,000 for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Presented by Susan and Charlie Emby, it featured 128 golfers that enjoyed lunch, a scramble format, cocktails, and a live auction that included a seven-night stay at a private beach house at the Eden Rock Resort on the island of St. Barths.

“When you donate to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, you are ensuring your children and grandchildren will have access to world-class healthcare services close to home,” said Kevin Janser, president of the nonprofit Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Additionally, and this is a promise we made to Mr. DiMaggio himself, all children will have equal access to care and none will ever be turned away, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.”

[From left to right] Ellen Hoffner, Laurie Gutman, Abbe and Steven Becker, Sandy Chestman

The money raised at the Catch the Love Classic is earmarked for three initiatives within the foundation:

• Helping underwrite the four-floor expansion of the children’s hospital building.
• Covering costs at the Conine Clubhouse, a hotel-like facility where families can stay for free while a child is being treated.
• Funding the Patient & Family Emergency Assistance Fund that provides financial resources at critical times to families impacted by a child’s medical condition.

This is the second consecutive year residents of St. Andrews Country Club have raised more than $400,000 to benefit Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, with a nursing station on the new 7th floor Pediatric Intensive Care Unit recently named in their honor.