The HCA Florida Brandon Hospital Women’s and Children’s Services team was thrilled to host its back-to-school bash on August 3. The free event took place outside the Children’s Emergency Department entrance at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital.
It was open to the public and included the opportunity to tour a fire truck and tour one of the four ambulances parked on display as part of the ‘Touch-A-Truck’ program. Visitors were also able to see a helicopter land on the hospital’s helipad. There was a teddy bear clinic (complete with teddy bear X-rays), an arts-and-craft table, face painting, food, music and more.
Most importantly, more than 300 backpacks filled with school supplies donated by hospital caregivers were passed out to area students in attendance. Forty-eight hospital caregivers, along with their children, volunteered to make the event possible.
“Our hospital serves more than 42,000 children each year through our Children’s Emergency Department; five free standing emergency departments, Plant City, Lakeland, Riverview, New Tampa and Temple Terrace; our pediatric inpatient unit; Labor & Delivery unit; and Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU),” said Kelly Lindsay, chief operating officer at Brandon Hospital. “I am so proud of our team for coming together to help children and families. As a mom, I know the costs add up with school supplies. It’s truly a blessing for us to have the opportunity to support our community by helping to ease the financial burden on parents and teachers and help children in our community start the school year on the right foot.”
The event coincided with the reopening of the Children’s Emergency Department entrance. The entrance was closed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and then continued to remain closed while a fourth tower, the Orange Tower, was built above the Children’s Emergency Department. Accredited by The Joint Commission, HCA Florida Brandon Hospital is a 479-bed acute care facility that is nationally ranked as a top 100 hospital by IBM Watson.
HCA Florida Brandon Hospital is located at 119 Oakfield Dr. in Brandon. For more information, visit www.hcafloridahealthcare.com/locations/brandon-hospital.
