Children's Hospital's primary mission is creating a place where all children may have a better chance to live. We know that Children are not simply small adults. Children need special care when they are well and when they are not.

Description:
Children's is a non-profit autonomous regional pediatric specialty healthcare center. Patients are referred to the 142 bed hospital from a five-state region. Eighty-two percent of our patients are from Nebraska and the other eighteen percent come primarily from neighboring states.

Children's Hospital provides over 30 specialty clinics for a variety of specialized needs including Asthma, Cardiology, Neonatal Intensive Care Follow-Up, Diabetes, Cancer, Physical Therapy, and Helmet Clinic.

Children's Healthcare Services also includes services beyond the hospital and clinic settings. These include Carolyn Scott Rainbow House, a home-away-from-home for families, Family Support Center, Home Healthcare, the Poison Center, and Children's Corner Childcare Centers.

History:
Children's Hospital, has been caring for children since the doors opened March 14, 1948. The need was great, as Omaha and the surrounding area were in the midst of a polio epidemic. The community came together in countless ways to establish a hospital that met the unique needs of children.

Volunteers have always been an integral part of the hospital through their fund-raising activities, playing with the hospitalized children, and providing special therapies to the patients. In the 40's and 50's, when money was short, volunteers took a leadership role in the design and decoration of patient rooms. This valued volunteer legacy continues today.

The first Children's Hospital was located at 42nd and Dewey. As Children's Hospital's services developed, a new facility was built at the corner of 83rd and Dodge Street. The hospital moved to a new location in 1981. Nineteen years later, Children's moved to a state-of-the-are facility across the street from their previous location.

Contact people:

Cari Harris, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone) Donna Ray, Office Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Address:

8200 Dodge Street Omaha, NE 68114-4114 (See a map)

Directions:

Main campus is located 1 block South of Dodge West Dodge Road on 84th Street. The main entrance to the hospital is on the south side of building.   Nearest Bus Stop: 82nd & 84th and Dodge, 5 minute walk

Overall Experience   
NOT A VOLUNTEER, A PARENT IMPACTED BY THE VOLUNTEERS

I AM NOT A VOLUNTEER, BUT WANT TO SAY ON BEHALF OF THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEER FOR THE RAINBOW HOUSE. THANK YOU. I DROVE 400 MILES FOR MY SON TO HAVE SURGERY AT CHILDRENS, WE STAYED AT THE RAINBOW HOUSE. THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE HAD DINNER READY FOR US AND WAITING BECAUSE WE ARRIVED LATE. THE VOLUNTEERS THERE MADE OUR STAY VERY PLEASURABLE. ALSO THE COMPANIES THAT DONATED FOOD AND OTHER ITEMS MADE OUR STAY EVEN MORE CAREFREE. THEY WERE THERE TO LEND AN EAR, HUG OR JUST CARING BY GIVING OF THEIR TIME. THANK YOU TO ALL VOLUNTEERS THAT IMPACTED OUR STAY AT THE RAINBOW HOUSE 4 YRS AGO. GOD BLESS ALL VOLUNTEERS. posted by ksanges on February 10, 2004