Where our money goes
Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (CIRU): Over the last 17 years UGA Miracle has donated $3.2 million to all Rehabilitation and Orthopedics departments through the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta system. Over the last few years, the money raised by UGA Miracle has provided the rehab unit with a medical transport van, a rock climbing wall for rehabilitation purposes, a lift system in each of the unit’s rooms to allow for better transition in and out of patients’ beds, an annual rehab reunion for the old and new patients of the unit, and helps sponsor Camp Twin Lakes (Spina bifida). Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta continually seeks new ways to help children stay healthier, recover faster, and return to being children sooner. Children’s has achieved national preeminence through groundbreaking clinical firsts and accomplishments.
For the 2012-2013 UGA Miracle year, our donations will be going to other units in addition to the Rehabilitation Unit. Here is a brief overview of where our donations will be going in the hospital:
Prosthetic Fabrication Lab: Sometimes, infants are born with their left hand missing. Other times, their foot is not fully formed. Children may also lose an arm or leg due to accidents or illness. At Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, experts in our Limb Deficiency Program custom–make artificial limbs (called “prostheses”) to restore a child’s function and appearance. Each prosthesis is designed according to the parents’ and child’s preferences - whether natural-looking hands with nails you can polish or legs decorated with Tinkerbelle or Nemo. The limbs are made in Children’s Prosthetics Laboratory with highest quality standards and state-of-the-art-technology… so wedding rings and running are possibilities in every life. Some of the UGA Miracle donations this year will help expand this laboratory to improve the quality and quantity of prosthetics made at the Children’s facility.
Prosthetic Fabrication Lab: Sometimes, infants are born with their left hand missing. Other times, their foot is not fully formed. Children may also lose an arm or leg due to accidents or illness. At Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, experts in our Limb Deficiency Program custom–make artificial limbs (called “prostheses”) to restore a child’s function and appearance. Each prosthesis is designed according to the parents’ and child’s preferences - whether natural-looking hands with nails you can polish or legs decorated with Tinkerbelle or Nemo. The limbs are made in Children’s Prosthetics Laboratory with highest quality standards and state-of-the-art-technology… so wedding rings and running are possibilities in every life. Some of the UGA Miracle donations this year will help expand this laboratory to improve the quality and quantity of prosthetics made at the Children’s facility.
Robotics Center: “I want my child to walk”. This is the most heard request a pediatric physical therapist or rehab physician hears from parents of patients who are can’t walk or who use assistive devises. The Robotic Center at Children’s Healthcare plans to help those parents’ dreams. This therapy will help the kids who have brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke, or neurological and orthopedic conditions. Research is showing that the repetitive walking pattern helps the brain and spinal cord work together to re-route signals that were interrupted by injury or illness. In robotic assisted therapy a computer controls the pace of walking/movement and measures the body’s response to the movement. By participating in Robotic therapy, kids will improve their ability to walk. The kids will love walking with Robot as well; it is like having a Transformer as your therapist! With the help of UGA Miracle, Scottish Rite will become one of the only children’s hospitals in the country to utilize this state-of-the-art technology. To see how this technology operates, view the video below!
