Holmes Family Endowment

HOLMES FAMILY

ENDOWMENT

In support of the Children’s Health Child Life Department

The day before the end of 2021, Janice and Ernie Holmes made their final exit from Children’s Health through a tunnel of cheering team members, waving farewell signs and shiny red balloons

After decades of service, the couple was retiring from volunteering

Combined, the duo amassed more than 26,000 hours of volunteer work at Children’s Medical Center Dallas

A volunteer for 53 years, Janice visited the hospital several times a week She brought patients stuffed animals after surgeries She pushed stretchers and cleaned beds She sewed blankets for children and made banners for the chapel

The daughter of a physician, Janice grew up around hospitals For her, these buildings filled with patients, their families, doctors and nurses weren’t scary places

And when her 5-year-old daughter, Laurie, passed away from leukemia at Children’s Health in 1968, the hospital was where she turned for comfort, signing up a few months later to begin her decades-long volunteer run Years later, when Ernie retired from his professional career, Janice signed him up to volunteer alongside her

“Starting with the worst experience in our lives, Children’s Health became a lifeline — a reason to keep going,” Janice wrote in her memoir

Longtime volunteers, Janice and Ernie Holmes

The couple often shared stories of their volunteer work with others, inspiring friends and family to join them in volunteering at Children’s Health and to enter the medical profession

In 2015, one of their sons and daughters-in-law, Steven and Anne Holmes, gave $250,000 to Children’s Health to establish

the Janice and Ernie Holmes Endowment for Child Life in Memory of Laura Ellen Holmes

“We miss Laurie every day She was a fun, 5-year-old kid who liked to go to the movies and happened to get sick,” said Steven, who was 9 years old when Laurie passed away

“When making a gift to Children’s Health, we wanted to do something that was meaningful and would honor Laurie and my parents And because of the history my parents

Children’s Health became a lifeline — a reason to keep going.

JANICE HOLMES

Donors, Steven and Anne Holmes

and I had at Children’s Health, the institution is particularly special to us,” said Steven, adding that their children — now adults — used to join Janice in wrapping presents for patient families for the holidays And several years ago, Anne was inspired to sign up to become a volunteer, too

“Plus, the staff at Children’s Health are amazing, and it’s important to know that the people who work there care the way they do about the patients they treat,” Steven said

The Holmeses’ generous gift provides funds for the Child Life department, an essential offering in the hospital that receives no external support aside from philanthropy Team members in the department — which include child life specialists, child life assistants and music therapists — work alongside medical staff to ensure a positive hospital experience for Children’s Health patients and families

“Never did I think back in 1968 that Children’s Health would become such an important part of my life and the life of my family,” Janice said “I started here as a grieving mother and Children’s Health almost literally saved my life What a great feeling it is to have been a part of this wonderful, amazing place ”

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CHILD LIFE

AT CHILDREN’S HEALTH

Child Life helps alleviate the fear of the unknown that may accompany a hospitalization or diagnosis by providing coping strategies and education and normalizes the treatment process for children through procedural preparation, developmentally appropriate diagnosis education and therapeutic play

Child Life specialists and assistants help to improve patient health outlook and outcomes and create long-term impact through fun and engaging programs and activities

In 2021, Child Life teams launched “holiday stores” for the sixth year in a row at Children’s Medical Center Plano and for the first time at Children’s Medical Center Dallas Team members coordinated gift donations and provided parents the opportunity to “shop” for presents for patients and their siblings at no cost with the primary goal of providing parents with a sense of control, while allowing them to honor family traditions

Endowment funds supported an array of crucial child life offerings and services in 2021 that otherwise may not have been available to patients and families, including:

DALLAS

• Expanded to 24/7 Child Life coverage in the Emergency

Department resulting in nearly 15,000 patient and family member encounters • Additional focus on providing normalizing play options, activities and crafts to behavioral health patients in the

Emergency Department • The Child Life “Zone” celebrated its fifth birthday and safely had nearly 5,000 patients attend the playroom for activities, celebrations and events throughout the year • Provided monthly shadowing opportunities for medical students and residents • Led Texas Regional Child Life Workshop sessions for those interested in pursuing a career in Child Life • Our Child Life Technology Specialist successfully integrated virtual reality and utilized robot technology to enhance procedural support and increase patient education and engagement • With a continued focus on patient family and staff education, the Child Life team published a new sibling workbook and new diagnosis teaching booklet for families in the Gill Center for

Cancer and Blood Disorders • Extended Child Life support in our MRI program, which led to a

much higher success rate in reducing sedation

PLANO

• With the need for Child Life services at an all-time high and expected to increase with the Plano campus expansion, Child Life doubled its

team to six full time Child Life

specialists in 2021 to be able to serve the entire Plano campus • The additional staff, made possible by philanthropy, resulted in a 66%

increase in patient and family encounters from 2020

• Continued to increase technology-

based offerings for patients

and their siblings, including new

Nintendo Switch™ devices, games and iPads, which helped patients prepare for procedures, and more engagement options for increased normalized play • Increased number of virtual events, like Christmas tree lighting, birthday parties for therapy dogs, Halloween costume party and more for patients and families to safely enjoy from their room