Teen Lounge a place of refuge at Virtua
Maceo Shealey received a very welcome present last week for his 15th birthday.
A trip back home.
He was being treated at Virtua Hospital during the weeks leading up to his birthday, but was discharged Wednesday, April 25, just in time to celebrate his big day on Thursday.
He received another gift while staying at the hospital, but not to honor his birthday.
Shealey, a Haddon Heights High School freshman from Lawnside, was also the recipient of a teen kit from the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation.
Teen kits and a bandanna pillows are given to patients with life-threatening illnesses in Teen Spots across the country. Backpacks, electronic games, playing cards, reading lights, journals and so on were chosen selectively by teenagers during their hospital stays for other sick teens to be comforted by during their stays, as well.
When the new Virtua Voorhees Hospital opened about a year ago, it included something the previous campus was not quite able to offer — a space for teens to get away.
The new hospital boasts one of nearly 60 Teen Lounges funded across the United States and internationally. Since its inception, more than 9,000 Teen Kits have been distributed in 90 hospitals in 36 states.
It all began in 2002.
When Alicia Rose DiNatale was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, she began her medical journey at Virtua Hospital, her mother and ARVF Executive Director Gisele DiNatale said.
Virtua, DiNatale said, was instrumental in transferring Alicia to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she spent 13 months in and out of chemotherapy.
When she died at the age of 17, her family made sure to keep her spirit alive.
They started with a Teen Lounge at CHOP in 2003.
DiNatale said the family was not able to create a research-oriented foundation, and instead, decided to focus their attention to the quality of life teenagers have during their hospital stays.
“People her age were missing this,” DiNatale said.
DiNatale said she remembers her daughter participating in any activity a nurse or specialist offered to her, even if it were geared toward children.
Alicia would play Bingo on TV when her friends came over.
And when she needed some space, she would write in her journal.
DiNatale said there wasn’t much for her daughter to do while she was in the hospital. This fueled the mission of ARVF, looking for ways to bring teens comfort and fun during their hospital stay.
Even though the space at Virtua isn’t overwhelming in size, it’s a space teens can call their own.
There’s a door they can close to block out laughter and noise from the adjacent kids’ rooms. There’s a flat screen television, a Playstation 3, a computer, board games, art supllies, playing cards and a wide selection of new movies and music.
“It helps teens to cope and provide a sense of normalcy,” said Beth VanBuskirk, a Virtua child life specialist, who works with children and teens at the hospital. “A patient needs more than medicine.”
VanBuskirk often sees what she calls “frequent flyers” — kids who come back to the hospital regularly for treatment.
VanBuskirk was with Virtua well before the move, and remembers a time when kids and teens didn’t have their own space.
“It’s something we needed before,” she said. “It’s a way to help promote healthy needs and a camaraderie among the teens.”
Two weeks ago, VanBuskirk said, a teen was visiting family in the region and became very sick.
While staying at Virtua, she frequented the Teen Lounge and was able to keep up on schoolwork, while enjoying some games to keep her mind off of being sick.
Another proud moment for VanBuskirk came a couple months ago, when a regular patient was preparing to celebrate her 13th birthday.
The Teen Lounge is meant only for kids 13 and older, so she hadn’t yet seen it.
VanBuskirk would see her peer in through to door to get a sneak peek at the space, so she asked the patient two days before her big day if she wanted to go in. The girl told VanBuskirk she was very excited and willing to wait for her big day.
And on the big day, Virtua staff even bent the “no food or drink” rules a little, and celebrated her 13th birthday with some Rita’s water ice.
Each month, the staff at Virtua designates one teen at the hospital to receive its “Hero of the Month” award. This month, staff awarded Shealey with the designation, along with a gift card and other prizes.
During his time in the Teen Lounce, Shealey would sit comfortably on the sofa with his feet up, passing the time by playing basketball video games, listening to music and occasionally picking up Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
He said he’s used the space at Virtua. And even though he enjoyed it, he was happy to be headed back home.
“I am going home to hang and relax. It’s been cool,” Shealey said.
For DiNatale, she said she’s consistently excited and impressed after meeting the kids that come through the Teen Lounge.
And for her, the story of her family’s journey has come full circle.
“One of the biggest things is coming back to Virtua. The old Virtua couldn’t accommodate space for this,” DiNatale said. “It’s coming full circle. We’re back in our community and very fitting we could do that.”
The Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation will hold its fourth annual 5K Victorious Run/Walk on Sunday, May 20 at the Paintworks Corporate Center in Gibbsboro.
The entry fee is $20 for adults and $10 for students in first- through 12th-grade. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the run begins at 9 a.m.
Proceeds from the even support teens with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
For more information or to register, visit www.arvf.org.
