DCH offers support through a healing services organization called Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK). ITK helps address the trauma and stress related to hospital stays through healing therapies like massage, meditation, play and music.

And it’s all done free of charge.

These therapies are possible because of ITK’s volunteer program, Hospital Heroes. In this program, Adult Hero volunteers skilled in comfort therapies, support families in crisis. Hero services range from gentle massage, to counseling and moral support. The hospital also welcomes Young Hero volunteers through its doors. The Young Heroes, ages 14-21 are trained in caregiving. They spend time with patients - chatting, playing games and participating in activities.

"Children can feel isolated while in the hospital," said ITK Executive Director, Shay Beider. "Our goal with both Hero programs is to help break down those barriers while helping kids and their families feel comfortable, accepted and safe. This allows patients to experience an emotional escape from the hospital atmosphere."

Play therapy happens weekly in patient rooms or a community space at the hospital. Patient family members can also receive healing therapy in the form of meditation or counseling from ITK Hero therapists.

“All Hero volunteers must complete an orientation to learn techniques for interacting with young patients,” Shay explained. “They also learn person-first language. This is a respectful way to communicate with children who have special needs."

The Heroes program also enhances patient care by promoting emotional well-being, reducing stress, and providing support for families. The DCH staff says it’s an incredible opportunity for volunteers to engage in meaningful service. "I’m so proud of our Hero volunteers,” said Shay. “It's amazing to see their dedication to lifting the spirits of kids. Truly powerful!"

To learn more about ITK, check out the video, A Healing Touch.

“We are so incredibly grateful for the gifts of ITK. Thank you for everything you have given our family. We will never be the same and life looks more beautiful because of you.” – Mother of a teenage patient.

About:

Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK) is dedicated to providing healing touch services to patients and families at DCH. The non-profit organization is funded through grants and donations. The State Farm Youth Advisory Board has provided two consecutive grants in support of the Hospital Heroes and the annual Healing Retreat programs.

Every second counts when first responders race to their destination. But what happens when they arrive at the scene and find someone trapped inside tons of snarled steel? How do they get the people out safely? Extrication.

Often, local fire departments and rescue squads have limited budgets. This means limited opportunities to receive vitally important, hands-on extrication training. State Farm is here to help first responders learn the intricacies of extrication from coast to coast.

Salvage Value in Virginia

In collaboration with the National Auto Body Council (NABC) and Holmatro, State Farm helps provide free extrication training for first responders. This is through NABC’s First Responders Emergency Extrication (FREE) program. The insurance company also provides salvage donations for use at training events. This no-cost training is a rare opportunity for hands-on practice on newer vehicles equipped with sophisticated new materials and technologies.

Two training events took place at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville Virginia. First responders were first trained to cut and extricate passengers properly and safely. This was done in vehicles equipped with new technology. The new technology included high strength steels, sophisticated electronics and multiple airbags. This training is vital to protect not only the lives of crash victims, but also the lives of first responders.

“It’s impossible to measure the true impact when State Farm and our industry participate in programs like FREE. It is a very real way we are able to show our true commitment to building safer, stronger, and better educated communities,” shared Elizabeth Clark, a NABC Executive Board member and State Farm leader.

Crunch Time on the West Coast

Crunch Time is a two day extrication training class every September in Gig Harbor, WA. The training program enhances first responders’ skills at emergencies. This includes events such as vehicle collisions, machinery entanglements, parking garage or bridge collapses, and natural disasters.

Participants rotate through 12 different scenarios. They include ones such as school bus extrication, car vs. semi-truck, and vehicles which have plunged into an irrigation canal. Besides patient extrication, participants experience heavy lift scenarios, learn proper use and handling of hydraulic tools, and stabilization techniques.

Working around air bags, cutting through different metal alloys, and computerized panels found in hybrid vehicles pose different safety challenges than just 10 to 15 years ago. Many safety features drivers expect in their vehicles today add safety risks to rescuers.

That’s why fire departments and responder units from Alaska, California and states as far away as Florida send their personnel to the largest training of its kind – Crunch Time.

More than eighty cars were used in September 2016 training. State Farm is one of a handful of sponsors that provide annual grants to keep the program current with the most up-to-date equipment. Since 2003, State Farm has donated more than 85 vehicles to Crunch Time. This includes a hybrid vehicle that was cut open to display the internal components.

“Crunch Time helps students become safer in their rescue attempts. It also teaches them to be more effective at handling emergencies. And even better at handling traumatic events,” shared Lt. TJ Teeple, Technical Rescue Lieutenant at Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One and Incident Commander for Crunch Time.

Lt. Teeple sums up the benefits of extrication training when he says, “The best measurement of success for the program is when firefighters tell us this training has saved lives.”

Most people have at least one teacher who really stood out to them during their education. Was it the math teacher who stayed after hours to help you understand Geometry? Or was it the English teacher who sparked your passion for writing?

Since 2007, State Farm has worked with the National Liberty Museum to recognize more than 100 outstanding educators in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and beyond. Each spring, they recognize educators who have affected positive change in their schools and communities with the Teacher as Hero Award.

Educators are honored for excellence in:

• Fostering an appreciation for diversity in the classroom;
• Teaching students how to resolve conflicts respectfully;
• Giving students a deeper understanding of the relationship between rights and responsibilities;
• Honoring student voice in the classroom and in public spaces;
• Having taken a risk in order to remove an obstacle to a student’s liberty; or
• Successfully incorporating the above concepts in their relationships with colleagues and community members.

One teacher who exemplifies those traits is Sherry Paris. Sherry is a 9th through 12th grade math teacher at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, PA. She received the Teacher as Hero Award in 2013 for being both a strong advocate for all of her students and an incredibly passionate, welcoming, and caring teacher in the classroom.

“I teach because I want to make a difference in the world. I enjoy helping students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they communicate and collaborate with each other,” shared Sherry. “Teaching, for me, is a form of self-expression. I love to witness and participate in helping people figure things out. I teach because I love to educate, and I love my students.”

For years, Sherry has advised the after-school Diversity Trainers Club (DTC), which is her school district’s largest anti-bullying program. Each fall, she coordinates training sessions with representatives from local organizations to teach more than 200 high school students communication skills – helping to prevent and defuse intolerant and bullying behavior in the school.

“In this group, students think about social issues and communicate across their own differences. So many students are inspired to help others,” said Sherry. “They recognize that they can be a positive role model for a middle school student. For instance, they may have been bullied in middle school or struggled with self-esteem. They find empowerment in acknowledging what was difficult for them and take pride in knowing they may have made someone else’s experience a little easier or helped someone come to an important realization about themselves,” Sherry continued.

Sherry’s work reaches beyond the walls of her own school, allowing her to make a positive difference in the lives of so many students. Many of the students who attend the annual Diversity Trainers Conference have expressed how important DTC and Sherry are to the community.

In addition to the recognition at the awards ceremony, honored teachers receive:

• a free family membership to the National Liberty Museum;
• a free guided tour of the Museum for their class;
• their story featured in the Museum’s Teacher as Hero exhibit;
• participation in a Museum Act 48 teacher training workshop of their choice at no charge; and
• various other gifts from the Museum.

Located in historic Philadelphia, the National Liberty Museum brings liberty to life by fostering strong character and civic engagement, inviting visitors to explore liberty and discover their inner hero. For more information, or to submit a nomination, visit www.libertymuseum.org.

As a rural Kansas town deals with a tragedy, K-9 Tana and her handler, Kansas State Fire Marshal Chief Investigator Rose Rozmiarek, try to determine fact from fiction after a fatal home fire. Follow the story of K-9 Tana and other accelerant detection dogs from their training in Maine to careers and years of service in their communities as Arson Dogs.

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