The Columbus Blue Jackets Family Resource Center Goes Above & Beyond

Imagine your child was hospitalized for months at a time. How would you cope? With family, with work, with other children at home? These are the questions that many families face. That’s why places like the The Columbus Blue Jackets Family Resource Center are so important at Nationwide Children’s. Funded through support from our local NHL hockey team, the Family Resource Center offers a place of respite for families – where they can quietly relax, exercise, do laundry, take a shower, use a computer – all within a short walk of their child’s bedside.

What I really love about the FRC team is their passion for going above and beyond for our patient families. Families like the Largents – whose son Bryer, was hospitalized here for most of his young life. Mom, Carey had to quit her job to be by his side while also caring for her other two children. Bryer has had to make trips back here and Carey says even with a great support system at home, Bryer’s brother and sister are always on her mind. “You are in a constant state of guilt. And it feels like an alternative universe.”

So on Carey’s birthday her friends decided she needed some well-deserved pampering but also knew she wouldn’t leave the hospital. That’s where the FRC Team went into action working with Carey’s friends and the B/Rose salon in Powell to come here to the hospital and surprise Carey. There were manicures, cupcakes, balloons and the important opportunity to break away for a moment and catch up with her friends…it was the break she needed.

This is just one example of how the FRC does their part to help support and lift up families of our patients. It’s a great example of Everything Matters.