Garth Brooks visits Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to dedicate Child Life Zone

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Friday afternoon, Garth Brooks visited the St. Paul campus of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to dedicate the Child Life Zone—a therapeutic play area for patients, siblings and families. The Children's – St. Paul Child Life Zone was made possible through a partnership with Teammates for Kids, of which Garth is co-founder.

In addition to the therapeutic craft and play area, the Child Life Zone offers a gaming and media wall, a performance space for in-house TV programming, kitchen area for special events, and toys, books and games for all ages. To help children more easily cope with their hospital experience, patients visiting the Child Life Zone also receive support from Child Life Specialists trained to help with the psychosocial needs of children in the health care setting. Sibling play services are also offered to kids whose brother or sister is in the hospital.

As Garth was dedicating the Child Life Zone at Children's – St. Paul, he said, "Child life is medicine that money can't buy. Child life is a way of the future. The message is you're never alone in your life no matter what, and always keep children first."

Teammates for Kids, which is made up of more than 3,900 professional athletes that share a common vision for helping children all over the world, focuses on helping children in the areas of health, education and inner-city outreach. The Child Life Zone at Children's is the 11^th zone across the U.S. sponsored by Teammates for Kids.

"Being in the hospital can be a stressful experience for children and families, so it's wonderful to have a kid-friendly, healing space like the Child Life Zone where families can relax and kids can be kids," said Joy Johnson-Lind, MSW/LICSW, senior director of child and family services at Children's.

More than 100 patients are expected to visit the Children's – St. Paul Child Life Zone each month, which is located on the third floor of Children's St. Paul Campus, at 345 North Smith Avenue.

About Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks is the highest-certified solo artist in music history according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), an organization that also declared him Male Solo Artist of the 20th Century. With more than 128 million albums certified by the RIAA, Brooks is also the fastest-selling album artist in RIAA history and the only artist with six albums topping the 10-million sales mark, each earning the RIAA's Diamond Award. Billboard and the Nielsen Company recently named Brooks "the best-selling artist of the SoundScan era." He has won two GRAMMY Awards, 11 CMA Awards, 17 American Music Awards, and countless other honors. In October 2012 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

About Teammates for Kids
Co-founded in 1999 by Garth Brooks, The Teammates for Kids Foundation has worked with over 3,900 professional athletes from every popular professional sport to develop and implement innovative concepts that generate funds for the benefit of children's charities. Focusing on three major areas—children's health, education, and inner-city outreach—Teammates has passed the $100 million mark, distributing over $80 million in cash, gifts-in-kind, and scholarships and building a $25 million endowment that will ensure that the fight for children's needs continues in the future. Teammates has accomplished these goals with one simple rule: 100 percent of the money goes to the kids. Any and all overhead costs are paid for by the board of the foundation, which is made up of Hall of Fame athletes, corporation owners, corporate officers and entertainers. With an emphasis on building Child Life Zones in hospitals across the United States and eventually around the world, Teammates has brought aid to children in more than 60 countries.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health systems in the United States and the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, from before birth through young adulthood. An independent and not-for-profit system since 1924, Children's serves kids throughout the Upper Midwest at two free-standing hospitals, 12 primary and specialty-care clinics and six rehabilitation sites. Children's maintains its longstanding commitment to the community to improve children's health by providing high-quality, family-centered pediatric services and advancing those efforts through research and education. This work is made possible in large part by generous philanthropic and volunteer support from individuals and organizations throughout the state and region. An award-winning health system, Children's is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children's hospital and by The Leapfrog Group for quality and efficiency. Please visit ChildrensMN.org.

Media Contact
Kira Bork
Direct: 952-346-6317
Cell: 612-839-1250
[email protected]

SOURCE Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Related Links

http://www.childrensmn.org