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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Sue Durante, the Bubble Lady, put one of the children inside a bubble during the festivities at Naturefest on June 17 at the Akron Children's Hospital Beegly campus.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Children looked at the different displays the Akron Children's Hospital Beeghly campus set up in their new expansion during the Naturefest event.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Guests cut the ribbon during the ceremony on June 17 at Akron Children's Hospital Beeghly campus during the Naturefest event.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Vice President of Akron Children's Hospital Mahoning Valley Sharon Hrina spoke to the audience during the Beegly campus' Naturefest on June 17.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Members of Easy Street Productions put on performances for the audience on June 17 for Naturefest at Akron Children's Hospital Beeghly campus.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Akron Children’s Hospital hosted a special event for the community to celebrate the opening of their Beeghly campus on June 19.
Naturefest was hosted to bring the community and employees to the new Beeghly campus to explore the facility, enjoy entertainment and more.
“We want the public to be aware and familiar with what this will be,” said Lisa Taafe, Clinical Administrative Director and Project Manager of Naturefest.
Naturefest began at 11 a.m. and ran through 2 p.m. Guests could see animals that Jungle Terry brought and had the opportunity to pet some of them. There was also Sue Durante, known as the Bubble Lady, who put on a show with bubbles where some children had the chance to be put inside a bubble.
“We’re using the term Naturefest, we wanted to bring nature into it because Mill Creek Park is such a big thing in the area,” said Taafe.
The 20 million dollar expansion will be beneficial and convenient to the community. From planning to opening, the whole project took about two and a half years. There were families, doctors, parent advisories and several others who took park in creating and designing what the final product will be.
There will be more services, expanded exam rooms, a new sports rehab center and more. State of the art equipment has been implemented and now everything that a patient needs can be taken care of in one place, rather than having to travel to different medical centers. A donor wall was put up in honor of those who helped the project become a success.
Sharon Hrina, Vice President of Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, took the stage and gave a speech before the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“As an independent, freestanding children’s hospital, we are solely focused on children and families. We view every project through the eyes of a child,” Hrina told the audience.
Hrina then introduced the Schadl family, who have been at Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley for various sports injuries throughout the years. Natalie Schadl spoke to the audience about her experience with Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley and how supportive and accommodating the employees were.
After the Schadl family spoke, it was time to cut the ribbon. Hrina, the Schadls, Taafe and George Mackall each had a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening on the Beeghly campus. The festivities continued after the ribbon cutting with a performance by Easy Street Productions.
“You are going to have a family centered care when you get here, not just patient centered,” said Taafe.
The Beeghly campus will officially open on July 11 and will begin to accept patients.