2019 BENEFICIARY
Stone's Buddies
Stone’s Buddies is an Oishei Children’s Hospital program that supports families coping with chronic and life-threatening illness.
Created in memory of former patient Stone Filipovich, the mission of the program is to provide a network of resources, support, friendship and fun for the many “frequent flyers” that regularly use our institution.
This program is for children with life-threatening illness, as well as the patients who struggle daily with special needs and feelings of isolation due to the nature of their chronic illness.
Our goal is to connect these patients with others in similar circumstances, teach them and their families coping strategies to better deal with the challenges they face both at the hospital and at home, and serve as a bridge between the patients and those in the community who want to help.
We have monthly parties and take families to many community-sponsored events. In our “Family Matters” group, Dr. Bob Perelli works with parents to help them better cope with their new reality and find solutions to situations under which they often have very little control. We continue to develop new ways to help these patients who use the hospital on a regular basis. Through Stone’s Buddies, we try to ensure that our chronically ill patients and their families have the tools they need to make what they are going through just a little bit easier.