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Patient Stories
Medical Clinic
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's Mobile Medical Clinic provides free immunizations, well-child visits and developmental screenings to children in underserved areas throughout Tampa. The medical clinic on wheels travels once a month to four Hillsborough County Family Resource and Support Centers and makes frequent visits to the Good Samaritan Mission in Wimauma and the San Jose Mission in Dover.
While on the bus, Child Advocates provide families with injury prevention education and distribute various safety items, including bike helmets, cabinet locks and door knob covers. They also distribute applications for Medicaid or Florida Kid Care to families without insurance, and follow up to see if they are making their way through the system in an effort to make sure the children end up with their own pediatrician and a medical home.
Kids are Heroes
 When driving home from school on Sept. 26, 2007, 17-year-old Chelsea Organ witnessed a serious accident. While other vehicles only slowed down to look, she immediately stopped to see if she could help the injured motorist. She quickly created a tourniquet with her own clothes to try and stop the severe bleeding and administered CPR.
When she realized the injured man was not going to survive, she resolved to stay by his side. In a time of true crisis, Chelsea offered comfort to a dying stranger, and with courage and grace, knowledge to his family that at the end of his life he was not alone.
Chelsea is one of many kids in the Tampa Bay area acknowledged for their acts of heroism through the Kids are Heroes program. Since 1996, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has recognized nearly 900 children between the ages 5 and 18 from Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties who have performed heroic deeds, or displayed acts of selflessness and demonstrated good citizenship during the past year.
The young winners are selected by a panel of judges made up of current and past pediatric patients of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, and players from the Tampa Bay Lightning participate in as campaign spokes-champions. And to congratulate our heroes, we hold a special ceremony for all of the nominees, winners and their families at the end of the year.
Safe Sitter
Initially, 13-year-old Brianna Dolly wasn't thrilled when her mother suggested she take a Safe Sitter class at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. But since she occasionally watched her three younger brothers, the teenager agreed and enjoyed the class almost immediately.
"The instructor really took the time to explain everything and answered everyone's questions without making us feel silly for asking them," said Brianna.
Months later, Brianna had the opportunity to put the skills she learned to good use when her 7-month-old brother began choking while playing on the floor with some of his toys.
"I heard a weird noise and I noticed his face was red and he looked panicked," she said. "I picked him up and quickly turned him over and did several back blows. Eventually he began to cry and then threw up the item he was choking on."
Brianna's quick thinking and ability to stay calm helped to save her brother's life.
Safe Sitter is a medically accurate babysitting training program designed for young adolescents. The full-day class provides the basic information every good babysitter should know, including how to handle minor to life-threatening situations, how to rescue a choking infant or child, how to communicate with Emergency Medical Services, accident and behavior management, how to entertain kids and other babysitting tips.
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital celebrated 20 years of teaching Safe Sitter in 2008, and has had thousands of graduates who understand the responsibility needed when caring for Tampa Bay's young children.
First Aid/CPR Classes
 For 15 seconds in March 2008, Diane Handley had one of the biggest scares of her life when her 1-year-old granddaughter, Aireanna, began choking on a piece of a paper napkin. Using skills learned in a St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's CPR/first aid class, Diane reacted immediately and was able to effectively dislodge the paper from her granddaughter's mouth.
According to Diane, it was the thoroughness of the class instructor and the opportunity to practice the life-saving techniques on a CPR doll that helped her commit the techniques to memory.
During St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's First Aid course, participants learn how to handle common childhood emergencies and prevent unintentional injuries. Topics such as bleeding, shock, burns, poisoning, head and spine injury, bone, joint and muscle injury and more are covered in the four-hour class.
Participants of the St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's CPR course learn how to perform lifesaving CPR and choking rescue techniques on infants, children and adults according to American Heart Association guidelines.
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