Camp Rhythm Photo Gallery
Camp Rhythm was featured on NBC Nightly News. Click here to see Kevin Tibbles' report.
Summer camp brings back fond memories of swimming and fishing, s’mores and campfires for countless people. But for children with heart problems, the idea of being miles away from a doctor’s office or hospital can make attending a weeklong summer camp impossible. That’s why Camp Rhythm exists.
Under the watchful eyes of pediatric cardiologists, nurse practitioners, nurses and volunteers, more than 65 young cardiac patients at Camp Rhythm 2009 enjoyed their own summer camp experience. They left the weeklong camp with memories, plus the confidence that comes, for many, from spending their first nights away from home, and getting to be a "regular" kid.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital developed Camp Rhythm to address the special needs of children who have had heart surgeries, including heart transplants, or have congenital heart problems. At Camp Rhythm, children proudly display their chest scars and take comfort in their common surgical and medical experiences.
2009 marks the 5th anniversary of Camp Rhythm. Campers, ages 8 to 15 came from seven states, and many have attended camp all five years. More than a dozen younger campers, ages 5-7 years old, attended Camp Rhythm’s day camp.
Camp Rhythm has arts and crafts, swimming, fishing, nature hikes, campfires, and cookouts. Evenings feature a dance party, talent show and “Med Mania,” where the children participate in hands-on demos including performing EKGs on physicians and nurses, counting medications by filling bottles with “candy pills,” and helping dissect a cow’s heart with the help of a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon.
“Seventy-five percent of our campers can’t attend a regular camp due to their condition and medications,” says Rebecca Courtney, child life specialist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “We want to provide them a week without limits.”
An on-site medical team allows kids to focus on camping, not their condition, and relieves anxiety for parents. The team includes Angela Sharkey, MD, and Mark Grady, MD, pediatric cardiologists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, and Charlotte Smock, RN, who helped found the camp and oversees the distribution of hundreds of doses of medicine each day. The volunteer team also includes pediatric cardiology nurses, a respiratory therapist, pharmacist, social worker, child life specialists and others. Many of the camp counselors are former campers or were pediatric heart patients themselves.
Campers leave Camp Rhythm with more than just fun memories. “The first year of camp, one of our campers was an 11-year-old girl who slept in her parents’ room and had never spent a night away from them,” says Dr. Sharkey, who helped start Camp Rhythm. “She left camp brave enough to move into her own room. It has been a life-changing experience to see my patients develop confidence about themselves and their place in the world.
Donate to Camp Rhythm:Camp Rhythm is a medically safe summer camp where kids have the chance to feel accepted, build confidence and make lifelong friends…for only a $25 registration fee! Families pay nothing because the cost for lodging, food, medical supplies, t-shirts, horseback riding, ropes course and all other activities is entirely paid by generous donors, including the Friends of St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Please help us offer this summer camp opportunity to even more children. Click here to make a gift today and give children the priceless gift of health, happiness and a lifetime of memories from their experience at Camp Rhythm.
Camp Rhythm 2010:
The dates for Camp Rhythm 2010 are not yet set.
For more information about attending Camp Rhythm, call the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Answer Line at 314.454.KIDS (5437) or email CampRhythm@bjc.org