Crafts, S’mores, and Kumbaya: Looking at Patient Experience Through the Eyes of a Child
Thirty-eight children’s hospitals and three Ronald McDonald Houses partner with The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, giving kids with serious health problems the opportunity to just be kids.
// By Susan Dubuque //
Nothing is harder than being an adolescent girl. It’s a time of raging hormones and drama. Bad-hair days. Broken hearts. A giant pimple on the chin that pops out the day before the big dance. What could be worse?
Well, how about this? Layer on a diagnosis of bone cancer and all that comes with it. Long hospital stays. Baldness. Unrelenting nausea. And the energy of a slug. Now you’re really talking about having a bad day.
Gill McKenna, director of Hospital Outreach for The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Enter Gill. Her real name is Michele Gill McKenna, but everyone just calls her Gill. She was that girl. An 11-year-old living with cancer who wanted nothing more than to be a normal girl. But it’s tough to be normal when you’re throwing up all the time.
So what does all this have to do with health care strategy and marketing? A lot.
In 1988, Paul Newman (yes, that Paul Newman) founded The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Inspired by his movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hole in the Wall represents a safe and accepting place where kids with cancer and other serious medical issues can be kids— and in Paul Newman’s words, “raise a little hell.”
Back to Gill.
Gill McKenna survived cancer — and adolescence — and is now the director of Hospital Outreach for The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Her story brings to life what children’s hospitals are doing to bring a little joy to children coping with serious medical conditions and their families during the scariest times of their lives.
If you are up for a bit of inspiration and maybe a tear or two, read on, and you’ll hear from Gill and another Hole in the Wall alum who is now working in a major health system coordinating hospital outreach for Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. This article might give you a whole new perspective on patient experience.