Finker Frenkel Family Foundation Donation Supports Teammates for Child Life Zone

Visitors to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital often comment that it doesn’t feel like a traditional hospital. That’s due, in large part, to its power-of-play philosophy, an all-encompassing effort to make ‘Joe D.’ a warm and welcoming place for children and families.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation, positive experiences for patients will be taken to a new level, literally, as part of the four-story expansion of the hospital. The future eighth floor, currently under construction, will feature the nation’s newest Teammates for Kids Child Life Zone with therapeutic play, relaxation and interactive areas for children in the hospital. The space will become the 14th Child Life Zone that Teammates for Kids has created through partnerships with some of the country’s leading children’s hospitals.

“On behalf of our board, we want to say thanks to the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation for their support of the Child Life Zone at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Along with the amazing Child Life staff, their support will allow kids to do what they do best, BE KIDS!,” said Jason Grahame, president of Teammates for Kids.

The significant contribution made by the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation is part of “Catch the Love,” the capital campaign that will underwrite a substantial part of the estimated $170 million cost to expand the children’s hospital from four floors to eight. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation has already raised more than $40 million in the fundraising effort.

“One of our foundation’s major areas of focus has always been promoting the health and welfare of children around the world,” said Raul Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Finker-Frenkel Family Foundation. “Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has long been a safe and welcoming space for kids and families going through some of the hardest times of their lives. Words cannot express how proud I am to be supporting this incredible organization as it expands to help more children.”

In addition to the Child Life Zone, the expanded Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital will add new state-of-the-art patient rooms, cardiac hybrid operating rooms, additional surgical and interventional radiology suites, new intensive care and cardiac intensive care units, and an intraoperative MRI. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.