La Rabida Children's Hospital goes all out for environment for Earth Day, and year-round
La Rabida Children's Hospital went all out for Earth Day on Wednesday, with volunteer cleanup efforts by staffers and activities for patients and families.
But hospital officials also emphasized that they are environmentally conscious year-round.
Located at 6501 S. Promontory Dr. right along the lake in Jackson Park, La Rabida Children's Hospital is a small pediatric specialty facility that provides care for kids with chronic conditions and developmental disabilities. The hospital has both inpatient and outpatient facilities, and accepts patients regardless of ability to pay.
The roots of the hospital date back to the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, when the Spanish government created a replica of La Rábida Monastery in the Andalusia region of Spain.
After the fair, the Spanish consulate donated the building to the City of Chicago for use as a fresh-air sanitarium. The building assumed that role beginning in 1896, treating kids suffering from ailments such as typhoid, diphtheria, and scarlet fever.
"That was during a time when there was slum squalor, and unpasteurized milk, and things like that," said La Rabida ice president of development and external affairs Michele Wysoglad. "So the fresh air sanitarium was a great place for them to come, to breathe healthy air, get sunshine."
To this day, the hospital touts the benefits of the lakeside environment. Each patient's room has a view of the lake, and outdoor activity is part of the young patients' treatment plans.
"We recognize that healing really goes beyond the walls of the hospital, so, you know, our therapists even bring kids outside to therapy sessions when the weather permits, just knowing that fresh air and the Vitamin D of the sun is so important," Wysoglad said.
Given the history and mission of the hospital, Earth Day is considered a paramount opportunity to give back — and La Rabida does so in many ways.
On Wednesday morning with CBS News Chicago's cameras on the scene, doctors, nurses, administrators, and other staffers came outside to pick up trash along the lovely Lake Michigan shoreline adjacent to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the tiny patients who came in for outpatient appointments received bags of eco-friendly goodies. An Earth Day Fair was also set up in the La Rabida outpatient clinic lobby — where kids snagged fresh food and earth-related toys.
Timmie Brinson, the father of La Rabida patient Samuel Brinson, emphasized how beneficial the environment at the hospital is.
"We love looking at the view of the lake," Brinson said. "This is a nice spot for the hospital for the kids."
For his part, Samuel said he learned that the Earth "has life and energy."
But environmentally conscious efforts at La Rabida are not limited to Earth Day. So far this year, according to partner Waste Management, sustainability efforts at La Rabida's outpatient clinic and hospital have saved 253,000 kWh of electricity — enough to power 21 homes a year; 6,000 gallons of oil — enough to heat and cool 30 homes a year; and more than 1,000 gallons of gasoline — enough to drive more than 41,000 miles.
Staffers are also trained on the proper methods of waste disposal, according to La Rabida environmental services manager Marilyn Clifton. Partners Waste Management and Stericycle conduct educational programs for families and visitors on segregation of waste.
The hospital also holds a quarterly waste challenge in which different departments compete to sort used hospital items by material. The winning team gets a pizza party, Clifton said.
"Our team here is very competitive, so what more to do?" said Clifton. "Give someone the initiative to help keep the grounds clean and safe."
The hospital also focuses on using eco-friendly products to curb landfill waste, from furniture to bags.
La Rabida also operates a Fresh Food Pharmacy in partnership with Just Foods Urban Farm, where sustainable organic produce is made available to patients' families every two weeks. The hospital also offers cooking demonstrations that use fresh produce with which kids may not be familiar, said care coordination program director Christina Linboom.
The kids may catch on to the fresh foods even if they might not have been enthusiastic at first.
"We had a kid that didn't want to eat kale at all, found out it was dinosaur kale, and then ate it like crazy because he loved dinosaurs," Linboom said.
Earth Day activities continued through the early afternoon at La Rabida, one of many institutions around the Chicago area honoring Earth Day.