Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Mary Bridge Children's Hospital enrolls patients in Project Every Child, a registry open to all pediatric cancer patients, which monitors the effects of cancers, conducts specialized testing and tracks clinical trial options. This helps both current and future advances in childhood cancer developments towards a cure. The pediatric cancer research cooperative gathers data on pediatric cancer patients from across the country to come up with the best protocols for each type of cancer, said Vanessa Tolbert, MD, a Mary Bridge pediatric oncologist. “Pediatric cancer is rare,” she said, “no one place gets enough research to move it forward, so we coordinate across the country for research and trials to guide treatment. So, whether you’re diagnosed in Alabama, or here, you get the same treatment.”

September is widely recognized as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Hear from Mary Bridge Children's pediatric hematologist-oncologist, Jacob Henderson, MD, about his perspective, and how he draws inspiration and hope from the kids he sees every day. https://multica.re/4enGF5r Thank you, Dr. Henderson, for your passion, dedication and commitment to treating our oncology patients with kindness and compassion.

Yesterday morning we celebrated the opening of the first Mary Bridge Children's Cardiology clinic. Mary Bridge is taking over the clinic operations and team from the clinic formerly known as Northwest Congenital Heart Care. The new clinic is led by pediatric cardiologist and medical director, Nefthi Sandeep, MD, and longtime pediatric cardiologist John McCloskey, MD. McCloskey founded Northwest Congenital Heart and is coming out of retirement to join Mary Bridge Children's Cardiology half-time through early 2026. Mary Bridge Children's Cardiology provides expert heart care for patients in the South Sound region, allowing access to care close to home with a dedicated team of pediatric specialists and physicians. For more information, visit: https://multica.re/3TjRTjs

THIS is an example of my “why”… This story is a reminder of what courage and strength looks like. Our patients at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital teach us so much. Thank you Tacoma Rainiers for making this possible. Way to go Ollie ?? https://lnkd.in/gNc3bFkp

Every year, Seattle magazine publishes its Top Doctors list, celebrating the best physicians in every specialty from around the region. Doctors on this list were nominated by their peers — licensed physicians in the area — and vetted by Castle Connolly, a health care research and information company. Between our own clinics and primary care affiliates, Mary Bridge Children’s is honored to have over 30 stellar physicians on the 2024 Top Doctors list. Congratulations to all!

Please join us in congratulating Brooke Caccamo, a neonatal intensive care unit registered nurse at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital who was awarded a Health Care Hero award from the Puget Sound Business Journal. "Watching my patients progress from being these tiny babies at one to two pounds to growing and leaving the NICU with their families is amazing. Getting know the families is such a blessing. The parents become part of our care team as we treat their infant. It's a privilege to take care of these precious babies."

Happy retirement, Tory Green! We are grateful to have you as chair of the Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation board. Congratulations on over 30 years with the Tacoma Fire Department — your service to our community and advocacy for mental health resources for first responders is invaluable to Tacoma and beyond.

This week our patient ambassadors Jack, Tyval, Shawn and Lance came to Mary Bridge Children's to help us assemble four @LEGO MRI kits that were donated to our sedation unit. These models provide simple details about an MRI suite, including the machine, waiting room, radiologist area and more. Our Child Life team will use these to help explain to patients what will happen during an MRI scan.

Our construction crew hosted 20 high school students from Tacoma Public Schools in the Career & Technical Education program, which gives students a firsthand look at trades and worksite learning. Everyone on the tour wore hard hats and PPE, then had the opportunity to hear directly from the laborers and tradespeople who are building our new hospital campus. Thank you to Layton Construction, Abbott Construction, Hermason, Aerotek, ESH Safety Management, Bigfoot, Tucker-Weitzel and all the project partners who answered questions and spent the morning with us.

At 17, Nathan Eller was a competitive athlete who dreamed of running Division I track in college. But during his junior year of high school, Nathan was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, a rare cancer, and received treatment at MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. The experience later inspired him to pursue a career in diagnostic ultrasound — and led him right back to the place and health system that helped him heal. “When I found out I was coming back to Tacoma for my clinical internship, I was over the moon,” Nathan says. “It was amazing to think that my experience was coming full circle.”