Community

Richard Millington defines five different types of communities:

1. Interest: people brought together by common interests and passion.
2. Action: people brought together by a desire to enact change.
3. Place: people brought together by geographic boundaries.
4. Practice: people brought together by profession or recreation.
5. Circumstance: people brought together by external events or situations.

At St. Christopher's Hospital for Children we are a partnership between Drexel University and Tower Health . Due to our location, our geographical community is the pediatric population of greater Philadelphia.

On Friday I realized that we are a community in all five ways.

Our interests are aligned to ensure the best care is provided for our patients.

Our actions show that we are moving toward better outcomes for our children.

We all practice caring for the children in our society, either emotionally or physically.

We are brought together in circumstances when children and families need help.

There really is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving. Seeing the joy on the children's faces as we gave out thousands of backpacks and meals is one of the most rewarding experiences.

We believe in a whole-patient approach, and this past Friday we were able to uplift our community by preparing the children in our community for back to school.

Participating as a volunteer with colleagues from all parts of the hospital from CEO to clinician, showed me how engaged our team is to serve others.

Thank you for being part of our community!