Saint Mary's Hospital Creates Pinwheel Garden

WATERBURY, Conn. (September 21, 2020) The Pediatric Emergency Department at Saint Mary’s Hospital is establishing a Pinwheels for Prevention garden outside of the main lobby entrance. Each pinwheel represents a child in Waterbury who suffered medical neglect or sustained sexual and/or physical abuse. The garden will be located just outside of the front lobby entrance, on Franklin Street. A brief program to open the Pinwheel Garden will be held on September 24, at 11:30 a.m.

Pinwheels for Prevention is an initiative by Prevent Child Abuse America, an advocacy group dedicated to promoting services that improve child well-being and developing programs that help prevent all types of abuse and neglect.

Krystal Rich, Executive Director of Connecticut Children’s Alliance says, “The Pinwheels for Prevention initiative has come to serve as a reminder of the importance of ensuring each individual child has a great childhood and that we all have an important role in making that happen.”

According to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, in 2019 nearly 590 children in Waterbury were substantiated as abused, neglected or uncared for. Most startling for healthcare providers is that 150 children in Waterbury sustained medical neglect, and or sexual and physical abuse.

“Unfortunately, children are sometimes exposed to extreme and sustained stress like child abuse and neglect, which can undermine a child’s development,” says Dr. Karl Hellstrand, Director of the Pediatric Emergency Room Department. “Our most basic obligation is to support the healthy development of our community’s children. The great childhoods we want for our children require a loving and supportive environment. Every day is our call to action and an opportunity for us to recognize that we all play a role in the lives of children.”

Rich applauds Saint Mary’s participation in the campaign, “becoming a part of the Prevent Child Abuse CT network is a commitment to taking an active stand to prevent child abuse by building healthier, more loving, whole communities where a child is never forgotten.”

Dr. Hellstrand says that participating in the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign, “provides a unique opportunity for Saint Mary’s Hospital to take action by learning more about prevention, supporting child and family policies and becoming involved at the local level.”

For more information on Saint Mary’s Hospital pediatric emergency department visit www.trinityhealthofne.org and for more on the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign or Prevent Child Abuse CT visit www.preventchildabusect.org.

About Saint Mary’s Hospital

Saint Mary’s Hospital is a Catholic, not-for-profit, acute care, community teaching hospital that has served Greater Waterbury since 1909. In 2016, Saint Mary’s Hospital became part of Trinity Health Of New England, an integrated health care delivery system that is a member of Trinity Health, Livonia, Michigan, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation serving communities in 22 states. Licensed for 347 beds, Saint Mary’s is designated as a Level II Trauma Center, offers award-winning cardiac and stroke care and houses the region’s only pediatric emergency care unit. As the leading provider of surgical services in Greater Waterbury, Saint Mary’s was the first to introduce the daVinci® Robotic Surgery System. The hospital’s satellites and affiliates extend from Waterbury to Wolcott, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Southbury, Prospect and Watertown. Visit stmh.org for more information and follow us on Facebook at SaintMarysHospitalCT, Instagram and Twitter at @SaintMarysCT.