Patient Programs

Our Care Extends Beyond Our Walls

At Shriners Children's Hawai`i, our team is committed to caring for the overall health and well-being of our patients. This includes their minds as well as their bodies. In that spirit, we offer a wide variety of programs and camps.

Our extensive patient programs give children the opportunity to participate in enjoyable activities to brighten their stay and in camps that can help them return to their communities more active and confident.

Shriners Children's partners with a number of community organizations to provide opportunities for children to explore and grow their overall potential inside and outside of the hospital. Your nurse or care manager can direct you to opportunities in the community.

Camps

MDA Summer Camp

At MDA camp, kids with neuromuscular disease discover a world created specifically for them and meet many other kids sharing the same needs and experiences. Learn more about MDA camp.

Programs

AccesSurf

AccesSurf is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating programs that allow people with disabilities to enjoy the water. Learn more about AccesSurf.

Hawai`i Association for Wound, Ostomy and Continence Care Nurses (WOCN)

Children age 8 years and older cared for at Shriners Children's Hawai`i have the opportunity to attend WOCN's Special Buddy Connection, an educational camp for Hawai`i adolescents with bowel and bladder issues. The organization also holds a monthly support group meeting for children and their families. Our staff members regularly volunteer with WOCN through its annual camp and other opportunities. Learn more about WOCN.

Healing Touch

Our certified Healing Touch practitioner offers this complementary therapy in conjunction with other therapeutic treatments provided by a child's care team. The practice is believed to help promote better health, energy and self-healing by balancing the body's own energy field. For more information, email Helene Freni-Rogers.

Kokua Club

Formally organized in summer 2019, this program teaches children to show appreciation, gratitude and kindness to others. Projects extend kokua (help, support) to three important areas of the child's life:

• Their neighborhood – Showing aloha (love) to their families and their Hawai`i Shriners Hospital.
• Their community – Extending malama (care) to nearby care homes, schools and others in the surrounding neighborhood.
• The world around them – Being pono (righteous, virtuous) in reducing their impact on natural resources and leading a more sustainable lifestyle.

The Kokua Club empowers children to perform projects within their abilities in and out of Shriners Children's Hawai`i that are helpful and meaningful to the hospital, the community or the world.

Music Therapy

Music isn't just fun to listen to. It offers physical and mental benefits as well, such as improving respiration and lowering stress. Sessions include concerts, individual performances and one-on-one sessions, and are conducted at our facility twice a week. Learn more about our Music Therapy Program.

Patient Ambassador Program

Shriners Children's Hawai`i sometimes receives requests to meet our patients or families. Our Patient Ambassadors have made appearances on Hawaii Five-0, volunteered as Standard Bearers at the Shriners Children's annual golf tournament in Las Vegas, made speeches and appearances at fundraisers and events, and have made numerous television, print, radio and social media appearances. If you and/or your child are interested in becoming an Ambassador, please email our Marketing and Communications department.

Special Olympics Hawai`i

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The program offers continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. Learn more about Special Olympics Hawai`i.

Therapeutic Recreation and Child Life

Therapeutic recreation and child life specialists come together in the GUM Activity Pavilion to facilitate structured and unstructured play each day. To learn more, read about our Therapeutic Recreation & Child Life program.

Pet Therapy

Dogs, cats and rabbits registered as Shriners Children’s pet therapy volunteers provide comfort and affection. Contact the volunteer services department to see if there are furry friends in the hospital today ready to pay a visit. Learn more about our Pet Therapy Program.

Therapeutic Horsemanship of Hawaii

Horses are majestic animals that help children build confidence and trust because of their sensitive and responsive nature. Learn more about Therapeutic Riding of Hawaii, which offers children an opportunity to engage in equine-assisted activities and therapies.

Imua Kakou Trykes

Imua Kakou Trykes is a nonprofit organization that helps children gain mobility and independence through adaptive tricycles.

The hand-powered trikes allow patients who may have limited mobility or reduced function of their lower body to still experience the thrill of riding a bike. They are used as part of a child's rehabilitation plan to promote healing, both physically and emotionally. For some children, this is the first (and maybe only) opportunity to ride.

The recreational therapy department also incorpo­rates the trikes into weekly “walks” to nearby neighborhood parks, holiday parades and other activities, making it possible to include children with mobility issues in hospital and community events.

United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is a nationwide network of approximately 93 state and local voluntary agencies (UCP affiliates) that provide services, conduct public and professional education programs, and support research in cerebral palsy. Learn more at ucpahi.org.

WASUP (Wheelchair Adaptive Stand-Up Paddling) Superheroes

A partnership between Adaptive Freedom Foundation and Shriners Children's Hawai`i, this program allows our patients to experience the freedom and exhilaration of stand-up paddling on the ocean. The program takes place in various locations, including Magic Island and Ala Moana Beach Park. For more information, email Helene Freni-Rogers.

Shriners Children's Hawai`i offers a wide variety of programs and services that cater to the overall health and well-being of our patients and their families. View all patient programs and services offered by Shriners Children's.