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Description
Partnership With Children's Hospital
Better Than Ever
hen you ask Wisconsin student-athletes
what their favorite community service
activity is, you will quickly notice a recurring theme: time spent with patients at the American Family Children's Hospital.
For more than 20 years, UW student-athletes
have been gracing the halls of the children's hospital and welcoming its patients to UW Athletics
events. It is a partnership that is better than ever
in 2013. This year, the Badgers combined with the
hospital to introduce several new programs to benefit patients.
From creating artwork on canvas with paintfilled syringes to enjoying Jump Around from the
end zone of Camp Randall Stadium during football
games, interactions between UW student-athletes
and American Family Children's Hospital patients
benefit all involved.
W
t's quite a sight to behold. UW football player
Brian Wozniak attempting to stuff his extremely
large hands into rubber hospital gloves while
draped in a yellow gown, face covered in surgical
mask. With his jersey number visible between the
I
Hospital Visits
ties of his gown, he enters the room to the excitement of the pint-sized fan staring up at his 6-foot4-inch frame.
It was a sight repeated again and again the Friday before every UW football home game when
Wozniak and seven of his teammates would visit
the American Family Children's Hospital. When the
team members arrive at the hospital, they are split
into groups and visit rooms on the main floors of
the hospital. They deliver signed game programs
to the patients and engage them in conversations
about the upcoming game, where the patients are
from and what is usually the players' favorite talking point ― the child's toys.
"Visiting the hospital isn't something we need to
do or a chore for us to make the football team look
good … we go simply because we want to be there,"
Wozniak said. "We enjoy making the kids smile and
we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to experience the special relationships we develop."
According to Julie Auenson, child life services
manager at the hospital, patients benefit greatly
from the visit as well.
"Being in a hospital is not a normal environment,"
Auenson said. "So having visitors come in that can,
even for a little while, take away the thoughts of
what is happening medically is something that is
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