The lovable bear Little Tony exemplifies the core values of the newly designated Children’s Hospital and gives patients of all ages a new reason to smile
In a nod to its continued commitment to bring even higher levels of care to its communities, Saint Anthony Hospital, 2875 W. 19th St., recently announced the arrival of their newest member and mascot, Little Tony, a life-sized teddy bear mascot, following the hospital’s recent designation as an official Children’s Hospital from the State of Illinois. Developed to improve the experience of children and adults being treated in the hospital, Little Tony is to be an ambassador for Saint Anthony Hospital in each room of the hospital and the local community.
“We are proud to welcome our fuzzy, larger-than-life mascot Little Tony to the team! Receiving official Children’s Hospital status is an honor and blessing that we want to immediately use to positively impact individuals throughout our community,” Saint Anthony Hospital President and CEO Guy A. Medaglia said. “Little Tony represents everything our hospital stands for: giving greater care and constantly improving our offerings for our patients in all stages of life.”
The Children’s Hospital designation was achieved through a clinical collaboration between Saint Anthony and the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital to improve health care services offered to the public. Through the partnership, Saint Anthony Hospital has expanded capabilities to provide board-certified physicians across several specialties and the ability to transfer the most complex or rare cases to Comer Children’s through a seamless transitional care model.
“Despite the ever-changing health care landscape today and with several nearby hospitals shutting down their pediatric units, we had a different philosophy in expanding our capabilities for pediatric care,” said Romeen Lavani, MD, Vice President of Business Development, and Chairman of Pediatrics and Medical Education for Saint Anthony Hospital. “Teaming up with a university hospital like Comer Children’s has allowed us to provide complete pediatric care with a seamless transition for the most critically ill patients.”
Each year, one-third of the hospital’s visitor to the Emergency Department are children. Saint Anthony Hospital offers outpatient, inpatient and specialty care to pediatric patients, and is one of only a few community hospitals providing critical care in Chicago with 24/7 coverage by board-certified physicians. Saint Anthony’s goal is to meet the health care needs of all children in its communities.
“By working with Saint Anthony Hospital, we are able to offer care to the community at the right time and right place and enhance the medical care by providing additional specialty services,” said John Cunningham, MD, George M. Eisenberg Professor of Pediatrics, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief at Comer Children’s at UChicago Medicine, a nationally recognized academic medical institution. “Our expertise in specialty and subspecialty pediatric care complements the strong medical care provided at Saint Anthony.”
“By receiving our designation as a children’s hospital, Saint Anthony demonstrates our continued commitment to the children,” added Lavani. “We are changing the way pediatric care is delivered.”
For more information about Saint Anthony Hospital or Little Tony, visit www.sahchicago.org
