Pregnancy and new parenthood are full of surprises. Still, the last thing most families expect is to see Phillies legend Ryan Howard on the Maternity unit. And yet, on August 1st, Ryan came to TUH-Main Campus to tour our Fetal Center and Maternity facilities and to learn more about our Women & Families Campus.
“Ryan and his wife Krystle were co-chairs of this year’s Acres of Diamonds Gala, and he really identifies with Temple’s mission of making a difference in our community,” says Abhi Rastogi, MBA, MIS, President & CEO of Temple University Hospital and Executive Vice President of Temple Health. “He’s especially passionate about women’s and families’ health, so it was important for him to see the work we’re doing here each day and the need for a campus specifically dedicated to serving these patients.”
Ryan also met with other members of our leadership team, including Michael A. Young, MHA, FACHE, President & CEO of Temple Health; Abhi Rastogi, MBA, MIS; Jack Ludmir, MD, Chief Physician Executive of the Women & Families Campus; and Kim Hanson, BSN, MHA, RNC-OB, NEA-BC, VP & Chief Nursing Officer of the Women & Families Campus.
“We shared some of the programming we’re going to be offering at the new campus and talked about our trauma-informed spaces and services,” says Hanson. “Ryan was very engaged in our discussions of the differentiated care we provide to overcome the social barriers many of our patients face.”
Onesies and One-on-One Time
Ryan also came to TUH-Main to give out special gifts to the babies on the Maternity unit: “I’m New Here” Temple- and Phillies-branded onesies. Every baby born at a Temple hospital will now receive one of these onesies—and the families on the unit couldn’t have been more excited to get them from Ryan himself.
“It made the onesies really meaningful,” says Colleen Moran, BSN, RN, MHA, AVP of Nursing for Women & Infants. “A lot of the patients were hoping that the visit from Ryan would make their kids baseball stars.”
One patient who had an especially unforgettable moment? A mom-to-be—accompanied by her own mother—who had Ryan sit in on her ultrasound appointment. That wasn’t the only patient Ryan spent personal time with, either: he also toured our Women & Infants Division, where he extended his visit to meet a new mother with a baby in the NICU. “He just wanted to brighten her day a little bit,” says Moran. “It was really incredible.”