LEXINGTON On Monday, March 9, 2020, patients, SHCMC administrators, the board of governors, and donors of Shriners Hospitals for Children® Medical Center — Lexington officially opened and dedicated the Susan Goldstein and Steven Goldstein, MD, Therapeutic and Medical Assessment Playground.
What better way to learn as a child than with a chance to play freely? Playgrounds can provide different opportunities to stimulate physical development for children of all ages. For example, slides and swings promote balance and coordination, climbing frames strengthen muscles, and tactile panels help with hand-eye skills.
“Since opening this medical center in April 2017, we have experienced tremendous growth and are caring for more patients than ever before,” said Tony Lewgood, administrator of Lexington Shriners Medical Center. “The medical care that we provide is topnotch, and we are proud to be providing the most amazing pediatric orthopedic care anywhere.”
Led by a generous $150,000 pledge from Susan and Steve Goldstein, MD, donors gave over $230,000 to fund the construction of the Therapeutic and Medical Assessment Playground.
“Physical and occupational therapists will utilize the area to help patients feel safe and have fun while working to strengthen specific gross and fine motor skills. They will practice walking on uneven ground, taking stairs, balancing and jumping,” said Lewgood. “Other skills that patients will practice include sensory integration, motor planning and navigating a wheelchair, walker, or crutches so that when our patients are at school, they will be able to participate in these types of functions alongside their peers.”
“We want our patients to see no limits to their abilities, feel safe, and strengthen their skills all while having fun, and sometimes that is best accomplished outside the medical center’s walls on the playground!” Lewgood said.