Help donate this holiday season to a children's hospital

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's the season of gift-giving, and what better gift than one that helps kids who need care in the hospital.

One local children's hospital is making giving even a few dollars very easy.

Though insurance pays for inpatient services, hospitals depend on donations for much of their equipment and supplies. 170 children's hospitals across the country, including the Cohen Children's Center, have teamed up at a website called GiveMiracles.Org. You can use it to give as much or as little as you can afford to help some of this area's sick kids.

A bronze plate notes that this preemie crib was donated 30 years ago to what is now the Cohen Children's Medical Center. Ella Roller is using it now. She was born prematurely at 24 weeks, with breathing trouble.

"My daughter just got off a ventilator, they had her on an oscillator, that shook her to keep her lungs open," Ella's mother, Ellen Roller said.

Now, you can donate for a life-saving ventilator like this. You might not get a bronze plaque, but a website called give miracles dot org makes it very easy. You can donate five dollar, ten dollars or whatever you want toward items such as a vital signs monitor, a pack of these tiny preemie diapers, even this tiny preemie blood pressure cuff.

A doctor at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, Dr. Howard Heinman mentioned how important donating can be.

"If you have 5000 people giving $10, for 50000 I can get a state of the art monitor to monitor the baby's vital signs," Dr.Heinman said.

At give miracles, you can set up a personal Facebook web page to get friends to donate with you, even put a link to give-miracles on your existing Facebook page.

"We're the only hospital on Long Island were kids can receive heart lung bypass, so when hearts and lungs are not strong enough on their own, we have brand new machines purchased by donors to help kids as quickly as they need it to maintain their health," Dr. Heinman said.

For little Ella, that can mean things as simple as a new diaper to things as complex as a vital signs monitor. Those are just a few things you can donate at GiveMiracles.org.

You think donations don't add up? Dr. Heinman told Dr.Jay Adlersberg that a local 3rd and 4th grade class asked for donations of pocket change, and collected $850. The program will be open through this holiday season. You also can give a million dollars if you want.

ONLINE: GiveMiracles.Org.

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health news, dr. jay adlersberg

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