Hasbro Children’s Hospital program receives award from American Academy of Pediatrics

Posted Monday, November 26, 2012

The Adolescent Leadership Council (TALC) of Hasbro Children’s Hospital has been awarded the Promising Practices Award for Promoting Adolescents’ Strengths sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Adolescent Health Partnership Project.The award honors exemplary achievement on behalf of organizations that serve adolescents. Recipients are recognized for their innovative contributions to adolescent health in their community or state and for promoting a positive perception of youth.

TALC is a unique program that focuses on transition issues in adolescents who live with chronic illness. The goals of TALC are to provide a forum for teens with chronic illnesses to discuss their experiences, expose teens to college-age role models who are successfully transitioning to adulthood, and to decrease isolation of group members. TALC also fosters interest in and opportunities for leadership surrounding issues of chronic illness as the official Youth Advisory Council for Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

“Living with a chronic illness can be a frightening, alienating and confusing experience, perhaps particularly so when combined with the already existing challenges of young adulthood,” said Jodie Neukirch, TALC program manager.  “TALC has given adolescents living with diseases such as asthma, diabetes, lupus, cancer and sickle cell anemia a voice, and the renewed confidence they need to move forward as successful adults.”

TALC hosts several events, including 10 monthly council meetings per year, an annual team-building retreat, an annual summer leadership camp, art-related programs and periodic social events. Through a variety of programs in outpatient, inpatient, clinic and community settings, this collaborative program brings together participants and mentors from Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, local universities and the greater Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, and western Connecticut communities.

Participation in TALC programming is robust and almost every sub-specialty clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital is represented by TALC participants. The TALC program has continued to grow in size and diversity since its inception in 2005. In September of 2011 a TALC Jr. program for pre-teens with chronic illness was also created, and is offered every other month throughout the school year. For more information about TALC or TALC Jr., including past publications and upcoming events, please visit www.TALCProgram.org.

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