Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Valentine's Day love for our NICU nurses at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital!🩷

Happy Valentine's Day! 💘 Ollie (10 years old) and his family have been bringing balloons to Mary Bridge Children's since he was an infant in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit). It's an important and fun tradition for their family and for all of us at Mary Bridge Children's. This year, they brought 60 balloons to distribute to kids on our inpatient floors. Thank you to Ollie for spreading love and joy at Mary Bridge Children's today.

Thank you to members of the Westgate Guild for bringing the warm fuzzies to Mary Bridge Hospital today. 🧸 Mary Bridge Brigade’s Westgate Guild carried on their 15th annual Valentine Build-A-Bear Workshop tradition of donating stuffed animals to our young patients. An additional thank you to the retired teachers of Mason County for their donation. Pictured is Lily receiving Strawberry, a pink axolotl, and Alasia with her new cat stuffy.

“As a pediatrician, I know that I can provide peace of mind for parents. I love caring for children and helping them to be as healthy as they can be,” says Andrea Donalty, MD, pediatrician, veteran, and primary care medical director at Mary Bridge Children’s. “Watching children grow, I have a small part in shaping their future, and perhaps our future service men and women.” Learn how Dr. Donalty and seven of her incredible teammates are changing lives.

Nefthi Sandeep, MD, Pediatric Cardiologist and Medical Director, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, Cardiology visited Cityline Tacoma with 2025 WA Go Red for Women American Heart Association Ambassador, Macey Wright, to talk about congenital heart defects and why they will be wearing red on National Wear Red Day this Friday, February 7th. ❤️ Watch the interview here: https://multica.re/3Q5wyrT

On National Pediatrician Day, we’re proud to celebrate the incredible team of over 200 pediatricians at Mary Bridge Children's. These dedicated professionals provide exceptional care to the youngest members of our communities, and it’s their strong sense of camaraderie that makes Mary Bridge Children's special.

Many would be surprised to find video game consoles at their local children’s hospital. Fifth grader Quinn Herchold certainly was when he came to MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital for appendicitis. Thanks to a generous grant from Child's Play Charity in 2023, Child Life Services purchased a mobile gaming cart with a mounted television, new video games and controllers to help entertain kids during their hospital stay. A Child’s Play Charity Capacity-Building grant also funded Alexander Pereira’s position as a gaming and technology specialist to help oversee the program. “More than 60 percent of people play some amount of games and that is especially true with kids,” he explains. “Being able to play games with kids is super important. It helps normalize the hospital, it helps give them kind of a connection to somebody and video games help them pass the time.” Read more on our blog: https://multica.re/3DzRXGG

Mary Fairchok, MD, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, spoke with The Seattle Times about the increase of mycoplasma pneumonia or "walking pneumonia" in Washington state. This year, Mary Bridge has seen more young infants and older children with pneumonia, even though providers typically mostly see kids between 2 and 4, Dr. Fairchok said. More kids are ending up in the ICU. “Pneumonia is a great masquerader. It doesn’t just infect the lungs; it can also infect other parts of the body.”

Thank you Santa for taking time from your busy schedule to visit our babies who are spending their first Christmas at Mary Bridge Children's NICU this week. 🎅 Thank you to all of our NICU teams for making the holiday season bright for our patients and their families.

This year at Festival of Trees, our “Under Construction” tree was filled with the magic of Mary Bridge. The tree was designed by our Mary Bridge administrative team and Abbott Construction — part of the team building the new Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. At our annual Gala event, our very own Dr. Robert Irwin and Team No Bad Days won the tree with an incredible donation of $100,000. Dr. Irwin, a pediatric oncologist at Mary Bridge, and Team No Bad Days purchased the tree in honor of Dr. Irwin’s late daughter, Kate, and his commitment to live the mantra that carried her through cancer treatment. The “Under Construction” tree is displayed at the hospital for all to enjoy through the new year. Thank you to Dr. Irwin, Team No Bad Days, and all of our generous donors for helping create a better future for children and families in our community.