Britain's Prince Edward to Tour Convalescent Hospital at Cincinnati Children's

The Association of Volunteers will sponsor a tour and host a fund-raiser to go toward health care for children and services for people with disabilities.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Media Note: Prince Edward would like to request that no interviews be done while on the tour at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

At 2 pm on Friday, February 11, Britain's Prince Edward will be joining the Association of Volunteers on a tour of the Convalescent Hospital for Children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Programs at the Convalescent Hospital include Project SEARCH in the division of Disability Services; rehabilitation services including the divisions of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy (OT / PT), Speech Pathology, and Pediatric Rehabilitation; and child and adolescent mental health services in the Division of Psychiatry. Disability Services and OT / PT are the divisions on the list to be visited by the Prince.

Project SEARCH is a collaborative effort among Disability Services at Cincinnati Children's, Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development and the Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disorders. Services for people with disabilities currently offered through this unique partnership include an employment program, high school transition program, virtual academy and vocational education clinic. In October 2004, Project SEARCH was selected by U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao as one of only eight organizations in the nation, including Microsoft Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company, to receive her New Freedom Initiative Award. 

The division of OT / PT at Cincinnati Children's is one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric therapy divisions in the nation. Occupational therapy focuses treatment around purposeful activities that help develop specific life-skills and tasks while making the most of children's abilities. Physical therapy uses positive, age-appropriate activities to help develop or recapture muscle strength and endurance needed for daily living. Specializations offered through OT / PT include sports, aquatic, craniosacral, sensory integration, serial casting, neuro-developmental treatment, and myofascial release. Services in the Division of OT / PT at Cincinnati Children's are available in many different centers throughout the hospital and in outpatient locations all over the Tri-state.

At 7 pm, after touring at Cincinnati Children's, the Earl of Wessex will be giving a lecture at the Westin Hotel ballroom in downtown Cincinnati (21 East Fifth Street) on "Windsor Castle Restored". The lecture, accompanied by video and slides, will detail the restoration of one of the world's most historic building, Windsor Castle, after the fire of 1992.

Tickets are $50 and open to the public. The doors for the "Windsor Restored" event will open at 6 pm, with cash bar and festival style seating. Funds raised from this event will help the Association of Volunteers to continue its support of Convalescent Hospital Programs. Reservations for the lecture may be made by mailing a check made out to AOV, CHC for $50 per person to Prince Edward Event, Association of Volunteers, Suite 111, and 5729 Dragon Way. Cincinnati OH 45227.

-30-

About HRH Prince Edward

The Earl of Wessex is the third son and youngest child of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh. He was born on March 10, 1964 and christened Edward Antony Richard Louis at Buckingham Palace. Upon his marriage to Miss Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, he was created The Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn; at the same time it was announced that His Royal Highness will eventually succeed to the title of The Duke of Edinburgh. The Earl and Countess of Wessex both carry out many engagements in support of The Queen, and on behalf of a number of organizations with which they are associated. Their Royal Highnesses have a baby daughter, Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor (Lady Louise Windsor).

About the Convalescent Hospital for Children

Since 1833, the Convalescent Hospital for Children has served children with chronic conditions requiring long-term hospital care. Convalescent Hospital joined Cincinnati Children's in 1973 , and today houses four specialized services. Those services include the pediatric rehabilitation program, transitional care center, children's psychiatric unit, and adolescent and medical psychiatric services for teens 12 through 18 years of age.

About the Association of Volunteers

The Association of Volunteers was founded in 1964 to provide "tender loving care" to the patients of Convalescent Hospital. Since that time, the Association has contributed more than three million dollars to the Hospital providing funds for innovative and unique programs, research grants and needed medical equipment. The Association of Volunteers is best known for producing the Cincinnati Antiques Festival in October of each year. Projects currently supported by the Association of Volunteers are the Children's Hospital unique Aquatic Therapy Program at the Drake Center and Project SEARCH, a supportive employment program.

About Cincinnati Children's

Cincinnati Children's is a 423-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to transforming the way health care is delivered by providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. It ranks third nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.