Pediatric patients excitedly drove through the halls of the Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Rehabilitation Center using retrofitted motorized toy cars designed for children with special mobility needs thanks to a continued partnership with UCF Go Baby Go! Orlando Health has a longstanding partnership with UCF Go Baby Go! the local chapter of a national organization that develops innovative and accessible ways to improve the lives of children with limited mobility. This was the fifth annual event hosted and sponsored by Orlando Health.
“Mobility allows children to explore their environment so that they can learn new things, interact and socialize with peers on their level and discover the world around them,” said Jennifer Smith, OT, occupational therapist, supervisor of Rehabilitation Services, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer. “Through this partnership with UCF Go Baby Go! children, who would otherwise be unable, can navigate through their environment for the first time by activating a button, which is a powerful moment for both children and their caregivers.”
During the event, Orlando Health Arnold Palmer therapists and team members built modified ride-on toy cars for four toddlers with disabilities, such as hemiplegia and spina bifida, who also have motor challenges. The toy cars are specifically designed to fit each child and provide patients with the ability to independently navigate spaces and engage with their peers. The cars also serve as an additional therapy tool for the children by encouraging the use of postural stability, so they remain upright while moving, helping to improve core strength.
“Partnering with Orlando Health helps us meet children who have mobility needs where 
they are at,” Jennifer Tucker, director of the UCF Go Baby Go! program said. “We want as many families as possible to know about the low tech and innovative mobility solutions we offer, and this partnership helps us expand our reach in Central Florida even more. We are so thrilled to work alongside the team at Orlando Health to provide children in our community the gift of mobility – just in time for the holidays.”
The program builds these cars for children as young as nine months old, which is when some babies begin to reach mobility milestones such as crawling or moving for items out of reach. In some cases, cars help to bridge the gap for children who have no mobility but are too young to maneuver a power wheelchair.
“It means a lot to know that we are helping many of these children navigate their environment without assistance for the first time,” said Lainie Fox Ackerman, assistant vice president, External Affairs and Community Benefit, Orlando Health. “For the past five years, Orlando Health has had the opportunity to partner with UCF Go Baby Go! and help children with limited mobility navigate the world around them. We’re proud to be a part of this powerful experience while helping our patients achieve even more milestones as they grow.”
Orlando Health has served as the presenting healthcare sponsor of the program and held annual builds at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer since 2016. To date, approximately 30 children have been provided with a uniquely fitted car.
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About Orlando Health
Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $6.8 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States.
Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for its pediatric and adult Level One Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level Two Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health is a statutory teaching system that pioneers life-changing medical research. The 3,200-bed system includes 15 wholly-owned hospitals and emergency departments; rehabilitation services, cancer and heart institutes, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, physician offices for adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with CareSpot Urgent Care. Nearly 4,200 physicians, representing more than 80 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs nearly 22,000 team members. In FY19, Orlando Health served nearly 150,000 inpatients and nearly 2.7 million outpatients. During that same time period, Orlando Health provided more than $760 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com.
About UCF Go Baby Go!
Housed within the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Central Florida, UCF Go Baby Go! Has been providing innovative mobility solutions for children in Central Florida since 2015. The program is led by Jennifer Tucker, DPT, and is part of a national organization of Go Baby Go! Chapters that engineer and build low-cost mobility solutions for those we need it. To learn more, visit https://chps.ucf.edu/gobaby.go/.
