The Josh Cares Mission

Josh Cares provides companionship and comfort to children hospitalized in critical care units at Children’s Hospitals who are alone. Josh Cares Fellows serve as surrogates for, and as links to, the families who would be by their children's sides if they could.

Why Josh Cares

Imagine what it is like for a baby to be held by their mother for the first time; the warmth, security, and love that they feel. Now imagine what it's like for a baby when something terribly goes wrong. Instead of being put into the arms of a loving mother they are rushed away to a loud, bright, fast paced place known as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

This is how Brian's life started. Brian came to Cincinnati Children's because of his complex medical needs. He was 3 months old and came all the way from Alaska. Brian's life was like clock work, every 3 hours he would be awakened to have a painful procedure done. Needless to say whenever Brian heard voices or felt touch he would become upset; the only time he felt human touch was when something painful was about to happen to him. He would not look at anyone, and instead of being a baby and interacting with people, he would lay in his crib, all alone, day after day.

You may be wondering where Brian's family is when he is going through all of this. Brian's family wants to be by his side however, while Mom is serving our country in the military, Dad is forced to stay home to take care of Brian's twin sister. His parents expected to take home two beautiful, healthy babies; instead they only brought one home and the other had to be flown to a hospital almost 4,000 miles away.

Brian occupies one of approximately 100 beds in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He is fortunate to benefit from the incredible technology, facilities and highly skilled medical caregivers at one of the world's finest children’s hospitals.

But Brian is also in one of those beds occupied by children who have little or no visitation from their families. These children are going through an intensely traumatic experience alone, and they desperately need to be reassured that someone cares about them. They need support for hours at a time; to play games, to talk, to be comforted by someone they know and trust.

Josh Cares was founded to provide support for those children. The Josh Cares Program has provided trained Child Care Specialists to be with Brian for hours at a time. Our Josh Cares Fellow has interacted with Brian everyday. He is now able to be held without the fear that someone is going to hurt him. Being held became a safe place for Brian and he started to act like a baby; smiling, playing and reaching developmental milestones.

One of the most important developmental aspects a child needs to learn in the first two years of life is attachment. Brian was never able to attach to anyone because he didn't have a consistent person and someone he trusted. Without the ability to attach there can be major social and emotional implications on future relationships. Because of Josh Cares, Brian got that consistency in care and he was soon making eye contact and developed attachment to those he trusted.

Brian was still very uncomfortable with painful wound care changes and was often given several doses of Morphine. Our Josh Cares Fellow was able to provide him with procedural support by holding his hand, rubbing his head, and talking to him. Nurses were soon able to discontinue the use of Morphine because he had a familiar face and someone that cared.

When we explained the role of Josh Cares to Brian’s mother, she expressed an incredible amount of relief and appreciation knowing that someone would be able to be with her son when she could not.

Brian is a patient in Cincinnati, but there are others just like him in Children’s hospitals across the country. Following our success with Josh Cares in Cincinnati, we have begun enlisting and helping others follow our lead. We hope that there will be many other Josh Cares programs at other pediatric hospitals across the country.