Patient Care Committees
Members of Society Patient Care Committees plan and support MSK patient experience enhancement initiatives.
Children's Committee
The Children’s Committee organizes three major events for children undergoing treatment and their families: the Prom, the Halloween Party, and the Holiday Celebration. This committee coordinates donation drives for items such as prom dresses, costumes, and holiday gifts. Funds are also provided for DJs, face painters, decorations, toys, and other themed items to create memorable celebrations for the children.
Dream Team
Members of the Dream Team are anonymous volunteers who make the dreams of adult patients come true — from a simple request for a bathrobe and slippers to a warm weather family getaway. Working at the direction of the Department of Social Work at MSK, the Dream Team has fulfilled approximately 1,900 dreams since its inception in 1988.
Patient Environment Program
The Patient Environment Program (PEP) provides funding for proposals from MSK that aim to enhance the hospital experience and environment for patients. The projects supported by PEP are not otherwise funded through the hospital’s departmental budgets.
Volunteer & Patient Recreation
This committee operates year-round to provide volunteer opportunities within the hospital, aimed at uplifting the spirits of MSK patients. The Committee supports several key projects throughout the year including: an activity cart that expands the reach of our services to more patients, the holiday gift bag drive, where committee members assist in distributing 400 gift bags to patients receiving treatment during the holidays, holiday decorations, Visible Ink (a writing mentorship program for patients that culminates in an annual anthology and staged reading), and the MSK choir, Rising Voices.
Social Services
The Society’s Social Services grant provides patients and their families who meet certain financial criteria with funds for parking, transportation, and housing while they are undergoing treatment. Small sums of money are also provided for brief periods of time to cover the costs of items such as food, heat, utilities, rent, childcare, and, in some instances, equipment and medications not covered by insurance. In addition, the grant funds the Kids Express Program, which provides counseling and support services to assist adult patients in communicating with their children about the family member’s illness, as well as MSK’s pediatric support groups, which help patients and their caregivers cope with a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
