EAMC Receives Grant from Aflac for Program Supporting Pediatric Sickle Cell Patients

East Alabama Medical Center’s (EAMC) Child Life program has been selected as a 2025 recipient of an Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation grant to support children who are battling cancer or blood disorders, as well as their families.

The grant, which totals $1,500, will support EAMC Child Life's new “Quack to Basics: Understanding Sickle Cell” program.

“We are honored to receive this grant from the Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation,” said Madison Ard, a child life specialist at EAMC. “This support helps us give children and their families fun, comforting tools that make learning about sickle cell disease a little easier to understand.”

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes red blood cells to become hard, sticky, and shaped like a crescent, leading to pain, anemia, and other health complications.

EAMC’s Child Life department’s “Quack to Basics” program promotes understanding of sickle cell disease through a duck-themed campaign using interactive educational tools that provide emotional support and coping strategies for children facing the disease.

The tools include duck-decorated sensory bottles that explain the difference between normal red blood cells and sickle-shaped cells, an “All About Ducks” activity book for children aged 5-11, stuffed ducks to be used as comfort items, guidance on coping strategies as well as efforts to support sibling and family engagement.

““Our bi-monthly sickle cell clinic is such an important time for patients and families to come together, ask questions, and learn,” Ard said. “The ‘Quack to Basics’ program adds a playful and engaging way for children to connect with what they’re learning. When kids can see and interact with these resources in a fun way, it helps them and their families feel more comfortable and supported.”

The Aflac Childhood Cancer Foundation’s Child Life Grant program provides funding for Child Life programs that treat pediatric cancer or blood disorder patients.

-###-

About East Alabama Health

East Alabama Health encompasses East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital in Valley, the Spencer Cancer Center in Opelika, the Auburn Medical Pavilion and a host of other key medical clinics and practices that help provide a continuum of care to patients throughout an 11-county area. EAMC is a 314-bed regional referral hospital that is currently under construction to add 30 critical care beds. EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital provides emergency and outpatient services while its campus also features a nursing home and an ambulatory surgery center. East Alabama Health employs about 3,800 people and is the second largest employer in the region, trailing only Auburn University. For more information, visit www.eastalabamahealth.org.