Prisma Health opens expanded pediatric cancer unit

Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Greenville opened its new, expanded pediatric cancer and blood disorders unit this week, the organization’s leaders thanking “overwhelming support” from local groups and community members, the nationally recognized nonprofit Hogs for the Cause and the South Carolina state legislature.

The $7.5 million space is named the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital-Upstate Hogs for the Cause Pediatric Hematology Oncology Unit. Hogs for the Cause is a New Orleans-based nonprofit organization that has ties to South Carolina and is dedicated to supporting families affected by pediatric brain cancer, according to a news release.

“Supporting the Prisma Health Children’s Hospital–Upstate through this unit means more than expanding care — it’s about keeping families together during some of their most challenging times,” Becker Hall, co-founder and CEO of Hogs for the Cause, said in the news release. “By strengthening local treatment options, we’re helping children stay close to home, where their loved ones and support networks can be part of their healing journey.”

The state-of-the-art unit will provide care for children and adolescents with cancer and blood disorders. Patient family suggestions were incorporated into the brightly colored design to help support families both medically and mentally during what can be lengthy and repeated hospitalizations, according to the release.

“I’m thrilled that we can take this next leap forward by creating a space that is literally custom built for and by families,” said Dr. Aniket Saha, the unit’s medical director, in the release. “Every part of this unit was purpose-built to bring comfort, hope and healing to children and their families. This thoughtfully designed space will better blend family care with clinical care, helping reduce stress and offering a positive healing environment that nourishes the mind, body and soul.”

The expanded 7,580-square-foot unit includes:

• Nine inpatient rooms
• Day-stay room with two infusion chairs for children who require day-long transfusion treatments but not overnight-hospitalization
• Consultation room to allow medical team to communicate privately with parents
• Two-room suite for families in end-of-life situations so they can more comfortably support each other and their child
• Family-suggested design elements include in-room desks so parents can work remotely while staying close to their children, respite space for parents, and expanded playroom.

Stacey Mills and wife Jacqueline know first-hand what it’s like to have a child hospitalized with cancer or a blood disease. Their daughter, Kiersten, received multiple treatments at Children’s Hospital for severe aplastic anemia after her March 2021 diagnosis.

“The new unit provides families the comfort they need in unspeakable times,” her father, senior pastor at Mountain View Baptist Church in Greenville, said in the release.

The Mills’ suggestion was for a space where loved ones could step away to give a patient some privacy, allowing the parent to stay close to their child without having to stand in the hallway. That suggestion is now the respite room, where parents can give their child some privacy while also allowing a quiet moment for themselves.

“Being able to give back and pour into those who essentially helped me live is very exciting,” said Kiersten Mills, now a 25-year-old graduate of the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. “We’re very honored to have our input used to help other families who will go through — or have gone through — something similar or even something more detrimental.”

Key funding for the initiative included $2.5 million from the state legislature-supported South Carolina Children’s Hospital and Healthcare Innovation Program in FY2023.

Building on this funding, the Prisma Health-Upstate Foundation  launched the Inspire Courage capital campaign which received  $1 million from Hogs for the Cause and $250,000 each from local donors Cole’s Victory Lap, the Forcier Family and Clemson’s student-run nonprofit organization Clemson Miracle and donations from community members, the Inspire Courage Campaign Committee and Prisma Health team members. The commitment from Cole’s Victory Lap was made possible by Spirit Week support from both Woodmont and J.L. Mann High Schools. The public and private funds provided $6.5 million for the new unit, according to the release.

“Prisma Health Children’s Hospital-Upstate’s new pediatric hematology oncology unit is a lifeline for pediatric patients and their families, not only in Greenville, but across the entire Upstate region,” said Chairman Bruce Bannister, South Carolina House of Representatives District 24, in the release. “The unit is the result of another powerful public-private partnership, with the state and many generous donors coming together to fund this urgently needed project.”

With the Upstate region experiencing rapid population growth, the need for compassionate, specialized pediatric care closer to home deepens, underscoring the importance of expanding local resources to meet families’ evolving needs, said Dr. Robin LaCroix, medical director of Prisma’s Children’s Hospital in Greenville.

“Hogs for the Cause is an inspiring example of how private philanthropy can inspire even more philanthropic efforts that can together transform healthcare and bring hope to countless families in need,” LaCroix said in the release. “By fostering an environment that addresses emotional wellbeing, educational needs and family support, this initiative helps mark a transformative chapter in comprehensive childhood cancer care in the Upstate. Our new unit is a testament to the remarkable generosity of the communities that support us — whether here in South Carolina or across the nation.”

The unit has nearly 3,000 pediatric hematology and oncology admissions annually across the Upstate.

Hogs for the Cause began as a small pig roast in 2009 when CEO and co-founder Becker Hall returned home to New Orleans after graduating from the University of South Carolina. The pig roast has now grown into one of the country’s most highly acclaimed barbecue competition/music festivals. The funds from the festival and other events allow the organization to help thousands of families through direct grants and funding programming at children’s hospitals across the Southeast. Since its inception, the organization has made grants totaling $2.85 million directly to families battling pediatric cancer and $12.1 million to hospital programs and other strategic charitable partners.

Swig & Swine and Home Team BBQ — which has a Greenville location — are two South Carolina restaurants that participated in the festival and raised money for the cause.