Please note: Bloods / lab tests are individually priced.
Bon Secours Health System, through its five Hospitals and Care Village, is a significant supporter of charitable causes nationally. We invest annually, through our Community Initiative Programme, in worthwhile projects that can add value to the lives of the most vulnerable in society, and that can bring about a social good.
As a Healthcare organisation with a Catholic Ethos, the projects we support are reflective of our Ethos, Mission, Vision and Values.
While our care within the Bon Secours Health System is summed up by our brand line ‘advanced medicine, exceptional care’, our ‘care’ goes beyond the walls of our hospitals through our Community Initiative Funding. The Projects we support are a key way in which we translate our Ethos, Mission and Values into action for the wider local communities that we serve.
Annually we offer support to charities and projects which benefit some of the most vulnerable groups in society e.g. Homeless, Disability sector etc. Our hope is that, though our Community Initiative Funding, we might act as a catalyst in tackling social issues by supporting local charities in the excellent work that they are doing in the Community.
We can assist them financially or with expertise, often in collaboration and partnership with other likeminded organisations. We aim to support the most vulnerable, by supporting the excellent work being done by the charities who work with them on a daily basis.
Some of the organisations helped by the Bon Secours Hospital Dublin Community initiative fund include Clareville Centre Glasnevin, Laura Lynn Hospice, Camino Network, St James Camino and Childvision.
About the Childvision project - Press release 2018
A leading private hospital group and legal firm have joined forces to fund the new National Library for Blind Children at ChildVision in Dublin. The Community Fund of the Bon Secours Hospital Glasnevin and the CSR Committee of Mason Hayes & Curran worked closely with ChildVision to develop a sensory space dedicated to the promotion of literacy and imagination on the Drumcondra Campus.
Brian Allen, Chief Executive of ChildVision explained why imagination and creativity was key for developing this resource “The old small library was a very dark, unattractive room with a low ceiling and poor insulation. It was not at all befitting a library within the National Education Centre for Blind Children where braille and literacy is at the heart of learning and exploration for children who will only see the world through an inspired imagination. With thanks to the Bon Secours Hospital Glasnevin, Mason Hayes & Curran and other donors who which to remain anonymous we now have a space to ignite that journey for our children, “he said.
The colours in the new library carry through the bright positivity reflected in ChildVision’s powerful logo and helps the visually impaired with greater contrast between the spaces. Architects, Hanley Taite, brought the garden and animals, located just outside the library, into the design. A treehouse appears in the top right hand corner, a zone for storytelling. A level down a picnic area with artificial grass allows the children to sit or lie on the floor surrounded by tactile materials. A wheelchair ramp with large portholes divides the space and graphics of native wildlife decorates the walls of the ramp.
Declan Black, Managing Partner of Mason Hayes & Curran is very proud of the work of his CSR committee and especially proud of the contribution from the firm to the Accessible technology “In this fast evolving digital age we are delighted to be able to contribute to this new library but especially to the essential IT infrastructure. Once the children have developed their solid braille skills they can then access so much more on digital braille displays, notetakers and hopefully soon, braille tablets. Ipads with specialist apps also allows for further learning opportunities, “he said.
Many of the students at ChildVision will not learn braille as they also have significant cognitive disabilities alongside their sightloss but they attend weekly sensory story reading sessions and access tactile books, many prepared by Transition Year students from around the country.
Mike Tonery, Hospital Manager at the Bon Secours Glasnevin explained why this project appealed to them,
“ChildVision is less than a mile from the front door of our hospital. For nearly 160 years their site has been dedicated to the care and education of the blind in Ireland. The complex disabilities of many of the children attending ChildVision now require such creative therapeutic intervention to access their world. The new space needed to be wheelchair friendly and have a high level of sensorial appeal, with different distinct spaces allowing for children with noise sensitivity to move away from a bigger group. This was a very deserving project for our community fund, teaching us a lot about one of our oldest and closest charities,” he said.
In addition to their other services, ChildVision provides transcripts of textbooks in braille, large print and digital files for all children with a registered visual impairment attending mainstream school in Ireland. In 2015 3,502 full titles were transcribed. Separate to this, many of these children, along with ChildVision’s own students are members of the library at ChildVision. The children’s library lends fiction and other titles in braille, large print and digital formats via post and membership is free. There are currently 750 members throughout Ireland.