Teaming with Sporting KC & Scribe, Children's Mercy Unveils Unique Playroom for Siblings of Its Smallest Patients

On Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, our new Cooper Connor playroom was dedicated. The soccer-themed room is geared toward younger children who have a sibling staying in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The playroom’s soccer design is a reflection of Children’s Mercy’s partnership with Sporting Kansas City. It also recognizes a $100,000 commitment from The Victory Project to the Children’s Mercy Division of Hematology/Oncology/BMT family support fund.

The playroom is named in celebration of Cooper Connor, grandson of Turner Trust administrator, John Mize. Cooper spent the first two months of his life in the NICU at Children’s Mercy. He succumbed to lung disease in 2007 when he was 9-months-old.

Today’s dedication also recognizes the generosity of the Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust, John H. Mize Jr. and Bank of America, N.A., Trustees, for their gift of $150,000 to support the Center for Infant Pulmonary Disorders, headed by Dr. William Truog.

The playroom was designed and installed by Children’s Mercy’s in-house artist, Scribe.

The Division of Pediatric Neonatology provides the latest treatment options for children facing chronic lung disease, birth defects, or complications of prematurity. We have the highest-level NICU in the region, level IV. Our Fetal Health Center provides on-site delivery services for infants born with complex fetal anomalies. Our commitment to care has helped us earn recognition as one of the top programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.