The Joan Jacoby Fund

Milt Jacoby honors the memories of his wife and daughter with a place designed for the parents of Bridgeport Hospital’s pediatric patients.

Milt Jacoby talks about the Joan Jacoby Fund to the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors:
Click to play video

The Joan Jacoby Fund at Bridgeport Hospital was established by Milt and Bunny Jacoby in 1988 in memory of their daughter Joan, who died of cancer at age seven. The logo for the fund is part of a mural painted in Joan’s memory that includes her favorite things; clowns, strawberries, flowers, and ice cream.

The fund has made a tremendous impact on the level of supportive care provided to pediatric patients’ families at Yale Children’s Hospital at Bridgeport. Examples of the Joan Jacoby Fund dollars at work include:

• Bunny’s Café (located on the Pediatric Unit) is a place where parents can get a cup of coffee or a snack, catch up on their email, and meet and talk with other parents sharing similar experiences.
• Family Waiting Room which provides a space for parents (including those of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to take a break from caring for their baby, use the internet, and obtain resource materials on how to care for their child.
• Parent Amenity Bags that contain personal care items to help make a parent’s stay with their child a little more comfortable.
• Rocking chairs for patient rooms to help calm a young one who is out of sorts, whether due to sleeplessness or illness
• Sleep chairs to provide enormous comfort and support for parents staying the night with their child.
• “Bunny Bucks” coupons that can be used to purchase food in the Hospital cafeteria or Pandini’s and Jazzman’s in the hospital lobby.

To make a donation to support the needs of parents of hospitalized children, please click on Donate Now.