The Bayless Children’s Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is home to the largest childhood cancer program in Tampa. Its team of caregivers are passionate about elevating the quality of care for kids battling cancer and know that strong psychosocial support is vital to this effort.
“When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it affects the entire family,” said Dr. Don Eslin, BayCare Medical Group oncologist and hematologist and medical director of St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital’s Hematology-Oncology program. “The number of pediatric oncology patients we treat continues to rise each year, and so does the need to help families traverse both short- and long-term care needs.”
To help further the hospital’s mission to give kids battling cancer and their families help and hope close to home, Hyundai Hope on Wheels executives and Suncoast-area Hyundai dealers presented St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and Dr. Eslin with a $200,000 Hyundai Hope on Wheels Impact Grant on June 26, 2025. St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital was chosen because of its proven track record of caring for kids with pediatric cancer.
The funds will be used to increase psychosocial services provided by oncology social workers to families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis. It also will help fund clinical research trials in the hospital’s Bayless Children’s Cancer Institute.
Pediatric oncology social workers provide a wide range of support and counseling to children and their families as they cope with a cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. This includes linking families with community resources to help with financial stressors and other needs as well as facilitating access to school services during and after treatment.
“Our clinical social workers are integral in helping families understand available resources to help reduce the burden created by cancer care,” said Dr. Eslin. “Thanks to the ongoing generosity of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, we will be able to expand the psychosocial services and clinical treatment options to our patients and their families.”
Immediately following the check presentation, pediatric cancer patients who have received treatment at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital dipped their hands in colorful paint and placed their handprints on a white 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe to commemorate their brave battles with cancer.
The $200,000 grant is a meaningful testament to the 18-year partnership Hyundai Hope on Wheels and local Hyundai dealers have with the St. Joseph’s Hospitals Foundation and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.
Learn more:
Bayless Children’s Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital
