Iowa Chops players visit Blank Children's Hospital

On Tuesday, December 16th, eight Iowa Chops players took time out from their day to go and visit sick kids at Blank Children’s Hospital. The line-up of players included forwards Matt Beleskey, Eric Boguniecki, Drew Miller, TJ Trevelyan and Francis Wathier; defenseman Eric Regan, and goaltenders David LeNeveu and JP Levasseur.The eight players visited the children for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon and brought Iowa Chops hats, stocking caps, and stuffed pigs. “It was amazing to see how much the kid’s spirits were lifted by the presence of our players,” said Iowa Chops Director of Fan Development Frank Meeink. “I was also touched by the positive reaction of the parents of these kids, who are also going through a difficult time.”Players, clad in their white home jerseys with numbers and names, went room to room spreading holiday cheer and talking to the kids about what they wanted for Christmas. Veteran forward Eric Boguniecki, who is married and has children of his own, said that the chance to visit kids in the hospital is an important one during the holidays. “It puts a lot of things in perspective for us players,” said Boguniecki. “You see what these kids and parents are going through and it makes it special for us to put a smile on their faces, especially during this time of year.”Blank Children’s Hospital is committed to family-centered healing, teaching and caring. Blank Children’s Hospital has the distinction of being the only civilian hospital built during World War II. The Blank family built the original hospital in 1944 to address the healthcare needs of Iowa’s ill and injured children for more than 60 years. Blank Children’s Hospital is a teaching hospital and is one of only two hospitals in the state to train residents in pediatrics. Many of the young patients we serve come from throughout the state of Iowa and beyond.