Josie Hull was a child undergoing repeated hospitalizations following her separation from her conjoined twin sister Teresa when her mother Jenny noticed something powerful: a thoughtfully decorated hospital room seemed to ease her daughter's anxiety and pain in ways that clinical care alone could not.
That observation, born from lived experience in the Bronx healthcare system, became the seed for Once Upon a Room, a nonprofit organization that has now reached a significant local milestone. This month, as Josie turns 25, the organization she founded in 2014 is celebrating its 50th hospital partnership, with the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Einstein becoming the latest institutional partner.
The partnership was formally announced July 2, marked by room transformations at the hospital, with Josie, her mother Jenny and best friend Siena participating directly in the work. For a community institution like Montefiore—which has served the Bronx for decades—the collaboration represents both a recognition of the organization's impact and a practical commitment to improving the patient experience for thousands of local children.
"Being away from their homes and their families is often difficult for young children, and this is on top of being sick and needing treatment," said Hilary Woodward, director of patient and family programs at the hospital. "Partnering with Once Upon a Room offers us a meaningful new way to bring comfort and happiness to our patients while our clinical teams provide advanced therapies."
The partnership works straightforwardly. The Child Life Department at the hospital identifies patients who would benefit most from room customization. Families complete a questionnaire about their child's interests, hobbies and preferences. Based on those responses, Once Upon a Room volunteers and staff personalize each room with decorations, bedding, artwork and other items that reflect the child's personality and passions. The items remain with the child after discharge.
Since its founding 12 years ago, Once Upon a Room has transformed approximately 30,000 hospital rooms across the United States. The 50th institutional partnership marks a doubling of the organization's growth trajectory, suggesting momentum both in fundraising capacity and in hospital administrators' recognition that such programs serve a genuine clinical and emotional function.
The Children's Hospital at Montefiore Einstein is no stranger to pediatric complexity. Located in the Bronx, the hospital has successfully separated two sets of conjoined twins in its history—Carl and Clarence Aguirre in 2004, and Jadon and Anias McDonald in 2016. The hospital provides inpatient care for more than 7,000 children annually, many requiring sophisticated interventions for serious conditions including cancer, heart failure and severe respiratory illness. Some remain hospitalized for weeks or months at a time.
Josie and her sister Teresa were separated at the head in a 23-hour surgery at UCLA Medical Center in 2002, when they were infants. Both sisters spent significant portions of their childhoods moving between hospital stays and outpatient care. That experience became the foundation for Once Upon a Room.
"Our aim was to share a simple act of kindness with children going through a challenging time," Josie said in a statement. "And now, our organization has grown into a nationwide movement, bringing warmth, hope and love to hospitalized children, one room at a time. We are delighted to reach the milestone of our 50th hospital partner and couldn't be happier to work with the wonderful team at this hospital."
What's striking about Once Upon a Room's model is its accessibility. The organization doesn't require hospitals to be large academic medical centers or wealthy institutions to participate. The program operates on the principle that any child deserves a healing environment, regardless of their hospital's resources or location.
For Bronx families with hospitalized children, the partnership means that if their child is identified as a candidate for a room transformation, they'll have access to a service that would otherwise require significant out-of-pocket spending to replicate.
For more information, visit onceuponaroom.org.
