Oliva Goodwin, UVA Health Children’s 2024 Miracle Network Hospitals Local Champion
13-year-old Olivia Goodwin – who receives ongoing care at UVA Health Children’s for congenital heart disease – has been named UVA Health Children’s 2024 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Local Champion.
Born with a congenital heart condition, Olivia underwent her first surgery at UVA Health Children’s when she was three days old to install a pacemaker. Due to her condition, Olivia will need procedures every five to seven years for the rest of her life. Now 13, Olivia has had three heart surgeries and is on her third pacemaker, with her next surgery scheduled for late 2024.
Even as she continues to receive care at UVA Health Children’s, Olivia has excelled as both an honor roll student now in eighth grade and as an athlete who loves to run and swim. In 2021, Olivia was named Virginia’s Youth Female Athlete of the Year and the National Congress of State Games Youth Female Athlete of the Year.
Olivia will represent UVA Health Children’s throughout Virginia, and her journey will be shared in the community to bring awareness to the critical care available at UVA Health Children’s. She will also participate in fundraising programs with student leaders and seasonal campaigns with Children’s Miracle Network’s national partners. Olivia will also be featured on signage at local Costco and Walmart stores during their Children’s Miracle Network fundraising campaigns to reinforce that donations stay local to support kids just like her.
The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals program at UVA Health Children’s raises funds and awareness across Virginia. Donations fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care at UVA Health Children’s. Through the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals partnership, UVA Health Children’s has raised more than $15 million.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked UVA Health Children’s as the No. 1 children’s hospital in Virginia, with nine specialties ranked in the top 50 nationally. UVA Health Children’s receives more than 425,000 patient visits annually.