Olympic Champion Returns Home to Dedicate Room at Texas Children’s Hospital

Former Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski returned to Houston last month to dedicate a new exercise room at Texas Children’s Hospital, named in the figure skater’s honor.

The Tara Lipinski Exercise Room, located in the Texas Children’s Hospital Wellness Center, offers a place for Texas Children’s patients to participate in fitness, physical therapy and nutrition activities. The glass-enclosed room contains weight-training equipment, stationary exercise bikes, and treadmills, among others, and the walls are adorned with photos of Lipinski in some of her more memorable performances on the ice.

Dr. Albert C. Hergenroeder, chief of adolescent medicine and sports medicine at Texas Children’s Hospital, and associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, said the room is available for Wellness Center staff and physical therapists to set up individual programs for Texas Children’s patients that can range anywhere from stretching, to more intensive activities such as aerobics.

"At Texas Children’s, we see a lot of different types of patients, and one of the things missing in their care is exercise. What we try to emphasize is that everybody can do something," he said. "We want to make exercise part of every child’s life, regardless of if somebody has an identified medical problem or is well and able bodied."

Lipinski, a Sugar Land, Texas native, said she is proud to have her name on this room, since she has worked with Texas Children’s Hospital for a long time, and each year has visited kids and been involved with them.

"It’s really flattering," she said. "I don’t feel I deserve it all that much. These kids are much braver than me. They hold a very special place in my heart."

Lipinski donated money to the Texas Children’s "Building for Children" Capital Campaign to create the room, which is part of a $345 million construction and renovation project – the largest in Texas Children’s history.

In addition to the room dedication, Lipinski chatted with pediatric patients and signed autographs for some of her young fans. A few lucky patients were given tickets to her Target "Stars on Ice" tour, coming to Houston Jan. 25.

"It grounds me to be here and realize that if you miss a couple of triple jumps, it’s not really a big deal," Lipinski said. "There are a lot of other things that are more important. If you can take their minds off of their problems, that’s incredible. That’s also why I gave out tickets for the show that’s coming here. I am so excited that it is coming for the first time to Houston. It’s going to be really special."

This is Lipinski’s fourth year to tour with the show.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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