TAMPA, Fla., June 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This week, 7-year-old Mikey Hartnett and his parents joined leaders from BayCare and St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital on Capitol Hill to speak out on behalf of children with complex medical conditions and encourage Congress to safeguard vital health care coverage for kids.

Mikey was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, at 3 years old and underwent a craniotomy at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. While the tumor was not attached to his brainstem, it had spread, requiring a complex and aggressive treatment plan. Mikey went on to complete multiple rounds of chemotherapy at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and proton beam radiation at the University of Florida’s Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville.

Proton therapy is one of the most advanced cancer treatments available today. Soon, patients of all ages in West Central Florida will be able to access this care at a new state-of-the-art proton therapy center on the St. Joseph’s Hospital campus. BayCare will be one of the first in the world to offer this lifesaving technology.

Michael and Becca Hartnett, Mikey’s parents, traveled to Washington D.C. with him as part of the Children’s Hospital Association’s annual Family Advocacy Days. The June 3-5 trip included one-on-one meetings with U.S. Representatives Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan and Kathy Castor, and meetings with staff from the offices of Senator Ashley Moody and U.S. Representatives Laurel Lee and Anna Paulina Luna.

Together, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and the family asked Congress to champion policies that strengthen and protect Medicaid funding while supporting access to cutting-edge cancer care close to home. They highlighted the family’s need to travel to Jacksonville for proton therapy, and underscored BayCare’s investment in bringing this advanced technology to the Tampa Bay region. Through these conversations, BayCare advocated for policies that ensure children and families can access high-quality, specialized care close to home.

“The Hartnett’s participation in Family Advocacy Days powerfully demonstrates why family voices must be at the center of health care policy discussions,” said BayCare Government Relations Director Jason Rodriguez. “Mikey and his parents, along with St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital President Sarah Naumowich, did an excellent job conveying our message to BayCare’s congressional delegation and Senator Moody’s office, urging them to protect Medicaid. It is critical that our elected officials hear directly from their constituents on the issues they are voting on — issues that directly impact families.”

Family Advocacy Day brings together patients and parents from 60 children’s hospitals across the nation, urging lawmakers to protect children’s care, support the doctors and nurses who serve them, and uphold the American value that every child deserves a healthy future.

About St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital
BayCare’s St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is nationally recognized for excellence in specialized pediatric care, including cancer, heart, emergency medicine and chronic complex conditions. It is home to the renowned Bayless Cancer Institute; the Patel Children’s Heart Institute, a leading destination for congenital heart care in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; the 24-hour Steinbrenner Emergency/Trauma Center for Children, staffed by the region’s largest team of board-certified pediatric emergency physicians; and The Daniel J. Plasencia, MD, Children’s Chronic Complex Clinic, a national model for legislation supporting similar programs across the country. St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is also a Level I Children’s Surgery Center, the highest designation awarded by the American College of Surgeons, and one of only 55 in the United States. For more information, visit BayCare.org/SJCH.  

About BayCare
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit academic health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals, including a children’s hospital, and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West Central Florida’s largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the region. BayCare’s diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of Florida’s largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. BayCare’s mission is to improve the health of all it serves through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit BayCare.org. 

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SOURCE St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital