Kids Day For Our Baby R.I.A.

WEEKI WACHEE A water park is usually packed with kids.

On Saturday, those kids had more to do than splash around in Buccaneer Bay.

They had games to play, slides to ride and Star Wars characters to see.

Weeki Wachee Springs had a Kids Day to raise money and awareness to the Our Baby R.I.A. Foundation - a local group that aims to improve pediatric emergency care in Hernando County.

"It does take something bad for something good to come about," said Rob Jobmann, who founded the organization with his wife.

Their 7-month-old daughter, Rachael, died after she was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in July 2006. She had been under the care of physicians at Spring Hill Regional Hospital, but was misdiagnosed. Doctors there said she was suffering from "cold-like symptoms," Jobmann said.

She later succumbed to respiratory failure.

The couple's work, with assistance from County Commissioner Diane Rowden, has led to a better line of communication between Spring Hill Regional and St. Joseph's.

The two facilities are awaiting final approval on a transfer agreement that would improve local emergency care for babies and children.

Among the improvements would be a virtual intensive care unit, which would be linked from Spring Hill Regional to St. Joseph's so that doctors could have easier access to patient data and updates.

Rowden, whose own child died years ago following a pool accident, took up the cause soon after meeting the Jobmanns.

On Saturday, she donned a wet suit and tail and performed a mermaid show at the park's underwater theater.

"I'm not a guy who's much into politics, but I must say she's been great for us," Jobmann said of Rowden. "She put us underneath her wing and was instrumental in talking with Spring Hill Regional."

For more information about Our Baby R.I.A., visit www.ourbabyriafoundation.org.