Maryland Heights, Mo. (July 2, 2025) - St. Louis-based Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital has announced it will name its junior golf program after local PGA pro Kevin Corn, who started the initiative in 2011 and has been volunteering ever since.
Ranken Jordan cares for children and their families with the most complex conditions, illnesses and injuries who are well enough to leave a traditional hospital but need help before they go home. The 60-bed hospital uses an innovative care model, Care Beyond the Bedside, which gets children out of their hospital rooms, activating the healing power of play.
In 2011, inspired by a junior golf program in Dallas, Corn pitched the idea to Ranken Jordan, saying he could create a similar initiative but “put it on steroids.”
Since then, Corn has developed the initiative into one of Ranken Jordan’s most comprehensive programs. He teaches patients golf every Wednesday but also takes care of kids who are about to be discharged but want to continue playing golf. Thanks to generous donations, Corn supplies them with golf clubs and even sets them up with a golf pro at their local golf course.
Corn said golf is unique because it is one of the only sports you can play no matter your ability.
“The golf ball doesn’t know whether you’re sitting or standing or have one arm, whatever it may be,” said Corn, who is the PGA Director of Golf at Innsbrook Resort Golf Course outside St. Louis. “It allows people the opportunity to be in the same arena as everyone else they’re with.”
At its annual golf tournament June 30, 2025, the Ranken Jordan team announced the golf program will now be called the “Kevin Corn Golf Academy,” inspired by a generous donation from Virginia McDowell and Michael Wendorf of the McDowell Family Foundation.
Golf is one of several adaptive sports programs Ranken Jordan offers as part of its Care Beyond the Bedside model. Ranken Jordan believes if a child finds something they love, it will encourage them to get out of their hospital room and speed up their healing process.
However, Ranken Jordan Chief Medical Officer Nick Holekamp, MD, said Corn has made the junior golf program more than a complement to Care Beyond the Bedside.
“He’s not just providing an activity, he’s out there inspiring and cajoling and lending a sensitive ear to kids if they need it,” Holekamp said. “To work or volunteer at Ranken Jordan, you have to put others before yourself and be empathetic, which are attributes Kevin has. He offers kids a distraction to what they’re going through in the hospital and he’s there four seasons a year, rain or shine.”
Holekamp added that golf has become a part of the lives of so many Ranken Jordan patients thanks to Corn, but Corn said volunteering at Ranken Jordan has changed his own life and perspective.
“Every Wednesday, I spend an hour with kids who have every right to be ticked off at the world and complain but they don’t,” Kevin said. “They’re happy and they’re being kids. The second you walk in the front door, you don't feel like you're in a hospital. All you see is happiness.”
If you are interested in supporting Ranken Jordan, please visit RankenJordanFoundation.org.
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Ranken Jordan
Ranken Jordan is a pediatric bridge hospital that cares for kids from birth to 21 who are well enough to leave a traditional hospital but need help before they go home. The only hospital of its kind in Missouri and one of only a select few in the country, Ranken Jordan specializes in caring for children and their families with the most complex conditions, illnesses and injuries, bridging the gap between hospital and home. The 60-bed hospital uses an innovative care model, Care Beyond the Bedside, which gets children out of their hospital rooms, activating the healing power of play. Located in the heart of the Midwest, Ranken Jordan serves patients from across the region at its state-of-the-art facility.
