THE MAGAZINE OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
2015 IN REVIEW:
YOUR HELP MADE KIDS BETTER
BECAUSE OF YOU, JAXON’S HEART BEATS STRONGER ®
UNTIL NO CHILD NEEDS US, WE NEED YOU.
You Helped Bring Care Closer to Home Happy New Year! As I look back on 2015, I am amazed at the great work we accomplished together. Thank you for all you’ve done for the patients and families we serve. Your generous support last year helped propel ACH forward and improve the health of all children. In just one year, we were able to do so much, thanks to donors like you. For example: • A gift of land allowed us to begin plans for a new children’s hospital in Northwest Arkansas; • A gift to the ACHRI Quick Action Research Fund will enhance our ability to find cures for childhood diseases; • A gift to our statewide advocacy and public health work will bring care closer to home in rural areas; • Multiple gifts in support of nursing excellence allows our nurses to pursue continuing education; and • A gift to purchase a 3D printer for the cardiovascular program means our physicians have access to more cutting-edge technology. Because of you, we celebrated the arrival of two new Angel One helicopters to ensure no child in Arkansas is ever more than 55 minutes away from life-saving care. We dedicated the Kim and Chris Fowler Diagnostic Services at the ACH Clinic in Jonesboro, which will allow more children to receive diagnoses and treatment plans closer to home. Thanks to you, we broke ground last spring on Children’s House – a new facility to house all current programs and services for victims of child abuse and neglect. This facility will allow us to train more physicians and improve outcomes for abused children. The building is funded entirely by philanthropy – and we are still in need of support for furnishings and operating endowment. We anticipate a grand opening of the facility in summer 2016. There were more than 1,800 special fundraising events hosted on behalf of ACH in 2015. If you were a host, volunteer, sponsor or attendee – thank you! Your participation in these community events made a big difference in the lives of children. All of this great work helped bring care closer to home for children all over the state. Please know these successes would not have been possible without your help. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in 2016. Thank you for championing children by making them better today and healthier tomorrow.
ACHIEVER STAFF: Editor Jennifer Cobb Pyron Contributing Writers Ashley Leopoulos, Casey L. Penn Design C. Waynette Traub Photographers Wesley Hitt, Karen Segrave
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Pat Allen Ritter Arnold Sharon Bale Ginger Blackmon Frances Buchanan Steve Davison Harry C. Erwin III Hayden Franks, MD Sharilyn Gasaway Robin George Mike Gibson Trevor Holbert Sonja Yates Hubbard Jason LaFrance Sharon Lamb Mark Larsen Jim McClelland
Barbara Moore Cindy Murphy Jake Nabholz Marshall Ney Mary Spears Polk Robert Porter, MD Terry Quinn Patrick Schueck Belinda Shults Jennifer Smith Claudia Strange Celia Swanson Emeritus Directors Robert G. Cress Don Edmondson Henry Rogers, MD
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Board of Directors* Chair Mark Saviers Vice Chair Ron Clark Secretary Skip Rutherford Treasurer Mark McCaslin Chief of Staff Steve Schexnayder, MD Past Chair Tom Baxter President and CEO Marcy Doderer, FACHE John Bale, Jr. Jeremy Cobb Jayant K. Deshpande, MD Haskell Dickinson Harry C. Erwin III Sharilyn Gasaway Melissa Graham, MD Paul Hart Marion A. Humphrey Dorsey Jackson Richard Jacobs, MD J. Phillip Jett Holly Marr
Pat McClelland Barbara Moore Beverly A. Morrow Jeffrey Nolan Daniel Rahn, MD Jennifer Schueck Patrick Schueck Charles B. Whiteside III Emeritus Directors Hillary Clinton Robert G. Cress
*Current as of Jan. 15, 2016
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute Board of Directors Chair Ron Clark Treasurer Ross Whipple President Gregory L. Kearns, PharmD, PhD, FAAP
Marcy Doderer, FACHE President and CEO Arkansas Children’s Hospital
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Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation Board of Directors Chair Marcy Doderer, FACHE Vice Chair Charles B. Whiteside III President Fred Scarborough, CFRE
John Ahlen, MD Marcy Doderer, FACHE Dee Ann English Ellen Gray Richard F. Jacobs, MD Mark Millsap Jeffrey Nolan
• ACHIEVER • UNTIL NO CHILD NEEDS US, WE NEED YOU
Kathy Bennett Perkins Robert Porter, MD Daniel Rahn, MD Jose Romero, MD Mark Saviers Kartik Shankar, MD
Lives You’ve Touched
Thanks to you, the David M. Clark Heart Center at ACH helps kids get better today and have a healthier tomorrow. Here’s what your gifts make possible. Thank you!
4500 4 , 400 Heart 487surgeries patient visits to cardiac clinics last year
Number of experts at ACH dedicated to the care of children with heart disease
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Heart transplants IN 2015
IN 2015
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Number of medical professionals it takes to perform pediatric heart surgery
Happy American Heart Month! WWW.GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • ACHIEVER • J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2016
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A Healthy
heart Your support helped save Jaxon’s life BY CASEY L. PENN
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or the first six days of his life, little Jaxon Lee seemed like a typical, spunky baby boy. Then, at seven days old, he changed from “kind of fussy and not eating” to cold and unresponsive. At that point, Jaxon’s mother Rachel says her instincts kicked into high gear. She and Jaxon’s father Zach rushed their son to the local children’s hospital in their hometown of Oklahoma City. Within a matter of hours, they learned the left side of their son’s heart was critically underdeveloped. “He was very ill,” recalls Rachel, who watched as doctors tried to repair her son’s heart. “He looked about as bad as he could look and still have a heartbeat.” Jaxon was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Medication helped stabilize him, but it was a temporary fix. By the time he was two months old, the devastating fact was clear: Jaxon needed a new heart in order to survive. On May 20, 2014, he was flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital where he was put on the transplant list. Jaxon waited for his new heart at ACH with Rachel by his side. The rest of the family drove back and forth from Little Rock to Oklahoma City while juggling work and other obligations. Because of your support, Rachel and Jaxon were able to rely on ACH’s specialized care and attentive staff for everything they needed. The long-awaited call came on a Saturday night at 10:40 p.m. A heart was available! By the next afternoon, Jaxon was a new baby. “He came out of his surgery wiggling,” says Rachel. “He wasn’t awake, but he was well on his way.” Unfortunately, his struggles weren’t quite over. During the next year, little Jaxon dealt with a handful of serious medical issues. In July 2015, he developed meningitis and a host of other problems. He had surgery to drain fluid
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| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
• ACHIEVER • UNTIL NO CHILD NEEDS US, WE NEED YOU
After heart, brain and cochlear implant surgeries, young Jaxon Lee from Oklahoma City has earned “superhero” status at ACH. Your gifts help children like Jaxon thrive.
from his brain and received a cochlear implant to repair his hearing. “The Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit staff was excellent. They treated us like family,” says Rachel. She also credits those working in neurosurgery, neurology, ENT and cardiovascular/transplant areas of the hospital for taking wonderful care of her son. Your generous support helped give little Jaxon a healthy heart … and so much more. In the months since he
received this wonderful gift, Jaxon has grown stronger. The meningitis is gone and his hearing is improving. As he learns to listen and mock the words he hears, Rachel is teaching Jaxon to say “momma,” “bye bye” and more. Because of you, Jaxon will soon be walking, talking and doing all the things toddlers do. Rachel and Zach are grateful for your support of ACH and excited about what the future holds for their little boy.
WWW.GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • ACHIEVER • J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2016
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| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016
• ACHIEVER • UNTIL NO CHILD NEEDS US, WE NEED YOU
Your Heart for Kids Helps Babies Like Adeline BY CASEY L. PENN
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efore Adeline Matthews-Ward was even born, your gifts helped Arkansas Children’s Hospital give her the best chance for a healthy life. Early in her pregnancy, Adeline’s mother Amanda learned the baby girl she carried would have to fight to survive. When a sonogram failed to register the baby’s heartbeat, follow-up tests revealed a number of problems. Amanda’s unborn baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome and a condition called cystic hygroma, which is a malformation of the lymphatic system. Unfortunately, the tests also showed a number of heart defects. For Adeline’s diagnosis and treatment plans, her mom and dad relied on specialists at ACH. The family’s first experience with ACH was years before, when Adeline’s older brother Jaxon spent 30 days in the ACH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Adeline was transferred to ACH just hours after she was born. By the time she was four days old, she had already had her first heart surgery. When Adeline reached five weeks old, her doctors decided she was strong enough for a second, more complicated surgery. They successfully repaired her AV canal defect or, as they explained it, “patched” her leaky heart. Adeline spent her first 77 days at ACH. It was a tough time, but Amanda is grateful for the support and compassion her family received while being kept up to date on Adeline’s progress.
“ACH does so much to assist families,” says Amanda, expressing gratitude on behalf of the family. “They strive not only to heal the patient, but also to assist the family in preparing for the new normal.” On Sept. 28, Adeline went home to Arkadelphia with her family for the very first time. She continues to face challenges associated with her condition. But because of you, Adeline’s care team at ACH is there to provide support, continued monitoring and any future treatment she may need. Meanwhile, Adeline’s future looks bright. Her family is watching its tiniest member develop quite a personality. “My precious Adeline is thriving, and a huge part of that is because of the great care by the ACH team,” says Amanda. “She likes music, and she is such a little trooper.” Because you have a heart for kids, babies like little Adeline receive life-saving care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital every day. Your generosity is helping little Adeline be better today and healthier tomorrow.
Did You Know? Your support helps surgeons at the
nationally recognized David M. Clark Heart Center perform as many as 450 heart surgeries every year. That’s a lot of children whose hearts beat stronger because of you. Children like Adeline need your help to get better. Please give generously today by using the enclosed envelope or by going online to giving.archildrens.org. Until no child needs us, we need you! WWW.GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • ACHIEVER • J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2016
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Why I Give BY ASHLEY LEOPOULOS
Grateful Grandparents Dee Ann and Don English give from the heart
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ee Ann English has been a member of the Board of Directors for Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute since 2008. Each year, she and her husband Don make a gift to ACH. But during the last two year, their generousity has been directed to a program that impacts someone they love very dearly – their granddaughter Aubrey. When Aubrey was born in summer 2014, doctors immediately discovered she was born with coarctation of the aorta, a mild congenital heart defect requiring surgery. Thankfully, the physicians at ACH were able to repair Aubrey’s heart quickly. Now, her family visits ACH every six months so Aubrey’s care team can monitor her progress. “Twenty-five years ago, kids with congenital heart problems didn’t make it. Now with surgery, they do,” says Dee Ann. After seeing the excellent care their granddaughter received at ACH, Dee Ann and Don knew they wanted to make a gift with lasting impact. In 2014, they made a generous gift to help launch the ACH Cardio Neurodevelopmental Program. Designed to monitor, assess, diagnose and treat children who are born with congenital heart defects (CHD), the ACH Cardio Neurodevelopmental Program connects families to the vital resources they need to monitor their child’s health into adulthood. According to the American Heart Association, “children with CHD are at an increased risk of
Born with a congenital heart defect, Aubrey English had heart surgery at ACH. Her grateful grandparents Dee Ann and Don English made a gift to the David M. Clark Heart Center to help more kids like Aubrey have a healthier tomorrow.
developmental disorders, disabilities or developmental delays.” This new program serves as a connector for a child with CHD to receive physical therapy, occupational therapy and learning assessments from birth until age 18. In 2015, DeeAnn and Don made a gift to purchase a 3D printer for the Heart Center. This cutting-edge technology will allow the team to produce 3D heart models to improve patient safety during surgery and reduce the number of surgeries required. The 3D printer also will help establish a heart model library for long-term use in student and resident training. Generous donors like you help kids like Aubrey get better today and be healthier tomorrow. Dee Ann and Don’s gifts to the cardiology program at ACH will not only help their grandchild, but will help generations of CHD children for years to come.
You, too, can make a difference in the lives of children. Leaving a gift in your will is an easy way to show the world what you cared about and what you stood for during your lifetime. To learn more about leaving a legacy gift to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, please contact Katherine L. Friend at 800-880-7491.