Champions THE MAGAZINE OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
MAY/JUNE 2020
2020:
THE YEAR OF THE NURSE Your support helps Arkansas Children’s
PROVIDE EXPERT PEDIATRIC CARE through our team of world-class nurses
Now, More Than Ever Dear Champion for Children, With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic just a few short months ago, life looks very different for all of us. But one thing remains constant: Arkansas Children’s is here to care for the children in your life. This is only possible because of you. This issue of Champions features stories about how your generous, continued support is helping Arkansas Children’s fulfill our mission of making children be er today and healthier tomorrow throughout these uncertain times. On pages 4–5, you’ll read about how, with your help, Arkansas Children’s is adjusting to ever-evolving challenges due to COVID-19. Because of you, Arkansas Children’s is prepared to provide expert pediatric care to patients and compassionate care to their families in the days, weeks and months ahead. Because of your thoughtful gi s, the Child Life and Education Department provides services such as music therapy and TAILS (Therapeutic Animal Intervention Li s Spirits) that make pediatric healthcare at Arkansas Children’s unique. Turn to pages 6–7 to read how Child Life provides for the emotional, social and playtime needs of patients at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Arkansas Children’s Northwest. There has never been a be er time to celebrate the heart of Arkansas Children’s— our nurses. The year 2020 has been named “The Year of the Nurse” in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday. On pages 8–9, you’ll learn how, because of your support, Arkansas Children’s nurses provide exceptional nursing care for sick and injured children every day. And last but certainly not least, I’m astounded at the generous outpouring of love and support for our patients, their families and the Arkansas Children’s team. On pages 10–11, you’ll read about individuals, businesses and churches who are finding meaningful, creative ways to support the lifesaving work happening every day at Arkansas Children’s—including one special li le girl who is using her time in selfisolation to make a difference for other kids. Now, more than ever, thank you for championing children at Arkansas Children’s. As we all continue to navigate this global health crisis, please keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Arkansas Children’s Foundation Board of Directors Chair Jason LaFrance* Vice Chair Jake Nabholz* Treasurer Charles B. Whiteside III* President Fred Scarborough, CFRE* Ritter Arnold Sharon Bale Nancy Benton Ginger Blackmon Frances Buchanan Stuart Cobb Steve Davison Marcy Doderer, FACHE* Harry C. Erwin III* Kim Fowler Sharilyn Gasaway* Robin George* Sonja Yates Hubbard Brandi Joplin Mandy Macke Jim McClelland Barbara Moore Beverly Morrow Cindy Murphy Marshall Ney Lynn Parker Terry Quinn Sue Redfield Kate Schaffer
Gratefully,
Jennifer Schueck Michael Shelby Belinda Shults*
Fred Scarborough, CFRE President, Arkansas Children’s Foundation Chief Communications Officer & Development Officer, Arkansas Children’s Executive Vice President, Arkansas Children’s CHAMPIONS STAFF: Editor Becky McCauley Designer C. Waynette Traub Photographers Beth Hall, Brandon Markin, Dero Sanford
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• CHAMPIONS • BETTER TODAY. HEALTHIER TOMORROW.
Isaac Smith Claudia Strange Celia Swanson Joe Tucker Emeritus Director Henry Rogers, MD *Executive Committee Current as of June 1, 2020
Keeping Kids Safe Your generous support helps our team of healthcare heroes—our dedicated, compassionate nurses—champion children at Arkansas Children’s every day. Nurses are an integral part of a patient’s care team at Arkansas Children’s. With their dedication and professionalism, Arkansas Children’s nurses provide safe, expert, research-informed clinical care to patients and compassionate care to families. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all—including children—live, learn and play. But one thing hasn’t changed: With your support, Arkansas Children’s nurses are working tirelessly to care for patients and families through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Your generosity provides education, programs and initiatives that prepare our nurses for emergencies such as COVID-19. For example, the Versant RN Residency Program helps build skills and confidence in new nurses through classes, mentoring and support groups. Programs like Versant couldn’t happen without you.
Because of you, children at Arkansas Children’s receive care from highly trained, experienced pediatric nurses.
1,500
R
N
registered nurses (RNs) on staff throughout the entire Arkansas Children’s health system
90%
average retention rate of nurses after first year vs. national average of 82%*
445
Versant graduates since the program began in 2014
84%
of new hires have a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree or higher
29
nursing hires from out-of-state, including Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia
Data gathered July 2018—June 2019 *Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice
Because of you, nurses at Arkansas Children’s provide expert pediatric care to patients and compassionate care to families. Thank you for championing children at Arkansas Children’s through our world-class team of healthcare heroes! GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 0
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Because of generous donors like you, programs like telehealth are helping Arkansas Children's reach more children in more ways where they live, learn and play. Thank you for being a champion for kids at Arkansas Children’s.
ARK ANSAS CHILDREN’S:
MORE THAN EVER
Because of you, Arkansas Children’s provides world-class healthcare to children during this global health crisis and beyond.
BY BECKY MCCAULEY
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ow, more than ever, the children and families seeking care at Arkansas Children’s need the specialized services that only a children's hospital provides. As Arkansas’ only pediatric health system, Arkansas Children’s cares for the sickest children in the state. These patients are fighting heart disease, cancer and other devastating illnesses that weaken their immune systems, making them especially vulnerable to a highly contagious virus such as COVID-19. As the healthcare community responds to COVID-19 in our state, the Arkansas Children’s team is tirelessly navigating ever-evolving
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challenges. The Arkansas Children’s care teams are working around the clock to provide exceptional, lifesaving care for our patients and family-centered, compassionate care for our patients’ families. Because of you, the healthcare heroes at Arkansas Children's continue to be there when children and families need expert pediatric care the most. Here are a few of the many ways—with your generous support—Arkansas Children’s has adapted quickly to the rapidly changing publichealth crisis:
• CHAMPIONS • BETTER TODAY. HEALTHIER TOMORROW.
Safety: Always First at Arkansas Children’s Arkansas Children’s highest priority is the health and safety of our patients and their families, our frontline caregivers, volunteers, staff and donors like you. Measures such as temperature screening every person who enters an Arkansas Children’s facility; limiting visitors to one adult (age 18 and up) at a time; and the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) by staff, visitors and patient families are critical to helping keep patients and Arkansas Children’s team members safe.
COVID-19 Emergency Fund: Crisis Funding To respond to the emerging needs of our patients and care teams, Arkansas Children’s created a COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Your support of this fund provides flexible funding for evolving demands, such as: • Supplies and equipment: Ventilators; PPE such as masks, gloves and gowns; medical supplies; and telehealth equipment • Patient and family assistance: Short-term room-andboard expenses and long-term solutions for families facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 • Employee assistance: Caring for our frontline team members’ physical, mental and financial well-being as they heroically serve patients and families • Community resources and partnerships: Staffing a statewide pediatric hotline at (800) 743-3616 with nurses 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer families’ questions about COVID-19; and a plan to offer surge relief for hospitals by admi ing additional patients, both pediatric and adult, from those medical facilities if needed • Crisis response: Boosting the flexibility of Arkansas Children’s emergency command team as they make complex operational decisions daily and prepare for challenges that lie ahead
NYC Relief: A Selfless Devotion to Duty As true healthcare heroes, our caregivers at Arkansas Children’s have been touched by the troubling news out of New York City—one of the areas of the country hit hardest by COVID-19. On April 18, nine Arkansas Children’s nurses and five Arkansas Children’s respiratory therapists le Li le Rock to join the relief efforts in New York City. These frontline caregivers worked three shi s a week in the same unit at the same hospital. They returned home to Arkansas on May 7 and, a er observing a two-week quarantine, are back to providing expert pediatric care to kids at Arkansas Children’s. Stephanie Cordova, a nurse in ACH’s neuroscience department, was thrilled to help her fellow nurses in NYC: “As a nurse, I serve people. Helping with this crisis relief was my opportunity to serve the United States. It was an honor for me to go.”
Telehealth: Expert Care at Home Since March, with the onset of COVID-19, the volume of telehealth patient care at Arkansas Children’s has dramatically increased. Telehealth, or telemedicine, is the use of technology-enabled communication devices, including smart phones and tablets, to deliver remote medical care. This can include the use of live, interactive video, recorded video or telephone communication. For patients and families, telehealth can provide quicker, safer access to pediatric specialists through a virtual visit instead of traveling to a clinic or hospital. Currently, Arkansas Children's specialists across dozens of departments—from asthma to cardiology— are conducting more than 200 telehealth visits daily.
BECAUSE OF YOU, Arkansas Children’s can provide expert pediatric care and community resources such as a statewide pediatric hotline during this unprecedented time. If you have questions about COVID-19, please call the 24/7 pediatric hotline at (800) 743-3616. GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 0
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Playtime, School & Fun BY BECKY MCCAULEY
Your support provides patient- and family-centered care through the Child Life and Education Department at Arkansas Children’s.
C
hildhood doesn’t stop for illness or injury. Children still need playtime, school and fun. But being in the hospital can cause feelings of fear, anxiety, confusion and isolation for young people. The Child Life and Education Department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW) provides care focused on the emotional, social and playtime needs of children and their families. Child Life Specialists help patients cope with stress and uncertainty through medical play, music therapy, animal-assisted therapy, special events, an in-hospital school and the Artists-in-Residence program. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, Child Life has temporarily changed the way patients receive these services. But one thing hasn’t changed: The Child Life and Education Department is an important part of what makes Arkansas Children’s unique. This is only possible because of you.
Child Life Specialists Child Life Specialists are highly trained members of a child’s care team at ACH and ACNW, administering age-appropriate interventions, providing support and communicating at each child’s individual level. These specialists prepare patients for procedures or treatments using kid-savvy language and special dolls; help reduce a child’s anxiety during medical procedures; offer therapeutic and playtime activities; and promote family-centered care by providing education, information, advocacy and support.
Music Therapy Board-certified Music Therapist Andrew Ghrayeb visits patients at ACH, from infants to teenagers, in their hospital room or in a rehab se ing. A cart of instruments, including a keyboard, bongo drums, ukulele, rain drum and even ra les for infants and toddlers, encourages children to participate in music therapy. Andrew o en helps patients compose musical pieces, or will write music to accompany a child’s lyrics. And music therapy offers unique mementos such as a patient’s heartbeat recording set to a favorite song. This can be especially meaningful when a family loses a child or for heart transplant patients.
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• CHAMPIONS • BETTER TODAY. HEALTHIER TOMORROW.
Thank you for championing children through the Child Life and Education Department. You help kids be kids, even when they’re in the hospital.
Hospital School Program To help patients stay on track with their schoolwork, ACH offers the Hospital School Program. The school is open to patients from kindergarten–12th grade who meet certain criteria, such as a long hospital stay. School meets four days per week for 90-minute sessions and operates 12 months per year. Certified teachers communicate with patients’ schoolteachers to discuss assignments and inform them of any special needs the child may have upon returning to school.
Artists-in-Residence Art activities reduce the stress of being in the hospital and can help children cope with a chronic illness. As part of the Child Life and Education Department, Artistsin-Residence Elizabeth Weber and Hamid Ebrahimifar work with children at ACH both at the bedside and in the hospital playroom and teen room, offering art projects tailored to each child’s age and ability levels. These art projects are in alignment with and support the Arkansas Department of Education’s core curriculum.
TAILS (Therapeutic Animal Intervention Lifts Spirits) Volunteers visit patients at ACNW and ACH with their specially trained dogs both in the hospitals’ playrooms and at the bedside. Interaction with a TAILS dog is another way of helping children cope with the stress, anxiety and isolation that can result from being in the hospital.
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The Heart f Arkansas Children’s The Year of the Nurse—in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday—was established this year to celebrate the invaluable contributions of nurses. Because of you, the nursing team at Arkansas Children’s provides excellent patient care every day. BY BECKY MCCAULEY
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urses are essential to providing compassionate patientand family-centered care. Now, more than ever, the nurses at Arkansas Childen’s are on the frontline, providing safe, expert clinical care to children every day. With your support, Arkansas Children’s pursues programs and initiatives that champion the health of children in our state. Your investment in Arkansas Children’s is leading to be er patient outcomes, increased patient safety and higher family satisfaction through the excellence of our nurses. Because of your generous gi s, Arkansas Children’s: • invests in nursing education by increasing the number of nurses on staff with advanced degrees; • offers the Versant Residency Program— an 18-week education and training program designed to transition new nurses from students to safe, competent professionals—which helps recruit and retain top nursing talent; • achieved Magnet Status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2017, establishing Arkansas Children’s among the elite six percent of hospitals worldwide that have earned this most-prestigious recognition.
Your support helps provide better care at Arkansas Children’s through nursing excellence, leading to healthier kids and higher patient and family satisfaction—thank you!
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2020: The Year of the Nurse: Celebrating Florence Nightingale
May 12, 2020, marked the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. Nurses at Arkansas Children’s and around the world are celebrating this exceptional woman and her legacy.
Founder of Modern Nursing: Florence Nightingale is widely hailed as the founder of modern nursing. Two hundred years a er her birth, she is still an inspiration to nurses around the globe.
Early Life: Florence was born into an affluent family. Her parents expected her to marry and raise a family. But instead, she persuaded her parents to allow her to take a three-month nursing training at a hospital in Germany. Then, at age 33, Florence became superintendent of a hospital for women in London.
The Crimean War: Conditions were dismal for soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. In March 1854, Florence was invited to coordinate the introduction of female nurses into military hospitals in Turkey. Her organization led to increases in critical supplies and improvements in cleanliness and overall conditions.
A Reformer: A er the war, Florence returned to England a heroine. Using statistical charts showing more men died of disease than from wounds in Crimea, she began advocating for nursing reform. In 1860, Florence established the Nightingale Training School using donations from her nursing fund, the Nightingale Fund. The word spread, and soon Nightingale nurses were starting nursing schools the world over. In 1907, she became the first woman in history to receive Britain’s highest civilian decoration, the Order of Merit. Florence Nightingale died at the age of 90 in England. Her legacy lives on every day at Arkansas Children’s through our highly trained, talented nursing team. Arkansas Children's nurses not only provide exceptional care inside the walls of our hospitals and clinics, but influence the health of children outside our walls by teaching, training and advising caregivers across the state. This can only happen because of YOU! GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • M AY/J U N E 2 0 2 0
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Community of Champions In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, generous donors like you are finding thoughtful ways to champion children, families and the healthcare heroes at Arkansas Children’s. BY BECKY MCCAULEY
I
n times like these, your gi s are more important than ever. Because of your generosity, Arkansas Children’s is able to navigate these difficult days while keeping kids, families and caregivers safe. Here are a few examples of generous friends who have offered help—from deliveries of masks and food to donations of crayons and coffee— and have made an impact on the children, families and healthcare heroes at Arkansas Children’s.
Kids Helping Kids Five-year-old Willow Gill received a sewing machine for her birthday in January and is hard at work sewing masks for patients and families at Arkansas Children’s. Willow was treated for cancer at Arkansas Children’s and “rang the bell” at her end-of-treatment party last November. Willow’s mom Bri any says, “Willow was really excited when she heard the hospital needed masks. Ever since she went through treatment at Arkansas Children’s, I’ve tried to teach her how important it is to pay it forward. I‘m so proud of Willow for wanting to help and do good.”
Now, more than ever, we recognize our champions for children— both our heroes in healthcare and heroic supporters like you. You are a true champion for children! 10
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• CHAMPIONS • BETTER TODAY. HEALTHIER TOMORROW.
Caring for Our Healthcare Heroes Many individuals, churches, and local and national businesses have donated coffee and pastries, pizzas and individual meals to feed our caregivers on the frontline. To date there have been more than 5,000 individual meals donated for our healthcare heroes! According to Volunteer Engagement Programs Manager Halley Hamon, donations of meals have been a huge hit with the Arkansas Children’s team. “Just knowing the community is supporting our frontline caregivers and doing what they Arkansas Children’s team members enjoyed 1,300 meals from Moe's can to li their spirits means so much.” Southwest Grill, generously donated by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Masks and Toys Arkansas Children’s has received thousands of homemade cloth masks from individuals and companies for patient and family use. In addition, local schools and companies have used their 3D printers to create ear guards and extenders. The ear guards help relieve the pain caused by continuously wearing masks, and the extenders help hold children’s masks in place. In addition, much-needed donations of new toys are coming in. Toys such as coloring books, crayons and puzzles help distract children, lessening the stress of being in the hospital and undergoing procedures.
How you can support our patients, families and healthcare heroes during the COVID-19 crisis: Toys & Meals To donate items such as coloring books, crayons, books and toys for patients and families, visit the Arkansas Children’s Walmart Registry for Good to place your order online. To provide restaurant gift cards or individually packaged, restaurant-catered meals delivered to the hospital’s main entrance. For details or to schedule your donation, please call Volunteer Engagement at (501) 364-1825 for ACH or (479) 725-6986 for ACNW. You can also email volunteer@archildrens.org.
Masks Arkansas Children’s is in need of homemade cloth masks for our clinic patients and patient family members. For guidelines, pattern and delivery, please call Volunteer Engagement at (501) 364-1825 for ACH or (479) 725-6986 for ACNW. You can also email volunteer@archildrens.org.
Monetary Gifts Visit give.archildrens.org/champions or call (800) 880-7491 to support the Arkansas Children’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund. This fund will help with evolving needs ranging from equipment to providing assistance directly to families experiencing financial hardship during this crisis.
Because of You Erica Phillips, executive director of volunteer engagement at Arkansas Children’s, has been amazed at the outpouring of support during the COVID-19 crisis. “The Arkansas Children’s team has been overwhelmed at the generosity of our community. Everything our team members do is for the kids. So for them to receive a li le recognition for their hard work and dedication has been wonderful!” Thank you for being a champion for patients and families at Arkansas Children’s!
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HELP ME HEALTHIER HAVE A
TOMORROW
JOIN US TODAY. Make your gift to the COVID-19 Emergency Fund or any other program in support of the kids at Arkansas Children’s. Your gift of $25, $50 or more to Arkansas Children’s will help children get better today and be healthier tomorrow. Visit give.archildrens.org/champions or call (800) 880-7491