Champions THE MAGAZINE OF ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION
APRIL 2018
NURSING EXCELLENCE Because of you, children receive expert, compassionate care
Your
Gifts
Matter!
W
elcome to another edition of Champions, the magazine of Arkansas Children’s Foundation. At Arkansas Children’s, every single gi from donors like you makes a huge impact on the lives of children. That’s why, every few months, we share stories of how your support makes kids be er today and healthier tomorrow. This month, we introduce you to Kelley, a young girl who ba led debilitating seizures for years. Because of donors like you, neurosurgeons at Arkansas Children’s Hospital performed life-saving surgery. And while she’s not quite out of the woods, Kelley is on a road to recovery…in part thanks to you. On the opposite page, you’ll read some staggering statistics on how the Emergency Department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital handled one of the worst flu seasons on record. Can you believe doctors and nurses saw 306 patients in one day? Amazing! And your support is what makes delivering world-class care possible. All over the state, you’re helping Arkansas Children’s reach more children where they live, learn and play. In the next edition of Champions, we’ll tell you more about how our collective work is connecting the neonatal experts at Arkansas Children’s with newborn nurseries in Conway, Pine Bluff and southwest Arkansas. You can watch a video about the Arkansas Children’s Nursery Alliance now at giving.archildrens.org/nursery. Thank you for being a valuable partner in improving children’s health in Arkansas. You truly are a Champion for Children! Sincerely,
Fred Scarborough, CFRE President, Arkansas Children’s Foundation Chief Development Officer, Arkansas Children’s CHAMPIONS STAFF: Editor Becky McCauley Contributing Writers Ashley Leopoulos, Becky McCauley Designer C. Waynette Traub Photographers Amy Carper, Daniel Moody
Arkansas Children’s Foundation Board of Directors Chair Marcy Doderer, FACHE* Vice Chair Charles B. Whiteside III* Treasurer Jason LaFrance* President Fred Scarborough, CFRE Pat Allen Ritter Arnold Sharon Bale Ginger Blackmon Frances Buchanan Stuart Cobb Steve Davison Kirk Dupps Harry C. Erwin III* Kim Fowler Sharilyn Gasaway* Robin George* Mike Gibson Sonja Yates Hubbard Brandi Joplin Sharon Lamb Jim McClelland Mandy Macke Barbara Moore* Beverly Morrow Cindy Murphy Jake Nabholz Marshall Ney Terry Quinn Sue Redfield Kate Schaffer Jennifer Schueck Belinda Shults* Claudia Strange Celia Swanson Emeritus Directors Robert G. Cress Don Edmondson Henry Rogers, MD
*Executive Committee Current as of April 5, 2018
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Lives You’ve Touched
A pediatric emergency department is a busy place, especially during flu season. Support from donors like you helps Arkansas Children’s deliver right-sized emergency medical care for sick and injured children when they need it most.
Here’s a snapshot of what gifts like yours provide:
60,046
6,342
306
2,412
Children seen in the ACH Emergency Department from July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017
Children seen in the ACH Emergency Department in ONE DAY during the height of flu season
DID YOU KNOW?
Children seen at the beginning of flu season in November 2017
Number of flu tests administered from November 1, 2017– February 28, 2018
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 2017–2018 flu season was one of the worst in history. Arkansas Children’s made national headlines for state-of-the-art treatments. Visit giving.archildrens.org/flu to learn more!
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Precious THANKS TO YOU, TIM AND KACY DAWSON HAVE THEIR DAUGHTER BACK—HEALTHY AND WHOLE BY BECKY MCCAULEY
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im and Kacy Dawson were desperate and afraid. Their vibrant, happy, 7-year-old daughter Kelley was slipping away. Years and years of seizures were taking their toll. You see, when Kelley was just 20 months old, she suffered her first seizure while her family was on vacation. They rushed her to the local emergency room where doctors thought her seizures might be due to a high fever. But Tim and Kacy quickly learned that wasn’t the case. For the next five years, Kelley suffered endless, debilitating seizures. It’s a scary thing to watch, especially when it’s happening to your child. Doctors prescribed several medications to stop the seizures. The medicine would work for a while. Relieved, Tim and Kacy would begin to breathe a li le easier. And then suddenly, Kelley would have another devastating seizure. It was a disappointing, frustrating, heartbreaking rollercoaster ride for the Dawson family. But then, in December 2016, Kelley was diagnosed at Arkansas Children’s Hospital with a rare
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neurological condition that caused half of Kelley’s brain to grow larger than the other while she was still in her mother’s womb. While Tim and Kacy were thankful they finally knew what was happening to Kelley, they were even more frightened for their li le girl. Last November, a er months of testing, the expert neurology team at ACH determined the only way to limit the seizures and improve Kelley’s quality of life was to operate. Dr. Gregory Albert separated the hemispheres of Kelley’s brain and removed part of the le side, the part that was causing the seizures. A er her successful surgery and recovery, Kelley worked hard during several weeks of therapy at ACH. She had to learn to walk and talk again with help from her therapists. According to Kacy, Kelley hasn’t had a seizure since her surgery. She says, “Kelley is like a toddler in that she’s curious about everything. She wants to push every bu on, play with every toy. Because of her constant seizures, she missed
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out on that stage of her development. Now, the world has opened up to her. “We’re thankful for Kelley’s doctors and for the hospital. And we are so grateful to everyone who supports ACH,” continues Kacy. Although Kelley is now doing well, she—and many children like her who are fighting for their lives right now—still need your help. Kelley continues speech, occupational and physical therapy at school, and returns to ACH for follow-up visits. “She’s truly a miracle child,” Kacy says. “She has far exceeded our expectations, and her doctors are amazed at how far she’s come. There’s no limit to what she’s going to be able to do in life with her determination and joy.”
“Kelley’s uncontrolled seizures were keeping her from reaching her full potential. Although it seems drastic, disconnecting the left half of her brain will allow her right hemisphere to flourish and allow Kelley to reach her fullest potential.” — Gregory W. Albert, MD Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Arkansas Children’s Hospital
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Nursing Excellence
Because of you, children receive expert, compassionate care from a world-class team of nurses
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urses are at the heart of Arkansas Children’s mission. They are a critical part of every child’s care team and are at the core of Arkansas Children’s ability to provide safe, compassionate clinical care. Our nurses also influence the health of children beyond the walls of the hospitals and clinics by teaching, training and advising caregivers in communities across the state. Arkansas Children’s has an unyielding commitment to pursue the programs and initiatives that champion the health of children in our state. Therefore, one of Arkansas Children’s top priorities is the investment in and empowerment of nurses.
National Nurses Week is May 6–12. To make a gift in honor of your favorite nurse, please use the enclosed envelope or visit giving.archildrens.org today.
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Your support of nurses champions children like Brycen Isaiah Williams, featured on this month’s cover. Three-year-old Brycen was born with spina bifida, meaning his spinal cord didn’t develop properly. Your gifts ensure that our compassionate, world-class team of nurses is always there when children like Brycen need them. GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • AP RIL 2 0 1 8
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National Nurses Week is May 6–12.
This March, Arkansas Children's Hospital nurses celebrated the one-year anniversary of achieving Magnet® status. The Magnet Recognition Program is the highest and most prestigious designation of nursing excellence and quality patient care by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Because of you, ACH belongs to the elite 6 percent of hospitals worldwide that are Magnet recognized. Your support of nursing excellence means be er care for children in Arkansas. 8
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MAGNET STATUS HIGHLIGHTS
NURSING EXCELLENCE Magnet recognition means…
Better Care
Our staff spend more time at patients’ bedsides
Healthier Kids
Patients recover quicker at Magnet hospitals
Longer Lives
Magnet hospitals have lower mortality rate
Higher Satisfaction Families report better experiences
6%
Just 6% of hospitals worldwide receive Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center
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miracles You Make
Happen
Because of You, Award-Winning Emergency Department Nurse Provides Expert Pediatric Care
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BY ASHLEY LEOPOULOS
everal nights a week, Eimear Melton comes home from a 12-hour night nursing shi at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Before she goes to sleep she sends her son Gavin to school with packets of Benadryl, carefully planned snacks and an EpiPen, knowing that should he need to use it, the kit will save his life. With more than 13 years of experience at Arkansas Children’s including several years as a trauma nurse in the Arkansas Children's Hospital Emergency Department, Eimear is trained to provide the very best care to her patients and their families. She never thought she would rely on her training to take care of her own child. Eimear vividly remembers the day Gavin began feeling sick. Just an hour a er finishing his dinner, he was doubled over in pain and in tears. A er a few bad days and some antacids, Gavin began to feel be er. But following his 9th birthday, Gavin passed out from intense stomach pain while at school. He was immediately rushed to the Emergency Department at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The pain subsided, but doctors ran a host of tests. The results were inconclusive. One evening, while on spring break, Gavin and his family were enjoying dinner when he began complaining of his eyes burning. Eimear noticed his eye was beginning to swell and realized he was going into anaphylactic shock. It became clear to Eimear: Gavin had food allergies. A er returning to ACH for additional testing, they found Gavin was allergic to many of the foods he was coming in contact with on a daily basis. “Arkansas Children’s Hospital took great care of us,” says Eimear. “They took the time to educate Gavin to use the EpiPen, and showed him how to read food labels and order safely at a restaurant. ACH empowered us to make these changes and keep Gavin safe.”
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“As nurses we strive to take the best care of children and families. I’ve seen miracles happen.” —Eimear Melton
“We are an ACH family,” says Eimear. Her brother Conner works with the ACH Security team, her mom Mary Rose works in the lab and her sister Meghan works at the Circle of Friends Clinic. “We do not go anywhere else for our care. We are all ACH all the time.” Not surprisingly, Eimear knows ACH just like she knows her own home. She has served patients and their families in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Infant/Toddler Unit and the Emergency Department, rocking babies to sleep and checking vitals well into the night. In February 2018 Eimear was nominated for a Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses, recognizing her compassionate care and exceptional work in the Emergency Department. “As nurses we strive to take the best care of children and families,” says Eimear. “I’ve seen miracles happen and it is an honor to be recognized for our work. We are a fantastic team in the Emergency Department—I couldn’t do the work without my team.”
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HEARTBREAK, HOPE & PASSION Russellville Family’s Transformational Gift Changes Lives of Abused and Neglected Children BY BECKY MCCAULEY
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everly Keener’s story is one of heartbreak, hope and passion. As a long-time volunteer and friend of Arkansas Children’s, Beverly Keener has seen a lot of heartbreaking things. Newborn babies shaking and crying because their mothers were addicted to drugs or alcohol. A child with two broken arms that were a result, not of a childhood accident, but of maltreatment at the hands of a parent or guardian. Infants wearing a certain color wrist or leg band indicating a parent is not allowed to see their child. These experiences ignited a lifelong passion for making a difference for the children of Arkansas. Beverly first became involved with Arkansas Children’s in 1999 a er retiring from the phone company in her hometown of Russellville. A friend invited her to join the Arkansas River Valley chapter of Circle of Friends (COF), a statewide network of volunteers who raise funds and awareness for Arkansas Children’s. A er her first tour of Arkansas Children’s Hospital with her COF group, Beverly was hooked. Since that day, Beverly spent several years volunteering with children in the Infant/Toddler Unit at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
One day she was asked if she was comfortable handling the sickest, most vulnerable patients in the hospital—the premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She became the first volunteer to ever rock babies in the NICU. Many years later one child in particular is still close to Beverly’s heart. This li le girl had been hospitalized for almost two years. She couldn’t swallow and was dependent on feeding tubes for nourishment. Beverly says, “Every time I saw her she waved to me. When her doctor decided it was time for her to try to eat real food, they brought her French fries, but she wouldn’t eat them. So I said, ‘This li le girl needs something colorful to entice her. Can you bring her some ketchup?’ They did. And she ate the fries.” Beverly’s beloved husband David, who was a staunch supporter of his wife’s passion for helping children,
passed away in April of 2016. During this incredibly difficult time Beverly began thinking of ways she could continue her support of Arkansas Children’s far into the future. With help from her financial advisor, Beverly established the Beverly and David Keener Family Endowed Fund in Child Maltreatment Prevention. The Keener family’s generous, transformational gi will give hope to children and families affected by abuse and neglect by supporting the David M. Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children on the ACH campus. The Clark Center, which opened in 2016, is dedicated to the care and treatment of neglected and abused children and their families. It is a single, safe place for children to receive all the medical, psychological and social health services they need. “Kids who have been mistreated are so vulnerable, so innocent,” says Beverly. “The fact that they can go to one place and tell their painful, traumatizing story one time instead of going to several different places repeating their story over and over is so important. That child has been through enough. The sooner they can get everyone involved who needs to be, the sooner that child and family can begin to heal.”
Make the Gift of a Lifetime
You, too, can champion children by making a planned gift to Arkansas Children's. To learn more, visit giving.archildrens.org/plannedgiving. GIVING.ARCHILDRENS.ORG • CHAMPIONS • AP RIL 2 0 1 8
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“The entire ACH staff was always friendly and welcoming. They took care of us, and always made us feel at home.” ~ ANNE MARIE SANDS GRATEFUL PARENT OF KAYLYNN
YOUR GIFT MATTERS
BE A CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN You can help children like Kaylynn get better today and be healthier tomorrow. A gift of $25, $50, $100 or more to Arkansas Children’s makes a huge difference in the life of a sick child.
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!
Use the enclosed envelope or visit giving.archildrens.org.