INSPIRED TO GIVE. INSPIRED TO HEAL. Sanford Health Foundation Fargo Summer Sanford Health Foundation Sioux 2011 Falls Summer 2013
Dancing for the kids
Providing the
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Thanking a
guardian angel Employees helping employees
Charlee Peskey, with the help of her father Ryan, motivates the crowd with a group cheer during the Augustana College Dance Marathon.
Dancing for the Kids Chris Underhill, junior at Augustana College, arrived at the third annual Augustana College Dance Marathon dressed up and ready to celebrate. Wearing the official dance marathon T-shirt, orange bandana, purple and orange balloon hat and a smile, he helped raise money, awareness and spirit for the kids and their families served by Children’s Miracle Network at Sanford Children’s Hospital. “I’m so thankful I made myself do this and I’m so glad I can help because it’s such an extremely good cause,” he said. Underhill and 140 students at Augustana, along with hundreds of students from South Dakota State University, University of South Dakota and Dakota Wesleyan University, organized dance marathons this spring to benefit Children’s Miracle Network. Top: Students celebrate their achievement of raising more than $50,000 at the University of South Dakota’s Dance Marathon in March. Left: In between morale dances, students play games like shaving water balloons at South Dakota State University’s State-A-Thon. 2 encourage
These are incredible leaders on their respective campuses, said Amy Sumner, Program Director for Children’s Miracle Network. “They take on this role above and beyond what they already do with classes and extracurricular activities,” Sumner said. “What impresses me most is they are so willing to share their time, talent and enthusiasm, and as a result of it, encourage hundreds of other kids to participate in an event like dance marathon.” Dance marathons are so much more than just dancing. They’re student-driven, year-round commitments to raising funds and awareness for the region’s only Children’s Miracle Network, Sanford Children’s Hospital. It also provides the opportunity for Sanford Children’s families to be a part of an amazing event. “State-A-Thon is sometimes misunderstood as just another fundraiser. What we do as an organization is put on fundraisers all
Jovie Maunders, a Miracle Child, works on arts and crafts with Katey and Abbey Ulrich, college students at the University of South Dakota.
year long to raise money,” said Kayla Struck, SDSU Overall Coordinator. Students plan events such as Jail ‘n’ Bail, 5K fun run and pancake feed and collaborate with local businesses to share a percentage of sales. “State-A-Thon is a great big celebration with just a few of the many families that are impacted by the money we raise year round,” she said. Dance marathons first started in 1991 at Indiana University to benefit a children’s hospital in Indianapolis. Although dance marathons vary at colleges and universities across the country, each event is designed around a theme and ranges from 12 to 40 hours of group dances, presentations by Miracle Families, entertainment, food and other activities. Festivities culminate with the announcement of the total funds raised for the year.
The first dance marathon in South Dakota happened at USD in 1998. Since then, area college students have committed themselves to the cause with endowment pledges. SDSU State-A-Thon pledged $350,000. At USD Dance Marathon, students pledged more than $363,000, and Augustana Dance Marathon pledged $100,000 last year. Dakota Wesleyan University raised almost $5,000 in its first year. Leaders of the four dance marathons pledged nearly $650,000 in the last 15 years. Melissa Plamann, Morale Co-Chair at Augustana, said she’s proud to help lead this event. The children inspire her to motivate her peers to make a difference in others’ lives. “I think about how awesome it is to have college kids helping these Miracle kids,” she said. “We are like their guardian angels in a way.”
Chris Underhill, junior at Augustana College
Ashley Mammenga, left, and her twin sister Alyssa, right, both Miracle Kids, pose with Tessa Dee, Miss Gold Rush, during Dakota Weslyan University’s Tigerthon.
Dance marathon funds support Children’s Miracle Network and help purchase equipment, support education, programs and research, and provide direct family assistance to patients at Sanford Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit foundation. sanfordhealth.org and choose Children’s Miracle Network. encourage 3
Bill and Carol Stebor
Providing the comforts of Lynette Rauscher and her husband prepared to drive to Florida last October and stay through the winter season. But before they could enjoy the southern climate, they received some life-changing news. She had breast cancer. The Parkston, S.D., woman needed to choose a medical facility somewhere in Florida or return to Sanford Health in Sioux Falls for treatment. The option to stay at the Sanford Cancer Apartments made the decision more obvious. “It made it so easy to focus on being where I needed to be,” Rauscher said. “It feels like family here.” The Sanford Cancer Apartments are housed in a former apartment building close to the Sanford USD Medical Center. They are reserved for patients and their families who live more than 40 miles away and need extended-stay housing due to extensive cancer treatment schedules.
Mark your calendar
“I just felt safe and comfortable and I could get to the Sanford Cancer Center with my own two feet,” Rauscher said. The first three apartments were converted and opened in January 2010 thanks to a grant from the Sanford Health Foundation’s Unrestricted Fund. Additional donor gifts helped renovate five more apartments. Each is furnished with kitchen appliances and supplies, bedroom linens, TV, DVD player, telephone, cable, Internet and laundry room access. Patients pay $20 a night to cover utilities and cleaning fees. Another couple, Bill and Carol Stebor from Gary, S.D., was also relieved to learn about the apartments last fall. After doctors diagnosed Bill with squamous cell carcinoma on the base of his tongue, he needed both radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
“We considered bringing our RV down and parking it in a campground, but with the time of season this was not possible,” Carol said. “Plus, it would have been more expensive.” Butch Reinesch, Concierge at the Sanford Cancer Center, said 125 patients stayed in the apartments in 2012. The average stay was 11 nights. Reinesch oversees the apartments and makes sure the patients are comfortable. In return, he often hears appreciation. “It’s a relief,” he said. “I hear that more than anything.”
Gifts to the Unrestricted Fund support the greatest needs throughout Sanford Health and help launch unique projects like the Sanford Cancer Patient Apartments. To make a gift, visit foundation.sanfordhealth.org.
Children’s Miracle Network and Keloland TV are partnering to present a Prime Time Special on
Tuesday, June 4, starting at 7 p.m. This hour-long broadcast will share inspiring stories of children in the region who received hope, health and healing at Sanford Children’s Hospital.
KELOLAND
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home
TELEVISION
Liberty, from Flandreau, is battling cancer
Saving Eli For Matt and Andi Ward of Waubay, S.D., their first pregnancy could be called easy. The newlywed couple got pregnant immediately after wedding in July 2012. “Eli is a honeymoon baby,” Andi said, adding she didn’t experience typical first-trimester symptoms like nausea, heartburn or dizziness. “It was a breeze.” But it took a turn for the worst in January. On Christmas day she felt the baby moving, but a week later it wasn’t as active. Then her feet and ankles swelled significantly. She was concerned and contacted Dr. Heather Spies, Obstetrician and Gynecologist, in Watertown. Blood and urine tests showed Andi had dangerously elevated liver enzymes, decreasing platelets and high blood pressure. The medical staff in Watertown sent her directly to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls. An ultrasound revealed the baby and Andi were in trouble.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. His body lacked red blood cells, needed oxygen and experienced almost total organ failure. The Wards said the medical staff was completely honest with them about Eli’s health. “For the first few weeks, we didn’t know if he was going to make it,” Andi said. Six weeks later, Eli improved enough to move to Level II critical status and Matt and Andi felt a little more confident their son would live. In April, doctors told the Wards Eli was recovering as well as expected. “So far everything looks good,” Matt said. “It’s pretty amazing compared to when he was born.” They wholeheartedly thank the medical staff at Sanford Health for their exceptional care.
“From where we started to where we are now, they did a miracle on him,” he said. “We are lucky to be here.” Andi couldn’t agree more. “They saved him,” she said, tearing up. “If they hadn’t treated us with such a sense of urgency, we wouldn’t be here with what we have now.” Gifts to the Boekelheide NICU provide state-of-the-art equipment and advanced training for NICU specialists, nurses and support staff so they are prepared to care for tiny pre-term babies, like Eli, many of whom are fighting for their lives.
To make a gift to the Boekelheide NICU Fund, visit foundation.sanfordhealth.org.
Matt and Andi Ward with their son, Eli
“It wasn’t just some edema, it was severe,” Matt said. “Doctors said, ‘You’ve got one option and that is to deliver the baby immediately.’” Eli was born via cesarean surgery the next day on Jan. 15. Bloated with excessive fluid, he received immediate attention from three neonatologists and perinatal specialists. The Wards said Eli had been exposed to a parvovirus infection that was attacking his bone marrow, preventing it from producing new red blood cells and oxygen, and causing his tissues and cells to leak fluid. Born at 25 weeks and 13 inches long, his weight of 3 pounds, 5 ounces was mostly fluid. Normally, babies at that age weigh 1 pound in the womb. It was a scary and whirlwind chain of events in the hospital that sent Eli straight to the Boekelheide encourage 5
Brandon Jensen places a Guardian Angel pin on Dr. KayeLyn Wagner, Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist.
Guardian Angel pin.
Thanking a guardian angel Penny Jensen and her son, Brandon, met Dr. KayeLyn Wagner, Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist, at Sanford Children’s Hospital in December 2010. It was under strenuous and unfortunate circumstances because Brandon, who was 7 years old at the time, had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “I have to admit, when I was told we needed to meet with a pediatric oncologist, I was very scared, but Dr. Wagner was so caring and compassionate,” Penny Jensen said. “She assured us she would do everything she could to make him feel better.” Brandon’s health started to wane with fevers. Lab work and a chest x-ray at an acute care facility prompted his pediatrician to direct them immediately to Sanford Children’s for a CT scan. A biopsy confirmed his diagnosis and persistent fevers kept him in the hospital. Brandon and his family battled his cancer with chemotherapy both outpatient and inpatient and an umbilical cord blood transplant 6 encourage
in July 2011. Three months later, Brandon was cancer free. All the while, Dr. Wagner was by their side for professional, resourceful and emotional support. She was so calm, caring and sincere, Jensen said, she changed their fear into courage. Her approach was especially relevant to Brandon because he’s a quiet kid, Jensen said, and Dr. Wagner was able to get him to smile even on the worst days. “It didn’t take long for Brandon to begin feeling better once she started treatment,” Jensen said. “She took the time to answer our many questions. She was honest with us about how tough the road would be, but at the same time, she gave us the hope we needed to get through it.” Dr. Wagner made such an impression on the Jensen family they donated to the Guardian Angel program in her honor. Guardian Angel is a new program at the Sanford Health Foundation that allows patients and their families to say thank you to a Sanford doctor, nurse, staff member or volunteer who made a difference in their hospital experience.
“I chose to donate through the Guardian Angel Program because I feel Dr. Wagner is our guardian angel,” Jensen said. “We cannot thank her enough for all she has done for our family. Because of her, we have many more precious years with Brandon.” Dr. Wagner said it was a pleasure to take care of Brandon and it’s an honor to receive the Guardian Angel pin. “One of the reasons we can do our job is because no matter what happened you faced it with strength,” she said. “That makes it easier to do our jobs. Thank you so much for thinking of me.”
Gifts to the Guardian Angel program support the Unrestricted Fund and are used wherever the need is greatest throughout Sanford Health’s Sioux Falls region. To make a gift through the Guardian Angel program, visit foundation.sanfordhealth.org.
Donors find ways to reduce 2013 taxes Recently enacted federal tax legislation has enhanced how Americans view gifts to charity in many ways. At the Sanford Health Foundation, we agree with many analysts who recognized the charitable benefits of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA).
roll over up to $100,000 from your IRA to a charity free from federal income tax. Better yet, an IRA rollover gift qualifies for your 2013 required minimum distribution, permitting you to lower your income and taxes for this year while helping the cause you love.
Berniece Oberling, who recently took advantage of the IRA Rollover provision, said she had been thinking about making a gift to support those tiny, precious babies in the Boekelheide Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Oberling said she’s happy she can make a gift and make a difference in others’ lives.
“At the same time, I had just paid my 2012 tax bill and was looking for a way to reduce my taxes for 2013,” Oberling said. “This IRA Rollover option is good all the way around.” Berniece Oberling
“The best reason for having this money is so I can share it!” she said. If you, like Oberling, are looking for a way to reduce your taxes while at the same time making an impact on the patients and families we serve, please contact Amy Bruns at (605) 328-5715 or Marya McCrae at (605) 328-5705.
Through the IRA Rollover Provision, if you are 70 ½ years or older you may
Employees helping employees Ann Newbrough-Renken will never forget how difficult her life was in 2007. Newly divorced, she juggled her roles of single parent to two teenagers, household manager and full-time Sanford Health Clinic employee. Her financial situation was beginning to strain and she struggled to buy groceries and pay her utility bills and house payments. The clinic director suggested she apply for financial assistance from the Sanford Health Employee Crisis Fund. This special fund provides financial aid to employees who have unforeseen circumstances that significantly affect their ability to meet their basic needs of food, housing, clothing and transportation. “It was like a miracle to me,” Newbrough-Renken said.
Her children were also affected positively. Newbrough-Renken said they learned about giving to those less fortunate and who need help. “You never want to think you’d be in that situation, but if you are, it’s a good feeling to know your Sanford family is there to support you in a crisis,” she said. More than 650 employees in the Sioux Falls region donated to the Employee Crisis Fund in 2012. Newbrough-Renken is proud to be one of them, knowing her fellow Sanford Health employees care about each other. She also serves on the Employee Crisis Fund Committee. “I know what the committee does, and because of my experience, I wanted to help,” Newbrough-Renken said. “It feels good to be able to say to someone, ‘We can help you.’”
Ann Newbrough-Renken
To learn more about the Employee Crisis Fund, call Human Resources at (605) 333-7036. To make a gift to this fund, call the Sanford Health Foundation at (605) 328-5700 or visit foundation.sanfordhealth.org. encourage 7
Sanford Health Foundation PO Box 5039 Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5039
Calendar of Events June 1
Aug. 24
8th annual Bikes & Babes Rally for Miracles Poker run benefits Children’s Miracle Network and is presented by J&L Harley Davidson. For more information, visit jl-harley.com/events.
Mudathalon Forty obstacles will challenge runners in this three-mile race located at 9301 E. 57th St., Sioux Falls, and end with music and food. The event benefits Children’s Miracle Network. For more information, visit mudathlon.com/events_SouthDakota.html.
June 4
KELO/Children’s Miracle Network Prime Time Special, 7 p.m. See Page 4.
June 8 – Chamberlain
10th annual Sanford Walleye Classic, “Casting for Kids” Up to four-person teams can compete in this fishing contest from the Platte-Winner bridge to Fort Thompson dam. For more information, call (605) 333-6347.
Aug. 8 DQ Miracle Treat Day Participating Dairy Queens in our region will donate $1 or more per blizzard sold. Event benefits Children’s Miracle Network at Sanford Children’s.
Aug. 23 Cadillac for a Cure This four-person team golf tournament will take place at Willow Run in Sioux Falls and benefits Cure Kids Cancer. Sponsored by Cadillac of Sioux Falls and Willow Run Cares Foundation. For more information, call (605) 328-5700. Register online at www. signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=Cure18e. 8 encourage
Summer camps
Children of all ages will attend camps throughout the summer, supported by the Sanford Health Foundation. For more information, call (605) 328-5700. Camp Bring It On! – June 10-15,
for children with cancer Camp Courage – June 24-28, for
children with physical disabilities Camp F.A.N. – June 16-22, for
children with asthma Camp Fuel – June 17-21, to
promote health and wellness Camp Jess – October 2013, for children who
have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, grandparent or close friend Camp Spirit – June 28 to July 3, for children with spina bifida
Thank you.
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