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Superhero Vision – Michigan’s Top Pediatric Imaging Program “Cool” New Therapy May Save Newborns Hospitalists Program Allows Primary Care Pediatricians More Time with their Patients

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Dear Friends, In this issue of About Children’s you will gain a better understanding of pediatric imaging, body cooling of newborns and more. Pediatric imaging is providing better health care for our young patients by being able to see inside and understand the mysteries of the living body to provide more in-depth diagnostic information. The body cooling research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine led by Dr. Seetha Shankaran shows that it can help prevent or reduce brain injury after difficult births. And the Hospitalists Program’s purpose is to have pediatricians trained to take care of patients in the hospital while maintaining their primary care physicians. Of the many stories you will read in this magazine, the theme remains the same – constantly we are striving to find better ways to provide the best health care for our young patients and their families.

Westland Center Outpatient Physical Therapy Outpatient Occupational Therapy Outpatient Speech/Language Pathology

36301 Warren Ave. • Westland, MI 48185 Phone (734) 467-6922 • Fax (734) 722-8821 Herman B. Gray, Jr., M.D., M.B.A. President, Children’s Hospital of Michigan

This letter and drawing above were sent to Children’s Hospital of Michigan from the sister of a patient, Emily McPharlin.

WINTER 2005-2006

About Children’s is a Children’s Hospital of Michigan Development Department quarterly publication. President: Herman B. Gray, Jr., M.D., M.B.A. Vice President, Development: Richard L. Kramer Editor: Suzanne G. Dawes Editorial Staff: Julie E. Carpenter Darlene Harris Cynthia K. Rowell Saudia L. Twine

Superhero Vision – Michigan’s Top Pediatric Imaging Program

“Cool” New Therapy May Save Newborns Hospitalists Program Allows Primary Care Pediatricians More Time with their Patients

Heroes Committee Raising Awareness and Funds

Feature Writers: Tom Frey Michael Hodges Kate Lawson Design and Printing: Grigg Graphic Services Photography: Donna Terek Children’s Hospital of Michigan Medical Photography

Hey, Hey Hockey’s Back!

Golfing for Pediatric Cardiovascular Research

On the cover Xiczél Ponce de Leon, 4, has fun on a recent visit to Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

About Children’s Magazine Children’s Hospital of Michigan Development Department 3901 Beaubien St. • Detroit, MI 48201-2196 Office: (313) 745-5373 Fax: (313) 993-0119 Email: [email protected]

For information, please contact Children’s Hospital of Michigan at: (313) 745-KIDS (5437) or www.chmkids.org

Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

hildren’s Hospital of Michigan is known for having a “superhero around every corner.” But not all of the superheroes at Children’s Hospital have x-ray vision. That’s where the hospital’s Pediatric Imaging program comes in. “Imaging is a window inside the living body,” says J. Michael Zerin, M.D., chief of the department of pediatric imaging at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and professor of radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. “Imaging has become central to almost all diagnoses in modern medicine and it’s very important to what we do here.” Children’s Hospital of Michigan is recognized for having the most advanced pediatric imaging center in Michigan, a program designed entirely for kids. To keep the young patients happy, the center features tropical fish, SCUBA goggles, underwater cartoons and video games. Parents and referring physicians like the program’s special pediatric imaging equipment and protocols that minimize radiation exposure to children. The hospital’s imaging team includes 10 board-certified pediatric radiologists, all of whom are fellowship trained specifically in pediatric imaging. Working together with 16 pediatric radiology nurses and over 60 technologists, our pediatric radiologists provide much more than images, they offer expert interpretation and diagnosis in a fun-filled environment. “We have Michigan’s most advanced, kid-sized equipment, and we go to great lengths to make every patient as comfortable as possible,” Dr. Zerin says. In addition to conventional x-ray imaging, the hospital’s pediatric imaging program offers the most advanced pediatric imaging capabilities, including advanced ultrasound, computed tomography, and nuclear medicine, as well as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) suite with both 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla magnets and Children’s nationally recognized Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Center. But it’s more than technology and clinical expertise that makes the program special. In pediatric imaging, you need to know how to work with children of different ages to get the best images. “Sometimes people have a tendency to talk about children like they aren’t there,” says Dr. Zerin. “One of the most vexing situations is when I’m asking a

child a question, and the parent keeps answering for the child. Part of gaining a child’s cooperation is making them feel they are important and they matter. Of course, sometimes pediatric radiologists need more than the child’s cooperation. They need him or her to be completely still. This is often the case in MRI and PET scans as well as nuclear imaging. In these cases, it’s common to sedate young children during imaging procedures. But even this is done in a special way at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “In other hospitals, children who require sedation for imaging procedures will be given general anesthesia. But we’ve developed special pediatric sedation teams comprised of experienced pediatricians and pediatric imaging nurses that often enable us to provide procedural sedation without general anesthesia,” says Dr. Zerin. “The child just sleeps through the procedure comfortably and we get the images we need in an efficient, safe, kid-friendly way.” Once Dr. Zerin and his team have captured the images they need, they store them digitally in an advanced Picture Archival Communication System (PACS). PACS was launched at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in 2003. The state-of-the-art system enables physicians to review images anywhere in the hospital or even from a home-based computer via a secure web connection. “What that means is the images are always available, from almost any location,” says Dr. Zerin. “You don’t have to worry that someone else might have the films when you need to see them. It also speeds up patient care, since physicians can review images at any time, including at night from home instead of waiting until the next day when they are physically in the building again.” PACS is also an extremely useful tool in pediatric imaging research. Dr. Zerin and his team are involved in research aimed at improving the role of imaging in medical diagnosis. “Research conducted at Children’s Hospital of Michigan relies heavily on imaging,” Dr. Zerin says. “We work with physician researchers to make sure they use our imaging tools in a way that is optimal for getting the information they need while also making sure patients are taken care of appropriately.” Generous support from the Dr. and Mrs. David Barker Endowment has been received to enhance the area of pediatric imaging. If you would like to know more about pediatric imaging and how you can help, please contact the Development Department at (313) 745-5373.

J. Michael Zerin, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Imaging

Children’s Hospital of Michigan provides the pediatric imaging training for most of the radiology residency programs in southeastern Michigan. “We have residents who rotate through our pediatric imaging program from 10 different hospitals in the region,” says Dr. Zerin. “So Children’s Hospital not only trains many of the pediatricians in the area, we also train most of the radiologists in the area.”

Imaging

hysician researchers at Children’s Hospital of Michigan are making groundbreaking advances in pediatric medicine. But they often couldn’t do it without the advanced imaging technologies and expertise of the hospital’s Pediatric Imaging program. Here are a few of the most interesting research applications of the hospital’s state-of-the-art pediatric imaging technology.

Elizabeth, 7 and Maria, 5

Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Current treatments for brain tumors – including neurosurgery, chemotherapy and radiation – have a high rate of side effects and may not always be effective in eliminating the disease. But researchers, like Swati Mody, M.D., at Children’s Hospital of Michigan are studying innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques to assist neurosurgeons in finding the safest, most effective surgical routes to tumors. “We map out the various tracts of the brain around the tumor that will help in surgical planning,” says Dr. Mody. “For instance, you don’t want to cross the motor tract, you try to preserve the corticospinal tracts during surgery. So we map out the tracts and find the best way to access the tumor for specific patients.” Dr. Mody and Dr. Deniz Altinok at Children’s Hospital are also using spectroscopy to identify specifics about brain tumors prior to surgery or other treatment. “MR imaging gives anatomic information about the tumor – the size and extent, while MR spectroscopy gives biochemical information. This helps with better characterization of the tumor,” Dr. Mody says. “What kind of tumor is it? Is it malignant or benign? This information helps in planning the most effective treatment.” Pediatric Autism and Epilepsy Research Children’s Hospital of Michigan is home to the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Center – the first of its kind in the world – as well as a new, high-resolution MicroPET scanner, the first PET scanner in the world designed for newborns. “PET scanning is able to look at brain metabolism, the actual biochemical processes of the brain,” says Harry Chugani, M.D., professor and chief of pediatric neurology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University School of Medicine. “With PET scanning, we’re able to get images of these things in action – so it’s functional. You are actually imaging function rather than anatomy.” Physicians like Dr. Chugani rely on PET scanning and other imaging modalities for their research into pediatric neurological disorders and injuries, including groundbreaking work in the

fields of epilepsy, autism, infant attachment and Tourette Syndrome. For example, using MRI and PET technologies, Dr. Diane Chugani, a neuropharmacologist at Children’s Hospital, hopes to identify the neurochemical pathways associated with autism and find pharmacological treatments. The Chugani’s are also using PET scanning to pinpoint the origin of epileptic seizures in a child’s brain – enabling neuro-surgeons to remove the affected tissue and dramatically improve the patient’s condition. Tourette Syndrome Research Dr. Harry Chugani and the PET Center team at Children’s Hospital of Michigan are also using innovative imaging techniques to study Tourette Syndrome. “When you do an MRI on a patient with Tourette Syndrome, you don’t find anything abnormal. When you do a typical glucose metabolism PET scan on a Tourette patient, you don’t find anything either,” says Dr. Chugani. “But we decided to do something different. We did PET scans of serotonin in Tourette patients and found all sorts of abnormalities.” Dr. Chugani’s team was the first in the world to use PET scanning to study serotonin synthesis in Tourette Syndrome. They found that the brain abnormalities of Tourette patients fall into four distinct patterns. Combined with genetic research, Dr. Chugani says the four patterns might someday help physicians to streamline treatment of the condition. “In the future, I think it will be very helpful to be able to say, ‘If you have this pattern, then you are more likely to respond to this drug. And if you have this other pattern, you’re more likely to respond to that drug,’” says Dr. Chugani. Infant Brain Injury Research Severe brain hemorrhaging – one of the most significant predictors of poor health outcomes for a child – occurs in about 12 to 15 percent of low birth weight infants. But Seetha Shankaran, M.D., director of neonatal and perinatal medicine at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital, is using ultrasound, MRI and PET scanning to study the frequency of intracranial hemorrhage in premature infants. The goal: preventing and treating neonates with severe brain hemorrhage. “We are also using imaging to study the effects of substance abuse on the neonatal brain,” Dr. Shankaran says. “And we are

Picture Archival Communication System (PACS)

The Rosalie and Bruce Rosen Family Endowed Chair continues to support PET research and important work with Tourette Syndrome and related neurological issues.

Pediatric Imaging (continued)

re positioned ‘‘ Soto dowe’these very exciting brain imaging studies better than anyone, anywhere.

’’

David R. Rosenberg, M.D.

now using MRI and PET scanning in full-term infants to study oxygen deprivation during birth.” Recently, Dr. Shankaran led a national research study that showed cooling a newborn to approximately 92.8 degrees for 72 hours as an effective treatment in preventing or reducing brain injury after difficult births. Results of the study were published in the Oct. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. (See page 8 for more on this study.) Pediatric Mood and Anxiety Disorder Research David R. Rosenberg, M.D. and his colleagues at Children’s Hospital of Michigan are using advanced imaging technologies to map the brain chemistry of children with Pediatric Mood Disorders – conditions like depression, bi-polar disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attentiondeficit disorder (ADD). It’s important research that’s helping them better diagnose and treat children and adolescents with these conditions and investigators are uniquely positioned at Children’s Hospital of Michigan to conduct this research. “Children’s Hospital of Michigan is the only pediatric center in the country that has both PET and MRI scan capabilities in a children’s setting,” says Dr. Rosenberg, chief of child psychiatry and psychology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University School of Medicine. “So we’re positioned to do these very exciting brain imaging studies better than anyone, anywhere.” Using PET technology, Dr. Rosenberg is also identifying specific brain markers and genetic profiles to help determine which treatments will be the safest and most effective for children suffering from depression. Hydrocephalus Treatment and Shunt Registry Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Michigan are using CT and MRI imaging during research into treatments for hydrocephalus – a condition also known as fluid on the brain. Hydrocephalus treatment usually requires insertion of a shunt to drain fluid from the brain. “We’re trying to improve shunt technology and outcomes for hydrocephalus,” says Steven D. Ham, M.D., chief of neurosurgery. “So imaging is an essential part of this research. All of our treatments for hydrocephalus are image driven because we have to be able to see the size of the fluid chambers and where the catheters are.” After the procedure, the images become part of a shunt registry at Children’s Hospital of Michigan established with generous support from the Ricelli Scheidt Family. The database tracks the outcomes of thousands of pediatric hydrocephalus patients and may help researchers develop improved shunt techniques. Damoni, 9

hen he was entering the 10th grade, Jeffrey W. Taub was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. Even though his family lived in Ontario, they knew the best place to bring him for treatment was Children’s Hospital of Michigan. That was 28 years ago. Today, Taub is still at Children’s – only now, he occupies the Ring Screw Textron Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research. The earnings from the chair’s $1.5 million endowment will help fund the highly respected pediatric oncologist’s work pursuing the mysteries of childhood leukemia. “It’s just a tremendous honor to be recognized for the research I’ve done over the past 12 years and to have valuable resources to continue my research,” says Taub, whose appointment was announced in October, and whose career at Children’s stretches back to 1988. Why leukemia and not some other form of cancer? “Well, ” explains Taub, “leukemia is the most common form of all childhood cancers – accounting for about one-third of all cases. Investments in this type of research are likely to yield the most progress for the greatest number of kids fighting malignancies.” The money accrued every year will fund expenditures not covered by Taub’s principal research grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – like new lab equipment or the opportunity to pursue promising investigations beyond a grant’s parameters. Taub, the father of three young girls, speaks with animation about his research on one form of juvenile leukemia – acute myeloid leukemia – and why children with Down Syndrome have cure rates twice as high as children without. It’s a puzzling question. “We’re trying to figure out what’s unique about leukemia cells in children with Down’s,” Taub says, “so we might be able to apply that to children without the Syndrome.” Taub is grateful for the generosity of a group of investors from Ring Screw Works, a corporation which was bought out by Textron in 1998. Chuck O’Brien, a longtime Children’s board member who now chairs the board of directors for the entire Detroit Medical Center, says that when the sale of Ring Screw Works went through, “eight or nine key stockholder families,” his family included, decided to apply some of their proceeds to pediatric cancer research. As good luck would have it, Textron had a matching gift program that further boosted the donation. “When we sold the business,” says O’Brien, who now with his wife Linda, owns Emerald Steel Processing, “everybody felt very fortunate and wanted to help others.” The Ring Screw Textron Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research, in many ways, is a product of corporate responsibility of the highest caliber. “This sort of community investment is critical,” O’Brien says, citing the cost pressures on hospitals, including declines in federal funding and reimbursement that threaten vital research. Increasingly, he notes, institutions like Children’s depend on private donations. “It’s very important for corporations and individuals to continue giving back.”

Jeffrey W. Taub, M.D.

Seetha Shankaran, M.D.

national research study headquartered at Wayne State University (WSU) site of the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital shows that cooling a newborn to approximately 92.8 degrees for 72 hours can help prevent or reduce brain injury after difficult births. Seetha Shankaran, M.D., chief of neonatal and perinatal medicine at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital, served as lead investigator on the national study. Results of the study were published in the October 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. When a baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen and blood supply during birth, serious mental and physical disabilities can occur. But Dr. Shankaran’s research shows that cooling oxygen and brain blood flow to these newborns for three days by using a special, temperature-controlled blanket can prevent or reduce the severity of brain damage. “The key,” Dr. Shankaran says, “is cooling the baby within six hours of the initial blood flow and oxygen deprivation.” The study followed 208 babies who had been deprived of blood flow and oxygen to the brain during birth. In the study, 102 babies received the cooling therapy while 106 babies were closely monitored but did not receive the treatment. The results were conclusive: at 18 months of age only 44 percent of the babies who received the cooling therapy died or developed moderate-to-severe disabilities compared to 62 percent of the babies who did not receive the new treatment. “The cooling helps through a number of mechanisms,” Dr. Shankaran says. “Cooling decreases the metabolic rate of the brain and decreases the production of a number of toxic substances that cause injury. Cooling also prevents brain cells from swelling which produces cell damage.” Continued research is needed to better understand how and when to use the new cooling treatment. Currently, the innovative therapy is only available at the 15 hospitals that participated in Dr. Shankaran’s national study. In Michigan, only Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital are currently using the promising new treatment.

National Research Network Makes Large Studies Possible When Dr. Seetha Shankaran got the idea to study the effects of cooling therapy on newborns that had been deprived of blood flow and oxygen at birth, she knew she could not do it alone. Since oxygen-deprivation occurs in only about 1 in 1,000 births, Dr. Shankaran needed to enlist the help of other hospitals and researchers across the country to get enough data for conclusive results. She presented her research protocol to the NICHD Neonatal Research Network, a prestigious network of 15 academic centers – including Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital – that work together on large-scale research studies. Dr. Shankaran is the principal investigator of the WSU site of the Network for the past 15 years. Other sites include Brown, Yale, Case Western Reserve, Indiana, Duke, Stanford, Emory, Indiana University, University of Cincinnati, California-San Diego, Texas, Alabama, Miami and Rochester. “We knew we needed to work together to come up with the statistics we’d need to conclusively show that we can reduce brain injury through cooling,” Dr. Shankaran says. “We knew we needed 208 babies, so that’s why we involved all 15 of the centers in the Network.” Participation in an NICHD Research Network is a sign of excellence for research programs. “It’s very competitive to be part of the network. Only the very best programs in the nation are included,” Dr. Shankaran says. “We have to reapply every five years to get in.”

In addition to the “baby cooling” study, Dr. Shankaran, and Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital are also participating in other NICHD Neonatal Research Network studies, including a long-term study of the effects of maternal lifestyle during pregnancy and its impact on pediatric health. The “Maternal Lifestyle Study” began in the early 1990’s as a study of 1,400 pregnant women – women who used drugs during pregnancy compared to those who did not. Today, the children of the study are 12 years old and Dr. Shankaran and her colleagues are starting to see early health problems, including hypertension and obesity among the children. “It’s the largest study to look at these comparison groups,” says Dr. Shankaran. “And of the four research centers participating in the study, Hutzel Hospital enrolled the most women in the study – more than 700 and the children continue to be followed in the research facilities at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Currently funding continues through both NICHD and National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Alexis, 9 months

hildren’s Hospital of Michigan has many trained doctors to handle any matter of patient care. The fields are wide-ranging and include cardiologists, radiologists, hematologists and ophthalmologists, just to name a few. And now there are hospitalists to add to that long list. To those unfamiliar with that field of expertise, quite simply a hospitalist is a physician who is specially trained in how to take care of patients in a hospital. Dr. Charles Barone, II is the division chief of the Children’s Hospital Hospitalists Program and has been overseeing the department since May, 2005. As a relatively new concept these doctors are the supervising physicians for a team of resident physicians and medical students. They’re available 24 hours a day seven days a week taking care of all inpatient responsibilities. Dr. Barone explains that the goal is threefold: “we want to increase the education for our pediatric residents by providing more division of the work force. That way they can spend quality time with patients. And as more demand for services is needed, we can provide consistency of care to the patients and their families, as well as assist the physicians in the community who put their patients in our hospital.” The rewards are enormous for both the patients and the doctors according to Dr. Barone. “Because of the hospitalist program doctors can now admit a patient to Children’s Hospital, then communicate directly with the hospitalist as far as treatment,” he says. “In the past, a doctor who admitted a patient normally would only see them on rounds. With a hospitalist, the child is seen by the same doctor who is in charge of the care allowing primary care physicians to spend more time with their patients in the clinic.” That’s a comforting concept for the patient, too, who doesn’t have to meet a brand new doctor every few days. The hospitalist is able to become very familiar with the patient, the illness and the treatment and even family members can become involved and accompany the doctors on their rounds so that they stay informed. Also, the nurses and other staff members can benefit as they can establish a working relationship with the hospitalist physician. At Children’s Hospital, there are three teams of hospitalists: the yellow and green teams, which consist of resident physicians and medical students and the blue team, which consists solely of pediatricians who provide in-house services. Jan Cottrell, M.S.N., director of acute care, saw the need for this particular field of expertise in 1998. “I had seen this program work when I was in critical care working with the intensivists,” says Cottrell. “I knew what it was capable of doing. I took the idea to Dr. Bonnie Stanton, chief of pediatrics, who told me it was a good idea. She was really the driver of this program. We started planning for it.” As CHM’s physician liaison and also lead for the physician concierge program, Cathy Hall-Stephenson has the responsibility of working with the doctors in the community. “It’s basically a concierge function for doctors in private practice” explains Cottrell. “If a doctor calls Children’s and needs specific tests for instance, Cathy facilitates the process. She can get it done.” “It’s a growing field,” says Cottrell, of this newest service to medicine. “We’re not all the way there yet and we have many steps to go. We have so many patients and families to care for with many needs. But, by being one cohesive team, we know that the hospitalist program is one way to serve them better.”

Warren Prescriptions is located at the corner of 14 Mile and Middlebelt Roads in Farmington Hills, Michigan. ndy Wolfe is a very passionate and energetic young man. As the owner of Dealer Concepts, he has built a successful business from the ground up and regularly gives a portion of the company’s profits to Children’s Hospital of Michigan. But he was still driven to do more. Partnering with Mark Klar of Warren Prescriptions in Farmington Hills, they have launched the first retail display of donation gift cards in the metro Detroit area. Visit the card section of the store and select a tear off slip from one of the many displays in the greeting card department. Take the slip to the pharmacy cash register to pay for the donation gift card. This card can be included with other printed cards such as birthday, anniversary, holiday, or just because cards! The donation gift card states that a contribution has been made to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation in the recipient’s honor. As a bonus, the recipient can redeem the coupon on the back of the donation gift card for $5 off any purchase of $25 or more in Warren Prescriptions’ card or gift department. Andy has dedicated this program to his niece Jessica Vincent, who recently passed away just a day shy of her first birthday due to complications from spinal muscular atrophy, one of the leading causes of death in young children. Despite her disease, Jessica enjoyed each day to the fullest and experienced an overwhelming amount of love, warmth and joy. It is with this same zest for life that Andy and the extended Vincent family are reaching out to help other kids through this program. Jessica Vincent 100 % of the sale of donation gift cards will benefit the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation to help kids lead happier, healthier lives.

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Daniel, 8

ew issues demonstrated the speed with which disease can vault across the globe better than last year’s experience with SARS, which spread in an eye blink from East Asia to Canada. While Imaging it never became a large threat in this country, it was a disturbing reminder that in an age of jet travel, even two oceans can no longer protect us from outbreaks abroad. And now, of course, the world is fixed on the threat of avian flu. In part, as pediatricians, we at Children’s Hospital share the vision that someday all of the world’s children will have an equal opportunity to achieve their life potential. Because of this reality, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University (WSU) three years ago established the International Medicine Track. This track is available to the 80-plus residents in the three-year general pediatrics program, as well as those combining pediatrics and internal medicine. Those residents hungry for a global perspective can now do a one or two-month rotation at medical training centers in China and India. Says Dr. Anne Mortensen, the residency program director, “It gives our residents an opportunity to learn about medicine on a more global basis. So if a traveler from southeast Asia walks into Children’s with something a little different,” she says, citing anything from malaria to dengue fever, “those who’ve studied abroad might say, ‘Aha! I saw this on my rotation.’” In any given year, about 10 residents spend time either at Guanxi Medical University in southern China or the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India. But the experience goes far beyond just making rounds. Each resident also undertakes a research project, subject to approval on both sides of the globe, that has ranged from studying Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Asia, to documenting patterns of teenage smoking. International experience is bound to broaden anyone’s education, but the program also yields some very concrete dividends for Children’s Hospital and Wayne State when the best and the brightest apply for their residency. Says Dr. Deepak Kamat, vice chairman of education and director of the institute of medical education of the department of pediatrics at WSU’s School of Medicine, “When they interview, a lot of students ask if we have international experience as part of our training. We’re proud to say, ‘Yes. We do!’”

hen you think of the cable company you may think of SpongeBob Square Pants, MTV and Sopranos, but would you think about literacy? Comcast does. And the proof is demonstrated by a recent $20,000 grant provided by The Comcast Foundation to support Children’s Hospital of Michigan’s Reach Out and Read (ROAR) program. ROAR, launched at Children’s in 1995, is a program wherein nurses and pediatricians give age-appropriate books to children after a doctor’s visit, along with encouragement to parents on the importance of reading aloud to their kids. Even the hospital’s pediatric mobile team pitches in by handing out books when out in the community. “ROAR originally started in Boston, Children’s Hospital of Michigan was one of the first institutions nationwide to pick-up the program,” says Dr. Teresa Holtrop, who brought it to Detroit. If reading skills seem a bit far removed from a doctor’s normal concerns, Holtrop loses no time connecting the dots between literacy and healthy children. “Kids who don’t read don’t do as well in school, disengage, and are at greater risk for becoming involved in gangs,” says the pediatrician. “If they’re girls, they’re at greater risk for getting pregnant during their teen years. Literacy has a direct effect on a child’s health.” “The donation,” says Comcast director of corporate affairs Pamela Dover, “will go to buy books and provide additional training in literacy development to pediatric staff.” This is not, however, a departure from Comcast’s normal giving. “In fact,” says Louise Beller, corporate affairs director for the Detroit area, “Comcast has a long-standing tradition of giving back. We believe in supporting programs which have an impact on the communities where we live and work.” In the past two years, The Comcast Foundation has given more than $1 million to reading programs nationwide. With ROAR, Beller sees a great synergy. “What a nice fit,” she says. “When the medical staff are doing well-baby checkups, it’s a great opportunity to encourage reading early on as part of the parent-child relationship.” “Plus, because Comcast is a large employer in the state,” she says, “we are committed to using our products and resources to make a difference. We understand that today’s children will become tomorrow’s workforce. Comcast is pleased to partner with Children’s Hospital because of their long standing tradition of supporting youth initiatives and making a difference in the lives of children.”

Ethan, 2

Ellen C. Moore, M.D. Age: 60 Home: Royal Oak Spouse: James Hindman Children: 1 daughter Title: Chief of Immunology, Allergy & Rheumatology Division, Children’s Hospital of Michigan Education: Rensslaer Polytechnic Institute, (B.S. Biology); Albany Medical College, (M.D.) Residency: Senior Resident in Pediatrics, Buffalo Children’s Hospital; Assistant Chief Resident in Pediatrics, Buffalo Children’s Hospital Fellowship: Albany Medical College, NY, (Pediatric Immunology); New York State Kidney Disease Institute, (Research); St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,TN (Infectious Diseases) Leadership: American Rheumatism Association, Pediatric Rheumatology Section of ARA, Clinical Immunology Society, Immune Deficiency Foundation, HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America

r. Ellen Moore says she loves a good puzzle, specifically a diagnostic puzzle, which makes her the perfect Chief of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “Immunology is the body’s ability to defend itself against invaders, rheumatology is when the body’s defense system gets directed against part of the body itself,” she explains. Her department treats children with allergies, asthma, immunodeficient diseases, and HIV/AIDS, as well as rheumatic diseases. The amiable doctor talks fast, smiles a lot and uses big phrases such as adenosine deaminase deficiency that seemingly rolls off her tongue. But when she takes a breath, she takes the time to add, “But if people want to get well, they have to take their medicine.” What the doctor is referring to is the struggle she sees in getting parents and their children to pay attention to the importance of taking the prescribed dosages of medicine, particularly in the treatment of HIV and lupus. She’s been treating patients since arriving at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in 1977 and as chief of the department since 1999. “I came to Children’s to work as an assistant to Dr. Flossie Cohen,” says Moore referring to the late, revered leader in pediatric immunology and hematology. “We saw our first infant case of HIV in 1983, and we had no idea how to treat it. We knew they were using the drug AZT to treat adults so we literally took half the adult dose by weight and whirled the pills up in a blender. We had to guess at the dosage. Fortunately we guessed right.” Today Children’s has a nationally recognized Pediatric Pharmacology Research unit that works out precise safe and effective dosing of children’s medications. Thanks to Dr. Moore’s hard work and dedication, Children’s Hospital of Michigan has the highest rate of healthy long-term survivors of HIV in the country. “Right now we treat about 80 children who were born with HIV. Most of them are in their teens and that’s a good sign. Kids do quite well when they take their medicine,” she says. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to almost stop the mother to infant transmission of the disease,” she adds explaining that the transmission rate used to be 25 percent and is now less than 1 percent. But, again, the doctor stresses that the treatment in the fight against HIV/ AIDS has to be aggressive. “We can win this fight and keep people alive and healthy, but only if they want to be alive and healthy,” she says. “You have to have close to 100 percent adherence to fight HIV.” “I like teaching families about their child’s diagnosis, how they can deal with it and how we can treat it,” she says when asked the best part of her job. “And I like a puzzle that yields a diagnosis. What I don’t like is to fuss at people about taking their medicine,” she smiles. “But if I have to, I will. Medicine works.”

s Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Dr. Arlene Rozzelle keeps a very special photo album in her office. Inside the thick book are pictures of beautiful children of all ages and sizes. Some have lovely red, curly hair or dark brown eyes, a toothy grin or a freckled face. Dr. Rozzelle has a place in her heart for each one of them and shows them off like a proud parent. That’s because these children are indeed special and have much to smile about. At least now they do. You see, each one was born with a craniofacial defect such as a cleft lip and palate or hemangioma (a benign tumor consisting of dilated blood vessels) or vascular malformation, more commonly known as a birthmark, and over the past decade they have all been patients of Dr. Rozzelle. Thanks to her deft hands and remarkable skills, she has given these children a reason to be happy. “I have the best of both worlds,” says the surgeon. “I love plastic surgery and I love children.” As Dr. Rozzelle explains, however, oftentimes surgery isn’t necessarily the answer. “The hemangioma can sometimes be treated with steroid injections or may fade over time,” she says. But when surgery is required, as is in the case of a cleft palate or severe birth defect, Dr. Rozzelle performs not only life-saving, but quality-of-life-giving accomplishments. For instance, in addition to helping a child swallow and breathe, she has fashioned ears carved out of a patient’s cartilage, reformed jaws and reshaped skulls for proper brain growth. As one of only three craniofacial pediatric surgeons in the metro Detroit area, Dr. Rozzelle performs 600 surgeries a year on children with congenital birth defects or who have undergone injures such as burns or as a consequence from cancer. Dr. Rozzelle stresses that oftentimes these birth defects can be detected prenatally through an ultrasound test. “It’s important that we talk to these families so that we can connect with them, and help them prepare,” says the doctor. “We don’t want them to get the diagnosis then go on the internet and get scared. If they come to us first, we can start helping them right away. We would love to see them,” she says. “If we can do something to help, they’re thrilled. And so are we.”

Arlene Rozzelle Age: 47 Home: Grosse Pointe Park Spouse: Donald Wray Children: 2 sons Title: Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Michigan; Director, Craniofacial and Oral Cleft Clinic, Children’s Hospital of Michigan Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (B.S.) 1976; Wellesley College (B.A. Psychobiology, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) University of Massachusetts Medical School (M.D.) Residency: General Surgery Resident; Brown University School of Medicine/Rhode Island Hospital (General Surgery Resident); Brown School of Medicine/Rhode Island Hospital (Plastic Surgery Resident) Fellowship: Washington University School of Medicine/St. Louis Children’s Hospital (Craniofacial/Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellow) Leadership: Program Director, Michigan Cleft Palate Association Annual Meeting 2005; Children’s Hospital of Michigan MSOC; Surgical Chief ’s Committee Children’s Hospital of Michigan; Pathology Chief Search Committee, Children’s Hospital of Michigan; Organized Medicine Section Representative, Michigan State Medical Society; Planning Committee, Michigan Cleft Palate Association

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CATCH Honors Dr. Barone

CATCH (Caring Athletes Team for Children’s and Henry Ford Hospitals) Night of Champions held its 16th annual event on October 19th at the Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn. The event, which raises funds for the CATCH charity, also celebrates children and 4HENAND.OW champions of children, presented Dr. Charles J. Barone, II with the seventh annual Dr. Clarence S. Livingood Humanitarian award. The award, which is a distinguished honor, champions efforts within the community and is awarded based on nomination amongst peers. Dr. Barone is Chair of Pediatrics at Henry Ford Health System and is also Division Chief of CHM’s Hospitalist Program. CATCH sponsors Children’s CATCH Pediatric Mobile Health Programs.

Kohl’s Expands Support of TRIP Program

Charles J. Barone, II, M.D.

In June 2005, Kohl’s presented Children’s Hospital of Michigan with a donation of $619,315. Since 1990, Kohl’s has donated over $2 million to Children’s Hospital. The funds were raised through consumer purchases of Kohl’s Cares for Kids® books and plush animals at Metro Detroit area Kohl’s stores. Funds will be used to support z17%2495)/0Z\ the Kohl’s Family Waiting Room in the Same Day Surgery Department and the !3$&'(*+,ŽŽ-."6#8:ƒsr ƒsr”•–—˜Œ|¨zœšy™žŸ ¢ Trauma Related Injury Prevention (TRIP) safety ©_› outreach program. Some of the funds will be used to purchase three vans – one for each of the counties (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb) that the TRIP program serves.

Celebrating the Notable Career of Dr. Ralph Cash

Dr. Ralph Cash, an outstanding pediatrician who served Children’s Hospital of Michigan as a clinical professor and attending physician in the Department of Pediatrics for many years, passed away in October 2005. An excellent teacher of medical students and residents, he brought his years of experience as a practicing pediatrician to the bedside, and was recognized as Teacher of the Year. His “Cash’s Corner” practice management seminars, which he taught with his wife Barbara, were very popular with residents. A gifted writer, Dr. Cash wrote a medical advice column in the Detroit Free Press for several years. He also served as the Chief of Pediatrics for many years at Sinai Hospital of Detroit. He moved his private practice from Farmington Hills to the hospital’s Couzen’s Building in the late 70’s. This practice, Medical Center Pediatrics, P.C., has grown to a large and successful pediatric practice. Ralph Cash, M.D.

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4HENAND.OW

nnually the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), an international organization with more than 26,000 members, marks one day in November to celebrate the spirit of giving and to honor philanthropic leaders from throughout the community. Paul Greenstone of Datanational Corporation received a “Distinguished Volunteer Award” for his exceptional efforts on behalf of the patients at Children’s. For more than a decade, Paul has been a dedicated member of the hospital’s donor family. His generosity provides support for pediatric focused research, helping to make a difference in the lives of children suffering from debilitating illness and z17%2495)/0Z\ disease. Paul is eager to share his enthusiasm for Children’s with his friends and !3$&'(*+,ŽŽ-."6#8:ƒsr ƒsr”•–—˜Œ|¨zœšy™žŸ ¢ colleagues, especially his staff at Datanational. Paul is committed to using his ©_› resources to further the hospital’s mission and in doing so, is inspiring others to become philanthropically involved. This year, the AFP “Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award” was sponsored by the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation and presented to members of the Guidance Center’s Youth As Resources (YAR) program. Through YAR, children and teens are becoming empowered to solve problems and serve as leaders in their communities through philanthropic projects. The entire process is student-driven from planning, fundraising, implementation and evaluation of projects. Their efforts have resulted in the construction of a wheelchair ramp for a man who did not have one leading into his home, support for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit, hosting a carnival for low-income children enrolled in summer camp, delivering a substance abuse prevention program to fifth grade students in Melvindale and much more. Ten additional projects are planned for the coming year. The Guidance Center is a Southgate-based behavioral health and human services agency that serves more than 11,000 individuals a year. Congratulations Paul and all of the YAR members!

Paul Greenstone, Distinguished Volunteer Awardee

f you’re on the highway and pass a white Hyundai Santa Fe SUV covered with hundreds of colorful kids’ handprints, be sure to wave. Each of those little handprints comes from a child who’s beating pediatric cancer. The vehicle is traveling the nation all year to promote the need for more fundraising and research as part of the automotive company’s “Hope On Wheels” tour. Why handprints? Because they’re the most tangible symbols of survival – talismans in primary colors that say “We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.” Last August, eight dealerships in the greater Detroit area presented $50,000 to Children’s Hospital of Michigan at a ceremony attended by Children’s president Pictured below in the front row L-R Dr. Herman Gray and Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation chair Cynthia are: Dr. Herman Gray (CHM President), Ford. Also present when the “Hope On Wheels” SUV rolled into Will Smith, Steven Stanaj, Blake Detroit were kids who’ve successfully completed treatment at Children’s, and those Silverman, Audrey Ewing, Dr. Jeff Taub, still in the process. Emma Sala, Jack Zaffarano. “This is our way of giving back,” says Maury Feuerman, who owns Arnold In the back row L-R are: George Ewing Hyundai of Roseville, and has been a big part of the local fundraising effort. (Sterling Hyundai), Scott Reas (Sterling Hyundai), Doug Fox (Hyundai of Ann “As long as we sell cars, we’re going to support our local communities.” Arbor), Dr. Ravi, Maury Feuerman Since 1998, when Boston-area dealers launched the program, 660 Hyundai (Arnold Hyundai), Jed Hunter (Hyundai dealers nationwide have raised over $6 million for pediatric cancer research as part of Waterford), Adam Thayer (Ralph of the company’s Helping Kids Fight Cancer program. Thayer Hyundai), Doug Wenzel The local dealers involved didn’t select Children’s by chance, Feuerman says, (Hyundai Motor America), and but spent some time researching local institutions. At the end, he explains, ChilCynthia Ford (CHM Foundation Chair) dren’s was the most logical choice. “Let’s face it,” he says, “it’s one of the premier pediatric cancer research institutions in the country. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it.” “And,” he adds citing the issue that most struck the dealers, “they don’t turn anybody away.” Two things are important to Hyundai dealers when making these sort of contributions, Feuerman explains. They want to know that the money is being applied locally, not just funneled to the corporate headquarters. And they want to be certain their dollars are going to a top-flight institution where they will do the most good. “Helping Children’s,” Feuerman says, “is a cause that Hyundai dealers wanted to get behind and support.”

dedicated group of men and women are helping Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation in very creative ways. The Heroes Committee focuses on raising awareness of and philanthropic resources for the Foundation and the programs it supports. “We want to let people know about Children’s Hospital of Michigan because it’s an amazing place,” says Jeff Levine, President of Kaye Financial Corporation and Chairman of the Foundation’s Heroes Committee. “Many people in the community may not know about opportunities to support the incredible research and patient care at Children’s through a gift to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation.” Jeff is joined on the committee by about 10 community members including attorneys, financial planners and other leaders who are helping to inform their friends, clients, colleagues, family members and the community-at-large about charitable giving options with respect to Children’s. The committee started in the fall of 2004 with its first project – developing the hospital’s multi-colored wristbands. (See Heroes Big and Small below.) Since then the committee has expanded its work into other areas: • Planned Giving Awareness – Members of the Heroes Committee who are involved in financial and estate planning serve as an advisory group to development staff and donors, and they also provide information and materials to their clients in an effort to raise awareness of Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation as a philanthropic-giving option. • Kids Giving To Kids – The committee is working with children and individual schools to develop ongoing charitable projects that can be adopted by classes. “Our goal is to get middle school and high school kids involved,” Jeff says. “We want to create ongoing legacy programs. For example, if ninth graders in one school have a particular program raising money for the hospital, they can pass it on so the next year’s ninth graders can continue it.” They are also working with families who are interested in helping to raise money. • Corporate Partnerships – Still in the early stages, some members of the committee are working to identify ways to involve the business community in order to form a network of heroes. If you would like more information about how you can help, please call Jodi Wong at (313) 745-5855.

Pictured L-R are: Steve Lefkovsky, Jeff Levine, Chuck Kessler, Kathy Cohn, Justin Cherfoli, Andy Wolfe with Emily Lundh.

Heroes Big and Small

When 11-year-old Emily Lundh of Canton went to Children’s Hospital of Michigan last year to visit her baby brother, she wanted to purchase a fundraising wristband that would benefit the hospital and its young patients. The wristbands – made popular by another organization – had become extremely popular at Emily’s school. But when she got to the hospital, she discovered Children’s Hospital of Michigan didn’t have its own wristbands. “I was disappointed because it would have been cool to have one that none of the other kids at school had,” Emily said. So Emily picked up a pen and wrote a letter to the hospital suggesting they create their own wristbands. She even included a color picture of what she envisioned it would look like.

A few months later, Emily was surprised to get a letter in the mail. It was from the hospital, informing her that the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation’s Heroes Committee liked her idea and was planning to make it a reality. Weeks later she received some of the multi-colored wristbands in the mail. “They were so awesome. They turned out better than I thought they would,” Emily says. “There aren’t very many multicolored ones out there, so that’s really cool.” Emily herself has sold more than $400 worth of the wristbands, which sell for $2 each. Want to show your support for Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation? Pick-up a wristband in the hospital gift shop, cafeteria or by calling the Development Department at (313) 745-5373.

Why I volunteer at Children’s …

Gretchen Tatge, founder (15 years service)

“Charms for Charity” began in 1990 to make crib quilts for children in need. Volunteers in this group get together about six times a year to make these quilts – all working at home throughout the year. In addition to this group, other quilters make and donate large numbers of quilts. Quilts are given to over 15 different charities, but the greater number goes to Children’s Hospital. The goal for 2005 is 1,555 quilts and 900 of these will go to Children’s. Since this group started, more than 12,700 crib quilts have been made and donated. The quilts are thought of as a “warm hug for those who need one.”

Macomb County - Sterling Heights

hen a child is admitted to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, they immediately come under the expert care of the entire staff: doctors to diagnose, nurses to administer care, technicians to perform tests. But in the course of the daily hectic routine there’s not a lot of time for that very special attention that so many children need. Enter Volunteer Services of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. From as far back as the 1800s, the program, then called Children’s Free Hospital Association, has been serving the needs of patients and their families Michelle Stowell (1+ years service) by offering their time and special gifts. But these special gifts are more than Oakland County - Novi just packages tied up with colorful bows. A special gift can be a bottle fed to a Why I volunteer at Children’s … newborn that needs to be swaddled and gently rocked, a story or peek-a-boo “I have been given the gift of being game with a frightened toddler, a clown doing tricks for lively preschoolers or able to relax and rejuvenate the soul a manicure and new hairstyle for a teen who’s missing friends and school. through massage. Where better to “Volunteers are a very instrumental part of a child’s care,” says Erin O’Mara, use this skill than where it is needed most – CHM? Parents are constant- who along with Pat Juip, serves as co-coordinators for the Volunteer Services ly caring for and nurturing their not Department. “Our main goal is to welcome and make families feel comfortable well babies and young children, so I in a not-so-comfortable situation. It’s about kindness.” come in to “nurture” them. A little She also explains that when a child is in the hospital for any length of time, stress release goes a long way in the if there are siblings, they often feel left out because all of the parents’ attention healing process of both the parent is on the patient. and the child.” To that end, Jack’s Tree House was established to provide a safe, nurturing place for brothers and sisters to play so their parents are able to care for the sick child. Volunteers come in daily to provide programs such as music and drawing or to help children on the computers. Navdeep Singh (1+ years service) with Youssef, 2 Wayne County - Detroit

Why I volunteer at Children’s … “I have known my nurses since I was four years old, and after seeing how dedicated and passionate they were to patients like me, I knew I had to help. Being a patient and a volunteer has broadened my scope for helping others. As a patient, I understand first hand the pain in a child’s eyes when getting poked or the separation from loved ones. Having the ability to turn somber faces into beaming smiles, or tears into laughs by doing simple tasks like listening or playing cards; such a feeling is greater than all the riches in the world. Moments like playing Connect Four with a blind child, or having a baby fall asleep in your arms after surgery has touched the very depths of my soul. Volunteering at Children’s has given me skills I could never learn from textbooks, along with memories that will last a lifetime.”

Corinthian “Connie” Brown-Hill (25 years service) Wayne County - Westland Why I volunteer at Children’s … “I have been here at Children’s since 1980 when I saw an article on the hospital’s need for volunteers. I have volunteered in patient care areas and helped with administrative duties. Currently I am in the Pharmacy area. I love it! It is very different from my job. I come here to relax and work at my leisure. Don’t kid yourself, it is not easy. You work hard – especially if it is important to you to make a positive difference in the lives of these young children and the hospital.”

“We have volunteers from all walks of life,” says O’Mara, who’s been with the department for 15 years. “They serve as support throughout the hospital, from the emergency department when a family needs someone to listen to and provide comfort, to the critical care unit when a child is dealing with cancer and they need a hand to hold. It’s very important that we are there seven days a week.” O’Mara says there are currently 250 Children’s Hospital volunteers. “They are retirees, young professionals, students, artists and even corporate executives who just want to be with the kids and have fun. All of them are unsung heroes.” “I love our mission and I love the people I work with,” she says. “They are definitely what makes the program special. Not me.” As co-coordinator, O’Mara says Children’s Hospital is always looking for new volunteers and if you’re interested in applying you can contact the Volunteer Services Department at (313) 745-5312. Why I volunteer at Children’s … “There are a lot of bad things that can happen to kids and if I can help get their minds off whatever they are dealing with even for a little bit, then I am making a difference. Everyone has choices on how to spend their time – I work, enjoy sports and spending time with my friends and family. I choose to volunteer because it gives my life more substance and meaning. I knew of a professional football player the same age as myself who chose to go into the armed services and fight for his country rather than play a sport for a lot of money. Although he lost his life doing what he believed in, it’s selfless actions like his that have made me re-evaluate the decision that I have made in my life and made me want to make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

Bill Hosner (2+ years of service) with Beyonka, 16 Macomb County and Petosky Why I volunteer at Children’s … Bill is a nationally known artist and a teacher who came to know more about Children’s Hospital through a conversation he had with one of the pet therapy volunteers. He wanted to share his gift of drawing and comes to the hospital twice a month to lovingly create a work of art for children chosen by the Child Life staff – many of whom are chronically ill. Each receives a 16 x 20 portrait of themselves. He patiently works with each child to find the most comfortable position for them to sit or lay while he works. For many, this is a gift of a lifetime.

Kiah Ford (1+ years service) with Alicia, 11 Oakland County - Troy

ewis J. Nedelcoff doesn’t have children of his own. That hasn’t stopped him, however, from making significant donations to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, including a generous commitment through his estate. The Smith Barney Senior Vice President and Branch Manager in Bloomfield Hills attributes his philanthropy to two causes: his mother and his experience in working with children as a Children’s Hospital of Michigan volunteer. “My mother is my greatest inspiration,” Nedelcoff says, noting that she’s turning 90 in January. “She has always had a fondness for children and helping those who are less fortunate.” In her honor, Nedelcoff established The Donna Nedelcoff Endowment at Children’s to support the Starbright program which was founded by Steven Spielberg. The program allows hospitalized kids to network via computers with other pediatric patients across the globe experiencing similar health challenges. Recently, in support of Starbright, Nedelcoff also established an endowment fund in his own name which, he says, “will serve as a legacy to help children combat the medical and emotional challenges they face on a daily basis.” Nedelcoff has found another way to contribute to the well-being of children: by naming the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation as the beneficiary of his retirement account. By doing that, he notes, “100 percent of the proceeds will pass directly to Children’s, bypassing income and estate taxes.” Is this the sort of planned giving available only to financial wizards of Nedelcoff’s caliber? Hardly. Nedelcoff says that a gift of this nature can be easily arranged by speaking to your trust attorney or financial advisor. Jodi Wong and the staff of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation can also answer any questions donors may have about including the Foundation in their estate plans. Jodi may be reached by calling (313) 745-5855. “There are a number of worthy organizations,” Nedelcoff says, “however, I can’t think of any greater than those dedicated to improving the lives of children.”

Lewis J. Nedelcoff

THEN & NOW

THEN & NOW

John Foren says he doesn’t remember a great deal about the surgery he underwent 40 years ago to correct a serious birth defect, pectus excavatum, but he knows the procedure saved his life. When Foren was less than a year old his parents noticed he was having trouble breathing, and he was eventually diagnosed with a chest wall birth defect. “A doctor said it was something I’d grow out of,” says Foren. But his parents persisted in getting some answers and eventually he came under the care of Dr. Jack Hertzler at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “Dr. Hertzler performed surgery when I was four and then he actually invented a sort of metal cage that I had to wear temporarily to protect my ribs,” says Foren. “Last year, the staff at the hospital arranged for me to meet Dr. Hertzler who retired in 1985. Later, he gave me the cage that he’d kept all those years. It looked so small!” Foren, who lives in the Lansing area with his wife and two kids and works at the Flint Journal as local news editor, says he’s always been grateful to Dr. Hertzler and Children’s Hospital of Michigan for their great care and expertise. “I watch my children growing up, and I know I have so much to be grateful for,” he says. “Something like this really does leave a mark on your life. Once you make it through a serious health challenge you feel like you can handle anything,” he says. “I’m so very lucky that Children’s Hospital was there for me.”

Just two months shy of her 4th birthday, Jaquelyn McCulley-Kosmowski was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare, malignant cancer of her left arm. For 13 years, the little girl, the youngest of five children, endured extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, bone marrow treatments and finally had to have bone removed in her arm above the elbow. “They replaced it with metal, expandable prosthesis,” explains her mother, Jeannie McCulley-Csernyant, “and every two years she had to go in for surgery so it could lengthen as she grew.” Four years ago, surgeons were able to replace the device with bone from her right leg and even though her arm is considerably smaller as a result of the cancer and her body scarred from the ensuing surgeries, today at 17 ½ Jaquelyn is a very happy and lively teen-ager who likes “hanging out with her friends and listening to music. I graduate from South Lake High School in the spring,” says the honor roll student who has plans of attending Macomb Community College to study graphic arts. Her mother marvels at Jaquelyn’s sense of humor, wit and determination and credits Children’s Hospital of Michigan for all the care they have given her. “She basically grew up at Children’s” says Jeanie, “We couldn’t have asked for better friends, from the doctors and nurses to the maintenance crew.You know how when you have a horrible storm, that’s when you get the best rainbows? Well, the people at Children’s, they are our rainbows.”

THEN & NOW

If you were to sit down at your computer and Google the name, Georges Harik, Ph.D., you’d discover that he’s the product management director of that very popular and successful search engine company. Next, Google the medical term, “ventricular septal defect” and you will learn about the congenital heart defect, commonly referred to as a “hole” in the heart, that Georges was born with in Lebanon 34 years ago. “I was only a year old when I was diagnosed,” he says. “My family made the trip all the way to Michigan, after some friends and family told them about Children’s Hospital and the work they were doing there.” After the expert care of Dr. Green, his cardiologist and Dr. Arciniegas who performed open-heart surgery to repair Georges heart, the young patient was able to move to Dubai with his family where he lived for 14 years. “Later we moved back to Michigan and I attended University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods,” he says. “Then I went on to graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in computer science and eventually got my Ph.D. in artificial intelligence.” Today Georges lives outside San Francisco and leads a very healthy and exciting life working for Google, specifically on the company’s new web mail product called Gmail. “I love my job and I exercise four to five times a week and feel wonderful,” says Harik. “And I am so grateful to the doctors at Children’s Hospital. I wouldn’t be alive today if not for them. The hospital deserves all my thanks and one day I hope to return to Michigan to meet Dr. Arciniegas and the staff and thank them all personally.”

r. M.K. Aravind and Dr. Seetha Shankaran have been with Children’s Hospital of Michigan almost as long as they’ve been with each other. For a husband and wife team who love children and scientific research, it’s been the perfect place to spend their professional lives. “We have a special place in our hearts for this institution,” says M.K. Aravind, research associate in pharmacology/toxicology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “It’s been a very good place for us all these years. We’ve been able to contribute to the institution and it gives us a lot of satisfaction.” They met in the early 1970’s “with a little help” from their families back home in India. At the time, Dr. Shankaran was a neonatology fellow in the Wayne State University (WSU) program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Hospital and M.K. Aravind was a clinical chemist. The couple married in 1974 – a year before Dr. Shankaran joined the faculty of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Her husband joined the research team at the hospital in 1977. Today Dr. Shankaran is director of neonatal and perinatal medicine, the WSU program, at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women’s Hospital. She’s a nationally recognized researcher developing new ways to prevent brain injury in newborns. (See “Cool” New Therapy on page 8.) M.K. Aravind is also involved in important pediatric medicine research. He’s a research associate at the hospital developing new analytical techniques to study pharmacological agents. “We love it here, especially the children,” says Dr. Shankaran. “But also the colleagues we work with – the physicians and the nursing colleagues – they’ve all been a pleasure to work with all these years. We both feel we have contributed to improving the health care of children.” The couple live in Bloomfield Hills, where they raised their three children. While their children clearly have mom and dad’s interest in science and art – all three graduated from Ivy League schools – none of them followed their parents into medicine and scientific research. Their eldest son, Santosh, is an attorney in New York. Their younger son, Vinod, is studying law at the University of Michigan and their daughter, Maya, is an art history graduate student at Columbia University. “We have been very fortunate with our children,” says M.K. Aravind. “We’re very proud of them.” Dr. Shankaran agrees. “They are very smart and independent. And most importantly, they enjoy what they do.” Both Dr. Shankaran and Mr. Aravind know how important Seetha Shankaran, M.D. and M.K. Aravind that is. They enjoy what they do immensely – both at the hospital and during their time off. His hobbies include playing piano and watching news. She enjoys reading fiction. Together, they share a love of travel…and exercise. “We walk just as much as we can,” Dr. Shankaran says. “And as far as travel, we recently went to Italy – Florence and Rome. And we go back to India every two or three years to visit family.”

t’s hard for a financial guy like Nick A. Khouri not to worry about storms on the horizon. But then, that’s precisely the sort of caution and foresight you want in a board member. “The new guy” on the Children’s Hospital of Michigan board of directors, as he calls himself – appointed last summer – is a DTE Energy vice-president and treasurer in his day job. But new to the board or not, Khouri has already given a great deal of thought to the challenges of funding a research-and-teaching hospital like Children’s in a big city where a large percentage of your patients are inevitably going to be uninsured or underinsured. “The job,” Khouri says, emphasizing that he’s only begun to climb the learning curve, “is to maintain high service, given the pressures coming from multiple avenues.” Happily, Khouri has parachuted into the Finance Committee, where he’ll help oversee the cash flow of an institution of breathtaking complexity. He brings additional experience and skills – not least those associated with his stint as chief deputy state treasurer in Lansing in the 1990s, and work before that in the legislature. Khouri, who grew up in Flint, graduated from the University of Michigan, and did his graduate work in economics at Michigan State. He and his wife Robyn have two boys, aged 10 and 12, and live in Plymouth.

Aaron H. Sherbin

Nick A. Khouri

hree of his four daughters have been hospitalized at Children’s Hospital of Michigan at one time or another. It’s that sort of intense encounter that often makes for the greatest admiration, and a desire, as newly appointed CHM board member Aaron H. Sherbin acknowledges, “to give back – Children’s,” he says, “was a big part of our lives.” Sherbin’s daughters are fine, but the tax attorney who practices in Farmington Hills hasn’t lost that sense of indebtedness to the staff and institution he calls “phenomenal” – hence, his arrival in September on the hospital’s board of trustees. The 43-year-old’s career can’t help but equip him with a wealth of skills that will be useful. But Sherbin’s not new to a leadership role benefiting Children’s Hospital. He previously served eight years on the board of Festival of Trees, which raises money for the Evergreen Endowment Fund. The endowment’s annual earnings are used to fund cutting–edge research at Children’s Hospital. Sensibly, perhaps, Sherbin cautions that he’s brand new to the board, and only beginning to get his hands on the issues. “So a lot of this,” he says, “I’m just learning.” All the same, he says his election has left him “very excited – I think of it as a great honor.” Sherbin graduated from Wayne State University’s law school, and got a Master’s in tax law at New York University. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are raising their girls in Birmingham.

Jiri Fischer

fter a year without NHL hockey, the Red Wings are skating again – and looking forward to their annual team visit to Children’s Hospital of Michigan. “The players are excited to be playing hockey again, but they’re also really excited about getting back to see the kids at Children’s Hospital,” says Anne Marie Krappmann of the Detroit Red Wings. As an organization and as individual team members, the Red Wings are huge supporters of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Each year, the team makes a holiday visit to the hospital – spending time with as many children and families as they can. Some players – like Steve Yzerman and Chris Chelios – have been known to make extra trips to the hospital to cheer up patients. “At the end of the last season, we unfortunately exited the playoffs early. You’d think the players would just want to go home and start the off season. But instead some of them called me up and wanted to schedule a visit to Children’s Hospital,” says Anne Marie. “As much as the kids get out of the player visits, I honestly think the players get more out of it.” This year, the season had barely begun and players were already asking when the team would visit the hospital again. Since most of the players live in other cities during the off season, they hadn’t had a chance to visit Children’s Hospital of Michigan last year during the NHL lockout. “When players visit the hospital, it’s just about the kids,” Anne Marie says. “We don’t try to publicize it and the players don’t want any fanfare. You have to remember that most of our players have their own kids. They’re fathers themselves and when they see a sick child in the hospital, they just want to help in any way they can.” The Red Wings have found plenty of ways to help. The team raises money for hospital projects via the Children’s Hospital Wish Club. Through the program, fans who make a small donation to Children’s Hospital of Michigan can have a message posted on the scoreboard during a home Red Wings game. The donations are $50 for a birthday or anniversary message and $100 for a marriage proposal message. Even new Head Coach Mike Babcock is a fan of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. On the day of the press conference announcing him as the new head coach in Detroit, he expressed an interest in helping patients and families at Children’s Hospital. His contribution: He personally buys two tickets to every home game and gives them to the family of a patient. Sometimes the patient is able to go to the game. Sometimes a parent and sibling of the patient attend. Either way, Coach Babcock makes an effort to visit with his guests before or after the game. “What the kids in the hospital and their families are dealing with is so much bigger than a game,” Anne Marie says. “Coach knows patients and families sometimes need a little distraction from being sick or having a child in the hospital. This is just his way to reach out and help.”

For more information about the Wish Club, please contact (313) 745-5024.

Kudos for the Captain

In 22 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, few players have done as much for Children’s Hospital of Michigan as team captain Steve Yzerman. He makes surprise visits to the hospital. He helps raise money for pediatric medical research and programs. He inspires kids to battle against great odds. “In his 22 years with us, he’s always been dedicated to causes that involve kids,” says Anne Marie Krappmann of the Detroit Red Wings. “And a lot of what Steve does for kids is never publicized. He likes to do stuff below the radar. It’s just the way he is.” In recognition of Yzerman’s years of support, the Detroit Red Wings and Children’s Hospital of Michigan recently unveiled the “All-Star Steve Yzerman Display Case.” Located near the Children’s Hospital cafeteria, the case features Yzerman photos, memorabilia and stats. “He’s the captain of our team and the captain of what we try to do with Children’s Hospital,” says Anne Marie.

dren’s: riends at Chil F r hen he was ea D r ou To e years old w re th st ju s a oning lake w e were vacati W . a My son B om h p m and h Burkitt’s ly strep throat diagnosed wit of s gn si ed king en he show im home, thin h t n se in Florida wh R E l ca doctor at a lo ays later, his vomiting. The illness. Two d d oo h d il ildren’s ch mon ok him to a ch to e it was a com w t a th d a ing s were so b ke was suffer la B t a th stomach pain ed cover e, doctors dis ock and hospital. Ther Blake and his mother der. To our sh or is d l a in st mor in his s inte tu ou t n ri a se gn a li a on a trip out just after om m fr a at night, lso discovered h a T . ey er v th li , d on n ti a treatment. devasta gallbladder ichigan on a reatened his M th t to a e th om en h abdom t and flew to the airpor ed sh ru e er w we mas Eve. Michigan It was Christ ’s Hospital of n re Medivac jet. d il h C to t the n ambulance Rajpurkar. A i v h d a M We took a r. D and t when Dr. Jeff Taub hospitals. Bu of w ie and met with v e v ti a I thought: somewhat neg r as a child, ce n ca time, I had a d a h d a me that he h Dr. Taub told son’s life.” y, and g to save my in go is chemotherap n a of m e rs u “this co e v tensi his hair erwent an in He lost all of s. k Blake und ee w r u fo r months, ent for about but after fou t, was an inpati gh ei w y od cancernt of his b nd has been a en ev el and fifty perce is e Blak and r-free. Today, nd basketball a ll a b he was cance se a b s y ber much years! He pla doesn’t remem e H free for seven r. ea y t py dogs and dle school nex for the thera t will enter mid p ce ex ’s n at Childre visit. about his stay that came to s te le and th a l a n tors, nurses oc d e the professio th r fo e p-notch hing but prais e received to H I have not e. k la B r fo ould who cared their field. I w in t es b e everyone else th re g cancer people who a to treat youn y it il b a treatment from r ei th nd hildren’s ildren’s expa perience at C ex love to see Ch r ou d n a e’s recovery you. patients. Blak etter. Thank b e th r fo es liv changed our Sincerely,



Jodi Silverman

Blake – healthy and strong at 11 years old.

+IDS(ELPING+IDS

t six years old, Jacob Dougherty has been a patient at Children’s Hospital of Michigan for his entire life. Born with a congenital heart defect, he had his first open heart surgery when he was just four days old, his second at three months. But that didn’t stop him from raising money for the hospital’s Cardiovascular Surgery Department. In July, he set up a lemonade stand in his Novi neighborhood and raised $129. “We gave Jacob the idea of doing a family activity that would be for a good cause,” says Erin Dougherty, Jacob’s mom. “But it was his idea to give the money to the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at Children’s Hospital.” Jacob’s mom pitched in by making brownies. His grandfather built a special sign with a dry-erase board. Jacob drew a big lemon and the word “lemonade.” He even handled marketing for his lemonade stand – putting promotional fliers throughout his neighborhood. “On the day of the event, Jacob really took charge,” Erin says. “He and his friend, Lydia, stirred the lemonade and carried it down to the end of the driveway. They served everyone lemonade and brownies for about 2 hours.” Jacob’s lemonade stand not only raised money for the hospital, it inspired others to give. A group of Novi firefighters – the same team who’d once rushed Jacob to the hospital – stopped by the lemonade stand and later made a separate donation to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Jacob’s name.

Jacob Dougherty

Pictured left to right are: Craig Kane, Mubeen Qureshi, Matt Robinson, Scott Sawicki and Danny Zuteck.

att Robinson of Sterling Heights remembers it well – sitting in the Hematology/ Oncology Clinic at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, getting chemotherapy for his Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and wishing he had something better to do. “When you get diagnosed with cancer, you kind of get your whole world taken away from you,” Matt says. “I remember thinking it would be sweet if a kid could get diagnosed and not have to dread going to the hospital for chemo.” A few years later – with his cancer in remission – Matt and his friends at Sterling Heights High School had a chance to do something about it. He and about 35 other students in his leadership class planned a fundraising event called Blitz 120. For 120 hours, the students raised money to purchase portable DVD players and DVDs for use by Children’s Hospital of Michigan patients during chemotherapy. “We all had these boxes and we just went through the school and raised money – spare change and other donations. We also asked for donations from family and friends outside of school,” Matt says. “We tallied it up every day and at the end we’d raised a good amount of money.” About $2,700 – enough to buy seven portable DVD players and about 25 DVDs. Today, Matt is a freshman at Michigan State University. He plans to study secondary education and teach high school history and social studies. Who knows? Maybe someday he’ll encourage his students to develop their own Blitz 120 fundraising event.

hildren’s Hospital of Michigan meets the highest national standards set for medical and nursing staff, hospital personnel and patient care. Our young patients and their families are assured the finest medical care and the highest quality of hospital services. Children’s Hospital of Michigan is a member of The Detroit Medical Center, the academic health system for Wayne State University, and is affiliated with Wayne State University’s School of Medicine, College of Nursing, and College of Pharmacy and Allied Health. Children’s Hospital of Michigan is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 trauma center and as a regional poison control center by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. The hospital is certified by the Health Care Finance Administration (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act) and licensed by the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Heather, 6

Pediatric Endowed Chairs and professorships The Marion I. Barnhart, Ph.D. Endowed Chair in Thrombosis Hemostasis Research Jeanne M. Lusher, M.D., Incumbent The Frank Bicknell, M.D. Endowed Chair of Pediatric Urology Gordon A. McLorie, M.D., F.A.A.P., F.R.C.S.C., Incumbent The Carls Foundation Endowed Chair in Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Russell A. Faust, Ph.D., M.D., Incumbent The Frankel Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neuroscience Research Thomas L. Babb, Ph.D., Incumbent The Georgie Ginopolis Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer and Hematology Yaddanapudi Ravindranath, M.D., Incumbent

The Miriam L. Hamburger Endowed Chair of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatric Research David R. Rosenberg, M.D., Incumbent The Arvin I. Philippart, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgical Research and Research in Solid Tumors of Childhood Michael D. Klein, M.D., Incumbent The Ring Screw Textron Endowed Chair In Pediatric Cancer Research Jeffrey W. Taub, M.D., Incumbent The Rosalie and Bruce Rosen Family Endowed Chair for Tourette Syndrome and Related Neurological Disorders Research Harry T. Chugani, M.D., Incumbent The Schotanus Family Endowed Chair of Pediatrics Bonita F. Stanton, M.D., Incumbent

The Elizabeth Schotanus Endowed Professorship in Pediatric Nursing Linda A. Lewandowski, Ph.D., R.N., Incumbent The Peter Schotanus Endowed Professorship of Pediatric Neurosurgery Steven D. Ham, D.O., Incumbent The Carman & Ann Adams Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research The Samuel and Louis Hamburger Foundation Endowed Chair in Child Psychiatry The Helppie Endowed Professorship for Urban Pediatric Health Research The Janis & William Wetsman Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Atiba, 15 months

Executive Staff Herman B. Gray, Jr., M.D., M.B.A., President Luanne M. Ewald, Vice President, Business Development, Strategic Planning and Ambulatory Services Rhonda Foster, Ed.D., MPH, M.S., R.N., Vice President, Patient Care Jackie Hill, Vice President, Finance Richard L. Kramer, Vice President, Development Fredrick Rector, Jr., M.D., Vice President, Medical Affairs Medical Staff Chiefs Herman B. Gray Jr., M.D., M.B.A. President Bonita Stanton, M.D. Pediatrician-In-Chief Mary Lu Angelilli, M.D. Chief-of-Staff Michael D. Klein, M.D. Surgeon-In-Chief J. Michael Zerin, M.D. Chief of Pediatric Imaging Fredrick E. Rector Jr., M.D. Vice President of Medical Affairs Ibrahim F. Abdulhamid, M.D. Chief of Pulmonary Medicine Jacob V. Aranda, M.D. Chief of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Basim I. Asmar, M.D. Chief of Infectious Diseases Erawati V. Bawle, M.B.B.S. Chief of Genetic and Metabolic Disorders Chandra Edwin, M.D. Chief of General Pediatrics and Interim Chief of Endocrinology Harry T. Chugani, M.D. Chief of Neurology Marc L. Cullen, M.D. Chief of Pediatric Surgery Edward R. Dabrowski, M.D. Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Russell Faust, M.D., Ph.D. Chief of Otolaryngology Howard S. Fischer, M.D. Chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine David Grignon, M.D. Chief of Pathology Steven D. Ham, D.O. Chief of Neurosurgery

Blake, 8; Alexandra, 11; and Brendan, 8.

Joseph M. Hildebrand, D.D.S. Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Richard A. Humes, M.D. Chief of Cardiology Stephen R. Knazik, D.O., M.B.A. Chief of Emergency Medicine Jeanne M. Lusher, M.D. Co-Chief of Hematology and Oncology William D. Lyman, Ph.D., Director Children’s Research Center of Michigan Tej K. Mattoo, M.D. Chief of Nephrology Gordon A. McLorie, M.D. Chief of Urology James F. Mooney, III, M.D. Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery Ellen C. Moore, M.D. Chief of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology Yaddanapudi Ravindranath, M.D. Co-Chief of Hematology and Oncology John D. Roarty, M.D. Chief of Ophthalmology David R. Rosenberg, M.D. Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Arlene A. Rozzelle, M.D. Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Ashok P. Sarnaik, M.D. Chief of Critical Care Medicine Seetha Shankaran, M.D. Chief of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine James P. Stenger, D.D.S. Chief of Dentistry Bonita Stanton, M.D. Interim Chief of Gastroenterology Henry L. Walters III, M.D. Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery Maria M. Zestos, M.D. Chief of Anesthesiology

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees *John D. Baker, M.D., Chairperson *Mrs. Edsel B. Ford II, Vice-Chairperson *Mrs. Stuart Frankel, Vice-Chairperson *Mr. Frank Couzens, Jr., Treasurer Mr. Eugene Applebaum Mr. Tim A. Attalla Ms. Elaine Baker *Mr. Maurice J. Beznos *Mr. Robert H. Bluestein Alexa I. Canady, M.D. Mrs. Mayme Dunigan *Mr. Douglas M. Etkin Ms. Joanne B. Faycurry *The Honorable Bernard Friedman *The Honorable Hilda Gage Mrs. Erica Ward Gerson Mr. John Ginopolis *Mrs. Norman Gjostein *Herman B. Gray, Jr., M.D. Ms. Patricia Heftler Mrs. Richard Helppie Reverend Nicholas Hood, III *Mr. Joseph G. Horonzy Mr. Arthur B. Hudson *Mr. Gilbert Hudson Mrs. Jane Iacobelli Anne-Maré Ice, M.D. Mrs. Josephine Kessler Nick A. Khouri *Michael D. Klein, M.D. Mrs. Arthur Kleinpell *Mr. Robert C. Larson

Mrs. Edsel B. Ford II, Chairperson Mr. William M. Wetsman, Secretary/Treasurer Mr. Maurice J. Beznos Mr. James F. Carr, Jr. Mrs. Stuart Frankel Mr. Daniel Gilbert Mr. John Ginopolis Mr. Brian Hermelin



Mr. Edward C. Levy, Jr. Mr. John G. Levy Mr. Kirk J. Lewis Mrs. Lawrence R. Marantette *Mrs. Florine Mark Ms. Alyssa Martina Mrs. Jane E. Mills Mr. Charles R. O’Brien *Mr. David K. Page Mr. Michael C. Porter *Mrs. Gloria W. Robinson Mr. Bruce H. Rosen Ashok Sarnaik, M.D. Aaron H. Sherbin *Thomas L. Slovis, M.D. *Bonita Stanton, M.D. *George A. Wrigley

* Executive Committee Honorary Board 2005 Mr. Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Mrs. Henry T. Bodman Mrs. Warren Coville Mrs. Charles T. Fisher III Mr. William R. Halling Mr. William P. MacKinnon Mrs. Lynn A. Townsend Mrs. David D. Williams Advisory Board 2005 The Honorable Trudy DunCombe Archer Mr. Leslie Colburn Mrs. Julie Fisher Cummings Mr. Alan W. Frank Mr. Martin Goldman Mr. James Grosfeld Mr. Joseph C. Murphy Mr. Thomas L. Schoenith Mrs. Samuel Valenti III Mrs. Gerald E. Warren

Mr. Jack Krasula Mr. Edward C. Levy, Jr. Jeanne M. Lusher, M.D. John Maples Mrs. Rita Margherio Mr. Dick Purtan Ms. Patricia Rodzik Mr. Jatinder-Bir Sandhu

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation contact information: 3911 Beaubien St. Detroit, MI 48201-9932 (313) 964-1300

Kids Helping Kids

Steve Milnikel (below) at Children’s Hospital after open heart surgery in the arms of his mother.

Remembering Steve Just as Children’s Hospital of Michigan meant a lot to Steve Milnikel and his mother, Steve meant a lot to the physicians and staff at the hospital. In memory of Steve, Dr. Hal Walters and his cardiovascular surgery team recently purchased a memorial tree for Steve as part of the Festival of Trees. “The designer for his tree called me up and wanted to know what Steve was like so the tree could reflect his personality,” says Sue Engler, Steve’s mother. “It was a wonderful way to remember him – especially since he was born on Christmas Day.”

teve Milnikel of St. Joseph, Michigan spent much of his life at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. During his 22 years, he underwent five open-heart surgeries to repair a congenital heart defect. This first came when he was just 10 days old. The last, at 22 years. He died almost a week after his most challenging open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in August 2000. “My Steve was such a good kid,” says Sue Engler, Steve’s mother. “He was born with this, so he really didn’t know life without it. Over the years we spent so much time at Children’s Hospital, it was almost like he belonged both to me and to the hospital. Even after losing him, I’m so thankful to God – and Children’s Hospital – for giving him as much life as he had.” Now Sue and others in St. Joseph remember Steve each year at the Steve Milnikel Memorial Golf Outing. According to Sue, the golf outing is a chance to raise awareness of Children’s Hospital of Michigan while also raising money for pediatric cardiovascular surgery research – the type of surgery that would have helped treat Steve’s heart defect. Hal Walters, M.D. was one of Steve’s cardiovascular surgeons. In collaboration with other researchers at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University, Dr. Walters is developing a technique for creating cardiovascular tubes out of patients’ own living tissues. This would be a huge improvement over current surgical techniques which rely on artificial tubes or tubes from organ donors. “The tubes we use now don’t grow with the patient, so we often need to perform multiple surgeries,” says Dr. Walters. “But if we are able to create a tube from living tissue, it would be recognized by the patient as his or her own tissue. It would resist degeneration and clot formation and may grow with the patient.” The research – which Dr. Walters says was inspired by Steve Milnikel’s case – has the potential to change pediatric cardiovascular surgery. So far, Steve’s golf outing and other fundraising events organized by Sue have raised more than $75,000 for the research. In 2005 alone, the golf outing and other activities raised more than $22,500. Sue expects to keep raising money for pediatric cardiovascular surgery research at the hospital for years to come. In fact, she never stops her fundraising efforts. As soon as the golf outing was complete, she began planning for 2006. “In our 22 years with Steve, Children’s Hospital of Michigan became part of our lives,” Sue says. “Steve always felt taken care of there. He never felt like a number. We made friends there, and after Steve died I just had to stay connected with the hospital. I just couldn’t walk away and never go back.”

Steve Milnikel (l) is pictured on the far left with his best friend Tim Benson (r) as kids. Tim and Steve are pictured again here at Tim’s wedding at which Steve was the best man. Tim (l) and Steve (r).

esperately poor kids qualify for Medicaid. Children from low-income working families can get health insurance coverage through state programs like MIChild or Healthy Kids. But beleaguered parents aren’t always aware of the options available to insure their children’s health. Or they may work at jobs that pay a little too much, even if they don’t come with health insurance, for their kids to benefit from state assistance. The upshot is that in 2004, according to the U.S. Census, 8.3 million American children had no health coverage whatsoever. Some 220,000 children reside in Michigan. This is a significant problem in the downriver communities just south of Detroit. So last year, Children’s Hospital of Michigan applied for a grant from The Sinai Guild to help set up health fairs aimed at helping families and kids like these who risk falling through the cracks. “The Sinai Guild,” says its executive director, Sandra Jaffa, “is particularly attracted to projects that others are unlikely to fund, and which couldn’t get off the ground without the Guild’s help.” So they welcomed the chance to contribute $25,000 to help purchase equipment for the downriver fairs. The fairs provide a sort of one-stop shopping experience for kids’ health. As children and parents pass through the various health “stations,” children are checked for vision, hearing, immunizations, blood work, developmental assessment, and other routine features of a physical exam. Each session is conducted by nurse practitioners from Children’s school-based clinics, medical assistants, a medical director, and community volunteers. To help parents figure out if their child qualifies for any state help, a representative from the Family Independence Agency is also available to offer counsel. As far as Jaffa’s concerned, our current patchy system of health coverage for children is nothing less than “cruel,” since so many get left out in the cold. “And even people with insurance they think will cover everything,” she adds, “may one day find out that’s not true.” “The Sinai Guild contribution,” says nurse practitioner Cathy Patty-Resk, “enabled the purchase of equipment that otherwise would have been beyond the fairs’ means, ranging from three vision screeners – total cost $10,000 – to blood-work machines, infant scales, high-tech eye scopes and portable nebulizers. They also purchased a laptop computer and hand-held PCs that allow staff to plug right into the state’s immunization records, to check on what shots an individual child might need.” The hand-held PCs also allow staff to track children from one health fair to the next for continuity of care and allow easy access to on-the-spot referral information to specialists, reference books and other resources. “Eighty-one percent of the children seen,” says Patty-Resk, “had no coverage whatsoever.” When not in use at a health fair, the equipment will be utilized in Children’s school-based clinics, which are located at Campbell Elementary in Detroit, Redford High School in Detroit and Hamtramck High School in Hamtramck. Two fairs are planned for early this coming year, with more as needed. Inevitably, of course, such good causes always need funding. Anyone wishing to donate can contact the Children’s Hospital Development Department at (313) 745-5373.

Erica, 5; Tatinana, 6; and Gatonia,7

In 2006, two health fairs are scheduled for January 26 and April 27 at the Southgate Board of Education, 13201 Trenton Rd, Southgate.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Detroit MI Permit No. 4772 3901 Beaubien St. Detroit, Michigan 48201-2196

Janae, 4

This is a listing of fundraising events benefiting Children’s Hospital of Michigan. For additional details call the contact person listed or the Children’s Development Department at (313) 745-5373 or visit www.chmkids.org

February 2, 2006 Immaculate Reception & Dinner Roostertail, Detroit Contact: Saudia Twine (313) 993-8816

February 2, 2006 Next Level Super Gala (sanctioned by the NFL) Majestic Theatre, Detroit Contact: Suzanne Chandler (313) 745-0138

February 11, 2006 The Healing Hearts Dinner Dance The Mirage Banquet Facility, Clinton Township Contact: (586) 725-0233 or [email protected]

March 3, 2006 Leukemia, Research, Life Evening of Hope Laurel Manor, Livonia Contact: (313) 884-0931 or www.lrlinc.org

March 25, 2006 Dave Palm Party Mac & Ray’s, Harrison Township Contact: (586) 997-6499