American Family Children's - UW Health

GRAND OPENING COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAM 

American Family 

Children’s 

Hospital 

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AMERICAN FAMILY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL 

SPECIAL GRAND OPENING SECTION ● ● ● ● 

Opening the Gift: American Family Children’s Hospital 

A children’s hospital like you’ve never seen before. 

A community resource unlike any other. 

In 2001, when we committed to create an outstanding place to care for 

children, we knew there was no better investment than the good health of our 

youth. Our goal was to build a healing environment where the latest technology 

would blend with compassionate care to create hope and comfort for each and 

every family. Hope for a cure, hope for an effective treatment, hope for health. 

I believe hope lives in the American Family Children’s Hospital—in the 

community’s amazing generosity and support, in the pediatric patients, whose 

first-hand experiences and suggestions helped us shape the child and family 

friendly features of the new hospital, and in the amazing pediatric caregivers 

of UW Health who have dedicated their lives to providing care to children. 

This project has been an incredible journey. As the leader of the organization, 

I have been astounded at all the ways this community has offered their 

support—from penny drives and cow auctions to formal galas and personal 

donations. You and the American Family Children’s Hospital are now a part 

of a legacy which will care for children from throughout the state of Wisconsin 

and beyond. 

COVER PHOTO BY ADAM SENATORI / CHILD PHOTOS BY JUPITER IMAGES 

Donna K. Sollenberger 

President and CEO 

University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics 

AFCH GRAND OPENING 2007 3



Site of the first children’s 

hospital built in 1918 and 

named after Mary Cornelia 

Bradley, who died of spinal 

meningitis at age 6. 

Bradley’s parents sold their 

lot to raise funds for the 

Linden Drive building. 

HISTORY 

Light 

Into the 

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WSCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES 

From the days of ward rooms and dark tunnels to the new American Family 

Children’s Hospital’s bright, family-friendly spaces, Madison’s 

children’s health-care facilities have come a long way 

By Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz 

4 

AFCH GRAND OPENING 2007



FIRM GRASP ON TINY HAND, 

gurney wheels squeaking, the nurse 

sang to distract her frightened patient. 

Dark and faintly damp, the tunnel 

connecting the Children’s Hospital to 

the Wisconsin General Hospital was 

always a challenge for the kids to 

endure, but sick kids grow accustomed 

to challenge and they are remarkably 

resilient. The adults that worry over 

them likely suffer more. 

Besides, the tunnel was a 

huge improvement. Before it 

was built in the late 1950s, the 

only way to transport kids for 

most advanced procedures was 

to bundle them up, cart them 

outside and walk them over, 

regardless of the weather’s 

assault on their weakened 

immune systems. 

“Fortunately there were 

never any accidents and 

nobody ever suffered, other 

than getting a little chilly or 

wet,” says Dr. Gordon Tuffli, a 

UW medical student beginning 

in 1960, a member of the 

UW department of pediatrics 

since 1967, an academic pediatric 

endocrinologist, and a 

private practitioner in Madison 

for thirty-three years. 

“Life moves on.” 

Of course, a challenging 

transport between hospitals 

was far better than having no 

children’s hospital at all. 

Before 1920, there were only 

two buildings in the entire 

state devoted to children’s 

medical care, both in Milwaukee. 

(One possible exception 

of note: the Wisconsin State 

School for Dependent Children, 

established in 1886 in 

Sparta, Wisconsin, that eventually 

morphed into a hospital 

caring for crippled children.) 

Academic Dream 

With the University of 

Wisconsin’s birth in 1848 and 

the medical school program’s 

inception in 1907—classes for 

the two-year program were 

held in the attic of Science 

Hall and the old Chemical 

Engineering building—the 

University of Wisconsin Children’s 

Hospital’s origins were 

academic from the start. But a 

freestanding facility devoted 

entirely to children was only a 

dream for the University until 

1916, when six-year-old Mary 

Cornelia Bradley contracted 

spinal meningitis and died. 

In the two years following 

the heartbreaking death of 

their firstborn, Madison residents 

Harold and Mary 

(Crane) Bradley started selling 

pieces of the lot upon 

which their home stood. 

Eventually they sold the 

house itself to the Alpha 

Sigma Phi fraternity, and with 

donations from their extended 

families, scraped together 

$75,000 toward the construction 

of the Mary Cornelia 

Bradley Hospital for the 

Study of Children’s Diseases. 

The Wisconsin legislature 

pitched in $18,000, and crews 

broke ground on the Linden 

Drive site, facing Orchard 

Street, in 1918. The facility 

admitted its first patients in 

1919, and the Bradley Hospital 

was completed in its entirety 

by the summer of 1920. 

Children slept at least two 

to a room, many times in socalled 

“ward rooms” with multiple 

beds. The collective 

energy in these stark hospital 

rooms had a domino-like 

effect on the patients. When 

one child was awake, all children 

were awake. When one 

child cried in pain, all children 

were affected. Parents slept 

upright in wooden chairs 

pulled bedside. 

“It was a very old, musty 

building,” says Dr. Aaron 

Friedman, who came to 

UW–Madison as an intern in 

1974, became interim chair of 

pediatrics in 1994, and 

became chair in 1996. “While 

it was a small, freestanding 

children’s hospital, it didn’t 

have in it the important facilities 

the major hospital would 

have.” 

Still, it was a blessing, and 

built in the nick of time, 

too—the new facility was 

immediately squeezed in the 

wake of the Great Flu Epidemic 

of 1918. Though the 

modestly constructed building 

lacked important features— 

such as advanced X-ray equipment, 

operating rooms and 

Children slept at 

least two to a room, 

many times in socalled 

“ward rooms” 

with multiple beds. 

The collective energy 

in these stark hospital 

rooms had a dominolike 

effect on the 

patients. 

lab facilities—the continuing 

synergy between academic 

research and the hospital system 

meant more improvements 

were on the way. 

In 1924, the Wisconsin 

General Hospital (now known 

as the Old University Hospital, 

at 1300 University 

Avenue) was erected, and the 

medical school program 

became a four-year program. 

The Bradley Hospital was 

located adjacent to the rear 

entrance of Wisconsin General, 

and now patients could 

take advantage of both facilities. 

The children still slept in 

Bradley, but were transported 

out back to Wisconsin General 

for more advanced care. 

The short walk seemed a 

small price to pay for access to 

critical equipment and 

resources. 

By 1930, a new epidemic 

was sweeping the world— 

polio. The need for an orthopedic 

hospital eclipsed all else, 

and that year a new building 

was quickly erected on Linden 

Drive, just west of the Bradley 

building. During the fight 

with polio, thousands of 

Americans died and tens of 

thousands were paralyzed, 

until the first vaccine was 

developed in 1955. 

And so it was that by the 

late 1950s the once-bustling 

Orthopedic Hospital was 

thankfully losing its eminent 

relevance. When the Department 

of Pediatrics was established 

within the University 

Hospital system in 1957, 

department members, including 

the first pediatric department 

chair, Dr. Nathan J. 

Smith, hungrily eyed the 

more spacious Orthopedic 

Hospital. They won their 

lobby; they moved out of the 




“Every room in this 

current hospital is a 

private room, which 

was somewhat revolutionary 

in those days” 

- Dr. Paul Sondel 

Bradley building, and the 

Orthopedic Hospital officially 

became the University of 

Wisconsin Children’s Hospital 

in 1957. 

Though they now had the 

space they desired, doctors 

were still forced to turn to 

Wisconsin General for 

advanced procedures, and now 

the outdoor commute was 

slightly longer. Therefore, one 

of the first items on the pediatric 

department’s agenda was 

to construct the underground 

tunnel connecting the Children’s 

Hospital with Wisconsin 

General. 

In addition to buildinghopping 

and polio-battling, 

UW researchers and health 

practitioners were making significant 

medical contributions 

in their first seven decades. 

In the 1920s, UW–Madison 

biochemistry professor 

Harry Steenbock made Vitamin 

D-related discoveries 

credited with eventually eliminating 

rickets. The world’s 

first successful sibling-to-sibling 

bone marrow transplant 

was performed simultaneously 

at both UW and Minnesota 

in 1968. Arguably most 

important, however, was having 

a facility dedicated to children’s 

health, so that 

caregivers could harness the 

achievements of researchers 

worldwide to serve their 

young patients. The only 

problem that never seemed to 

go away was the need for 

more space. 

The polio-era Orthopedic 

Hospital became the UW 

Children’s Hospital in 1957. 

6 AFCH GRAND OPENING 2007 

Out of the Tunnel 

Space came in spades 

when, in 1979, the UW Children’s 

Hospital moved into 

the new University of Wisconsin 

Hospital and Clinics. 

Wisconsin General became 

today’s Medical Sciences 

Center, and the Bradley 

building has undergone several 

transformations. It still 

commemorates its namesake 

founder with a dedication 

plaque at its entrance. 

“Every room in this current 

hospital is a private room, 

which was somewhat revolutionary 

in those days,” says 

Dr. Paul Sondel, a UW premed 

student back in 1968 

who now leads UW’s childhood 

cancer program. “It was 

terrific when we moved in. It 

was big, and beautiful, and so 

much nicer than any other 

hospital I had ever seen or 

been in.” 

Certainly, one of the clear 

advantages was losing the 

tunnel. 

“We used to put them on a 

gurney and roll them into the 

main hospital, going quite a 

long way, through these very 

musty, dark, not very pleasant 

tunnels,” says Sondel. “Back 

in the 1920s, that was probably 

looked at as terrific. At 

least they were able to provide 

services to get these kids 

what they needed. But it was 

very different by 1979’s standards, 

and now as we look at 

the new hospital, 1979 seems 

like the dark ages.” 

Out of the tunnel—out of 

the dark ages and into the 

light—the new children’s 

hospital still lacked a key element 

from day one. 

“It’s quite clear that children 

do far better in the hospital 

if some adult family 

member is able to stay in the 

hospital with them,” says 

Sondel. “So from the moment 

we moved in, even though it 

was a big beautiful hospital, 

when families needed to have 

their children stay in the hospital 

overnight—or for three 

months for a bone marrow 

transplant—there just wasn’t 

room for them to stay.” 

As it turned out, not only 

parents, but hospital caregivers 

as well, needed more room. 

A major improvement in 

February of 2002 helped. An 

eighteen-bed, 5.4 milliondollar 

Pediatric Intensive 

Care Unit was constructed 

within the children’s ward. 

Now at least the direst cases 

would have family-friendly 

amenities, child-friendly 

décor, and sorely needed 

space. 

Thanks to this ever-evolving, 

exponentially expansive 

formula of time, money, more 

space, significant medical discoveries, 

and a better understanding 

of the psychological 

needs of sick kids and their 

families, the UW Children’s 

Hospital has had an undeniable 

impact on a disease once 

considered incurable—cancer. 

“Back in the 1970s, while 

the best treatments available 

were putting children into 

what we called remission, we 

weren’t ever using the word 

cure,” says Sondel. “It was 

quite clear that two-thirds of 

the children were still dying 

relatively quickly from their 

cancers, even with treatment. 

Now in 2007 it’s clear that 

about eight out of ten kids 

diagnosed with cancer are getting 

treatment that’s curing 

them.” 

In the new, 78 million-dollar 

American Family Children’s 

Hospital, patient rooms 

are twice the size of the 125- 

square-foot rooms of yesterday, 

and ample space is carved 

out for adults to sleep, access 

the Internet, and achieve some 

semblance of home as they 

face the daunting task of nursing 

their gravely ill children 

through treatment. 

“This is a very exciting 

time,” says Friedman. “We’ve 

all had dreams about this 

opportunity and we’re glad to 

see it finally coming to 

fruition.” 

Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz 

is a contributing writer for 

Madison Magazine. 

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WSCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES

Introducing 


Children’s Hospital 

Community Open House 

Sunday, July 29, 1:00 – 5:00 pm 

1675 Highland Avenue, Madison 

Come and explore our new building! Enjoy a fun, free, 

family-friendly day. All are welcome to attend. 

• Scavenger hunt 

• Music & entertainment 

• Refreshments 

• Meet Bucky Badger & Ronald McDonald 

• Face painting, Dance Dance Revolution and more! 

For a schedule of performances, directions, parking and shuttle information, 

please visit uwhealth.org/kids. 

New Building. New Name. Same Great Care. 

Wisconsin has received a wonderful new gift—the American Family Children’s 

Hospital. A world-class facility in Madison to match the world-class care our 

doctors, nurses and staff have been providing for 87 years. 

CH12976-0607A



CARE 

Touch 

High 

Tech 

High 

Vs. 

From a ceiling-high lighthouse in the lobby, to Wisconsinthemed 

hallways, to an entertainment theater, the new 

American Family Children’s Hospital puts kids and families first 

By Nicole Resnick 


Above: The new hospital’s 

design incorporates all things 

Wisconsin, including lighthouses 

and a stately sugar 

maple in the first-floor lobby. 

Each floor of the hospital 

reflects an individual region 

of the state—the cow etched 

into the elevator lobby on 

the second floor fits into the 

farmland theme. 

ALL PHOTOS BY ADAM SENATORI

IN A CITY RENOWNED FOR ITS 

quality health care and groundbreaking 

medical research, one component of 

the overall package has lagged behind– 

its children’s hospital. Occupying space 

on the fourth floor of the UW Hospital 

and Clinics, UW Children’s Hospital has 

existed for decades as essentially a children’s 

ward within the larger adult 

facility, or, as the chair of UW’s general 

surgery division and children’s hospital surgeon-in-chief Dr. 

Dennis Lund puts it, “a hospital within a hospital.” 

“But we’re so much more than that,” says Lund. “We have over 

one hundred pediatric specialists here who provide specialized 

care for children. While we’ve had the people, we just haven’t 

been organized like a true children’s hospital.” 

For this reason, and despite its impressive group of pediatric 

specialists culled from leading medical centers around the country, 

UW Children’s Hospital has lacked a solid identity—a place 

to call its own that’s dedicated solely to the care of children. 

That all changed at the end 

of July, when the new sixstory, 

sixty-one bed American 

Family Children’s Hospital 

first welcomed potential 

patients and their families 

from around the region. The 

state-of-the-art facility was 

designed from the ground up 

with one goal in mind—to 

make this a place for kids and 

their families. 

“We can now provide family-centered 

care of the highest 

quality so that a child shouldn’t 

have to leave Madison to 

get the best care in the United 

States,” says Dr. Ellen Wald, 

chair of pediatrics and physician-in-chief 

of UW Children’s 

Hospital. 

Family-centered care is a 

key phrase, and it’s what 

today’s children’s hospitals are 

all about. While we live in an 

ultra-high-tech world, when it 

comes to treating children, the 

notion of “high touch” is often 

more important. 

UW Children’s Hospital 

vice president David Berry 

points out that the new building 

has all the technological 

capabilities necessary in this 

era of modern medicine, and 

then some. “But we’ve worked 

even more diligently to make 

it kid-friendly and familyfocused,” 

he says. “We built 

the building around the 

notion of family-centered 

care, and the most significant 

features are those that support 

patients and their families.” 

Wald, excited to lead her 

team of physicians in their 

new home, offers this explanation 

of high touch: “In the 

end, it’s the human interactions 

that people take away 

from a place when they’re 

treated well, or when they find 

that everyone interacting with 

their child is nurturing.” 

Family- 

Friendly Design 

The new $78 million building 

showcases an impressive 

number of high-touch features—the 

design is inviting 

and fun for children from the 

moment they walk in the 

doors. Each individual floor 

fits within a unifying theme of 

“All Things Wisconsin,” and 

includes fun subject matters 

like Badger sports, the north 

woods, prairies, and farmland. 

Numerous family lounges and 

play areas are equipped with 

amenities such as fireplaces, 

trees, outdoor balconies, and 

fish tanks. The idea is to keep 

the building interesting and 

friendly for patients and their 

families during an experience 

that might normally evoke 

fear and dread. 

“The main thing is that this 

is space designed for kids and 

their families, and we can’t 

underestimate the importance 

of the families,” says Lund. 

Madison may not be a large 

city, but its children’s hospital 

draws from 1.6 million people 

in the surrounding region and 

states. Two-thirds of the hospital’s 

patients come from outside 

Dane County, and 

patients are admitted from all 

over the U.S. for complex surgical 

procedures, transplants, 

and cancer treatments. 

“In the end, it’s the 

human interactions 

that people take 

away from a place 

when they’re treated 

well, or when they 

find that everyone 

interacting with their 

child is nurturing.” 

- Dr. Ellen Wald 




Their Own Space 

Every aspect of the new 

hospital’s inpatient rooms was 

considered carefully. Jennifer 

Brazelton, administrative 

director of UW Children’s 

Hospital, explains that the 

concept of zoning in each 

room was born from much 

discussion and research. With 

the goal of keeping all users of 

a room in mind, each room 

includes a patient zone, a family 

zone and a caregiver zone. 

The family zone is located 

at the back of a room, so family 

members have their own 

space but don’t feel they’re in 

the way. The patient zone is in 

the middle, so patients are 

accessible to both family and 

caregivers and can control features 

like the TV and lighting. 

The caregiver zone is closest 

to the door and is designed to 

allow physicians, nurses and 

other hospital staff to access 

whatever they need. “Everyone 

likes to have their space and 

feel more comfortable,” says 

“Parents and siblings 

have to move 

in too, and we need 

space right in the 

room along with 

the patient.” 

- Dr. Dennis Lund 

Brazelton. “We’ve incorporated 

this into the design of the 

room, and we’ve tried to be 

cognizant of everyone’s needs.” 

The high-touch fingerprint 

is evident throughout the hospital—and 

well beyond 

patients’ rooms. Siblings are 

considered a high priority, as 

they often play an important 

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 

“Because kids can’t travel 

here alone, we need facilities 

to accommodate their families,” 

says Lund. “Parents and 

siblings have to move in too, 

and we need space right in the 

room along with the patient. 

One of the more extreme 

examples of long-term procedures—a 

bone marrow transplant—requires 

hospitalization 

for at least six to eight 

weeks. And most parents 

remain by their child’s side 

the entire time.” 

The patient rooms in the 

old hospital averaged 125 

square feet, whereas the new 

rooms each average 270 

Above: Patient rooms incorporate 

“zones” for patients, families and 

caregivers. At right, a rainbow of 

bright, pastel colors mark inpatient 

and outpatient care rooms, many of 

which have unusual design features—like 

the star-studded ceiling 

of the echocardiogram room. 

square feet in size. “These 

larger rooms are especially 

important, because many 

patients who come to this hospital 

for tertiary and quaternary 

care are here for weeks or 

months,” says Wald. “Families 

literally move in, and they need 

creature comforts like places to 

sleep, shower, store their things, 

even an Internet connection. It 

all makes the passing of 

that time so much easier.” 



Dedicated 

HDR, one of the nation's top healthcare designers, is proud to be 

partnered with the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics to bring 

this new pediatric facility to life. We celebrate its Grand Opening...and 

its future in providing quality healthcare to the entire region. 

525 Junction Road, Suite 8500 

Madison, WI 53717-2162 

608.662.1800 

www.hdrinc.com



No Lack of High Tech in 

this High-Touch Facility 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 

With so much emphasis on the family-centered look and feel of the 

American Family Children’s Hospital, it might be easy to overlook the 

cutting-edge treatments it offers. The list of notable programs and 

specialties that have helped shape the reputation of UW Children’s 

Hospital is long. It includes a world-renowned pediatric organ transplantation 

program, the hospital’s status as one of two Level 1 Pediatric 

Trauma Centers in the state of Wisconsin, a highly successful 

cochlear implant program, a leading program in cystic fibrosis, and 

prominent programs in pediatric cancers and genetics. 

A new feature built into the hospital’s design enables an innovative 

form of radiation therapy for children with advanced cases of neuroblastoma, 

a more commonly occurring pediatric solid tumor. Dr. Ken 

DeSantes leads the team of specialists offering MIBG (which stands 

for meta-iodo-benzyl guanidine) treatment, in which the neuroblastoma 

cells growing in a child’s body selectively take up a radioactively 

labeled chemical. 

MIBG was initially used for diagnostic purposes (in conjunction 

with a specialized camera), as it allows radiologists to view the location 

and extent of the disease. The radioactively labeled molecule ebrated in the nurse’s station in the 

Above: Wisconsin’s prairieland is cel- 

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Note 

can now be used for therapeutic purposes, effectively irradiating and 

the prairie grass in the glass panels. 

destroying tumor cells. “Radioactive MIBG acts like a guided missile 

going directly into the cells and killing the tumor,” explains DeSantes. 

While proving to be successful, it’s role in a sick child’s healing 

a complicated form of therapy and recovery, so the new 

“Maternal fetal medicine 

is unique in that radioactivity involved. For this rea- 

designed play areas and family 

because of the very large amount of building features thoughtfully 

it bridges different son, those who administer the treatment 

are carefully trained, and the designed for older patients 

lounges. A teen lounge 

disciplines in understanding 

the care of room in which the treatment is given 

and their siblings is distinct 

both the developing 

must be lined with lead to keep the 

from the younger kids’ playroom, 

and is equipped with 

baby and the mother.” 

radiation contained. 

In the new Children’s Hospital, a 

- Dr. Aimen Shaaban 

separate room designed for this entertainment more suited to 

purpose keeps caregivers safe while their ages. Family kitchens for 

administering MIBG therapy. The preparation of simple meals, 

space includes a DVD player that reading nooks, lactation 

can be operated from outside the rooms, and laundry facilities 

room. Other high-tech enhancements 

allow patients to communi- 

are available and help families 

live as normally as possible 

cate with families outside the room 

during their stays. 

during their typical three to five-day-long stay inside. “It’s really a 

state-of-the-art therapy, and we can now be the premier facility to 

offer it,” says DeSantes. 

A Special Place 

Another cutting-edge service is the Comprehensive Fetal Treatment 

The lobby is also filled with 

Center. Explains the Center’s director, pediatric surgeon Dr. Aimen Shaaban, 

“Maternal fetal medicine is unique in that it bridges different disci- 

inviting features for patients 

plines in understanding the care of both the developing baby and the and their families. A lighthouse 

reaching to the ceiling 

mother.” The Center oversees and treats both patients in each case, 

working to ensure smooth continuity of care. One hallmark procedure provides soft seating for kids 

offered through the Fetal Treatment Center is the EXIT procedure, or to color or read, while a lifesize 

tree and park benches 

Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment. With EXIT, the baby is treated while 

partially delivered, but before the umbilical cord is cut. “It’s an enhance the peaceful setting. 

approach used for a number of different diseases, and often it can Signature UW Memorial 

come down to a precious five-minute window of opportunity to get 

Union tables and chairs are 

at this medical problem. Yet it can affect a child’s and a mother’s 

health forever,” Shaaban says. ■ 


situated not too far from the 

new Picnic Point Café. Entertainment 

is provided in the 

family theater, where live performances 

and programming 

on a fifty-inch LCD screen 

offer families some welcome 

distraction. 

“The overall theme, colors 

and visuals are intended to 

deliver the message that this is 

a special place designed and 

built just for you—the 

patient—and your family,” 

says Berry. “The idea is that you 

“This is a special place 

designed and built just 

for you—the patient— 

and your family” 

- David Berry 


don’t have to be afraid because you’re in a 

hospital, but, rather, that you can have 

fun.” 

Madison Metropolitan School District 

teachers provide instruction for patients 

at the hospital’s school, where they’ll now 

have the luxury of teaching in a bright 

and spacious room with windows. 

The entire hospital is wireless, allowing 

families to remain connected to the outside 

world during their time in the building. 

Another valuable feature of the 

wireless capability—and something the 

old hospital didn’t have—is that children 

hooked up to any kind of monitor can 

move freely throughout the facility while 

continuing to transmit their signals. 

Brazelton, who’s been intimately 

involved in planning the new hospital 

since it was merely a dream, is especially 

proud of certain unique features. The 

Safety Center, for one, is a separate room 

that displays everything a parent might 

need to childproof a home and make it 

safe. Parents can visit the Center and 

speak with a hospital staff member about 

any kind of gadget, from bathwater thermometers 

to stair gates, carbon monoxide 

monitors to outlet plugs. The Center is 

open to the public and aims to educate 

anyone in need of more information. 

Berry is proud of the Positive Image 

Center, a new service created to help 

pediatric patients cope with their physical 

images when they’ve been altered by disease 

or treatment. For example, patients 

can obtain wigs, hats, and scarves when 

they suffer hair loss from chemotherapy 

or undergo neurosurgical procedures, and 

they can learn to apply makeup to mask 

scars or lessen the impact of other 

appearance-altering treatments. 

Every high-touch feature of the American 

Family Children’s Hospital illustrates 

how a children’s hospital functions unlike 

an adult hospital. “From A to Z, from the 

small things to the bigger picture, everything 

in a children’s hospital is different 

for the consumer,” says Wald. “Even the 

size of lab samples and the drawing and 

processing of blood is different, and those 

who work in a children’s hospital understand 

that.” 

Nicole Resnick is a contributing writer for 

Madison Magazine. 

 

It’s what American Family Children’s Hospital does everyday. Doing their very 

best. Utilizing the latest technology. Work performed is by highly trained and 

dedicated doctors, backed by a great support team. And all of these pieces unite 

to work together in order to make sure that each child receives the utmost care. 

This is done every single day and we are proud to serve and support them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IMPACT 

From 

Kids 

Hope And Health Restored: He’s an 

official cancer survivor, but the road 

to recovery for little James wasn’t 

an easy one. His family is forever 

grateful to the people at UW Children’s 

Hospital for their care and 

compassion. Turn to page 22 for 

the Gilmores’ happy ending. 

to 

Community 

What the new American Family Children’s Hospital 

means to the people of Madison and the region it serves 

By Nicole Resnick 

(STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 16) 

14 


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DRUMMING UP EXCITEMENT ABOUT A 

new children’s hospital can pose some challenges. 

For those who have never been touched by the trauma 

of needing such a facility, it’s difficult to truly 

understand and relate to its value. But for those 

who’ve personally dealt with a seriously sick or 

injured baby or child, it’s easy to comprehend how 

the quality of care a children’s hospital provides can 

impact lives. Beyond the medical treatment dispensed 

by the hospital’s doctors, nurses and support 

staff, the physical surroundings, amenities and overall 

feel of the facility may impact patient outcome 

and shape a family’s overall experience in the world 

of pediatric health care. That’s precisely why the 

American Family Children’s Hospital addresses the 

needs of everyone involved in a sick child’s care 

from the moment they walk through the door. 

“It’s extremely important 

from the perspective of 

the Department of Pediatrics 

that we have our 

own separate identity” 

- Dr. Ellen Wald 

For those who work long hours in the 

Children’s Hospital—physicians, nurses, 

technicians, administrators, central service 

workers—having a facility they can call 

their own is sure to enhance their work 

performance. The larger, brighter, 

thoughtfully designed space is a tremendous 

improvement over the hospital’s former 

location. What used to occupy a 

single floor and a smattering of other 

units in the vast adult UW Hospital and 

Clinics structure has now expanded to an 

entire building—a free-standing tower six 

stories high encompassing 252,000 square 

feet of space. 

Dr. Ellen Wald, chair of pediatrics and 

physician-in-chief of UW Children’s 

Hospital, says, “It’s extremely important 

from the perspective of the Department 

of Pediatrics that we have our own separate 

identity. We’ve gotten lost here on 

the fourth floor of UW Hospital, and this 

will finally give us a face for the things we 

can do for children.” 

Quality of Life 

The Madison community has been fortunate 

to have some version of a children’s 

hospital for over three-quarters of a century. 

And for families new to the city or 

those considering relocating here, specialized 

care for kids is an attractive offering. 

Ask any realtor and they’ll tell you that 

parents ask about two things: the quality 

of education and health care for their kids. 

Jennifer Brazelton, UW Children’s Hos- 

16 AFCH GRAND OPENING 2007



“The new hospital brings an 

additional quality to this 

community that helps make 

it such an outstanding place,” 

- Mark Bugher 

pital administrative director and a mother 

herself, knows that recruits to Madison’s 

workforce often inquire about the quality 

of pediatric health care in our city. 

“People place cities that can provide 

that kind of health care higher on their 

lists than cities that don’t have it,” she 

says. “Parents are parents, first and foremost, 

so they’re always thinking of their 

kids. That’s often the most important 

thing to them, so this new hospital is very 

important for our community.” 

Civic leaders whose work entails measuring 

the pulse of Madison’s economy 

and growth also understand why the 

American Family Children’s Hospital is 

considered such an asset. “The new hospital 

brings an additional quality to this 

community that helps make it such an 

outstanding place,” says Mark Bugher, 

chair of Madison’s Economic Development 

Commission. “We’re rapidly 

becoming viewed as the science, technology 

and health-care center of the Midwest, 

and the Children’s Hospital adds 

another piece to that very important picture 

of our community.” 

Adds Bugher, “As we attract the best 

and the brightest employees to work in 

this hospital, we impact the quality of life 

that we have to offer here in Madison.” 

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Jobs and the 

Economy 

The new Children’s Hospital’s 

impact on our local economy 

starts within the building 

and reverberates beyond its 

brightly painted walls. The 

massive construction project 

alone stoked employment; 

between 150 and 250 construction 

workers from J.H. 

Findorff & Son and other 

firms have been on-site for 

over two and a half years. Jim 

Yehle, project manager at 

Findorff, says the Children’s 

Hospital project has been one 

of the company’s largest jobs 

ever and represents a massive 

feat of coordination. 

Now that the new hospital 

is functioning independently 

of the adult hospital, a number 

of new jobs have been created. 

Separate services 

including a pediatric outpatient 

pharmacy, a children’s 

gift shop and a café translate 

into the hiring of more 

employees. One of the hospital’s 

new features, the Family 

Resource Center, is recruiting 

a full-time librarian. 

“Over time, year by year, 

as we grow in terms of 

the number of kids we 

serve, we’ll add more 

jobs into the community 

- Donna Sollenberger 

The number of new professional 

positions will continue 

to expand along with the hospital 

itself. Phase II of construction 

is slated to begin in 

the fall of 2008, and when it’s 

complete the American Family 

Children’s Hospital will 

offer a suite of state-of-the-art 

pediatric operating rooms and 

a twenty-four bed surgical 

unit. This in turn will require 

the hiring of pediatric nurses, 

anesthesiologists, and surgical 

support staff. 

“Over time, year by year, as 

we grow in terms of the number 

of kids we serve, we’ll add 

more jobs into the community,” 

says Donna Sollenberger, 

president and CEO of UW 

Hospital and Clinics. “This is 

what keeps the economy 

fueled in Dane County.” 

Sollenberger points to several 

studies showing the 

impact a new health-care 

facility can have within a local 

economy. In Madison hospitals 

and clinics, there are currently 

more than 18,000 

health care employees—that’s 

one health-care worker in 

every twelve households. Most 

important, for every one job 

the hospitals and clinics create, 

an additional 1.9 jobs are 

generated in the metropolitan 

economy. “New positions have 

been created just to take care 

of the building,” says Sollenberger. 

“New environmental 

services workers, security officers, 

and positions in plant 

engineering—all of these are 

necessary to keep the building 

running.” 

The economic advantages 

of having a new children’s 

hospital will flow into the 

greater community as well. 

UW Children’s Hospital 

already attracts patients from 

outside Dane County—more 

than two-thirds of those 

admitted—but the new facility 

is expected to have an even 

greater draw. Families that 

travel here and need to stay 

for extended periods of time 

inevitably patronize local 

restaurants, shops and attractions; 

this all adds up to more 

dollars downtown. 

An Elevated Image 

In today’s competitive 

health care industry, image 

also matters. Sollenberger gets 

to the point: “Our new children’s 

hospital raises our 

image, and it also shows the 

commitment our community 

has to children. Now Madison 

is known not only for its 

excellent education, but its 

excellent health care as well.” 

That reputation will help 

the hospital continue to 

attract and retain top-notch 

pediatric specialists. Brazelton 

says, “We’re building a worldclass 

facility that matches our 

world-class staff and quality of 

care. This new hospital is definitely 

one more attraction for 

our staff, and it’s a visible sign 

of the commitment the institution 

has for this program.” 

And in a city that prides 

itself on all things UW, the 

new children’s hospital is 

another notch in the belt. 

Much like the recent renovation 

of Camp Randall Stadium 

and the bloom of new 

multi-million-dollar campus 

dorms and research centers, 

the effort required to meet the 

goals of the Children’s Hospital 

campaign has brought 

together countless generous 

members of the UW family. 

Alums, their families, even 

those who simply have some 

kind of Wisconsin connection 

have contributed in the spirit 

of further elevating UW’s reputation. 

Dr. Dennis Lund, chair of 

general surgery and surgeonin-chief 

of Children’s Hospital, 

served on planning 

committees when the new 

hospital was nothing more 

than an idea. He still speaks of 

the rallying that occurred as 

20 


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Congratulations to everyone 

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serves. Thanks for allowing 

us to be a part of this very 

special facility. 




soon as the campaign got off the ground. 

“It all moved along faster than I could 

have ever dreamed,” says Lund. “I had 

hoped to break ground by 2009, but the 

facility will already be finished by then.” 

Sollenberger has met with the same 

reaction. She recalls the energy and support 

she felt throughout repeated rounds 

of travel for fundraising purposes. Such 

events had her meeting and greeting UW 

alumni from coast to coast, and everywhere 

she was moved by the stories of 

support and the interest in the campaign. 

“This project is different from others 

we’ve been involved with, and it has 

appealed to donors all across the country, 

with all kinds of UW connections,” 

Sollenberger says. 

While the American Family Children’s 

Hospital will profoundly impact patients 

and their families, hospital employees, 

and the local economy, the process that 

led up to the hospital’s grand opening has 

been beneficial on a broader level. “The 

whole campaign in our community, and 

with UW alumni across the country, has 

increased everyone’s awareness of the specific 

needs of kids and health care,” says 

Sollenberger. 

“This particular project has really resonated 

with UW alums, and they’ve 

proven that they want to give back,” she 

adds. “It’s brought more philanthropic 

dollars into our community and heightened 

our image on a national level.” 

With the hospital’s rooms still smelling 

of fresh paint, Lund is full of praise. “This 

is a tribute to how people in Madison and 

at the UW pulled it all together in such a 

short period of time. We got a critical 

mass of people who had the same 

vision—and not just the doctors, but the 

community and businesspeople as well— 

and could see the dire need.” 

“It’s just a tremendous resource for all 

of Madison—for its kids, families, and 

the entire community,” says Lund. “And 

most important, building this facility was 

just the right thing to do.” 

Nicole Resnick is a contributing writer 

for Madison Magazine. 

The Greatest 

Impact of All: 

Patients and 

their Families 

UW CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL has long 

impacted kids’ lives, from the tiniest 

babies to the most courageous young 

adults facing disease, even when the 

facility existed as a single floor in an 

adult hospital. The new Children’s 

Hospital has the potential to do that 

much more. For the best insight into 

just how it can make a difference, it 

helps to speak to the families who 

owe their children’s lives to Madison’s 

quality health-care providers. 

Jim Gilmore tells the story of his 

son James, only thirteen months old 

at the time he was diagnosed with 

cancer. Back then, in January 2002, 

Jim’s wife was five months pregnant 

with their second child, so the frightening 

diagnosis, on top of another 

pregnancy, was overwhelming to say 

the least. “The diagnosis came completely 

out of left field,” says Gilmore. 

“It was all so sudden, and between the 

anxiety and the stress, it all seemed so 

daunting. Yet once we met with the 

doctors at Children’s Hospital, we 

We’re your single source for 

electrical solutions for 88 years! 

Above: Five years after James Gilmore was diagnosed 

with leukemia, he’s doing fine. Dad Jim was 

so affected by the experience, he left his job to 

work for UW Hospital and Clinics. 

22 


The design of the 


Hospital’s new 

rooms ensures that 

families undergoing 

such an experience 

are more comfortable, 

and the family 

lounges, kitchens and 

laundry facilities make 

life much easier and 

more “normal.” 

knew right away that we were in the 

right place.” 

With a diagnosis of AML (acute 

myeloid leukemia), James lived at Children’s 

Hospital for four months as he 

underwent three rounds of very intensive 

chemotherapy. Either Jim or his 

wife Kim was always at their son’s bedside, 

never leaving him alone for an 

evening. With room for only a single 

cot, the two took turns spending the 

night in the cramped room. 

The design of the American Family 

Children’s Hospital’s new rooms 

ensures that families undergoing such 

an experience are more comfortable, 

and the family lounges, kitchens and 

laundry facilities make life much easier 

and more “normal.” 

Now, five years later, James is 

healthy and thriving. The Gilmores 

just marked the critical five-year 

anniversary of his remission, qualifying 

James as an official cancer survivor. 

His family, including younger brother 

Karl, who coincidentally left the hospital 

after his birth on the same day 

James was officially discharged, could 

not be more grateful for the care 

James received. 

“While no parent ever wants to be 

told their child has cancer, if you must 

experience it, you can’t be in a better 

place than Children’s Hospital,” says 

Gilmore. “The caring, commitment, 

dedication, and compassion the staff 

gave our family during that difficult 

time is something you can never forget, 

regardless of the outcome. It 

impacts you as a person and it literally 

transforms your life.” 

Gilmore was so affected by his 

experience that he left his job following 

James’s recovery, and sought a 

position at UW Hospital and Clinics, 

where he felt he could best use his 

experience and skills to help develop 

the hospital’s community outreach 

efforts. Gilmore is currently development 

program manager, where he 

works closely with Nancy Francisco- 

Welke of the UW Foundation in 

development and fundraising. “My 

whole experience with my family and 

Children’s Hospital just changed my 

way of thinking and my priorities. This 

hospital has become my focal point.” 

– Nicole Resnick 



Open for Business 

Help celebrate this milestone by 

attending the American Family 

Children’s Hospital Community 

Open House. Families can try their 

hand at the scavenger hunt throughout 

the Wisconsin-themed hospital; 

jam out to Ken Lonnquist, The 

Figureheads and the Goongoo Peas; 

or even bust a move playing Dance 

Dance Revolution. The event is free. 

What: American Family Children’s 

Hospital Open House 

When: July 29, 1–5 p.m. 

Where: 1675 Highland Ave. There’s event 

parking and free shuttle service available 

at Lots 60 and 76. Guests can also access 

parking on the eastern side of Highland 

Avenue (UW Hospital’s main entrance). 


With those words, American Family Insurance resolved to help 

build a much-needed new children’s hospital in Madison. 

Thanks to community, business, and individual commitment 

and generosity, the dream is reality. 

Thank You

American Family Children's - UW Health

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