facing life with a smile - Arkansas Children's Hospital

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NEWLY ELECTEDWelcome...Hospital BoardMichael Schmitz, M.D.Director, Pediatric PainManagement Program, ACH, UAMSDirector, Pediatric Cardiovascular AnesthesiaProgram, ACH, UAMSFoundation BoardJeffrey W. NolanEl DoradoPresident, Loutre Land and Timber CompanyContinued from page 5performed in the heart center operating rooms, with heartspecialists standing by in the event of an emergency.The dental department also provides emergency care forinpatients of the Hospital and for dental emergencies referredfrom the emergency room.Craniofacial orthodontic care is available for children withcraniofacial disharmonies and for children with cleft lip andcleft palates. Many of the craniofacial patients require a teamof specialists to deliver quality comprehensive care that is onlyavailable in major children’s hospitals such as ArkansasChildren’s Hospital. Nearly all cleft lip and cleft palate patientsrequire orthodontic intervention. Arkansas Children’s Hospitalis the only facility in this region that can provide craniofacialorthodontics for many of these severely affected children.Dr. Koonce, who’s been at the hospital for over four years,tried to retire once, but only made it three months. “I justcouldn’t stand not being here,” he explains. “This is a uniqueplace, and I’ve never worked with a group like this. Everydepartment really works well together.”Koonce and his staff have many patients who have grownup coming to the hospital and to the dental clinic, and he sayshe has learned so much from the patients and their families.“There are so many special parents and grandparents who doso much, sometimes coming a long distance at great cost, tomake sure they get the best care for their children.” Parentsaren’t the only ones who receive Koonce’s respect and admiration;he can’t say enough about the Dental Clinic staff. “Ourstaff is phenomenal,” he says. “Frankly, they could make moremoney elsewhere. They are here because they love childrenand they enjoy the rewards of treating kids with special needs.“The best reward is when we see patients like Edwin whocan face the future with a smile on their face.”Continued from page 4psychosocial issues involved in placing children on insulinpump therapy for Type 1 diabetes. This initiative will belooking into family dynamics as they relate to how well achild will do with more modern, yet more intensive, managementschemes to control blood sugar levels. Manyfamilies feel a great deal of anxiety and apprehensionwhen they feel they are ultimately responsible for theirchild’s long-term health. These studies will hopefully shedlight on how health professionals can better help suchfamilies adjust to these pressures.Arkansas Children’s Hospital also has been, and willbe again, a site involved in such multi-site studies as theDiabetes Prevention Trial (DPT), which involves screeningfor pre-diabetes and intervention programs to avert diabetes.New initiatives will be targeted to try to developtherapies to prevent or curtail the onset and progressionof Type 1 diabetes.From a clinical standpoint, Fowlkes says the rise indiabetes in children is troublesome because there aremore children who need to be cared for by subspecialiststhan there are subspecialists who have the training andthe background in diabetes. He says it is difficult torecruit and retain people who can care for these children.To help meet this important and increasing need,Fowlkes received funds to assist with the recruitment ofnew staff from the Martha Ann Pugh Memorial Fund forJuvenile Diabetes. The fund was established last year bythe parents of Martha Ann Pugh and others who madegifts in her memory. The goal of the fund was to helpFowlkes build on his program so that children facing diabetesmay be better served. With the help of the Pughfund, Arkansas Children’s Hospital recently added oneendocrinologist to its staff and expects to add another inJuly.8
HOSPITAL PROGRAMSACH Chaplain DelFarris blesses one ofthe new helicoptersand prays “for theinfants and childrenwho need to be liftedup and carried tothis place,” and forthe crew the “Angel”will carry.New ‘Angels’ACH’s New Helicopters Provide EvenMore Specialized CareIn October, Arkansas Children’s Hospital announced thearrival of two new Sikorsky helicopters which replaced thepreviously used Angel One helicopters. The new helicopters,also “Angels,” are painted with easy-to-recognizewings.The new state-of-the-art Sikorsky S76C+ helicopters arecapable of flying at 178 miles per hour, with greater rangeand operating safely in all weather conditions, due to theadditional radios, autopilot, navigational and other instrumentflight equipment. A further degree of safety isobtained with enhanced mapping and ground proximitydisplays.These critical-care helicopters will transport flight nurses,flight respiratory therapists and physicians to any area ofArkansas within an hour to help care for neonatal, pediatric,cardiac, burn and trauma patients. These highly trainedcrews can begin the state-of-the-art care that ACH is knownfor as soon as the patient enters the helicopter.“Our helicopters are specifically designed to transportinfants and children,” says Mary McDaniel, vice president ofPatient Care Services. “We are thrilled to be able to offerhelicopter care that is tailored to the needs of our youngpatients, both in Arkansas and in surrounding states.”The Angels are each equipped to carry the following:• Two pediatric or adult patients• Two neonatal isolettes used to keep prematurebabies and neonates (up to 10 lbs. or 30 days)warm• Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)pump which serves as a heart/lung by-pass forcritically ill patients to pump oxygenated blood andrest the lungs (ACH is one of only three hospitals inthe country that offers this. Of the three, one is amilitary helicopter.)• Cardiac monitors and defibrillators to measure theheart rate and monitor its rhythm• Ventilators and oxygen monitors to breathe for thepatient and regulate the amount of oxygen that isneeded• Intravenous pumps to administer IV medications andfluids• Satellite headset phones for contacting physicians forpatient orders at any time during the flight“The cost of Angel One Transport is not fully coveredby the hospital, says McDaniel. “We depend on generoussupporters like Log A Load For Kids and Wal-Mart tohelp us defray the cost.“These helicopters are literally flying intensive careunits, not for adults, but for the children of Arkansas;staffed with caregivers who specialize in the care ofeven the tiniest babies.”9
Page 2 and 3: CONTENTSPage 3Page 43 FACING LIFE W
Page 4 and 5: RESEARCHDiabeteson the Rise:Dr. Joh
Page 6 and 7: GIVINGRuth Beall SocietyPlanned Giv
Page 10 and 11: PHILANTHROPY DAYLog A Load For Kids
Page 12 and 13: AUXILIARY GROUPSAuxiliaryLeaders Ga
Page 14 and 15: COMMUNITY EVENTSArkansas GM Auto De
Page 16: Razorbacks Bring Cheerto Hospital P

facing life with a smile - Arkansas Children's Hospital

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?