Pilgrims and patients

Children's welcomed two unique guests at Thanksgiving, thanks to a generous Cape Cod businessman. Plimoth Plantation, a 17th-century living museum, auctioned a live Thanksgiving experience on eBay—offering to send Colonial Pilgrim Edward Winslow and Native Wampanoag Hobbamock to join Thanksgiving festivities with the highest bidder. The anonymous auction winner paid $5,000 but donated the visit to Children's, explaining that he had once spent a Thanksgiving at Children's with his sick child. "My family has so much to be thankful for, thanks to the good work of the people at Children's," he says.

Season of Hope celebration

Before caroling on Children's floors, our resident/faculty choir treated employees and families to a melodic holiday concert as part of the annual Season of Hope event. The choir typically performs only three times per year—for patients, at the day of remembrance and the Housestaff Show.

In memory of Viviana Sofia

In memory of their daughter, who sadly passed away last year, the Gugliotti family of Newington, Connecticut organized a gift drive to collect toys for Children's patients. They arrived on 9 East in december with a huge number of toys which they presented to child life specialist Jill Twomey.

Organ donation bill

In December, State Senate Assistant Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, State Representatives Anthony Verga and Katherine Clark and State Representative-Elect Ann-Margaret Ferrante announced the filing of an organ donation bill in the Patient Entertainment Center (PEC) at Children’s Hospital Boston. The legislation will be named “Jackson’s Bill” for Jackson Altieri, a young Gloucester boy who received a heart transplant at Children’s in 2007. Some of the key components of the bill are restructuring the current Advisory Council on Organ Transplants, creating more options to become an organ donor and establishing an organ donation registry fund. In its restructuring, the advisory council would be given several new tasks in which to assist, including the development of new strategies to increase pediatric donation.

Children’s staff named on list of the 100 Most Influential Individuals in the Massachusetts Hispanic Community

Four Children’s employees have been named on El Planeta newspaper’s Powermeter, its annual list of the 100 Most Influential Individuals in the Massachusetts Hispanic Community. This year’s list from Massachusetts’ largest Latino newspaper includes the following Children's employees: Inez Stewart, VP of Human Resources, Oscar Benavidez, MD, MPP, faculty member in the Department of Cardiology, Pedro Del Nido, MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, and Eva Gomez, RN, MSN, Staff Development Specialist.

Kids, crayons and “The Office”

Boston-bred stars Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak took a break from “The Office,” NBC’s hit comedy series, to join members from rock band Boston and patient families for an art party and fashion show at Children’s. They gathered to celebrate the Kidz B Kidz product line launch and create artwork that may be featured in Kidz B Kidz clothing and products.
Kidz B Kidz is a non-profit organization that transforms children’s art into products, including kids’ apparel, pillow dolls and candles. Working with the Trust, all proceeds from Kidz B Kidz sales benefit Children’s and CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Players sing “Jingle Bells” with Abriana Grullon of Jamaica Plain, Esmeralda Jimenez of Hyde Park and Tameka Roberson of Jamaica Plain.

Celtics visit

Members of the Boston Celtics Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Mike Longabrdi, Sam Cassell, managing partner and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck and coach Doc Rivers, visited Children’s Martha Eliot Health Center to spread holiday cheer to kids and families. The team sang holiday tunes, handed out the gifts of a Celtics book and a basketball and decorated holiday ornaments. The holiday visit is part of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation’s community partnership with Children’s.

Bells jingle and spirits soar

Spirits were high at the recent Boston Pops holiday concert in the PEC. Patients donned holiday hats and played jingle sticks as conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops performed holiday favorites like “Jingle Bells” and “White Christmas.” The doors to the waiting room next to the PEC were opened so patients awaiting surgery could join the holiday fun.

Now in its fourth year, the Boston Pops performance has become a Children’s holiday tradition thanks to retired President and Chief Operating Officer at Fidelity Investments, Jim Curvey, and his wife, Shirley Curvey, who are generous friends of Children’s.

9 East food donation

Every year, the Medical Patient Service staff has come together around the holiday season to help feed the hungry. Monetary donations and non-perishable food items are collected over several weeks and donated to the Boston Food Bank and American Red Cross. Over the years, the team has donated hundreds of bags off donated goods and this year, they donated 800 pounds of non-perishable food items and $375. The money is used by the center to purchase food items in bulk; for every $1 donated, the food bank is able to purchase $4 worth of food. If your are interested in getting involved next year, contact Ana Maria Pires-Serisser, RN, BSN, CPN, staff nurse III on 9 East.

A night of ultimate fans

Boston’s five professional sports teams—including players and owners—and business leaders from across the city have something in common: they’re all fans of Children’s. They came together in December to support Champions for Children’s, the hospital’s largest annual fundraising event. This year, the Trust-led dinner and auction raised nearly $3 million for the hospital.

Patriots Matt Cassel and Vince Wilfork were honored with Champion Awards for their service to Children’s. Both players and their wives visited patients. Cassel’s wife, Lauren, recently became a hospital volunteer and Wilfork and his wife, Bianca, partnered with national drugstore Rite Aid to raise $50,000 for Children’s Diabetes Program.

Co-host Chris Berman, an ESPN sportscaster, interviewed Cassel and Wilfork live and co-host Glenn Ordway, of WEEI Sports Radio 850, told how Children’s saved his daughter’s life.
Olympic silver medal gymnast Alicia Sacramone was among this year’s special guests. Another special guest: the 2008 NBA Championship trophy. Interested in taking home “trophies” of their own, 1,000 hospital supporters bid on a long list of tantalizing items including living like a Bruin for a day, from parking in the players only lot to practicing with a Bruins coach; traveling by private jet with the Boston Celtics to two away games; analyzing game film with a Patriots’ coordinator, serving as an honorary Red Sox bat boy or girl and participating in a soccer clinic led by a Revolution player and coach. Other sought-after items included an autographed Michael Phelps swim cap, VIP tickets to a NASA shuttle launch and a luxurious trip to the French West Indies.

Orphan disease research finds a home

Children’s recently received a $25 million grant—one of the largest ever received by the hospital—from the Manton Foundation to establish the world’s first and only center for research of orphan diseases. Orphan diseases are any disease, syndrome or disorder that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. There are 6,000 of these known rare diseases, which appear mostly in children, often before age 2. The Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research will provide support to Children’s and Harvard Medical School scientists to study and develop new diagnoses and treatments for these rare diseases.

Health care reform under an Obama administration

Children’s hosted a town hall meeting in November to discuss health care reform under a President Obama administration. The goal was to foster a dialogue addressing issues of access, quality and affordability of health care. James Mandell, MD, CEO, was one of the participants. “We must make children’s needs a health care reform priority and advocate with the incoming administration as it sets priorities for its first term,” he says.

Compassionate caregiver awards

During this year’s Kenneth B. Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Awards ceremony in November, there was a tribute to the all the previous winners, including the very first Compassionate Caregiver award recipient, Scott Pomeroy, MD, PhD, Children’s neurologist-in-chief.

Mickey Cassella named Hero Among Us

The Boston Celtics recently honored Mickey Cassella, BS, Children’s director of Physical Therapy, as a Heroes Among Us for his work establishing the Adaptive Dance Class for children with Down syndrome at the Boston Ballet. Now in its sixth year, this program uses ballet and dance to enhance movements, improve coordination, fitness and focus within children with Down syndrome. The award is presented to an individual who, through unique commitment and humanitarian spirit, has made exceptional and lasting contributions to our community. To date, 380 individuals have received the Heroes Among Us Award.

Waltham Middle School holiday

Each year, a group of generous teachers and students from Waltham Middle School come to Children’s to make their annual toy delivery to patients.

BC athlete visit

Members of the Boston College Student Athlete Advisory Committee visited patients and their families at in December. Athletes from the BC football, women’s ice hockey, lacrosse, cheerleading and field hockey and men’s golf and baseball teams, along with Baldwin the BC mascot, stopped by to give out BC t-shirts and posters, while answering questions about sports and college from excited patients.

Blood donor of the month

Congratulations to Children’s Blood Donor of the Month for January, Phil Holland. In 1970, Holland began donating blood for the American Red Cross. Fifteen years later, his 4-year-old daughter, Jannique, needed surgery and was treated at Children’s. Phil was so impressed by the quality of care she received, that he decided to give blood while she recovered. “We had a healthy child, and I was so grateful that I just had to express my appreciation,” he says. “ It was payback time.”

After a few whole blood donations, Phil learned about the plateletpheresis process when discovered that he was a great candidate for that type of donation. Today, he has donated 350 pints, most of which are platelets, for the patients at Children’s: That’s more than 43 gallons and over 525 hours of time Holland has dedicated. “I continue to donate because I still feel I have a debt of gratitude,” he says. “What I experience in the lobby of this hospital puts it in perspective.”

If you’re interested in giving platelets or would like more information on donating blood, call the Blood Donor Center at 617-355-6677.