|
Children’s Hospital Boston marked its second Black History Month Observance in February with a special keynote address by Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, Harvard Medical School class of 1987 and senior vice president for Health Affairs and Dean at Meharry College School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.
“It was an honor to have the Dean of Meharry College School of Medicine, the largest private, historically Black professional college in the United States, present at Children’s,” says Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, ABPP, Black History Month Observance committee coordinator. “Her presentation was excellent—informative and thought-provoking. It was consistent with Black History Month as a time to highlight the intellectual contributions of Black Americans.”
Rice’s address, Health Care Realities for Diverse Populations, focused on health care disparities, insufficient access to health care for people of color and the rise of breast cancer and HIV/AIDS in Black communities.
The Spring issue of Vector will soon be arriving, featuring articles on the economic downturn, research on congenital myopathies in the Beggs lab, the Gene Partnership Project and more. Also, the new issue of Dream hits stands throughout the hospital this month, with stories about patients helped through our Augmentative Communications and Orthopedics departments, and more.
In March, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston Dance Group came to Children’s in March to show off their Grecian kicking and twirling. The children were from the Annunciation Cathedral parish, which is close to Children’s, near Northeastern University. They performed dances from central and northwestern Greece as well as some of the national dances of Greece. The group also donated some masks that the children had made.
The maple syrup flowed on February 24, when people across the nation enjoyed free pancakes at IHOP. In celebration of National Pancake Day, IHOP gave guests free short stacks of pancakes and, in return, invited them to donate to the Children’s Miracle Network, an organization that helps raise funds for 170 children’s hospital across North America, including Children’s.
Fifteen IHOPs in eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire collected donations for Children’s. Nationally, IHOP raised $1.3 million.
From Disney World to Capitol Hill, Children’s patients Sofía and Andy Treviño and Zachary Barthelemy embarked on a week-long journey as part of Champions Across America Presented by Walmart and Sam’s Club. This program, part of Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), designates a Champion child in every state to represent the nearly 17 million children treated at CMN hospitals annually. CMN helps 170 children’s hospitals, including Children’s Hospital Boston, raise money to support critical work. Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire helped raise a record-breaking $1,122,472 for the hospital in 2008—all to help kids like Sofía, Andy and Zachary live long, healthy lives.
Children’s Department of Nursing recently received a $5 million gift—the largest gift ever received by the nursing department. The Linde Family Foundation will donate the funds over five years to increase diversity among the hospital’s nurses.
The gift will strengthen and expand Children’s Nursing Career Lattice, a program that recruits nursing students from the ranks of current employees—including nursing assistants, surgical technicians, administrative assistants and Food Services staff. Another objective: to recruit nursing students from local colleges.
This gift, made possible by Children’s Hospital Trust, underscores the hospital’s commitment to continually improve quality of care. By developing a nursing staff that more closely resembles the many communities we serve, we help ensure that patients and families from those communities understand and trust their health care providers. That means that they will have a more positive patient care experience, which ultimately results in better health outcomes.
Know a special child age 6-16 who participates in NSTAR’s Walk for Children’s and inspires others to do the same? Does he or she know what a special place Children’s is and love to give back to the hospital? Nominate that child to be the Walk Child Ambassador. He or she will receive pre- and post-walk publicity, special recognition and fun responsibilities—like ribbon-cutting—on walk day, Sunday, June 14.
For more information contact: walk@chtrust.org or 1-866-303-WALK. Interested in walking 7-or 2-miles for Children’s? Visit: childrenshospital.org/walk.
Congratulations to Children’s Blood Donor of the Month for April, Bob Watson. When Children’s began collecting platelets in 1986, the manager asked Watson, a regular donor, if he was interested in giving that type of donation a try. Now, more than 20 years later, Watson continues to donate platelets and has even held the title of Most Platelet Donations in the Guinness World Book of Records.
Watson recently reached his 700th platelet donation milestone and doesn’t see himself stopping any time soon. ìI like people and I like helping kids anonymously,î he says. ìThis is a great way to do it.î Donating blood is only a part of the contribution that Watson has made for Children’s. He served on the Board of Overseers for many years and his charity, LPM Charitable Foundation, sponsors a golf tournament to raise money for Children’s programs called the Don and Connie Watson Charity Golf Tournament. It’s held each summer at the Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland and last year, it raised more than $90,000 for charities including the Blood Donor Center.
Whether donating platelets or his time raising money for Children’s, Watson’s generosity is always on full display. If you are interested in giving blood or would like more information, call 617-355-6677 or visit childrenshospital.org/donateblood.
| 
