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Dick Argys comes to Children’s this month as our new chief administrative officer (CAO). Argys has 26 years of experience, including direct experience with the intricacies of providing pediatric care. Most recently, he served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to that, he was the Executive VP and chief operating officer (COO) at Denver Children’s Hospital for 14 years. He has a Masters in Health Care Administration from University of Michigan.
In this new role, Argys reports to Sandra Fenwick, president and COO, and is responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of the hospital. Specifically, the vice presidents of Ambulatory and Network Services; Child Advocacy; Human Resources; Public Affairs and Marketing; Real Estate, Planning and Development; Research Administration; Support Services and Waltham now report directly to the CAO, freeing Fenwick up to focus on strategic planning and preparing for the future.
Patricia Hickey, PhD(c), MBA, RN, NEA-BC, vice president of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services at Children’s, has been selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and will be officially inducted in to the Academy in November. AAN Fellows are nursing’s most accomplished leaders in education, management, practice and research.
Hickey is recognized for her commitment to advancing pediatric nursing leadership and improving care for children worldwide. Her leadership has influenced policy at the state level and she’s worked with others at Children’s on the development and execution of an interdisciplinary advocacy model for health policy.
Nationally, she served on the American Association of Critical Care Nurses’
(AACN) Management Special Interest Group that wrote the landmark document for Integration of New Graduates Into Critical Care. Her contributions have been recognized by AACN with the 2009 "Circle of Excellence Award."
To address the scarcity of nurse sensitive measures in pediatrics, Hickey led the collaborative development of the Nightingale Metrics for improving care quality and patient outcomes. Through 24 years of volunteer work with Project HOPE, she is recognized as the primary architect of the world’s largest pediatric cardiovascular nursing program at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center in Pudong. Her international reach also extends to Central America where she is a founding director for a non profit foundation supporting pediatric cardiovascular care in Guatemala.
Children’s Hospital Trust launched the nation’s first online game-a-thon to raise funds for research through Generation Cures. A national effort, Generation Cures empowers kids to give back through children-led fundraising initiatives and online gaming challenges.
The two-month long "Game for Good" game-a-thon ends June 14. Just like traditional fundraisers, such as walk-a-thons, kids raise funds by securing sponsors to reward their efforts in support of a good cause. Only the game-a-thon allows kids to change the world right from their own computer desks. As kids conquer each level of the educational-adventure game, Caduceus, portions of their sponsors’ pledges are unlocked and donated to Children’s. The Generation Cures website includes a parent-site where adults can monitor their child’s progress, an animated cartoon series and kid-directed videos filmed by former Children’s patients.
Kids can enter the Generations Cures game-a-thon by registering for free at www.kids.generationcures.org.
On May 11, a team of Children’s employees took to Fenway Park to play a game of ball. The annual Field of Dreams softball tournament raises money for Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), which benefits thousands of disadvantaged teens in the city. The Boston Red Sox provide the field and each corporate softball team donates $15,000 for the opportunity to play. This year, ABCD raised $170,000 to help low-income inner-city teens.
There’s a new team in Boston led by New England Revolution Taylor Twellman. The all-star forward formed "Taylor’s Team," a charitable initiative to give back to kids in need. Twellman will host several Children’s patients and their families at Gillette Stadium during 10 Revolution home games this year. His guests will warm-up on the field, then watch the soccer action from luxury suites. After the game, guests receive two treats: a visit from Twellman and a goodie bag filled with gifts.
Twellman worked with the New England Revolution, New England Revolution Charitable Foundation and Children’s to make "Taylor’s Team" possible. And he didn’t hold back his excitement for the program’s May 3 launch. "I’m really proud of this program," he says. "I hope that I can bring a smile to the kids’ faces when they come to Gillette Stadium."
Amica, the country’s oldest mutual insurer of automobiles, is supporting some of the youngest among usóChildren’s patients. Working with the Trust, Amica recently donated two gifts: $35,000 to Children’s and 70 basketballs autographed by the Celtics. Robert DiMuccio, president and CEO of Amica, visited Children’s to present the check and personally give patients the 08-09 season game balls, generously provided by Comcast SportsNet.
Congratulations to Children’s Blood Donor of the Month for June, Michael Kelly. Unlike many of the donors at the Children’s Hospital Boston Blood Donor Center, Kelly didn’t begin donating because a family or friend had a child in need of bloodóhe donated for the first time for his own surgery, called an autologous donation. A few months after his operation, he decided to make a voluntary donation because the staff at the Blood Donor Center was friendly and kind to him when he had donated previously. After giving whole blood, Kelly wanted to do something extra. "I felt like waiting two months was too long of a wait," he says. "I made an appointment for platelets, and I’ve been doing it ever since."
Today, Kelly works in Children’s Sports Medicine as a researcher. He’s also studying Health Science at Northeastern University, and plans on attending medical school after graduation. Kelly has donated more than 10 gallons of blood, most of which is platelets. "I can see how much it helps patients," he says. "I remember attending a Blood Donor Center dinner, and hearing a little girl who was a patient speak. It made me think, how can people not take time to save someone’s life? The time you give up makes a big difference."
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