In 2014, the wave of renovations and additions to our physical space continued. We launched the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in Cincinnati Children’s history. And we worked together to deliver crucial care during periods of significant respiratory illness in our community.
Cincinnati Children’s was again recognized as the No. 3 children’s hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, and the Liberty Emergency Department was one of only 17 EDs in the country to receive the Lantern Award designation from the Emergency Nurses Association.
It has been a big year and below you will find our Top 14 of 2014, in no particular order and recognizing that this list cannot ever encompass all of the amazing things that happened during the past twelve months. Please note that the underlined headlines and underlined sections of the copy are links to more information about each item.
An 18-month long project to reconfigure and renovate Cincinnati Children’s Mason Campus was completed in March and unveiled with a community open house and a warm reception from patients and families.
2. Alexis Shapiro Got Her Childhood Back
In March, 12-year old Alexis had bariatric surgery to help override miscommunication between her brain and digestive system that was causing her to gain an average of 2 pounds per week. Alexis’s health was failing and her family was scared. The surgery was the beginning of remarkable recovery for Alexis and we were pleased to have the opportunity to help her family spread awareness of her condition – hypothalamic obesity.
3. Safety message about sizzurp breaks blog record
In February, a pharmacist in our Drug and Poison Information Center wrote an informational blog post about a dangerous, drug-containing concoction sometimes called sizzurp. The post took off on Facebook and quickly became our most highly viewed blog post ever. To date, the information has been viewed more than 100,000 times and we hope it has provided many parents an opportunity to discuss the dangers of the drink with their kids.
4. Expansion and Renovations
Construction is a constant at Cincinnati Children’s. Employees and patient families have been exceptionally patient again this year as the renovation and expansion projects continue. 2014 saw big changes at Liberty Campus as well as College Hill Campus and Location T on Burnet Campus. The Burnet Campus emergency department renovation also started this year and will continue in 2015. The concourse that connects the A and B buildings officially looks completely different than it did 3 years ago – the completed renovations to both the Radiology and Ortho spaces have made a huge impact.
5. Dr. Peggy Hostetter Selected for Leadership Positions
Effective July 1st, Dr. Peggy Hostetter was named Chief Medical Officer, Director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Music therapist Brian Schreck’s innovative combination of patients’ heartbeats and meaningful music was highlighted in a video this year which was viewed more than 127,000 times. Brian created this music therapy intervention to assist patients and families with coping, anticipatory grief, and pre/post loss and bereavement.
7. Heartpedia
The Heartpedia App was introduced to families and medical professionals as a tool to help understand and describe congenital heart defects. The app is available on both iOS and Android platforms.
The Cincinnati Bengals started something remarkable when they announced that they planned to donate proceeds from sales of Devon Still’s No. 75 jersey to Cincinnati Children’s to further pediatric cancer research. Through the fall, the jerseys sold like crazy, people across the country got involved to show support for Devon and his 4-year old daughter Leah who is fighting neuroblastoma at CHOP. NFL teams, coaches and owners got involved too and on November 6th – with Leah in attendance – the Bengals presented a check for more than $1.3 million to Cincinnati Children’s to use to make science count for kids with cancer.
9. Buckle Up For Life 10th Anniversary
2014 marked the 10th anniversary of Buckle Up For Life, the child passenger safety program that Cincinnati Children’s developed in partnership with Toyota in 2004. Buckle Up for Life is a community-based passenger safety education program that educates the entire family on critical safety behaviors and provides free child car seats to families in need. Today the program is operating in 14 cities and has given more than 40K free seats to families in need.
10. Emmett Blew Out His 5th Birthday Candles
This year, we happily celebrated with Emmett Rauch and his family when he blew out his birthday candles for the first time and celebrated again when his tracheostomy tube was removed in December, putting an exclamation point on a chapter of his journey back to health. Emmett swallowed a button battery that severely damaged both his esophagus and trachea when he was just a year old. In 2013 he visited Cincinnati Children’s to have reconstructive surgery on his esophagus and earlier this year, he and his family were here for several weeks when he had his final large surgery – airway reconstruction. Sharing Emmett’s story has been an honor as we’ve been able to help the Rauch family spread awareness of the dangers of button batteries.
11. Layup 4 Lauren
Our neuro oncology team, led by Dr. Maryam Fouladi, enthusiastically supported Lauren Hill and her #Layup4Lauren challenge. Lauren’s story and determination have spread far and wide and members of her care team here at Cincinnati Children’s have been proudly watching her bring masses of attention – and research dollars – to DIPG, a rare condition that isn’t so rare in their world. Keep up the amazing work, Lauren!
12. Cincinnati Children’s employees supported United Way of Greater Cincinnati like never before.
The 2014 United Way employee giving campaign resulted in a total gift of more than $1.2 million – the best ever in both number of donors and dollars raised. Additionally, this fantastic effort resulted in a two place jump on the top 10 list of the region’s largest campaigns – we’re proud to be listed at #7 this year.
13. Celestial Ball Surpasses $1 million
This June, Boomer and Gunnar Esiason joined more than 1,300 friends of Cincinnati Children’s for the 10th Annual Celestial Ball. The event surpassed the million dollar mark – a historic achievement. All proceeds benefited the cystic fibrosis (CF) and pulmonary programs at the medical center. During the ball, Boomer and Gunnar pledged to match an additional million dollars from the Boomer Esiason Foundation. The Esiasons have partnered with Cincinnati Children’s in the fight against CF for more than 20 years.
14. Two Organoid Projects Make Progress
This year, in two different labs, scientists successfully transplanted lab-grown human intestinal organoid tissue into mice, where it grew into mature tissue, and grew gastric organoids – miniature stomachs – in the lab. Someday, the mini-stomachs and mini-intestines grown at Cincinnati Children’s may pave the way for helping people with a wide range of digestive diseases grow their own replacement tissues.
And you welcomed our daughter, Anja Joy Frazier to the oncology hematology team as a Registered Nurse, adding a healthy dose of love,caring, compassion and skill to an already awesome team!