Fundraising Achievements
n
2007, the Foundation launched the Breaking
New Ground campaign for Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the
pediatric programs of Stanford University School of Medicine. By the end
of the year, the Campaign had raised $198 million, thanks to a record
8,691 individuals, foundations, and corporations that made gifts in 2007.
Anna L. Bruckner, MD, examines a young patient diagnosed with epidermolysis bullosa, a debilitating skin disease.
Based on the early success of the campaign, the Children’s Hospital has submitted to the City of Palo Alto plans for a major facilities expansion that will equip Packard to provide the best care to our community’s children for decades to come.
Also in 2007, the Auxiliaries Endowment grew to $16.5 million. The endowment is made up of bequests from members of Packard’s seven volunteer-led auxiliaries and their families. The community-based auxiliaries raise funds to support uncompensated care and other special Hospital projects. Since the endowment was formed in 1999, more than $2.7 million in payout has supported new hospital programs, purchased equipment, funded major patient services and facilities, and endowed a fund honoring Dr. Harvey Cohen, former chief of staff.
Hospital Highlights—2007
- The Child Health Corporation of America honored Packard Children’s with the 2007 RACE for Results award for the Hospital’s success in implementing Rapid Response Teams. By actively intervening at the first sign of trouble in hospitalized children, instead of following the industry standard of cautiously watching and waiting, the teams helped decrease cardiac arrests and mortality rates across the entire Children’s Hospital.
- Children in the South Bay who have asthma, acne, abdominal pain, and many other conditions can now receive care closer to home at Packard’s new South Bay Specialty Center in Los Gatos. The center houses 13 pediatric subspecialties in a child-friendly setting with all the hallmarks of the Children’s Hospital.
- A new school nursing project jointly funded with the Foundation will restore full-time nursing to four San Jose schools with large populations of students from low-income families. The five-year, $2.65 million grant to the San Jose Unified School District will ensure that students have regular medical care through a school health clinic.
Packard Kids Connection
- The Children’s Hospital has become even more kid-friendly since the launch of Packard Kids Connection, a new website for children ages 5 to 12. Located at kids.lpch.org, this playfully animated, bilingual site is filled with interactive games and demonstrations to help children prepare for a hospital visit and learn what to expect during tests and treatments.
Fiorella and Yurelia Rocha-Arias
- A study led by Thomas Robinson, MD, director of Packard’s Center for Healthy Weight, showed that even young children are swayed by brand preferences. Asked to sample two identical foods from McDonald’s, children ages 3-5 said the items branded with the restaurant’s familiar “Golden Arches” were tastier than the ones wrapped in unmarked paper packaging.
- In November, a team of two dozen Packard surgeons, physicians, and nurses beat the odds and successfully separated Fiorella and Yurelia Rocha-Arias, 2-year-old twin girls conjoined at the chest and abdomen. Many months of careful preparation pre-surgery, followed by close monitoring and intensive therapy post-surgery, paid off: the sisters returned home in February and are expected to live normal, healthy lives.