Fundraising Achievements
n 2006, a record 8,205 individuals, foundations, and corporations provided vital funding to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and pediatric programs at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Four-year-old Vidya was born eight weeks early at Packard Children's, and receives complete evaluations of her behavioral and physical development every six to 12 months as part of the Hospital's preemie graduate services.
Each year, annual gifts to the Lucile Packard Children's Fund generate ongoing support for invaluable services that are not covered by insurance but allow the Hospital to reach out into the community and provide the best in family-centered care. In addition, donor-established endowments, which grew to 176 funds in 2006, provide funding for designated Hospital programs, research, and pediatric faculty support. Donors also make contributions through their estate plans, which help provide future support for the Hospital.
The community-based fundraising activities of Packard's seven volunteer-led Auxiliaries support uncompensated care and other special Hospital projects. The Auxiliaries Endowment, made up of bequests from auxiliary members and their families, grew to $14.8 million in 2006. A single grant from the endowment established The Harvey J. Cohen, MD, PhD/Auxiliaries Endowed Fund for Critical Clinical Programs at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The first small grant from that newly established fund supported art therapy for Packard patients.
New Campaign
In 2006, Packard Children's operated at near full capacity and was forced to turn away more than 200 critically ill children because of lack of space. Hospital officials project that an even great number of families will seek Packard's expert care over the coming years. To help address these constraints, the Foundation in 2006 planned for the launch of a $300 million Breaking New Ground campaign in May 2007, to fund a major expansion of the Hospital and to support Packard's world-class pediatric faculty.
Highlights — 2006
- Packard Children's Hospital was one of only nine children's hospitals in the country to make the first-ever "Top Hospitals" list. The distinction was based on an annual Hospital Quality and Safety Survey conducted by the Leapfrog Group, a prominent employer-based health purchasing consortium. Packard Children's' also was the recipient of the new Excellence in Patient Safety & Health Care Award, selected by California's four largest health care plans: Aetna, Blue Shield of California, CIGNA, and UnitedHealthcare.
- A new Down Syndrome Clinic, the only one of its kind on the West Coast, opened at Packard Children's in July 2006. The clinic provides specialized medical, genetic, developmental, and psychological testing, as well as therapy services, all in one location. Clinic specialists are able to collaborate with scientists from Stanford's Down Syndrome Research Center, who recently identified a protein responsible for certain cognitive difficulties faced by Down syndrome patients.
- In August 2006, Packard surgeons performed an unprecedented three pediatric heart transplants in one 36-hour span. This number of heart transplants in such a short time frame was a record for Packard Children's and is thought not to have occurred at any other U.S. hospital. The remarkable effort was led by Bruce Reitz, MD, the Norman E. Shumway Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford.
- In September 2006, the Mobile Adolescent Health Services Program marked its 10th year of operation. Since 1996, the 38-foot "Teen Van" has provided free medical services to thousands of homeless, uninsured, and underserved adolescents and young adults. In addition to medical care, van staff provide nutrition education and mental health counseling to teens, and work with patients to help them reduce risk-taking behaviors and prevent future health problems. The nationally recognized program visits six sites weekly throughout the Bay Area.
Richard Moss, MD, director of Packard Hospital's Cystic Fibrosis Clinic, has been treating 22-year-old Jennifer for more than two decades, since she was diagnosed at just two weeks old.
- Researchers and physicians at Packard's Center for Pulmonary Biology completed Phase 1 clinical trails for a potential new treatment for cystic fibrosis using a compound called N-acetylcysteine, or NAC. Results show that patients treated with NAC experienced decreased lung inflammation. Scientists are optimistic that the new treatment may be able to help preserve lung function in cystic fibrosis patients.
- Packard's Pediatric Weight Control Program, one of the longest-running and most successful pediatric weight management programs in the country, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. More than 350 children between the ages of 8 and 15 have successfully graduated from the six-month program, which works with the entire family to introduce healthful eating and exercise habits. In addition to its site at Packard Children's, the program is offered in East Palo Alto and San Jose.
- For the third straight year, Packard Children's Hospital made a gift to the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation and the San Mateo-based Peninsula Community Foundation to help provide medical coverage to uninsured children who are not eligible for Medi-Cal or other federal or state programs. Packard's donation of nearly $200,000 this year will be used to enroll 100 children in each county's Healthy Kids Program.