TODAY news - July 25, 2002

Thursday, July 25, 2002 TODAY

Loma Linda University Children's Hospital news

LLUCH celebrates new pediatric emergency department with open house

Donald G. Pursley, DBA, executive vice president and CFO for LLUMC (left) and William Wittlake, MD, chief of emergency care services, cut the ribbon as Eileen Zorn, MSN, RN, senior vice president for nursing, assists in celebrating the completion of the new pediatric emergency department.

After nine months of construction, the new pediatric emergency department at Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital is ready to open its doors. The hospital held an open house reception on July 10 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to showcase the 18 new pediatric treatment spaces.

"Today"s event is an evidence of a commitment we make to children," said B. Lyn Behrens, MBBS, president and CEO of Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, during a short ribbon-cutting ceremony at the open house. Dr. Behrens paid special tribute to the health-care professionals working at LLUCH for "taking a dream and making it a reality." She also thanked the "silent heroes" of the construction team who kept the project running.

Eileen Zorn, MSN, RN, senior vice president for nursing, presented Connie Cunningham, RN, director of trauma and emergency services, and Jennifer Dearman, RN, nurse manager of the emergency department, with bouquets in appreciation of their work in coordinating schedules around the construction.

Ms. Dearman handed out special awards of appreciation to the construction team. She awarded golden door hinges on ribbon along with caricature portraits.

One of the highlights of the pediatric emergency department is a new, high-speed computed tomography scanner with easy access from the center of the new area. This piece of equipment allows doctors to see a precisely reconstructed computer image of specific areas of the body. And the new, closer location will help streamline the process. Traditional CT scanners required pediatric patients to be sedated and scanned in a 15-minute procedure. The new scanner will take less than five minutes.

The department also benefits from state-of-the-art pediatric cardiac monitors at every bed. The heart monitors will allow doctors and nurses to keep track of blood pressure, heartbeat, and oxygen levels. The units are necessary to treat critically ill or injured children.

An isolation room with negative airflow will allow contagious patients to be treated while protecting other patients.

The dedicated pediatric emergency department means more space for the adults as well. Seven beds, previously used for pediatrics, will be returned to adult emergency patients.

There will be more space for equipment, and more importantly, patients. The project more than doubled the size of the department, increasing from 1,380 square feet to 3,340 square feet.

Since LLUCH"s inception in 1993, the pediatric emergency department has gone from seeing 9,000 children a year to 25,000 little patients in 2001. All were treated in the previous seven-bed facility. This new department will help address the need in the Inland Empire for more emergency care space.

"We see the sickest of the sick children," says Tom Sherwin, MD, pediatric emergency department director. "And as this area grows, we are going to see more patients. Having more space should help accommodate those needs."

"Our pediatric emergency department is staffed 24 hours a day with subspecialty-trained pediatric emergency medicine physicians," says William Wittlake, MD, chief of emergency care services at LLUMC. "These physicians are backed up by nursing staff and on-call specialists. A trauma team for children is in-house and immediately available."

The Children"s Hospital is the only facility in San Bernardino County to have pediatric trauma physicians available 24-hours a day.

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Pediatric emergency department & CT scanner construction teams

Serfass & Company
Kurt Marsteller, Pat Healy, Larry Aragon, Kevin Gregorie, Ruben Gonzales, Ron Moore, Mike Ornelas, Darwin Osborn, James Provencio, Vince Romero, and Dan Stein

Brennan Electric
Jeff Deputy, Chad Metcalf, Robert Davidson, Luis Estrada, Steven Estrada, Gary Ledbetter, Rod Mix, Kerry Munkittrick, Wes Samuelsen, Robert Spargo, and Dan Wakefield

Caston Drywall & Plastering, Inc.
Jim Malachowski, Mark Kennedy, Jim Sampson, Bob McDaniel, Fritz Gutenberg, and Robby Salveson

SCS Flooring
Larry Lawrence, Armando Cartegena, Otto Castro, Jorge Chavez, Hector Lozez, Jose Quintero, Jim Smith, Mario Villalobo, and Floor Seal Technology
Saunders & McMillin, Inc.

Wall Coverings
Jim Scheurer, Kevin Egan, Tim Mello, and Chris Ridgeway

Duke Plumbing
Wes Duke, Walt Wilson, Jack Hayes, and Bruno Sandoval

The Stacey Company Cabinets
Ken Stacey, Rudy Aguilar, Brandon Carlson, Chris Duvall, Jim Madore, Kevin Meyers, and Eric Williams

Tri-City Acoustics
Ron Jefferies, Jerry Alvarado, Mike Callihan, Jose Escoto, Jay Hardesty, Karl Sundblom, Maurice Valls, and Kevin Warmboe

WCM & Associates, Inc.
Paul Sowell, Chris Castro, Ty Criswell, Nereo Lopez, Paustino Ruiz, and Steve Scherer

Daart Engineering
Tim Cantwell, Dave Dunn, and Allen Gillam

Trans Vac
Siegmund Baklarz

LLUMC
Bill Keough, Larry Feenstra, Willard Cecarelli, Rick Stiles, Debbie Bright, Chad Skidmore, Carman Jackson, Larry Coffin, Tom Blue, Dave Stewart, Darren Morgan, Ken Breyer, Alan Schulz, Rick Meyer, Bob Schoberth, John Gray, Penny Crispin, Sandy Burton, Craig Connell, and Bill Villegas

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Actor, Holocaust survivor Robert Clary to speak at author's luncheon

P. Pettis, R. Clary

Children's Hospital Foundation executive director Patti Cotton Pettis
visits with Robert Clary, author of From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes. Mr. Clary will be the guest speaker at an author's luncheon on Tuesday, September 3, at the Mission Inn in Riverside.

Holocaust survivor, actor, artist, and vocalist Robert Clary will be guest speaker at an author's luncheon sponsored by the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation on Tuesday, September 3, at 11:30 a.m., at the historic Mission Inn, 3649 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside, according to Patti Cotton Pettis, executive director of the Foundation. Mr. Clary is the author of From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the children at the LLUCH pediatric intensive care unit.

"We are so pleased to have Mr. Clary as our first author's luncheon speaker," Ms. Pettis says. "He will bring a wealth of information to our guests concerning the Holocaust and the television industry. Mr. Clary is an extremely cordial individual. Our guests attending the author's luncheon are in for an outstanding discussion."

Admission to the Children's Hospital Foundation's author's luncheon is $50 and includes a copy of Mr. Clary's book (which retails for $26.95), and lunch at the Mission Inn. Mr. Clary will personally autograph his book for guests following the luncheon.

Mr. Clary, who is probably best known for his role at Louis Lebeau in the television series, Hogan's Heroes, was born in Paris, France, in 1926. In 1942, Mr. Clary and 12 members of his immediate family were deported to Germany by the Nazis. Only he survived.

Mr. Clary came to the United States in 1949 where he met his future wife, Natalie Cantor, daughter of Eddie Cantor. He has appeared on Broadway and performed in musicals such as Seventh Heaven, La Plume De Ma Tante, and Around the World in 80 Days. He also had roles in such films as Ten Tall Men, Thief of Damascus, New Faces, A New Kind of Love, and The Hindenburg.

After Hogan's Heroes, he went on to play in several soap operas including The Young and The Restless, Days of Our Lives, and The Bold and The Beautiful.

In 1980, Mr. Clary felt the need to talk about his experience during the war; he began speaking publicly through the Simon Wiesenthal Center's outreach program.

"For 36 years I kept these experiences locked up inside myself. But those who are attempting to deny the Holocaust, my suffering, and the suffering of millions of others have forced me to speak out," Mr. Clary says. He has spoken to thousands of individuals throughout the United States at schools and civic groups about his experiences during World War II.

In 1982 he appeared in the NBC television movie Remembrance of Love with Kirk Douglas about the World Gathering of the Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. A documentary for PBS followed titled Robert Clary A-5714: A Memoir of Liberation. He went on to host his own cable television show, which attracted major name guest stars such as Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks.

In addition to being an author and actor, Mr. Clary is an artist. His works of art are on display at several Holocaust museums throughout the United States or owned by private collectors.

His book, From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes has received excellent reviews from readers around the United States.

"[Clary] has kept hundreds of thousands of young people around the world riveted with his story and now for the first time, has written a compelling, honest, and thoughtful book worth reading by everyone," says Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Long-time friend Merv Griffin says that "nobody in show business has the resumé of Robert Clary. From German concentration camps to Broadway and to television... it has been an amazing journey for him. He's still one of our most entertaining and energetic performers. I've only known him for 50 years, and I still couldn't put this book down."

Actor Dick van Dyke says that he "would like to implore anyone of a younger generation who doubts the reality of the Holocaust to read this book. It touched me deeply."

For further information or reservations for the event, please call the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation office at (909) 558-8008.

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Child philanthropist donates $100 to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital

N. Varner

Nancy Varner, LLUCH Foundation chair, poses for a photo with William Donahue, a 9 year old who donated $100 to LLUCH.

William Donahue appreciates drawing, birthday parties, and Christmas time. He also enjoys giving.

In March, 9 year old William donated $100 to the Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital, a culmination of money saved from a garage sale and gifts from his birthday and Christmas. This was his second charitable gift.

During the 2000 Christmas season, William donated $15 to LLUCH, matched by his parents. After receiving a letter of thanks from Nancy Varner, chair of the Children"s Hospital Foundation, William became hooked on giving.

Enclosed in his donation was a note for how the funds should be distributed:
"Dear Mrs. Varner, I don't know if you remember me and my contribution one and a half years ago. I am now 9 years old. This contribution is much larger and is not matched by [my] parents. It is especially from me. I want this money to be used for buying (help buying) equipment or toys or books for children. Sincerely, William Donahue."

William has never been a patient in the hospital, but his mother Gail Abrams said he is very aware of health issues because both his grandfathers have health problems.

"He really cares and wants to make a difference," says Ms. Abrams. She said William had been thinking about giving for a long time before he actually asked her if he could.

"William wanted to help sick children, and we wanted to find something close to home so he could have a personal connection," recalls Ms. Abrams.

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Children's Hospital donates trauma lifesaving kits to local schools

J. Mace, L. Townson, D. Van Stralen

John W. Mace, MD (left), director of pediatrics and physician-in-chief at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital; Larry Townson, of Townson Productions and Emergency Medical Products Inc.; and Daved Van Stralen, MD, critical care specialist at LLUCH, medical director for San Bernardino County Fire Department, and medical director for American Medical Response, talk about the new lifesaving kits at a press conference on June 14.

Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital is helping area schools prepare for emergency situations by donating new trauma kits. These kits are designed to help faculty at schools deal with wounds from shootings, stabbings, and bomb shrapnel.

John W. Mace, MD, director of pediatrics and physician-in-chief at LLUCH, and Daved Van Stralen, MD, critical care specialist at LLUCH, medical director for San Bernardino County Fire Department, and medical director for American Medical Response, donated the kits on behalf of Children"s Hospital to school representatives at a press conference on Friday, June 14.

The kits, called the "Townson" Educational Facility Trauma Shooting Kit," were donated to local schools, including Redlands East Valley High School in Redlands, Arroyo Valley High School in San Bernardino, Loma Linda Academy in Loma Linda, Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside, University Heights Middle School in Riverside, Sierra Middle School in Riverside, and Matthew Gage Middle School in Riverside.

The trauma kits are the first shooting-specific precautionary measure created and will add to the overall safety and emergency plans already in place at educational facilities.

Each kit comes complete with a pair of trauma gloves, trauma scissors, medical tape, gauze bandages, sterile dressings, and Vaseline gauze packets. The kit is specifically designed to deal with severe bleeding wounds and sucking chest wounds. The Vaseline gauze packets allow a flutter valve to be created in penetrating chest wounds to restore proper respiratory function to victims.

Emergency Medical Products, Inc., developed the kit due to the increased level of violence on and around school campuses over the past several years, in particular, shootings, stabbings, and bomb threats. The special trauma kit can allow faculty and staff at educational facilities to help save the lives of their students and colleagues. Also distributed with each trauma kit is an educational video produced by LLUCH instructing faculty and staff how to properly use the contents in an emergency situation.

Dr. Mace and Dr. Van Stralen gave the kits to Robert Clarey, assistant principal of Redlands East Valley High School in Redlands; Bernice Porter, acting assistant principal for Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside; Perry Beck, assistant principal for University Heights Middle School in Riverside; and Julie Gowell, associated student advisor for Sierra Middle School in Riverside.

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SAFE KIDS Coalition gets new van for Buckle Up program

SAFE KIDS - group photo

(From left) Anita Lors, Orange County SAFE KIDS Coalition coordinator; Nancy Hernandez, RN, pediatric trauma coordinator for Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital; Connie Cunningham, RN, director of trauma and emergency services at Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children"s Hospital; and Officer Peggy Howard, child passenger safety coordinator for the California Highway Patrol, share information about the new SAFE KIDS Buckle Up van donated by General Motors.

The Inland Empire and Orange County SAFE KIDS coalitions are teaming up with General Motors to expand the SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program in the Southern California region with a 2002 Chevy Express Cargo Van.

The van was unveiled on June 25 at Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital, home of the Inland Empire SAFE KIDS branch. The specialized van will be used to perform mobile child safety seat check-ups in communities throughout Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties.

Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading killer of children ages 1 to 14. Every 90 seconds, a child dies in a motor vehicle crash in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the van to help provide safety seat checks, the SAFE KIDS coalitions are looking to reduce the number of these preventable injuries affecting children. SAFE KIDS developed the program to bring child passenger safety messages to more communities.

"This van is fully equipped to do all of our safety seat check-up program," comments Anita Lors, SAFE KIDS coordinator for the Orange County SAFE KIDS Coalition. The Orange County and Inland Empire Coalitions will share the van between the three counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino.

"All of us have one goal in mind, to protect children," says Peggy Howard, child passenger safety coordinator for the California Highway Patrol.

The customized van is one of 30 donated to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign by the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources and General Motors, sponsors of the SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP child passenger safety program. The new vans join the existing fleet of 51 Chevy Venture vans presented to SAFE KIDS by GM in 2000. The Express vans will follow their predecessors by visiting childcare centers, shopping malls, and other convenient community locations to conduct child safety seat checkups

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First pediatric nursing intern class graduates from LLUCH

Nursing interns

The nursing interns spent six months training in the Children"s Hospital as the first pediatric nursing intern class.

On July 11, the first graduating class of pediatric nursing interns at Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital celebrated their transition from student nurses to clinical nurses. The 21-member class finished the six-month program, begun in February, with a graduation ceremony held in Wong Kerlee International Conference Center.

The Children"s Hospital nursing department is proud to have gotten the new intern program underway. The program, through a partnership with Children"s Hospital LA, gives new graduates access to a mentor and a preceptor to bounce ideas off of and offer advice and encouragement. The mentor is another nurse in an outside area who acts as a counselor for the intern. The preceptor is a nurse in the same unit as the intern who offers more immediate help at the bedside.

The program is a step toward curbing the cause of the nursing shortage. Katy Dalke, MSN, RN, clinical director of internships in pediatrics, notes that nearly 50 percent of new nurses drop out of the profession after the first two years because of the stress from the job. The intern program offers a way for new nurses to outlet their stress in a constructive way.

"It"s made me go into the nursing field more confident," says Laila Ingheim, RN, a School of Nursing graduate who finished the program on the pediatric oncology unit at the Children"s Hospital. "It gave us time to see the whole picture," she mentions.

Ms. Ingheim appreciated the extra time the program offered. "Just getting the time to transition [is really helpful]," she comments.

Terri Bonilla, RN, a nursing graduate from Riverside Community College, echoes these sentiments.

"I think I have more of a healthy fear now," Ms. Bonilla says of nursing. She recalls several of her nursing friends going to work with only three weeks of on-site training and being terrified. "It"s important to be a part of a community," points out Ms. Bonilla, also a pediatric oncology unit intern.

Susana Torralbo, RN, a graduate of Victor Valley Community College and Nikia Gray-Hutto, RN, a Riverside Community College graduate, agree. They found that "the ability to meet people on the unit" was one of the most helpful things of the program.

The program was a "safe haven," for Ms. Torralbo, and offered "less stress" for Ms. Gray-Hutto.

During the graduation ceremony Eileen Zorn, RN, MSN, senior vice president for nursing and Zareh Sarrafian, MBA, senior vice president for business development, Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, encouraged the new nurses in their next professional step.

"Your kindness, compassion, and touch"will bring peace and hope to patients and their families," says Mr. Sarrafian.

The keynote speaker for the event, Carol Bradley, RN, MSN, regional vice president and editor of Nurseweek"s California edition, told how the new nurses could do that and more. Ms. Bradley"s presentation, titled "Designs on Nursing; How New Nurses Can and Will Shape the Profession," spoke directly to the intern graduates.

"Nursing really is the glue that holds health care together today," said Ms. Bradley. "New nurses today have the power"[of] change.

"The greatest thing new nurses bring is a"high energy way of looking at health care," continued Ms. Bradley. "It"s going to be nurses that drive"practices [of improvement]."

Ms. Bradley, a career nurse for 28 years, emphasized how nurses affect the way patients view health care.

"Nurses can improve significantly a patient"s stay," she glowed.

The Children"s Hospital has hired all 21 of the nursing interns onto the units where they specialized. The success and feedback from this first class of first-class nurses excites both the intern program staff and the recruitment staff about the next group.

The second pediatric nursing intern program will begin at the end of July with 25 new nurses.

Congratulations to the pediatric nursing intern graduates:

Sabrina Andrade, Christina Bishop, Terri Bonilla, Jennifer Canole, Lacey Cordell, Lisa Gil, Nikia Gray-Hutto, Julie Hunter, Laila Ingheim, Karen Lentz, Tawnia Lola, Melinda Mendoza, Mary Merrill, Vicki Page, Moryka Povero, Michaelene Rossi, Madeleine Schlenz, Altaira Schuh, Amye Sole, Susana Torralbo, and Christina Villasenor.

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Children"s Hospital patients benefit from Corona resident"s big heart

L. Gifford, K. Melendrez

LaWayne Gifford of Corona gives Karina Melendrez, 4, a handmade quilt and teddy bear on July 1 when she made a special delivery of toys to Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital.

Nineteen years ago, LaWayne Gifford survived a serious car accident. Since then, the Corona resident has had 11 surgeries, lived with chronic pain, and delivered more tangible kindness to sick children at Loma Linda University Children"s Hospital than jolly old St. Nick.

Last year Ms. Gifford started Love Covers, a non-profit organization specializing in making blankets and quilts for clinically and terminally ill children.

"They are the ones in deep, deep need of love, and we are here to cover them with it," Ms. Gifford says. She works with 30 women, most of them seniors from the Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, to make sure each blanket and quilt is crafted by hand. The group has made more than 100 blankets for hospitalized children at LLUCH.

Donations have increased as more people have discovered the Christian-based organization.

"In the process, people have given me money and I, in return, buy children"s books and toys with it," says Ms. Gifford. So many toys that she couldn't fit them in her car.

Ms. Gifford bought a wagon to help carry the blankets and books and toys around the hospital as she dispensed them, only to realize after she bought the wagon that it wouldn't fit in her car.

Angela Lombardo, Ms. Gifford"s daughter, wrote a letter to the Live With Regis and Kelly show in New York to take part in a Mother"s Day contest. The letter detailed Ms. Gifford"s philanthropic tendencies and her car-sized dilemma. Ms. Gifford was chosen as one of six mothers across the nation to win the contest.

"She is covered for Mother"s Day for the rest of my life," Ms. Gifford laughs about her daughter"s gift. "I couldn't have asked for anything more."

On May 10, Ms. Gifford and Ms. Lombardo appeared on the show, which provided a new Hyundai Santa Fe SUV through Quality Toyota in Corona, along with a $2,000 shopping spree to Toys R Us to fill it.

Seven weeks later, she unloaded it in front of the LLUCH entrance.

"When I got the money, I didn't have to think about anything. I knew what I was doing with the it," Ms. Gifford beams. "It was going to the children."

Three kids from LLUCH came down from their beds to help Ms. Gifford fulfill that wish on July 1. She handed them a blanket and teddy bear, each handmade by Love Covers ladies, and a party popper to celebrate.

Now that she has the extra space, Ms. Gifford looks forward to making monthly visits to LLUCH.

"I am hoping to be able to do this at least twice a month," she says.

The rest of the toys were loaded into bins and taken to the playrooms throughout the hospital. Each toy bought was with the focus of matching as much of the wish lists the child life playrooms had as possible.

A special visit to the pediatrics dialysis unit rounded out the stay. Ms. Gifford and Ms. Lombardo handed out more blankets and bears to the dialysis patients before they left the hospital.

"This is what keeps me going!" Ms. Gifford says.

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