Barrow Magazine, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2008

A magazine for the friends of Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center

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Volume 20, Issue 1, 2008

WORLD-CLASS NEUROSURGERY Meet four patients who’ve found healing at Barrow

BARROW BALL

Annual black-tie event raises record $3.5 million

Opening thoughts e can help you.” These are powerful words, words that inspire all of us at Barrow Neurological Institute to work a little harder, dig a little deeper, think a little more creatively. Simply put, we strive to be able to say “We can help you” to people facing the most difficult and seemingly hopeless medical crises.

These four words inspire hundreds of research projects at Barrow each year. They are at the heart of the medical training we provide. They drive our decisions to acquire new technologies and launch new services. And I suspect that they are the reason so many people choose to give to our institute.

This issue of Barrow examines our commitment to providing world-class neurosurgery right here in Arizona. You’ll learn about the factors that contribute to our ability to tackle particularly difficult cases, and you’ll meet four Arizona residents to whom we were able to say, “We can help you.”

Also in this issue are several articles showcasing the contributions of benefactors to our institute.

Read about the Barrow Women’s Board, the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, the Steele Foundation, Diane and Bruce Halle, SSBTR, and the Davis family, and you’ll agree that Barrow Neurological Institute is blessed with many, many generous benefactors.

Finally, I would like to congratulate Drs. Joan and William Shapiro, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Neuro-Oncology; and Julie Wrigley, who was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

And to all of you who give so generously to Barrow, I would like to express my deepest appreciation. Thank you for supporting our work.

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Sincerely,

Robert F. Spetzler, MD Director, Barrow Neurological Institute

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4: World-class neurosurgery Barrow surgeons cite 10 reasons for their ability to tackle the most difficult cases.

7: Why we do what we do. Meet Amanda, Tyler, Renee and Wendell, four patients who benefited from Barrow’s expertise in neurosurgery.

16: Barrow Grand Ball. Annual dinner and dance raise a record $3.5 million for Barrow.

18: Two exceptional gifts made to Barrow Ball— from the Steele Foundation, and Diane and Bruce Halle.

19: Celebrity Fight Night XIV. A sizzling line-up, great volunteers and generous donors make 2008 fundraiser unforgettable.

22: Out of Africa Barrow Neurosurgery resident experiences bush medicine during two-month mission.

Contents

24: Why we give Family chooses Barrow for annual gift.

25: Philanthropist of the Year Julie Wrigley receives recognition for contributions to medical, educational and environmental non-profits.

26: Lifetime Achievement Award Couple receives prestigious recognition from Society for Neuro-Oncology.

28: Making waves in radiology New Keller Center for Imaging and Innovation partners with GE Healthcare and ASU to improve diagnostic care for patients.

31: Benefactor Briefs 32: What’s happening around Barrow 34: The charitable annuity A secure investment for unstable financial times.

Catherine Menor Editor/writer Catherine.Menor@chw.edu

Sally Clasen, Melissa Morrison, Sarah Padilla Contributing writers

Robert F. Spetzler, MD Director Barrow Neurological Institute®

Justin Detwiler Art director/designer

Jackie Mercandetti. Jeff Noble D Squared Productions, Murphy/Scully Photography

Mary Jane Crist, CFRE CEO, Barrow Neurological Foundation

Panoramic Press

• How to Reach Us • Barrow is published twice a year. We welcome your comments, suggestions and requests to be added to or deleted from our mailing list. Call 602-406-1041 or send mail to Barrow, Office of Philanthropy, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, 350 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85013. Please include your name, address and telephone number in all correspondence. Visit us online at www.StJosephs-Phx.com.

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world-class neurosurgery A multitude of factors—including you—makes it possible

by Catherine Menor or Denise Andre, an agonizing 13-year journey to find medical help for her daughter, Nicole, finally ended in January 2007 at Barrow Neurological Institute—2,400 miles away from their home in Manalapan, New Jersey. At Barrow, neurosurgeon Dr. Hal Rekate removed a hypothalamic hamartoma from the teen’s brain, ending years of uncontrollable seizures.

“We were fortunate enough to find our ‘special doctor’ at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix,” wrote Denise in a letter to parents at the school where she works as a special education teacher. “He is the one and only neurosurgeon in the U.S. to take an interest in this rare condition that falls under the umbrella of ‘orphan diseases’ (labeled as such due to the lack of research money they receive). His interest and expertise, combined with advances in medical technology made this surgery possible for Nicole. Only a few short years ago, her tumor was considered inoperable (and still is by most).”

The letter was written to ask parents for their support of a school walkathon in January to raise funds for Barrow’s research into hypothalamic hamartomas. “All of the children in the school participated, from preschool to fifth graders,” Denise said.

Nicole’s story is not unusual. Patients come from all across the country—indeed, from around the world—for care that, in some cases, is available only at Barrow.

Some patients find Barrow after consulting specialist after specialist and hearing repeatedly that their condition is inoperable or that surgery would be too risky. Others are referred by neurologists and neurosurgeons who recognize Barrow’s expertise in complex and challenging brain and spine conditions.

What enables Barrow neurosurgeons to handle the most difficult brain and spine cases? Ask doctors throughout the institute, and they will give you various answers. including the following Top 10 Reasons for Barrow’s Success: 1. Dedication to advancing medical science and patient care. Barrow focuses its efforts on continually improving patient care and advancing our knowledge of the brain and spine. For instance, the Hypothalamic Hamartoma Center, now in its fifth year, continues to conduct research aimed at developing better treatments and expanding our understanding of epilepsy. Research at the Center has led to new endoscopic approaches for removing these devastating tumors.

2. A team of specialists and subspecialists. The medical team at Barrow—neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, neuropsychologists, neuropathologists, and other brain and spine specialists—collaborate closely in car-

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Above, Nicole Andre was 13 when she underwent life-changing surgery for a hypothalamic hamartoma at Barrow Neurological Institute. Right, Barrow’s Neurosurgery Research Laboratory works with biomedical companies to develop new surgery tools, such as this device that uses plasma energy to cut into brain tissue without generating heat.

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ing for patients. In addition, many subspecialize in particular areas of neuroscience. For instance, neurosurgeons at Barrow subspecialize in such areas as cerebrovascular disease, spine disorders, endoscopic procedures, traumatic brain injury, neuroendocrinology and radiosurgery. By specializing in narrow areas of neurosurgery, these surgeons may see and treat more patients with a particular disorder in one year than a general neurosurgeon would handle in a decade.

The best and brightest residents and fellows. Barrow’s reputation and world-class training programs attract the most talented and energetic neurosurgery residents and fellows. These young men and women keep everyone on their toes and keep new ideas flowing throughout the institute, say attending physicians at Barrow.

Research to improve the tools of neurosurgery.

In the Neurosurgery Research Lab, scientists and surgeons work closely with biomedical companies to test and enhance new surgery tools, such as advanced microscopes, image guidance systems, and cerebrovascular stents. Researchers in the Biomechanical Lab have developed new technology for spine surgery, such as computer software that generates a three-dimensional model of an injured spine for use in surgery planning.

Investments in break-through technology. Barrow continually acquires new technology that can improve patient care. The CyberKnife and Gamma Knife at Barrow, for instance, are the only ones in Arizona. An intraoperative MRI in the Neurosurgery Department is the first of its kind in the country, enabling surgeons to check images of a patient’s brain before finishing a surgery.

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Left, neurosurgical residents and fellows can watch live surgeries from a conference room across campus from the Neurosurgery Department, thanks to the TelePresence Teleconference System.

The new system is one of the ways in which Barrow is improving medical education.

Below are Dr. Neil Crawford and Andy Baek in a spine research lab.

Continuing education. Barrow hosts several international conferences each year, edits a professional journal, Barrow Quarterly, that is distributed worldwide, and offers training in new surgical techniques.

The Te l e P re s e n c e Teleconference System allows observers at Barrow and even in distant locations to watch live surgeries. The goal of all these activities is to share advances in neurosurgery with neuroscience specialists around the world.

Neurosurgery research to improve surgical approaches and techniques. Surgeons and researchers at Barrow continually seek to improve surgical outcomes for patients by developing new routes into the brain and new techniques for correcting spine and brain disorders.

21st Century medical education. Training for Neurosurgery residents is becoming more experiential at Barrow, thanks to investments in computer animation, teleconferencing and anatomical studies. Just as pilots-in-training use flight simulation to learn their skills, Neurosurgery residents at Barrow prepare for surgery through a variety of simulation activities.

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The most technologically advanced neuroscience facility in the world. The Barrow Neuroscience Tower, which opened in 2006, offers physicians, patients, families and staff a comfortable, efficient and healing environment.

Technologically, it may be unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The Neurosurgery Department features spacious surgery suites equipped with the latest image guidance systems and surgical microscopes, the world’s first intraoperative 3 tesla MRI scanner, and a “super cool” surgery suite that can be chilled to 55 degrees in just three minutes.

10. Benefactors of Barrow Neurological Foundation. Benefactors’ gifts touch every area of Barrow, making possible the pioneering research, medical education and clinical innovation that enable the institute to successfully treat the most complex and difficult neurological disorders.

“Every component of Barrow contributes to our success,” says Dr. Spetzler.

“But the underpinnings of it all are the gifts from our generous donors. Without their support, none of this would be possible.”

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Above, the Barrow Neuroscience Tower offers unparalleled facilities for patients, families, physicians and staff. Left, Endovascular neurosurgeons Dr. Felipe Albuquerque and Dr. Cameron McDougall were the second surgeons in the country to use the first FDAapproved stent for use in the brain. Below, Barrow offers the only CyberKnife in the Southwest.

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Why we do what we do On the following pages, you will meet four Valley residents who faced a medical crisis. Each found help and healing at Barrow. Your support of Barrow Neurological Institute— its medical education, research, technology and clinical programs—makes these stories and many others possible.

It is impossible to track the impact of an individual gift to Barrow because every contribution supports a specific activitity while also contributing to the whole.

Please accept our continued gratitude for the difference you make.

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Amanda Anderson Neurosurgeons use procedures developed at Barrow to save Queen Creek child’s life

by Catherine Menor manda Anderson seemed to be on the mend, and her parents, Dave and Shanna, were confident that the 18-month-old Queen Creek girl would be well enough to wear her new pink kitty costume for Halloween 2007.

Amanda was in her fourth day at an East Valley hospital, where she was receiving care for a case of suspected viral meningitis. “Doctors told us that if she didn’t have any high fevers and was stable, we could go home the next day,” says Shanna.

But that night, Amanda had a terrible seizure, a seizure that Shanna believes saved her daughter’s life.

When Shanna “All through the night, screamed for help, the hospishe couldn’t communicate tal staff tried to at all. She couldn’t look reassure her that Amanda had you in the eye, and she probably just was making these really been shivering.

“This was somestrange movements. I thing serious,” don’t think she would have Shanna told them. “It was a lasted much longer.” seizure.”

The next Shanna Anderson morning, Amanda’s doctor ordered a CT scan and discovered the cause of her symptoms. The child had severe bleeding and swelling in her brain. Worried that child abuse might be the cause, the hospital alerted Child Protective Services and transferred Amanda to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

And that’s when the Andersons’ fortunes took a definite turn for the better.

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Within a few hours of Amanda’s arrival at St. Joseph’s, the Barrow Neurological Institute team had found the cause of the bleeding—an aneurysm behind Amanda’s eyes. “The doctors explained that she would need surgery as soon as possible to stop the bleeding,” Shanna says. “This was not caused by an accident, and we were told she likely had the aneurysm from birth.”

Finally, a diagnosis

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Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of Barrow, explains, “The aneurysm involved very small blood vessels deep in her brain, a very unusual condition in a child so young. The aneurysm had ruptured, causing a lifeand-death situation.”

Fortunately, a surgery scheduled for the next morning had been cancelled, and Dr. Sptetzler would be able to operate on Amanda.

“All through the night, she couldn’t communicate at all,” Shanna says of the agonizing hours before the Oct. 26 surgery. “She couldn’t look you in the eye, and she was making these really strange movements.

I don’t think she would have lasted much longer.”

To safely reach the aneurysm, the Barrow team used a route into the brain that had been researched and developed by surgeons, fellows and scientists at the institute. It is called the modified orbital zygomatic approach and involves removing a small piece of bone at the top of the eye and then going under the brain instead of retracting the brain.

Dr. Joseph Zabramski is one of the neurosurgeons who developed the modified OZ approach. He says it was critical to the success of Amanda’s operation. “In young children, the skull is small and there’s not much extra room around the brain. Retracting the brain can put pressure on it and damage it. With the modified OZ approach, the Barrow team was able to reach the aneurysm without retracting Amanda’s brain.”

Once he reached the aneurysm, Dr. Spetzler removed it, leaving a hole in the artery where the aneurysm had arisen. He then did a very unusual bypass to repair the opening in the artery. Maneuvering a tiny nearby vessel over the opening, Dr. Spetzler secured the vessel in place with microscopic sutures to prevent future bleeding.

Dr. Spetzler credits the Barrow team’s ability to successfully perform the unique operation to the neurosurgical research conducted at Barrow. “Through research, we were able to develop the modified OZ approach and conduct anatomical studies that demonstrated the feasibility of the bypass,” he says.

During the long hours of Amanda’s surgery, Dave and Shanna received regular updates from the Barrow

Navigating safely to the aneurysm

staff. Finally, an anesthesiologist came out to tell the couple that the surgery was over.

The child recovered beautifully, her mother says, surprising even her doctors. A week after surgery, Amanda went home and within two weeks, she was attending church with her parents, visiting her grandparents and going to the zoo. Today, the long scar that runs from the top of her head down to her right ear is hardly visible beneath her blond ringlets.

“Amanda has been truly blessed and healed by some very skilled people and has been in the hands of our Father in heaven,” Shanna says. “It was not her time to go, and for that we are very thankful.” ■

Neurosurgical research conducted at Barrow—and supported by the Barrow Women’s Board, other benefactors and the Health & Wealth Raffle— enabled surgeons to successfully eliminate an aneurysm that ruptured when Amanda Anderson was just 18 months old.

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Tyler Button Barrow surgeons use latest techniques to remove tumor from young teacher’s spine

by Melissa Morrison

Tyler Button is back in his classroom after a spine-tumor scare.

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istory teacher Tyler Button was playing basketball with some of his high school students when an overzealous opponent hit him from behind. When Button’s neck was still aching a few days later, he went to the emergency room for a muscle relaxant.

Turns out, he had a tumor the size of a racquetball imbedded in his spine.

“They said they were surprised my spine was able to hold my head up,” Button says. “It was eating my spine away. I should have been paralyzed or dead.”

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“They said they were surprised my spine was able to hold my head up. It [the tumor] was eating my spine away. I should have been paralyzed or dead.”

Tyler Button

Several hours of surgery, a bout of high-tech radiation, and a year later, Button, who is 25 and engaged to be married, is tumor-free.

Had he not discovered the mass in time, his neurosurgeon says, it would have further eroded the bones of his cervical vertebrae to the point where a similar accident would likely have rendered Button quadraplegic, or worse.

“I hate to wax philosophic, but if this tiny incident hadn’t happened, dramatic things would have,” says Button, who teaches at the Peoria campus of the Austin Center for Exceptional Students, whose student body is learning disabled and emotionally handicapped.

“It kind of makes you question the idea of fate and whether this was meant to happen.”

The tumor was located in the junction where the spinal cord meets the brain stem and is fed by two vertebral arteries, which were tangled in the tumor. “We were working in a very small area with a lot of highpriced real estate,” says neurosurgeon Dr. Nicholas Theodore.

Removing the tumor took the latest in neurosurgical techniques.

Button lay face down, so the surgeons—Dr. Theodore and his partner Dr. William L. White—could reach around the spinal cord to access the tumor.

“The approach that we used was going from behind to take this tumor out in a fairly radical way,” says Dr. Theodore, who is director of trauma service at Barrow Neurological Institute. “A lot of people probably wouldn’t have done it two years ago. Our surgery techniques are on the cutting edge, especially in difficult cases like Tyler’s.”

During the operation, the surgeons referred to a realtime CT scan to guide them. Such navigational techniques have long been used for brain surgery, but only recently have they been perfected for the spine.

After the surgeons removed the tumor, along with parts of Button’s spine, they replaced the missing bone with a piece from the young man’s hip, fusing together three of his cervical vertebrae.

‘High-priced real estate’

The surgery was followed by radiation treatment using a CyberKnife, which directs a convergence of more than 100 beams of radiation on a tightly focused spot, thus sparing most healthy tissue. The machine allowed neurosurgeon Dr. Randall Porter to program it to deliver its potent radiation via robotic arm to Button’s lesion. As a result, the patient suffered few side effects.

“It looks like a giant projector and a giant arm thing similar to the arm of a space shuttle,” Button says.

“It’s so accurate, it’s able to miss nerves and arteries.

“I thought it was going to be cool till I actually went through it.”

Button had to wear a mesh mask—”very medieval” —that was fixed in place, immobilizing him for each hour-plus session of the weeklong treatment.

Drs. Theodore, White and Porter’s combined effort is a prime example of the team approach Barrow takes toward tumor cases. “Just taking the tumor out is not enough,” Dr. Theodore says. “Even if the patient doesn’t need radiation, they do need close follow-up to make sure the tumor doesn’t recur.”

As for Button, he and his longtime girlfriend, Melissa Austin, made it official over the holidays. They plan to marry next spring.

He has reminders from the experience in his classroom. He’s hung the CyberKnife face mask on the wall there. And the student who was responsible for the fateful neck injury frequently stops in.

“He comes by all the time saying he saved my life,” Button says. “He honestly did save my life, but I don’t let his head get too big.” ■

Radiation via robotic arm

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Renee DeSalvo Woman placed in hospice gets second chance at Barrow

by Catherine Menor he news was bad—especially coming just days before Christmas 2006. Renee DeSalvo was not expected to live more than 24 hours.

Cindy and Steve Crandall, DeSalvo’s sister and brother-in-law, were in shock. DeSalvo had seemed perfectly healthy until that Wednesday when she’d suffered a severe pain in her right eye and passed out at work. Doctors at the hospital where she was taken told the family that an arteriovenous malformation—an abnormal tangle of blood vessels on the left side of her brain—had ruptured, causing a massive hemorrhage and leaving the 53-year-old woman paralyzed and blind on her right side.

“They said that if they operated, she’d probably be a vegetable and need a feeding tube,” recalls Steve.

The doctors recommended hospice, and, knowing DeSalvo’s independent streak, the family reluctantly agreed. DeSalvo received last rites and was transferred to a nearby hospice. It was Wednesday evening.

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As DeSalvo lay in her hospice bed, still unconscious, her family gathered to say their goodbyes.

DeSalvo’s long-time friends “The Crazy Eights” caught a red-eye from Chicago to be with her one last time.

But late that night, DeSalvo suddenly reached over to one of her two grown sons, and said, “Why are you crying?”

The next day, she was moving her affected right side some, and she seemed to recognize people. That’s when Steve decided the family needed a second opinion. Steve, who was well acquainted with Barrow, drove DeSalvo’s scans to St. Joseph’s late Thursday night in hopes that he could get Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of Barrow, to take a look at them.

“I said a little prayer, wrote a letter, taped it on the outside of the films, and told a lady in the ER that Dr. Spetzler was going to operate on Renee tomorrow and needed films on his desk first thing in the morning,” says Steve.

Early the next morning, Steve called Barrow and reached a doctor. Ten minutes later, he had an answer— Dr. Spetzler would do the operation that day.

Things happened rapidly after that. DeSalvo arrived at Barrow by ambulance, and the Barrow team quickly obtained new CT scans. Then, Dr. Spetzler met with

Second thoughts

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the family to map out his treatment plan, and the family agreed to surgery.

A team of neurosurgeons, led by Dr. Spetzler, removed the blood clot and the AVM from DeSalvo’s left temporal lobe. At 6:30 Friday evening, the family received the news they’d been praying for—the surgery had been successful.

“There are no words to explain how this feels,” says Cindy. “It’s that big of a miracle.”

DeSalvo spent a rocky week in ICU, a few days in a regular patient room, and nearly three weeks in the Deborah and Bruce Downey Neuro Rehabilitation Center. There, she learned how to sit in a chair, walk with a walker and feed herself. She also worked on improving her memory and ability to communicate.

DeSalvo left the hospital in late January and continued outpatient rehabilitation until December 2007.

Today, DeSalvo, who has no memory of her hospital stay, lives independently. She reads and does puzzles daily to improve her cognitive skills, attends Brain Tumor Support Group meetings at Barrow, and volunteers at a school and hospital near her home.

Although she still has language and thinking deficits and peripheral vision loss, DeSalvo is grateful for the second chance she’s been given. And her attitude is much better now than it was before her ordeal, she says.

“Life is so beautiful. Every day is a good day.”

DeSalvo hopes someday to work as a volunteer at Barrow, helping other patients achieve a more positive outlook after surgery.

In February, DeSalvo flew back to Chicago for a 40th school reunion. She couldn’t wait to see all her old friends. ■

Long road back

“Life is so beautiful.

Every day is a good day.”

Renee DeSalvo

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Renee DeSalvo is enjoying life again after a frightening encounter with an arteriovenous malformation.

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Wendell Brown Sales executive is first at Barrow to receive FDA-approved artificial cervical disc for neck pain

by Sally J. Clasen

endell Brown is unimpressed by the fact that with something that physiologically resembles the he was the first patient at Barrow to partici- original, the person’s mobility is decreased.” pate in a new spine surgery. What is more important to Brown, a sales executive from Laveen, Benefits of artificial disc surgery is that the pain in his neck is finally gone.

The goal of artificial cervical disc surgery is to In July 2007, Brown was lifting barbells over his head remove the diseased disc, restore normal height, when he felt a twinge on the left side of his neck and decrease neck pain and associated arm pain and weakshoulder. “I assumed I pulled a muscle, so I stopped ness, and preserve motion in the affected area. working out. I waited a couple of days, but the pain Surgeons insert the artificial cervical disc, a staindid not stop. It was an excruciating, sharp pain in my less steel device with a ball-in-trough design, through neck, arm, through the upper back and down my leg.” the front of the neck in a procedure that takes about Brown first went to an urgent care facility, where an hour to perform. he was prescribed pain medications, and then fol“In clinical studies in the United States and Europe, lowed up with his general doctor, who ordered x-rays and more pain meds. When the x-rays didn’t reveal anything significant, Brown had an MRI “Patients who’ve had artificial disc done. In the meantime, he did physical therapy to alleviate the symptoms but continued to have surgery... seem to do better than those problems. who have traditional fusion surgery.”

Two months after the injury occurred, MRI results revealed that Brown had damaged the cer- Nicholas Bambakidis, MD vical disc between his fifth and sixth vertebrae, which was pressing on his nerves. Brown’s primary patients who’ve had artificial disc surgery return to physician then referred him to Barrow neurosurgeon work quicker, have less pain and generally seem to do Dr. Nicholas Bambakidis, who suggested that Brown better than those who have traditional fusion surundergo a new technique in which an artificial cervi- gery,” Dr. Bambakidis says. He says an added benefit cal disc is used to replace the damaged one. of the artificial cervical disc is that it may decrease the

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Brown decided to take his doctor’s advice, and six months after injuring his neck, became the first Barrow patient to have the Prestige artificial cervical disc, a product of Medtronic, inserted into his neck. It is the first artificial cervical disc to receive FDA approval.

The most common treatment for cervical degenerative disease is an anterior cervical discetomy and fusion to relieve compression on the spinal cord or nerve roots. While more than 200,000 fusion surgeries are performed each year, the surgery has some limitations, according to Dr. Bambakidis, who does two to three fusion surgeries a week.

“With fusion surgery, the goal is to remove the disc causing pressure on the nerves and replace it with nothing, or replace it with a piece of bone and metal plate to create the fusion. The problem is that it ‘freezes’ the joint, and since the diseased disc isn’t replaced

Novel technique

risk of arthritis above and below the area affected because it allows patients to maintain better motion.

While those who have had prior fusion surgery to the affected area are not candidates for artificial cervical disc surgery, it shows particular promise for those with degenerative disease and injury to one cervical disc. “All patients with degenerative cervical disease can be considered for artificial disc surgery, but, in particular, younger people limited to one level of disease are the best candidates,” Dr. Bambakidis says.

Brown stayed one night in the hospital after surgery.

He immediately felt better and has no pain or discomfort. He is participating in physical therapy and “working his way back” to his regular exercise regimen.

“As far as I’m concerned, I have no limitations,” Brown says of his post-surgery condition. “I’m thoroughly pleased with the implant.” ■

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2008 barrow grand ball Annual dinner and dance raise a record $3.5 million

he Women’s Board of Barrow Neurological Institute celebrated 43 years of fundraising January 19 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. The 2008 Barrow Grand Ball was the culmination of a year of planning. The intimate black-tie event was chaired by Karen Hobbs and Ruth Lavinia.

“We thank all the members of the Women’s Board, the Barrow Neurological Foundation, and our family and friends for the support we have received this year,” said co-chairs Lavinia and Hobbs in a release to the media. “We are so very grateful to the wonderful and generous benefactors who have helped to make this evening so successful and are honored to have had the opportunity to co-chair the 2008 Barrow Grand Ball. Finally, we would like to extend a very

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special thank-you to Julie Ann Wrigley for underwriting this year’s Ball.”

Diana Balich, chairman of the Women’s Board, announced to the 350-plus guests that the Ball had raised $3.5 million, including a $1-million gift from the Steele Foundation that completed a multi-year commitment.

“Proceeds from the Ball go directly to research teams to create the miracles that you so often read about,” said Balich. “The cutting-edge research and technological advances that have come as a result of patron generosity continue to benefit the community, state and patients nationwide.”

The Grand Ballroom was beautifully decorated by William McArdle of Avant-Garde. Music was provided

by Affinity. ■

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To p : Drs. Joan and William Shapiro, Dr. Cameron McDougall, Dr. and Mrs. Volker Sonntag; and Dr. and Mrs. Robert Spetzler. S e c o n d r o w : far left, Nancy and Lee Hanley; middle, Kathleen Norton, Patti Boyd Gentry and Julie Wrigley; right, Sandy and Mac Magruder. B o t t o m : Doris Norton, Linda Hunt and John Norton.

O p p o s i t e p a g e : Ball chairs Karen Hobbs and Ruth Lavinia with Women’s Board Chairman Diana Balich.

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Two exceptional gifts made to Barrow Grand Ball The Steele Foundation made a $1-million gift to the Barrow Ball, completing the $2-million endowment of a chair in neurosurgical education. The endowed chair will be named in honor of Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of Barrow, “whose leadership in research, clinical care and surgery has established Barrow as a world-renowned center,” says Marianne Cracchiolo Mago, President of The Steele Foundation.

Endowed chairs enable nationally recognized physicians and scientists to pursue research and run laboratories, ensuring Pam Grant and and Dan Cracchiolo ongoing scientific contributions within a specialty area. Only a portion of the interest generated by the endowment goes to the chair each year; the rest remains untouched so that the endowment can continue to grow and support the chair.

Already, funds from the chair have enabled several neurosurgeons from other countries to complete research fellowships at Barrow. Currently, Dr. Pakrit Jittapiromsak of Thailand holds the fellowship and is conducting anatomical research at Barrow.

The Steele Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to the support of education, the arts, scientific research and organizations focused on the growth of children and families to achieve success across the state of Arizona.

Endowed by Horace and Ethel Steele in 1985, it now donates approximately $5 million each year to various community causes.

The Steele Foundation has flourished under the leadership of Chairman and

The Steele Foundation

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CEO Daniel Cracchiolo. For 30 years, Cracchiolo represented Horace Steele as his attorney. Cracchiolo, along with some of Steele’s close friends, presented him with the idea of establishing a charitable foundation.

After Horace and Ethel Steele passed away, Cracchiolo began building the foundation’s assets and has grown the corpus of the fund three fold. To date The Steele Foundation has awarded more than $50 million in grants within the state of Arizona.

Leadership of The Steele Foundation now includes Cracchiolo’s daughter, Marianne Cracchiolo Mago, who left her position with Warner Brothers Television in Los Angeles to serve as President. She brings new ideas and new energy to the forefront.

Diane and Bruce Halle made a $350,000 gift to the Barrow Ball for neuro-oncology research. The gift will support a Barrow research laboratory at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in downtown Phoenix.

Interactive brain-tumor investigators in the Diane and Bruce Halle Neuro-Oncology Research Laboratory are studying brain-tumor biology in order to develop improved diagnostic and therapeutic products for clinical use. The laboratory provides an academic environment for: (1) research pathology, neuro-radiology, radiation oncology and tissue bank support; (2) a clinical trials team dedicated to developing and implementing novel therapeutic strategies; (3) academic neurosurgeons with a focus on brain-tumor research and an interest in clinical trial development; and (4) informatics, statistics and network support.

Barrow researchers in the lab study the molecular mechanisms underlying brain-tumor progression and resistance to radiation chemotherapy. They are working to establish relationships among clinical imaging, spectroscopy, pathology, molecular genetics, and clinical outcomes in astrocytic tumors. Their goal is to develop an international center for brain-tumor research, diagnosis and therapy that improves clinical care for patients with brain tumors. ■

Diane and Bruce Halle

Dr. Pakrit Jittapiromsak of Thailand holds the Horace B. Steele Fellowship this year.

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celebrity fight night XIV A sizzling line-up, great volunteers and generous donors make this year’s fundraiser unforgettable

elebrity Fight Night XIV sizzled and dazzled for more than six hours the night of April 5 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix. This spectacular event, which featured a reception, dinner, silent and live auctions, and performances by some of today’s brightest stars, netted about $5 million for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center (MAPC) at Barrow and other charities.

What made the event so successful and so unforgettable? The photos on this page and the following spread tell the story: 1. The Champ. Once again, Muhammad Ali and his wife, Lonnie, presided over Celebrity Fight Night, and for many of the stars, sharing a stage with the Champ was reward enough for their efforts. “He’s the ultimate non-quitter,” said singer Collin Raye, who has been a fan of Ali since childhood. “This is a guy who has lived his life the way he wanted to, and when he was stricken with Parkinson’s disease, he continued to live life on his terms.”

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The sparkling room. The recently expanded and renovated ballroom held 1,300 guests.

The tribute. Kevin Costner delivered a moving tribute to Muhammad Ali, perfectly capturing the place Ali holds in America’s heart.

The entertainment. An amazing line-up of star power entertained throughout the evening, including Faith Hill, Collin Raye, John Mellencamp, Dionne Warwick, Kevin Costner and his Modern West band, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and comedian Sinbad, all under the direction of David Foster.

The auctions. The silent auction was dramatically displayed, thanks to the efforts of Barrow Neu-

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rological Foundation volunteers. The live auction of lavish prize packages raised a record amount.

The awards. The Muhammad Ali Awards went to Kevin Costner, Achievement; Clive Davis, Entrepreneur; Reba McEntire, Humanitarian; and LaDainian Tomlinson, Sports Achievement.

The local donors. In addition to the amazing celebrity packages, the live auction featured several gifts donated by local businesses. David Kimmerle, the owner of Sanderson Ford, contributed a rare Mustang designed by the legendary Ford engineer Jack Roush (pictured above in a white shirt with Kimmerle). Kimmerle gave to the event because his family has been touched by Parkinson’s disease.

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Bourgets Motorcycles donated three customdesigned, Ali-themed motorcycles in honor of an employee who is a patient at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

The guests. Among the guests were Barrow VIPs Dr. and Mrs. Robert Spetzler and Dr. Abe Lieberman, the new MAPC director, shown in front of a silent auction display.

The volunteers. More than 60 volunteers spent months preparing for Celebrity Fight Night. Debbie Castaldo, director of Philanthropic Innovation at Barrow Neurological Foundation (in red with Mike Ingram), led these volunteer efforts and helped generate donations to the event. Vol-

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unteer Margaret Ann Coles got a hug from Ali’s daughter, Rasheda, during the event.

10. Celebrity Fight Night Foundation. The powerhouse behind this dynamic event is the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation. Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of Barrow, and Mary Jane Crist, CEO of Barrow Neurological Foundation, extend a heartfelt thank-you to founder Jimmy Walker and his wife, Nancy, and to Sean Currie and the staff of Celebrity Fight Night Foundation for their continued support of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. â–

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out of africa

Barrow Neurosurgery resident experiences bush medicine during two-month mission sixth-year neurosurgery resident at Barrow, Dr. Elisa Beres has learned from the best of the best and operated in one of the most advanced facilities in the world. But no amount of training could have prepared her for her recent trip to Africa, where a medical mission also doubled as a crash course in MacGyver-style neu“What we really want to rosurgery.

In mid-July, Dr. do is to leave behind a Beres traveled to legacy and help these Tanzania and Kenya countries become more with the Physician Training Partnership, self-sufficient.” a branch of Progressive Health WorldElisa Beres, MD wide, whose mission is to cultivate independent medical professionals in the developing world. The first resident to travel with the group, Dr. Beres fulfilled a desire she’d had since medical school.

“I feel like I’ve been given a gift to use my hands and my abilities to help people,” she says. “I think it’s important to give back.”

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From the moment the group landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport, Dr. Beres’s experience was drastically different from anything she has known in the states.

The team, which consisted of three neurosurgeons, a neurologist, a physician’s assistant, and a handful of medical students, was stationed at Haydom Lutheran Hospital in the small town of Haydom, more than eight hours—by mostly dirt roads—from the airport.

A 450-bed facility, the hospital’s average census runs closer to 600.

Once word spread that a neuro team had arrived, the corridors filled with patients, many of whom had arrived via the handlebars of a bicycle. It didn’t take long for Dr. Beres and her peers to discover the many challenges of practicing medicine in a developing country.

Like most parts of Africa, physicians are scarce in Tanzania. In fact, the only MDs at Haydom Lutheran are those who come through on mission work. Oth-

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by Sarah Padilla

erwise, patients are treated by assistant medical officers whose education is the equivalent of a highschool degree and some advanced technical training.

A mission hospital founded by the Norwegian government and the Lutheran church, Haydom Lutheran houses one of the country’s six CT scanners —and not much else. Aside from an x-ray machine and a rudimentary lab, there is minimal equipment or medications. Electricity is sporadic and the water isn’t drinkable. Due to poor sterilization, infection is rampant. Partially because of a lack of adequate diagnostic equipment, patients are usually given one of two diagnoses—malaria or tuberculosis.

“It was very frustrating to figure out how to best treat patients with the resources available,” says Dr. Beres. “So many times we would want to do other procedures, like checking sodium levels or intracranial pressure, but we didn’t have the resources.”

Instead, they improvised. The hospital doesn’t have an electric drill, so the team performed craniotomies with a hand drill and a wire saw. To get more light, they attached flashlights and camping headlights to their heads. While doing a mother/child outreach clinic, they weighed babies with a weight tossed over a tree branch and a sling.

In addition to the lack of resources, the team also encountered cultural differences and language barriers. They saw patients who had been receiving treatment from the local witch doctor and whose conditions had deteriorated beyond surgical treatment.

And even if they were able to find someone to translate one of dozens of tribal languages, crucial information was still often lost in translation.

Healthcare obstacles

One of the more obvious obstacles to healthcare in Africa is financial hardship. While care provided by the PTP group was free, paying for healthcare in other situations often becomes a burden. For example, a head scan at Haydom Lutheran costs 30,000 Tanzanian schillings—the equivalent of roughly $30 dollars. Brain surgery costs the equivalent of $50. These prices are unheard of in the American healthcare sys-

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The conditions at the hospital where Dr. Elisa Beres spent six weeks last year are nothing like the facilities at Barrow where she is in her sixth year of Neurosurgery residency.

tem, but a $50 expense could force a Tanzanian family to sell off everything they own, including their livestock.

“Deciding whether or not to pay for a procedure often becomes an ethical dilemma for the family,” says Dr. Beres.

During her two-month stay, Dr. Beres participated in 29 surgeries, implanting shunts, removing tumors and more. But for every patient the team helped save, there was another they couldn’t help for one reason or another. Often, she says, it was a matter of deciding to do surgery or to send a patient home to die.

“It’s easy to go down and help people temporarily, but at the same time, a mission isn’t the answer,” says Dr. Beres. “What we really want to do is to leave behind a legacy and help these countries become more self-sufficient.”

That’s why the group also dedicated time to educating hospital workers on basic skills such as reading CT scans and performing neuro work-ups. They visited government officials to advocate for the development of training, recruitment and retention programs. In East Africa especially, potential physicians have to leave the region for adequate training—and very few return to practice in their homeland.

In fact, there are only three neurosurgeons in the entire country of Tanzania, and all are located in the coastal city of Dar es Salaam. The World Healthcare Organization recommends a ratio of one neurosurgeon to every 100,000 people. The ratio in North America is about one to 81,000; in Africa, it’s one to 1,352,000.

Such staggering statistics make it easy to see why Dr. Beres doesn’t feel that her short stay made a dent in the dire situation.

However, the dozens of patients who received potentially lifesaving surgeries would probably tell a different story. ■ (For more information about the Physician Training Program, visit www.ptpafrica.org.)

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why we give

Family chooses Barrow for annual gift he answer to the annual Davis family question— Who should we give to this Christmas?—was a nobrainer this year. Everyone agreed that the only possible recipient was Barrow Neurological Institute.

Just six months earlier, 29year-old Christina Davis had received care at Barrow for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, bleeding in the brain that can lead to severe disability or even death. The medical crisis—the first faced by Christina, her seven brothers and sisters, mother and father—left the Valley clan shaken but grateful.

“To be just minutes away from Barrow,” Christina says. “Thank God we live so close to that amazing hospital and have Dr. Spetzler.

He’s the greatest!”

Christina’s medical emergency began with a headache that got progressively worse. When Christina got lost driving to a friend’s home and then began vomiting and lying in a fetal position, her friends called 911. By the time paramedics arrived, Christina was confused and having trouble answering questions.

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Doctors at the hospital where Christina was taken at first thought she was drunk. But a CT revealed bleeding in her brain, and she was transferred to Barrow.

There, the neurosurgery team put Christina into a medically induced coma and drained the hemorrhaged blood from her brain. They found no cause for the hemorrhage during her 21-day hospital stay.

“When the cause is not evident on the angiogram, you fall into an incredibly favorable group,” Dr. Spetzler told the family. “If nothing shows up on follow-up scans, there is an incredibly small chance of recurrence.

It could be that a tiny vessel bled, then shut off and is now as healthy as the rest of the vascular system.”

Christina’s parents, Paul and Shirley Davis, founded Davis Enterprises, a real estate development and management company. Two of the couple’s children— Nick Davis and Jenifer Lunt—now manage the company, with the entire family as partners.

The family has been making an annual gift to a charity for many years. “We’ve received the gift of success, and we should return it,” says Paul.

The Davis family has other ties to St. Joseph’s—Paul played in a high school band that performed at a 1951 groundbreaking for the hospital, and Shirley was a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s in the 1960s. ■

The Davis family: sitting, Paul Davis, Shirley Davis, and Theresa and Lauren Mansour; standing, Mary Ann Collins, JoAnn Bouchard, Nick Davis, Christina Davis, Mark Davis, Jenifer Lunt, and Peter Davis.

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philanthropist of the year Julie Wrigley receives recognition for her contributions to medical, educational, environmental non-profits ulie Ann Wrigley was named the 2007 Outstanding Philanthropist by the Greater Arizona Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals at the group’s November awards dinner. Wrigley was honored for her long-time advocacy and support of health, educational and environmental non-profit organizations.

Wrigley has contributed significant financial support, leadership and talent to a wide range of non-profits, including Barrow Neurological Institute. She became a passionate supporter of Barrow after undergoing a successful acoustic-neuroma surgery performed by Dr. Robert Spetzler.

When the hospital began plans to construct the new Barrow Neuroscience Tower, Wrigley agreed to co-chair the Pushing Boundaries Capital Campaign, which raised about $30 million for construction of the tower and other campus improvements. Her lead gift of $2.5 million encouraged other friends of Barrow to contribute to the campaign. The west wing of the tower is named the Wrigley Pavilion in her honor.

Other organizations that have received Wrigley’s support include the Kidney Foundation, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Arizona State University, the University of Southern California, Childhelp, and the Peregrine Fund. At ASU, she established the International Institute for Sustainability to deal with the global and regional ecological, economic and societal issues involved in creating a truly sustainable quality of life.

In addition to her contribution of leadership and financial support to the Pushing Boundaries Capital Campaign, Wrigley has supported several other projects at Barrow, including a vascular database established by Dr. Peter Nakaji to track the histories and outcomes of patients referred to Barrow for treatment of rare vascular ailments. Most recently, she underwrote the 2008 Barrow Grand Ball, presented by the Barrow Women’s Board in January.

“Julie’s many gifts have not simply helped Barrow—they have challenged and moved our organization to a higher level of service,” says Mary Jane Crist, CEO of Barrow Neurological Foundation. “We are extremely grateful for her generous contributions to the hospital.” ■

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lifetime achievement award Couple receives prestigious award from Society for Neuro-Oncology

by Sally J. Clasen

Drs. Joan and William Shapiro are establishing an endowed chair—the William R. and Joan Rankin Shapiro Chair in Neuro-Oncology Research—to ensure ongoing brain tumor research at Barrow.

illiam Shapiro, MD, and Joan Rankin Shapiro, PhD, probably understand better than most couples that the key to solving problems is good communication: in marriage and in medicine. As a clinician and researcher, he has asked the questions, and as a human geneticist, she has searched for the answers. That sense of inquiry and collaboration between the Shapiros has led to remarkable discoveries in the field of neuro-oncology and left a lasting impression at Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.

While the Shapiros have received numerous professional awards and honors in recognition of their contributions, they were recently honored jointly for their efforts in brain-tumor research. In November 2007, the couple received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Socie-

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ty for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), the second such award given by the organization. The award recognizes pioneers in neuro-oncology clinical care and/or translational or basic research who have contributed significantly to the understanding and management of brain tumors, the training of the next generation of neuro-oncology investigators, and the care of patients afflicted with the disease.

“I’ve never put myself in the position of thinking that what I do is so earth-shattering. Bill is the person that needs to be honored,” says Joan. “He fights hard for the sick and the dying. That is why I have always worked in the lab.

I would cry if I had to deal with patients.”

Bill sees the recognition as successful group achievement. “We’ve both impacted the experimental field and patient community.”

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The Shapiros came to Barrow in 1989 from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York.

At the time, Bill became the chair of the Division of Neurology, and Joan assumed the position of director of Neuro-Oncology Research.

Bill started his career as a National Cancer Institute researcher, developing a brain tumor model that was used to screen chemotherapy agents for brain tumors and that led to the first approved chemotherapy treatment. He also was instrumental in creating the Brain Tumor Study Group, an international group of physicians devoted to developing brain-tumor treatments. At MSKCC, Bill developed the first neuro-oncology program in the country, conducted research, and ran a clinical program for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors.

In Phoenix, he has continued to care for patients, participate in clinical trials and conduct ground-breaking brain-tumor research, including being the lead participant in the National Cancer Institute-sponsored study of the epidemiology of brain tumors. He is currently participating in six new clinical trials, consulting with pharmaceutical companies to develop new cancer drugs and working on a study to learn why brain tumors cause seizures.

Joan spent the first part of her career investigating inherited genetic abnormalities before turning to braintumor research in 1979. She was the first to report that brain tumors are heterogeneous (multiple tumor cell types within a single tumor) and to describe how those different cells react to cancer treatment.

Joan determined that such tumors could evolve differently. Thus, two patients with the same histopathological diagnosis could have tumors different in their cellular make-up and would respond differently to therapy.

As an investigator, Joan has received more than $14 million in government and private peer-reviewed grants, and is part of an elite group of scientists who have received funding for more than 20 years on a single grant application. She retired from the lab in 2000 and then served as vice president of Research and Development until August 2007.

Years of brain-tumor research

Building a world-renowned brain-tumor research center

As scientists, the Shapiros have collaborated for more than 20 years and have been instrumental in building a world-renowned brain-tumor research center at Barrow.

The two embrace the longevity of their working relationship and honor each other’s contributions as healthcare pioneers.

“We’re naturally recognized as a team and that is a good thing. We have always been supportive of each other,” Joan

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says. Bill adds, “We offer the medical and scientific community a unique set of experiences. We have her research, my research and our independent pursuits.”

Despite investing countless hours studying brain tumors and finding effective treatments for the disease, it is not easy for either Shapiro to walk away—or say no to hospital executives who value the couple’s leadership, knowledge and influence. Both have resigned and then stepped back into new and previously held positions during the last two decades at St. Joseph’s. Currently, Bill is in a familiar role as the interim chair of Neurology, and Joan is the vice president of Clinical Research, a position she accepted in January 2008.

They also remain devoted to fostering the next generation of scientists and clinicians in neuro-oncology through education and mentoring. In 1989, Joan developed the Scientific Enrichment Program for Students, which enables promising high school, college and medical students to work in Barrow’s Neuro-Oncology Lab. She also still regularly visits K-12 students through her Kids Brains Matter Too program, which she created in 1999.

“I enjoy getting students excited about the questions,” she says. “It’s a payback system. I’ve had some wonderful mentors.”

The Shapiros’ lasting legacy: An endowed chair in research

In addition to his active clinical and lab work, Bill, who holds the Marley Chair in Neuro-Oncology, has built a neuro-oncology fellowship program and is training a fourth neuro-oncologist at Barrow.

As a legacy to their service and dedication to ongoing brain-tumor research, the couple decided in December 2007 to establish an endowed chair for neuro-oncology research through Barrow Neurological Foundation. “This represents our desire to give back and will allow Barrow to hire the best and the brightest scientist they can find to carry on research in brain tumors,” Bill says of their philanthropic gift. “We want Barrow to continue to succeed and to recruit good people.”

Brain-tumor research has been a “24/7” lifestyle, according to Joan, but the Shapiros, who have four children and four grandchildren, find time to sail in Arizona and California. It is one activity that doesn’t lend itself to scientific discussions. “We’re too busy dealing with the elements and trying to stay alive,” Joan says.

The Shapiros are already collaborating on post-retirement plans, working together in their entrepreneurial venture JRS Research Consultants, a firm that focuses on developing research infrastructure and labs. “Neither of us,” says Joan, “will just walk away from this easily.” ■

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making waves in radiology New Keller Center for Imaging and Innovation is partnering with GE Healthcare and ASU to improve diagnostic care for patients

by Sarah Padilla

Above, Dr. Jim Pipe, director of the Keller Center for Imaging and Innovation. Right, Dr. Donglai Huo, staff scientist.

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n terms of its size, the 5,000-square-foot Keller Center for Imaging and Innovation at St. Joseph’s and Barrow is on the small side. But in terms of impact, the center is, quite literally, making waves throughout the field of radiology.

Dedicated to developing new medical technology and innovations for improved diagnostic care, the $5.2-million imaging research facility is located on the ground floor of St. Joseph’s. It is named in honor of Dr. Paul Keller, a Barrow scientist who passed away in 1998. Dr. Keller left his legacy in the hands of senior staff scientist Dr. Jim Pipe, who has helped oversee the development of the center since gaining support from hospital’s management several years ago.

Today, Dr. Pipe works from one of 10 new offices dedicated to faculty —including Barrow imaging scientists, engineering faculty from Arizona State University, engineers from GE Healthcare, and a full-time research technologist. Across the hall, a 1,000-square-foot room has space for an additional 25 students and staff members. The workspaces are equipped with high-tech computers for data processing and visualization.

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“It’s nice to be in a field where you have a very real sense that you’re helping the world.” “ Jim Pipe, PhD

The crown jewel of the Keller Center arrived in December 2007 via a semi truck and a crane—a 3-Tesla multinuclear MRI scanner. A first for the Valley, the multinuclear scanner differs from traditional scanners in that it can generate images of the nuclei of a variety of atoms, such as sodium.

“We’re going to focus on sodium imaging because sodium can reveal a lot about the health of a tissue, such as whether it’s been affected by stroke or possibly whether a tumor is malignant or benign,” says Dr. Pipe.

3T MRI dedicated to research

(Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction) technology measures how much a patient moves during a scan and then eliminates that motion to produce sharper and more accurate images. Such technology is especially useful in patients who move around a lot, such as trauma patients or people with Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Pipe worked with GE Healthcare to make the product a reality, and several years ago the company incorporated PROPELLER into all of its scanners. Now, scanners from both Siemens Medical Solutions and Philips Medical Systems also include the technology.

This initial collaboration between Barrow and GE turned out to be the beginning of a unique relationship.

Today, two GE engineers are physically housed at the Keller Center, making Barrow the first non-GE location in the world to have GE product engineers permanently located on campus.

“Once we had created PROPELLER, it took four years to put it into development,” says Dr. Pipe. “Our hope was that if we had people onsite, we could make that process faster.”

Dr. Pipe is equally hopeful about collaborating with other researchers, both locally and nationwide. In fact, the Center’s multinuclear scanner is available for other organizations to use in their research projects. Eventually, Dr. Pipe would like to see the Keller Center become one of the Valley’s core facilities in terms of imaging research—with everyone working together.

“Imaging is still pretty new, so there’s a good sense of collaboration. I hope that we can all continue to work together instead of building walls between us.”

In addition to GE, the hospital also has a medical imaging partnership with ASU. As ASU launches a medical imaging program at the university, ASU engineering faculty members and students work at the Keller Center. Currently, six students, mostly PhD candidates, work on a number of projects.

Projects underway include research into measuring the amount of flow in blood vessels, which could help physicians better predict the formation of athero-

Local and national collaboration

While St. Joseph’s has seven additional clinical MRI scanners on campus, this is the only one dedicated to imaging research.

The scanner is located at the end of a hallway whose walls are lined with white boards covered in complex equations and formulas. Cryptic to most, these formulas could hold the key to substantial improvements in patient care.

In fact, Dr. Pipe has already led the charge on at least one innovation that is now being used to produce clearer MRIs in hospitals nationwide. His PROPELLER

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sclerosis. Some are working on creating better images for functional MRI research, which helps map different parts of the brain and their functions.

Researchers are also working to apply the PROPELLER technology, currently only applicable to head scans, to other parts of the body. And as the hospital increases its heart and lung services, Dr. Pipe says it opens up a new field of possibilities.

Regardless of the field, Dr. Pipe and his team have a huge advantage given their location at St. Joseph’s, where the connection between research and clinical application is more tangible than at other imaging research centers.

“There are only a handful of facilities with the academic, clinical and industry side as tightly integrated as we are,” he says.

For example, a staff neuroradiologist might approach the team with a type of scan that needs improvements.

Some improvements—which are often a matter of creating new or tweaking existing software—can make their way into the clinical realm relatively quickly and seamlessly.

For Dr. Pipe, the relevance of his work is encouraging. “I was drawn to radiology because we’re always learning new things and there’s a lot to explore,” he says.

“Also, it’s nice to be in a field where you have a very real sense that you’re helping the world.” ■

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Top, Dr. Jim Pipe meets weekly with the 10 Neuroradiology fellows currently training at Barrow. Bottom, Eric Aboussouan, medical imaging programmer, and Alan Thompson, software engineer for GE Healthcare, discuss imaging research projects currently underway at the Keller Center for Imaging and Innovation.

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Benefactor briefs SSBTR gives Barrow $55,500 for brain-tumor research

In April, Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research (SSBTR) presented a total of $215,000 to Barrow Neurological Institute, the Brain Tumor Society, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Barrow received $55,500. Most of the funds were raised at the seventh annual SSBTR WalkA-Thon, held in February.

SSBTR funding currently supports a one-year fellowship in the Neuro-Oncology Laboratory at Barrow.

Julia Mackey, a 2007 Northern Arizona University graduate who earned a bachelor of science in chemistry with a minor in biology, is the first recipient of the SSBTR fellowship. The fellowship provides Mackey a $24,000 stipend plus benefits to work under the supervision of lab director Dr. Adrienne Scheck.

SSBTR was founded in 2002, shortly after three students in the Paradise Valley School District died of brain tumors. Students from elementary schools, high schools and universities across the state participate in the annual fundraiser, which has raised more than $868,000 for braintumor research.

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what’s happening around barrow Barrow sponsors disabled sports expo

Barrow, the Arizona Paralympic Academy and Arizona State University (ASU) sponsored the 10th annual Arizona Disabled Sports Expo Oct. 26-27 at the Student Recreation Complex at ASU. The event featured sports instruction and demonstrations, including quad rugby, wheelchair basketball, adaptive golf, soccer, kayaking and scuba.

“The event is a great way to give people with disabilities the resources they need to become active,” says Jo Crawford, recreation therapist at St. Joseph’s. “This is one of the only events offered in Arizona where someone with a disability can learn about sports and recreation.”

Shop and give at Bashas’

If you are a Bashas’ Shopper, you can link your Bashas’ Thank You Card to raise funds for St. Joseph’s Hospital and/or Barrow Neurological Institute.

Simply present the charity identification number(s) to the cashier the next time you shop at Bashas’. The cashier will punch it in, and the number(s) will be printed on your receipt as confirmation. Every time you shop at Bashas’, a portion of your total purchase will be donated to the non-profit group(s) linked to your Thank You Card. If you link more than one non-profit group to your card, the donation will be shared.

The ID numbers for St. Joseph’s and Barrow are:

Barrow Neurological Foundation - 24835;

St. Joseph’s Foundation - 24834.

Link your card today, and support Barrow and St. Joseph’s through your everyday purchases.

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Rock climbing and kayaking were two of the sports featured at the 10th Annual Arizona Disabled Sports Expo.

CHW awards $323,000 to 15 Arizona non-profits

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the parent organization of St. Joseph’s and Barrow, has awarded $323,886 to local organizations as part of CHW’s annual Community Grants Program. This program gives grants to non-profits that support specific healthcare initiatives and work to improve the health and quality of life in underserved communities.

This year, CHW gave grants to 15 Arizona organizations that address injury prevention and behavioral and/or mental-health issues. Selected organizations are Arizona Firearm Safety Coalition, AZ Lost Boys, Central Arizona Shelter Services, Childhelp, Desert Mountain, Inc., Fresh Start Women’s Center, Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus Pine Council, Homeward Bound, Jewish Family Children’s Services, La Frontera Center, Inc., Osborn Educational Foundation, Southwest Human Development, St. Elizabeth’s Health Center, Teen Lifeline and UMOM New Day Center.

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Education Day drew a full house. Below, Dr. Nicholas Theodore, one of the presenters, with Shan Francis.

2008 Education Day draws full house

More than 150 people attended 2008 Education Day, presented Feb. 14 by the Barrow Women’s Board.

The theme of the morning event was “Caring for the Health of Our Community.”

Speakers included Dr. Robert Spetzler, director of Barrow; Daryl Weil, a former Barrow patient; Dr. Nicholas Theodore, a Barrow neurosurgeon and researcher; and Dr. Abe Lieberman, the director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.

Glenna Shapiro was the chairman of Education Day. Other committee members were Ann Denk, Shan Francis, Nancy Gaintner, Nancy Hanley, Julie Hopper, Bonnie Martin, Marilyn Parke, Carol Robertson, Judy Schubert and Nancy Walker.

Members of the Barrow Women’s Board organized and hosted 2008 Education Day.

Day on the Lake set for May 30-31

The 12th Annual Day on the Lake will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31, at Bartlett Lake Marina. Participants will be able to learn about and participate in water skiing, jet skiing, fishing, kayaking and boat riding.

Day on the Lake gives people with neurological impairments an opportunity to experience water recreation. With the help of Barrow and a specialized team from California, participants are able to try their hand at water sports in a safe and encouraging environment.

“Everyone has the right to play and live life to its fullest,” says Natalie Connolly, certified therapeutic recreation specialist at Barrow. “Day on the Lake provides the neurologically disabled an opportunity to become more active.”

Registration is limited to 40 water skiers per day. Registration forms are available at www.TheBarrow.com. For more information, call the Barrow Recreation Therapy Department at 602-406-3606.

Dr. Abe Lieberman returns to Barrow to direct MAPC

Dr. Abraham Lieberman is the new medical director of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow. Dr. Lieberman was previously the National Medical Director of the National Parkinson Foundation. He has been diagnosing and treating patients with Parkinson’s disease for more than 40 years, including a previous stent at MAPC. Dr. Lieberman received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. He completed a Neurology residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York and a Pharmacology fellowship at NYU. He is board certified in Neurology and Psychiatry, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. He was a Professor of Neurology at New York University and at the University of Miami Medical School.

Dr. Lieberman is the principal or co-principal investigator of more than 200 studies into Parkinson’s disease, including many drug studies and research into psychosocial issues that can be related to PD. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 articles published in major journals, and published several books on PD, including Shaking Up Parkinson Disease and 100 Questions and Answers about Parkinson Disease.

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P L A N N E D

G I V I N G

Charitable annuity A secure investment for uncertain financial times

by Kathy Kramer vice president, Leadership Gifts he charitable gift annuity is a combination of a gift to charity and an annuity. For senior persons, annuity rates may be 8%, 9% or even higher. Since part of the annuity payment is tax-free return of principal, the gift annuity may provide the annuitants with substantial income. The combination of partially taxfree income and the initial charitable deduction makes this agreement quite attractive. And, after all payments have been made for the lives of the two annuitants, a favorite charity will benefit from the charitable gift.

A gift annuity is a contract between the charity

T

and the individual. The individual transfers property to the charity, and the charity promises to pay a given amount at the end of each selected payment period to one annuitant for life or two annuitants for both lives.

Part of the payment is interest earned and is taxable as ordinary income. Part of each payment is return of principal and is tax free. However, if an annuitant survives past his or her life expectancy, all later annuity payments will be ordinary income.

Is a charitable annuity right for you? For more information about this and other planned giving vehicles, call Barrow Neurological Foundation, 602-406-3041.

Or drop me an email at Kathy.Kramer@chw.edu.

Charitable Gift Annuity John Smith, 73, and Jane Smith, 69 6% Annuity Property $10,000

Principal $10,000

Two 1. Gift property to charity.

Donor receives contract for annuity payments. Income deduction of $2,782 may save $901.

Lives

2. Annuity of $600 for two lives. Tax-free amount $365.40. Estimated two-lives payout of $12,660. Effective payout rate 8.6%

Charity $10,000

(approximate value)

3. Property passes to charity with no probate fees. There are also no estate taxes if married.

This educational illustration is not professional tax or legal advice. Consult a tax advisor about your specific situation.

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B A R R O W

SPRING 2008

THANK YOU, ARIZONA FOR MAKING THE SPRING 2008 HEALTH & WEALTH RAFFLE ANOTHER SUCCESS! YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

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CHW Arizona Barrow Neurological Foundation 350 W. Thomas Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85013-4496 www.stjosephs-phx.org

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