Endowed Support in Action

THE HEART CENTER

The Heart Center at Children’s Health is a pioneer in cardiac care and innovation for thousands of children with congenital or acquired cardiac conditions.

2020 was a milestone year for the Heart Center, which performed its 300th heart transplant and 100th VAD (ventricular assist device) surgery, and it remains as the only pediatric VAD program in North Texas.

The Heart Center continues to be a leader in various specialty areas such as interventional MRI-guided catheterization procedures; MRI image processing including the use of utilization of 3D printing and computational modeling; and patient home monitoring programs like Safe at Home. Philanthropy furthers our commitment to holistic care, including patient family support services, as well as our emphasis on innovative approaches as an academic medical center to research and develop new standards of care in pursuit of clinical excellence.

Endowment funds have supported the Heart Center in a myriad of ways, resulting in many accomplishments and enhancements in 2020 including:

PATIENT CARE

• 24 heart transplants • Performed nearly 600 surgeries • Conducted more than 1,000 catheterization procedures • Increased patients served in the Fetal Heart program to more than 100 • Implemented bedside virtual assessments • Expanded services on the Dallas and Plano campuses • Expanded neurodevelopment program to support and maximize development for young patients • Incorporated VitalSign6, a mental health screening tool to help providers screen for depression, anxiety and medication nonadherence

RECRUITING, TRAINING AND EDUCATION

• Six cardiology faculty members joined the team • Trained two fourth-year fellows in fetal heart • 100% of the heart transplant team earned their certified transplant coordinator certification • 19 inpatient cardiology resident nurses trained in peritoneal dialysis

THE PAULINE ALLEN GILL CENTER FOR CANCER AND BLOOD DISORDERS

The Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders continues to be a leader in patient care, treatment, research and training in pediatric oncology and hematology, providing hope and healing to children and families from North Texas and beyond.

Over the last year, philanthropic resources through endowments supported clinical and research excellence in the Gill Center, along with incredible psychosocial support for our patients through child life, social work, spiritual care, language interpretation and more.

With more than 10 programs and 25 experts in cancer and blood disorder care, the Gill Center was again ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report. Highlights and enhancements in 2020 for the care of children with cancer and blood disorders include:

PATIENT CARE

• 865 new patients • Nearly 22,000 outpatient visits at Dallas and Plano • More than 1,000 telehealth visits • Nearly 850 pediatric cancer survivors received care in

After Cancer Experience (ACE) Program • Groundwork for expansion of services on Plano campus to better serve children and families in northern communities

RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• 200 active clinical research trials that helped improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of childhood diseases • Became the second largest recruiting site in the world for CAR-T, a form of cell therapy that trains the immune system to recognize cancerous cells • Increased participation by Gill Center nurses in evidence-based practice and research studies, as well as industry and academic conferences

PATIENT FAMILY SUPPORT

• Six social workers and seven child life specialists dedicated solely to the Gill Center to help families • Implemented new solutions, including increased technology-based offerings and virtual music therapy

As our patients and their families bravely confronted illness and injury, the Social Work team at Children’s Health helped them cope with the unique and difficult challenges they faced, while providing support through resources and care coordination, within the hospital and in the community.

Last year challenged our Social Work staff to help families respond to new pressures and use innovative ways to ensure our patient families received the emotional support, crisis intervention, bereavement and grief counseling, education, and coping strategies they needed.

Not reimbursable by insurance, top-notch, around-theclock social work services—critical to the well-being, outlook, and outcomes of our patients and families— remained available with the help of philanthropic support. Endowment funds supported an array of crucial social work offerings and services in 2020 that otherwise may not have been available to patients and families, including:

• Approximately 70,000 patient encounters • About 4,400 inpatient consults with medical staff • Assisted with behavioral health-related visits to our Emergency Rooms that saw a combined 3,700 such encounters • Distributed more than $65,000 in Indigent

Family Assistance Funds to help patient families access meals, medications and medical supplies, clothing, transportation and lodging • Assisted 263 families facing hardships during the holiday season through Adopt-A-Family • Recruited and trained top talent, including 12 new clinical social workers, which helped expand our ability to better meet the growing needs of our patients and their families