June 3, 2011
InsIde EndowEd Chair
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MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA
Children’s Hospital makes top rankings
Dr. Patrick Woster will help lead the Center of Economic Excellence in Cancer Drug Discovery.
Nothing like a cool ride to take 6-year-old Joseph Guthinger’s mind off of his first surgery.
Quite the Ride
laTEsT
TEChnology
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Pilot project puts iPads in the hands of physicians. 5
Meet Antoinette
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Family Fund
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Classifieds
T h E C aTa ly s T onlinE http://www. musc.edu/ catalyst
Vol. 29, No. 40
Charleston's Steven and Andrea Thornhill with their son Trent, 4, as he recovers from his latest heart surgery.
Report cites children’s heart program
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nce again, MUSC Children’s Hospital made it into the top 20 hospitals for children’s heart programs in U.S. News Media Group’s 2011 edition of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals, achieving a rank of 17. The rankings are published online at http:// www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals and will be featured in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report. “We are indeed proud to be recognized again as one of the top children’s hospitals nationally for heart and heart surgery,” said Phil Saul, M.D., MUSC Children’s Hospital medical director and director of pediatric cardiology. “We are particularly pleased by our consistently improved ranking, driven by the
highest possible score for surgical survival (12 of 12), which only three of the top 20 programs received. The bottom line for our patients is the rankings indicate that children with complex heart conditions requiring surgery are more likely to survive at MUSC than almost any other program in the U.S.” It’s a ranking that gives comfort to parents, such as Steven and Andrea Thornhill, who are happy their 4-year-old son, Trent, is doing well. Andrew Atz, M.D., director of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, said Trent was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart problem consisting of essentially one pumping chamber as well as having scoliosis. He has had See heart on page 8
Child Life specialist Cory Prescott, in conjunction with the staff of the university hospital OR, purchased a Mustang Powerwheels car for children having overnight surgery. These funds were obtained by a grant from the Volunteer Advisory Committee. The car helps ease children through the separation from their caregivers as they go to the operating room, which can be as anxiety-provoking as the surgery itself. Materials like this car also allow patients to regain a feeling of control and promote a more child-centered environment. It was a big hit for Joseph, who used it to get to his first surgery.