St. Joseph's Magazine

ST. JOSEPH’S magazine A magazine for the friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center

Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006

New Emergency/Trauma Center

More space, the latest in technology—even a place just for kids!

Heart & Lung Institute

Emerging Center for Thoracic Disease sets its sights on lung transplantation

OPENING THOUGHTS So many wonderful things have happened at St. Joseph’s since our last issue of St. Joseph’s Magazine! In July, neurological and neurosurgical patients moved into the new Barrow Neuroscience Tower, and in September the new Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center opened on the first floor of the tower. In this issue of our magazine, you’ll get a glimpse at this medical showcase. The Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center has more space, more privacy and more sophisticated technology for our emergency and trauma patients. And, it has an area dedicated to children!

Just outside the new ED is the John and Doris Norton Healing Garden, which was dedicated in November. With its desert plants, garden artwork, fountains and winding paths, it is a wonderful refuge for visitors, patients and staff. Please take a moment to see for yourself next time you visit us.

Now that Barrow has moved into the new tower, we have begun renovating the former Barrow building for the Heart & Lung Institute. And, as you will see in this issue of St. Joseph’s Magazine, there is a lot going on in that area. The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center continues to develop—with the help of a group of dynamic volunteers who are raising funds for the new center. Our benefactors have also enabled the hospital to begin developing the lung side of the center. In “A Breath of Fresh Air,” you’ll read about the team of lung specialists St. Joseph’s has recruited and their efforts to build a center dedicated to advanced thoracic and esophageal care. I think you'll be impressed with their plans.

As benefactors to our hospital, you are at the heart of all of the stories in this magazine. For without your generosity, many of the services and facilities we describe simply would not be possible.

During the holiday season—when giving to others is top of mind—the staff of St. Joseph’s gives thanks to those who donate so much to improve the lives of others. Thank you for all you do!

Best wishes for peace and good health in the New Year,

Linda Hunt President

ST. JOSEPH’S magazine A magazine for the friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center

contents

Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006

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The Sky’s the Limit New center takes emergency and trauma care to the next level.

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A Breath of Fresh Air St. Joseph’s Heart & Lung Institute makes plans for Valley’s first lung-transplant program.

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Hearts United Identical twins undergo surgery for rare heart defect.

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Mission: Healthy Kids Pediatric center treats the usual—and not so usual.

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Why We Give Tesseract kindergarteners learn about philanthropy.

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Aging Appropriately Geriatric Assessment Clinic uses team to address elderly concerns.

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Pieces of the Puzzle St. Joseph’s takes steps to create cancer center.

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Two-Time Winners Pilot says St. Joseph’s saved his life; his wife wins big in Fall 2006 Health & Wealth Raffle.

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Born at St. Joseph’s Employees, former patients share their stories.

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Community Health Integration St. Joseph’s and its 60 partners collaborate to solve Arizona’s health problems.

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Thanking Our Major Donors

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News

Catherine Menor Editor Catherine.Menor@chw.edu

Scott Baxter, Mark Delsasso, Jackie Mercandetti, Jeff Noble, Mike Taft Photography

Justin Detwiler Art Director/Designer

Steve Woods Printing

Linda Hunt, President St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center Mary Jane Crist, CFRE CEO, St. Joseph’s Foundation

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

LETTERS St. Joseph’s Foundation received the following email and photo in October from Shannon Waddle, whose infant son, Jake, was featured a year ago in St. Joseph’s Magazine. Jake was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was less than one day old.

Jake turned 1 on Oct. 13th and what an emotional day that was for me. He is doing so good and melts my heart everyday!! Oh and did he love his cake!!!

It was too funny!

We think of you all there at SJ all the time and are so thankful to have you all in our lives! You all are truly Jake’s angels!!!

Shannon

This email was sent to the Health & Wealth Raffle:

I haven’t bought the tickets in the past because bills were always so high. I have been putting money away for this year’s raffle. I was thrilled when I finally did enter in the drawings and knew the money was going to support St Joseph’s.

I have had several problems keeping my pregnancies in the past and I had our first born at a military hospital 15 weeks premature.... he is 9 now and doing great. I was referred to see a doctor at St. Joseph’s. He was going to be the doctor to help us get through the fertility treatments and keep me on track. I found out we were having twins...I was so scared but knew that St. Joseph’s was going to be the best place for us to be.

Living kind of far from the hospital I had wonderful support and great guidance. I was told that my body was starting to reject the babies and I was having problems medically. They put me on bed rest and hooked me on this machine that plugged into the wall and went right to his office.

I was told my babies had a 20% chance to live.... that’s not much. I spent some time in prayer and left my future in God’s hands and St. Joseph’s.

I delivered my twins 5-11-03. If you look back it was on Mother’s Day. I had a c-section and our twins were 10 weeks premature. St. Joseph’s Hospital saved my children’s lives and mine. My little babies had to stay in the NyICU for 6 weeks and the NyICU doctors were amazing, the nurses were my support system. What a blessing this has been for us to give back.... just a little...for something they gave us that meant the world. I hope for a win...but just happy to give back.

Thank you so much.

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By Sarah Padilla

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT NEW CENTER TAKES EMERGENCY AND TRAUMA CARE TO NEXT LEVEL

t’s a typical Thursday night in the Emergency Department. A trauma team rushes to greet an ambulance that carries a patient with life-threatening injuries. A group of doctors gathers in a consultation room to discuss a puzzling diagnosis. In the waiting room, family members anxiously await word. Monitors beep, sirens wail, nurses and techs rush from one cramped room to another.

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Among the many features of the new Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center are a dedicated ambulance entrance, a much larger and more comfortable waiting area, and spacious, state-ofthe-art trauma rooms.

Only these harried staff and worried family members aren’t real—they’re on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy that’s playing on a television in a patient’s room.

In reality, St. Joseph’s ED—while certainly busy— is calm and under control. The spacious waiting room is about half full of patients, who pass the time watching television or the brightly colored fish swimming in a large fish tank. Two of the four patient zones are full, and staff members use state-of-the-art technology to care for patients and chart information. Down the hall, three trauma patients are being stabilized and will soon be admitted to intensive care.

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The scene tonight is a far cry from just a few months ago when upwards of 180 patients a day sought treatment in a more-than-20-year-old unit designed and equipped to treat far fewer. But in early September, St. Joseph’s greatly enhanced its emergency and trauma services with the opening of the new Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center on the ground floor of the new Barrow Neuroscience Tower.

More than twice the space “The difference between the old and new facility is like night and day,” says Michael Christopher, MD,

One of the centerʼs three large trauma bays is designed specifically for children. The emergency and trauma team includes Jennifer Maher, RN; Vicky Ambri, RT; John Shufeldt, MD; Michael Christopher, MD; Mary DiJulio, PCT; and Thad Martin, RRT.

medical director of the ED and St. Joseph’s Chief of Staff.

“It’s like we’ve emerged from the dark ages and we’re enjoying our Renaissance.”

The most obvious difference between the old ED and the new one is sheer size. With 48 private emergency bays designed to treat patients of any acuity, the new facility has more than double the bed count and square footage. The treatment areas, nursing stations and hallways are spacious and comfortable. Gone are the days of hallways lined with patients in gurneys.

The Trauma Center now has six trauma beds in three ample trauma bays with cutting-edge technology, including overhead X-ray machines and supply booms.

Trauma patients are brought in through a dedicated ambulance entrance or flown in to the new heliport, located on top of the Barrow Neuroscience Tower.

The larger facility features new additions such as a conference room, space dedicated to physician consultations and a three-bed fast-track area for patients with minor injuries. It also boasts roomier physician offices and an expanded stat lab.

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Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center • More than double the space of the old Emergency Department • Six trauma bays with cutting-edge technology, including overhead X-ray machines and supply booms.

• Forty-eight emergency bays equipped to care for patients with all types of needs—from minor emergencies to life-threatening problems.

• An area dedicated solely to the treatment of children, including eight treatment bays and a waiting area.

• A radiology area with two new 64slice CT scanners to provide quicker and clearer images of patients.

• A three-bed fast-track ED area with its own waiting room. The goal of this area is to treat patients with minor injuries in less than an hour.

• A family consultation room and a family viewing room.

• A new ambulance entrance, walk-in entrance, and expanded, more welcoming waiting area.

• A new heliport on top of the Barrow Neuroscience Tower.

Equipped with the latest technology, the ED promises a more efficient experience for both patients and staff. Large plasma monitors at each nursing station display real-time patient information. Flat-screen workstations are located between patient bays, giving staff the ability to chart into an electronic medical record practically from the patient’s bedside.

“The workstations give us easy access to the patient while we’re entering information, which makes it more efficient,” says Dr. Christopher. “Also, it’s good for patients to see us working on their pathology to give them a better idea of how much time we spend on our patients.”

Faster, more exact diagnosis One addition that’s already made a huge impact is a dedicated computerized tomography (CT) and radiology area. Situated conveniently between the emergency and trauma areas, this new radiology area contains two 64-slice CT scanners. While there was a scanner in the old trauma area, these leading-edge machines offer faster and clearer images—especially significant to trauma and stroke patients for whom a few minutes can mean a world of difference.

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Mary DiJulio prepares a child for a scan in one of the EDʼs two 64slice CT units.

This diagnostic edge is especially important to St. Joseph’s, which is one of the leading stroke and trauma centers in the Southwest. In fact, St. Joseph’s was the first Arizona hospital to earn JCAHO certification as a Primary Stroke Center and is the only hospital in Arizona with Level I Trauma verification from the American College of Surgeons.

Because children account for about a Michael Christopher, third of the more than 60,000 patients who visit St. Joseph’s ED each year, the new department offers a dedicated pediatric emergency and waiting area. Pediatric specialists staff the eight-bed unit during prime times; ultimately, dedicated pediatric emergency care will be offered 24 hours a day. Already, the pediatric area is outgrowing its new space, and another ED zone may be allocated to pediatric patients.

“The difference

between the old and new facility is like night and day.”

MD

The new Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center has 48 emergency treatment bays in four zones. Each zone features a large central nurses station.

Compassionate care in a comfortable setting While a visit to the emergency room isn’t high on anyone’s list of things to do, the new facility has been designed to make the experience as comfortable as possible. From the muted desert color palette and soothing fish tank to the dedicated family consultation and viewing rooms, everything is designed to promote comfort and healing.

“This facility will greatly help us achieve our goal of offering compassionate care in a comfortable setting,” says Dr. Christopher. “We’ve had the opportunity to design processes that allow patients to be seen more quickly in a more comfortable environment. We now have the ability to promote patient satisfaction like we’ve never had before.”

And patients aren’t the only ones who are happy— staff is impressed, too. The new, clean quarters are a much more pleasurable work environment. In fact, the ED is one of a few units in the hospital with a waiting list for nursing staff.

The good news for those waiting to work in the new ED is that there is an increasing need for emergency healthcare workers as the demand for emergency and trauma services continues to go up.

For example, use of the hospital’s trauma services has been increasing 10 percent annually with more than 4,250 trauma visits last year alone.Already, ED volume in the new facility has increased. A typical day in the past might have drawn 180 patients; today, the ED is seeing closer to 200 patients a day. And that number will increase as the busy winter season approaches.

This year, however, staff is better equipped to handle the crunch. St. Joseph’s is now the biggest hospital in the state, offering an unparalleled depth of services, technology and medical professionals. This year, Dr. Christopher welcomes the winter challenge.

“We have all the tools we need to rock,”he says.“The sky’s the limit.”

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A BREATH OF FRESH AIR NEW HEART & LUNG INSTITUTE MAKES PLANS FOR VALLEY’S FIRST LUNG-TRANSPLANT PROGRAM

by Catherine Menor

Jordan Sterling, above, and Richard Sifton, right, are among the Valley residents whoʼve had to go out of state for a lung transplant.

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magine feeling as though a giant clamp is squeezing your chest,making every breath a struggle. Being so short of breath that a flight of stairs leaves you gasping for air. Having to retire from your work,the sports and pastimes you love because you can’t breathe well enough to do the things most of us take for granted. Imagine slowly suffocating to death.

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Just a nightmare? For most of us, yes. But for people with severe lung disease, these can be the realities of everyday life. “I remember thinking about every single breath,”says Jordan Sterling, a 32-year-old Phoenix man whose lungs were slowly destroyed by cystic fibrosis.

Until now, Jordan and other Valley residents with severe lung disease have had to leave Arizona for the highly specialized care they need. Metropolitan Phoenix had no medical center specializing in the most serious and complicated forms of lung disease.

Donors help build new lung center That situation is changing—thanks to start-up funding from St. Joseph’s Foundation. During the last year, St. Joseph’s Hospital has recruited a team of lung-transplant surgeons and pulmonologists to build a thoracic center as part of the new Heart & Lung Institute.

“We’ve got all the pieces in place,” says Ross Bremner, MD, PhD, surgical director of the new Center for Thoracic Disease at St. Joseph’s.

Dr. Bremner and several other members of the new St. Joseph’s pulmonary team worked together on lung transplants at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Now, they hope to establish a similar program at St. Joseph’s Heart & Lung Institute.

“We work well together,”says Dr. Bremner.“Our survival rates at USC were better than the national average. We just need to green light to make it work here.”

The need in our community That green light would come from the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). UNOS is the non-profit organization that coordinates transplant activity in the United States. St. Joseph’s has applied to UNOS to begin doing lung transplants.

St. Joseph’s lung-transplant specialists—thoracic and lung-transplant surgeons Dr. Bremner, John Nigro, MD, and Michael Smith, MD, and transplant pulmonologists Tony Hodges, MD, and Rajat Walia, MD— say the Valley needs its own lung-transplant program.

“Here is a community of more than four million people with no lung-transplant program. The fact is that 75 percent of Valley residents in need of a lung transplant go out of state for care,” says Dr. Bremner. Last year several lungs from Phoenix donors were transplanted into patients in Los Angeles, and a number of Valley residents received lung transplants there.

Drs. Bremner, Hodges, Smith and Nigro came to St. Joseph’s from USC, which at the time had one of the busiest lung-transplant programs west of the Mississippi. It also had one of the best one-year survival rates of large programs, those performing more than 30 lung transplants a year. USC averaged over 37 lung transplants per year during the past year. Dr. Walia worked in the lung-transplant program at Stanford University and the University of Florida before moving to Phoenix.

These lung specialists, along with St. Joseph’s independent-practice pulmonologists Shawn Wright, MD, Jeremy Feldman, MD, Greg Ahearn, MD, and Rick Sue, MD, are building a program designed to meet the Valley’s need for treatment of the most serious esophageal and thoracic conditions.

Thanks to Foundation funding, St. Joseph’s has recruited a

respected team of lung-transplant experts.

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Below, the new lung-transplant team includes John Nigro, MD; Ross Bremner, MD, PhD; Rajat Walia, MD; and Tony Hodges, MD. Left, independent-practice pulmonologists Jeremy Feldman, MD; Shawn Wright, MD; and Greg Ahearn, MD.

The surgeons have begun performing esophageal surgery and minimally invasive thoracic surgery, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), which removes lung tumors through tiny incisions. They have already established programs in pulmonary hypertension and lung cancer. Plans for a genetic lung disease center and diffuse lung disease center are also underway.

But their real love is lung transplantation, Dr. Bremner admits. “We’re chomping at the bit to get going.”

One of the lucky ones Jordan Sterling considers himself very lucky— despite the fact that he was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease in which the body produces unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to lifethreatening lung infections.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Jordan, now 32, says his childhood felt normal despite his frequent medical needs. He participated in soccer, swimming and tennis.

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But by the time Jordan graduated from Brophy Preparatory and headed off to Santa Clara University in California, his health had declined significantly, and he made frequent trips throughout college to Stanford University Medical Center for percussion therapy.

Shortly after he received his bachelor’s degree, he also received a prescription for a lung transplant. His lungs were so diseased that he could barely walk a flight of stairs. The lack of oxygen left him exhausted and able to work only part-time.

Jordan’s rare blood type, AB, meant he was in for a long wait on the UNOS list—three years, as it turned out. Three years of wearing a pager night and day, waiting for the call to come with the news that compatible donor lungs had become available.

“You’re in this no-man’s land for several years,” says Jordan. “All your friends are getting married, starting their careers.”

His first trip to Stanford for a lung transplant ended in disappointment on the operating table when the

donated lungs tested positive for valley fever. Six months later, in Feb. 2001, Jordan received his second page— this time the real deal. Within just a few hours, he was flown to San Francisco and prepped for the operation. Jordan received the lungs of a 25-year-old Asian who had died in a car accident of head trauma. St. Joseph’s transplant pulmonologist Dr. Walia participated in his care at Stanford.

Yes, Jordan was lucky. He had a supportive family to help before and after the surgery: relatives he could stay with in nearby Sausalito and a mother who was willing and able to devote the three months after Jordan’s surgery to caring for him.

But not every person needing a lung transplant is so lucky, says Jordan. And that’s why he believes that Phoenix needs its own lung-transplant program. “To have something here would alleviate a huge amount of stress for patients and their families,” he says.

Life-long care after transplantation Dr. Tony Hodges says that Jordan Sterling is an example of the ideal lung-transplant candidate—a person under 65 years of age whose lung disease cannot be helped by medicine, whose life expectancy is less than 18 months without a transplant and whose potential for successful rehabilitation is good.

“People who fit this profile have an excellent prognosis for a relatively normal life after transplantation,” says Dr. Hodges, who is medical director of Pulmonary Transplantation at St. Joseph’s Heart & Lung Institute.

“Of course, they must receive lifelong care after the transplant, including medicine to prevent organ rejection and regular check-ups with lung-transplant specialists.”

This ongoing aftercare can be daunting for patients who live hundreds of miles away from a transplant center. Phoenix lung-transplant patient Richard Sifton, for instance, has returned to USC five times a year since receiving a single-lung transplant there in January 2004. Two lung specialists and a lung-transplant coordinator now at St. Joseph’s participated in his care there—Dr. Bremner performed the transplant, Dr. Hodges directed his medical care, and Brandi Krushelniski, RN, BSN, was his transplant coordinator.

“It feels good to know that these people who I know and trust are now 400 miles closer to me. I do believe it’s a major coup for Phoenix,” Richard says.

Sunny days ahead The outlook for lung-transplant patients like Richard and Jordan is good. The longer out from surgery these patients get, the less likely it is that they will have problems with organ rejection.

Richard will tell you his life has made a 180-degree turn since his transplant. “Before the transplant I was half dead. I just dragged my body across the room. I had no energy. My skin was gray, and it was constantly flaking. My hair was gray and dull, very dull.

“Now I can do a treadmill for half an hour with no problem. It’s truly like having a new life. Three weeks ago, I went to the top of the Snowbowl ski lift. It was the first time I’d been above 9,000 feet in years. I plan to go hot air ballooning sometime over the holidays.”

Richard is so grateful for a second chance that he speaks to any and all people who are interested in hearing his story—particularly people considering a lung transplant and people interested in organ donation.

As for Jordan, his days of exhaustion are over. He now holds two jobs—as a realtor with DPR Realty and as a loan officer at Legacy Home Mortgage.

“I hit the lottery with this surgery,” he says. “I’m so much more driven to accomplish things in my personal life and in my career. It’s been a long road and a very difficult one, but it’s definitely been awesome.”

“It feels good to know that these people who I know and trust are now 400 miles closer to me. I do believe it’s a major coup for Phoenix.”

Richard Sifton

Foundation support Philanthropy will be critical to building the Center for Thoracic Disease. For information about how you can help, call St. Joseph’s Foundation at 602-406-3041.

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HEARTS UNITED IDENTICAL TWINS UNDERGO SURGERY FOR RARE HEART DEFECT

by Melissa Morrison

Jenny Boopʼs identical twins, Kaden and Kaleb, were born with a life-threatening heart defect and underwent openheart surgery just days after their birth at St. Josephʼs.

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The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center at St. Josephʼs Heart & Lung Institute provides life-long care for children and adults with congenital heart disease. The Center is led by pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons John Nigro, MD, (above left) and David Cleveland, MD (above right).

orty years ago, babies like Kaleb and Kaden Boop would not have survived their first month.

When Jenny Boop, 27, discovered she was pregnant, she and her husband, Clifton, 29, were thrilled.

Not only were the Anthem residents expecting their first baby, they were expecting twins.

Their joy turned to anguish, however, when Jenny’s ultrasound revealed that the babies had malformed hearts. A cardiologist confirmed the diagnosis: In a very rare phenomenon, not just one, but both twins suffered from a smaller-than-normal left ventricle and aorta, the parts of the heart responsible for propelling blood throughout the entire body.

The condition is known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome. As recently as 40 years ago, babies born with this condition were sent home to live out the rest of their brief lives. Nothing could be done for them.

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Today, most babies born with the syndrome survive, thanks to a series of surgeries.

Surgery on two tiny hearts Days after the twins were born on Sept. 6 at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, they underwent their first surgery: the Norwood procedure, a six-hour operation to enable the right ventricle to pump blood to both the lungs and the body. At that point, Kaden weighed just under five pounds, and his brother, just under six. Their hearts were the size of walnuts, and their aortas were a mere two millimeters wide—one-fifth the normal size in newborns.

“It’s just amazing to look at how tiny they are and think of surgery,” Jenny says.“I’d look at Dr. Cleveland and Dr. Nigro and ask, How confident are you?”

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Lou Grubb event has a whole lot of heart this year The 2007 Lou Grubb Friends Fore Golf fundraiser will raise money not only for Barrow Neurological Institute, as the event has in the past, but also for the new Heart & Lung Institute at St. Joseph’s.

The popular charity golf event— which includes a dinner, auction and tournament—is scheduled for April 19-20 at the Arizona Biltmore and McCormick Ranch Golf Club. Cochairmen of the event are Loui Olivas, PhD, and Dennis Sage. Other committee members are Charles Alfano, MD, L. Don Brown, Wayne S. Doran, Mike Ford, Cassandra Groh, Lou Grubb, Stuart Kirk, William Long, Roger Maxwell, Mike Medici, Anne Robbs and Nancy Sage.

For information about sponsorships and/or tickets, contact Debbie Castaldo, director of Annual Giving Program, at 602406-1031 or Debbie.Castaldo@chw.edu.

“Just because you make their heart function adequately doesn’t mean they’re cured. They’re going to need significant heart care for the rest of their lives.”

John Nigro, MD

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The Lou Grubb Friends Fore Golf fundraiser is Lou Grubbʼs way of thanking Robert Spetzler, MD, for saving his life in 1986 when he suffered a ruptured aneurysm during a round of golf.

The identical twins have since recovered beyond expectations. Jenny was warned that babies like hers tend to exhaust themselves at mealtime, but the boys are such hearty eaters that Jenny asked her nurse if it was okay to feed them more.

Improved odds—thanks to medical advancements The Boop boys are now poised to join the growing ranks of congenital heart patients who reach adulthood.

This hopeful phenomenon brings with it new challenges, however. Back in the day when few such babies made it past infanthood, there was little need to address the health issues they might face as adults.“Even 10 years ago, probably 50 percent of babies died,” says David Cleveland, MD, the pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon who is executive director of the Heart & Lung Institute at St. Joseph’s.

But medical advances have dramatically improved the odds for the estimated 35,000 American babies born each year with heart defects.

That’s why the Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center was established at the Heart & Lung Institute at St. Joseph’s in 2005—to shepherd patients from the womb to their wedding day and beyond. The

Medical advances have dramatically improved the odds for the estimated 35,000 Americans born each year with heart defects—and increased the need for centers like the Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center.

center brings together the raft of specialists who, together, keep congenital heart patients like the Boop babies healthy through childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

“This is a lifelong disease process,” says John Nigro, MD, the cardiothoracic surgeon who is the center’s director. “Just because you make their heart function adequately doesn’t mean they’re cured. They’re going to need significant heart care for the rest of their lives.”

A lifetime of heart care Adult congenital heart patients may face problems ranging from the neurological to the reproductive to the psychological. And they will no doubt confront other problems that no one has yet anticipated, because the field is still so new.

“Their needs are going to be a lot different, but I don’t think we know exactly what they’ll be,” Dr. Cleveland says.

The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center at St. Joseph’s is the only one of its kind in the region.

It was named for the parents of Elissa Eller, who was born with a heart defect and who is now a young woman, thanks to treatment that her parents had to seek out of state. The Ellers contributed $2 million to St. Joseph’s Foundation to help establish the center.

Now that such treatment is available in Arizona, the center is continuing to strengthen its offerings for both pediatric and adult patients. For example, it is expanding its heart clinics and investing more in research and education. The center’s greatest contribution to patients, however, is that it streamlines their experience.

“At the heart center, all different disciplines come to one place, as opposed to patients seeking answers in ten different places,” Dr. Nigro says. “That’s what’s most important about our center.”

Two more surgeries for twins The Boop babies will be frequent visitors. Two more operations are planned—when the boys are several months old and again when they pass the two-year mark.

When the surgeries are complete, the boys’ hearts should adequately circulate blood throughout their bodies, allowing them to live relatively normal lives, though vigorous activities such as competitive sports will likely be restricted.

When Kaden and Kaleb Boop grow old enough to understand what they went through, their mother knows what she will tell them—“that their life is truly a blessing from God, because they were not supposed to make it,”Jenny says.“The tough part will be if they’re interested in doing something and can’t.”

“But,” she adds,“the good thing, too, is the doctors said there are so many more years of them growing up and of research to be done, so who knows what may come their way.”

The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Center may well be the place where those discoveries are made.

Raising funds for the Heart & Lung Institute A group of volunteers, led by Scott Eller, are working to raise $13 million for the Heart & Lung Institute. For more information, call St. Joseph’s Foundation at 602-406-3041.

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MISSION: HEALTHY KIDS WITH A 50-YEAR TRACK RECORD OF SERVING POOR AND UNDER-SERVED CHILDREN, ST. JOSEPH'S PEDIATRIC AMBULATORY CARE CENTER CONTINUES TO TREAT THE USUAL—AND NOT SO USUAL

by Sally J. Clasen

uillermo Garcia, a 16-year-old sophomore, loves to run and play soccer and other sports, but he doesn’t take his ability to do those things lightly. The Phoenix teen’s mature discovery that life is somewhat fragile didn’t just occur overnight. Since 2002, Guillermo has been a patient of St. Joseph’s Pediatric Ambulatory Care Center (PACC) for the treatment of lifelong hypertension. But in 2005 when his physicians became concerned that his elevated blood pressure wasn’t responding to anti-hypertension medication, Guillermo began a journey to discover the cause.

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Connecting the dots The PACC physicians suspected that Guillermo’s high blood pressure might have a renal cause, so the teen was referred to pediatric nephrologist Eli Firzli, MD. When Dr. Firzli couldn’t locate any kidney pathology, Guillermo was next sent to pediatric cardiologist Lori Guerrero, MD, who ordered multiple echocardiograms. These tests also failed to find a reason for the young man’s uncontrollable blood pressure.

Then, during a follow-up visit, Omar Rodriquez, MD, a resident working under the supervision of PACC residency program director Lilia Parra-Roide, MD, noted a delay in Guillermo’s pulses in his lower extremities, so Guillermo was sent back to Dr. Guerrero. When a third echocardiogram was inconclusive, Dr. Parra-Roide ordered an urgent MRI of the chest, which ultimately indicated a severe unrecognized coarctation of Guillermo’s aorta.

Coarctation of the aorta is a narrowing of the aorta between the upper-body artery branches and the branches to the lower body. This blockGuillermo Garcia is back to playing sports after a health scare nearly sidelined him.

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Sandy Sexton, RN, cares for a child in the PACC.

age can increase the blood pressure in the arms and head, reduce pressure in the legs and seriously strain the heart.

Solving the mystery Within a few weeks, Guillermo underwent surgery to repair the narrowing of his aorta. The goal of surgery, performed by pediatric heart surgeon David Cleveland, MD, was to prevent further damage to Guillermo’s heart and to prevent a stroke.

Severe unrecognized coarctation of the aorta in children is unusual, says Dr. Parra-Roide, who has monitored Guillermo’s well- and sick-child visits to the PACC.“What made his case fascinating is that we had a constellation of findings, such as a heart murmur, but the cause of his hypertension was a real mystery.”

What is usual about Guillermo’s case is the collaborative and dedicated efforts of PACC and other St. Joseph’s staff members to find answers to pediatric complications, large and small. “We were led off the path,”says Dr. Parra-Roide.“When it didn’t make sense, we’d go back and take another look. Consistency and thoroughness were the keys, from the residents to the attending to the sub-specialists involved in Guillermo’s care.”

An investment in the community The PACC opened in 1954 and has provided both well- and sick-care exams for poor and medically under-served children up to age 18 ever since. In addition, a full range of well-baby services, checkups, immunizations, lab work, X-rays, prescriptions, healthcare education and routine developmental assessments are offered. The PACC team includes eight full-time staff members, 26 residents and nine board-certified pediatricians. St. Joseph’s Foundation supports PACC. According to Susan Kucharo, PACC manager, nearly 9,000 children were treated at the clinic between July 2005 and June 2006. In recent months, PACC, which is the primary ambulatory teaching site for St. Joseph’s pediatric residency training program, broadened its influence even further into the community by extending services to families with commercial insurance.

“PACC improves the health of our community in big and small ways,” Susan says,“Every immunization and every vision test has the potential to improve a child’s health, but cases like Guillermo’s don’t come along every day. Approval from St. Joseph’s Charity Committee made Guillermo’s surgery, hospital stay and recovery possible. It’s very rewarding to work in an environment where every patient is valued and where lives are affected in such powerful ways.”

Some luck and commitment “Our mission is to do everything we can to keep kids from getting sick,” Dr. Parra-Roide adds of the PACC’s commitment to discovering what ails children, no matter the case.

Guillermo is certainly an appreciative benefactor of that effort.“I feel very lucky. I’ve been though a lot and the doctors have been very caring,” says Guillermo, who still takes anti-hypertension medicine as well as medication for a pulmonary problem.“Now I don’t have any pain in my legs. I can play sports and lift weights and do regular kids’ stuff.”

“PACC improves the health of our community in big and small ways. Every immunization and every vision test has the potential to improve a child’s health.”

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WHY WE GIVE TESSERACT KINDERGARTENERS LEARN ABOUT PHILANTHROPY

by Catherine Menor

atman, a harem dancer, a vampire and 20 other spooky and exotic characters got a lesson in philanthropy at Tesseract School this Halloween. The 23 costumed kids, students in Kate Wilkes and Kelly Wernet’s kindergarten class, created treat bags, ate decorated cookies, played games—and assembled goodie bags for children at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

The goodie bags—111 of them in all—are part of Tesseract’s Kids Who Care program, now in its second year. Each class at the Paradise Valley school, from the three-year-olds to the eighth-graders, selected a yearlong community partner as part of Kids Who Care.

The kindergarten class chose St. Joseph’s as its partner because of discussions between teacher “Miss Kate” and Jean Velez, RN, Kate’s husband’s cousin and a nurse in St. Joseph’s Emergency Department (ED) and Trauma Center. The goodie bags will be distributed to children in the new pediatric area of St. Joseph’s ED. “We get so many kids who come through the ED,” Jean says.“But people don’t donate toys to us like they do to other children’s areas of the hospital.”

The class plans to provide treats not only at Halloween, but at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, too. And, a toy drive in the spring will also benefit children in St. Joseph’s ED. The Kids Who Care program includes curriculum related to the class’s community partner. In the class

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The children donated 111 goodie bags for kids in St. Joseph’s new ED.

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that is partnering with St. Joseph’s, the children will learn about the human body, medical careers, what happens when kids go to the hospital and other health-related topics.

Tesseract parents say Kids Who Care benefits their own children as much as St. Joseph’s children.“Research has shown that when children grow up with a program like this, they stay away from drugs, they stay away from gangs,” says Barbara Greenberg, a parent who along with Jana Wilcke, chairs Kids Who Care at the school.“It gives them a bigger sense of belonging and purpose.”

And, for the children in this kindergarten class, the Kids Who Care Halloween project was just plain fun.

Each child got a chance to stuff colorful cellophane gift bags with Crayolas, stickers, Beanie Babies, Play-Doh, toothpaste and other treats donated by their parents.

“We’re very excited about the turnout,” says parent Lisa Rouhani, who, along with Daphne Cadwell, Jenifer Kasten and Jan Hudson, coordinated the Halloween project.“This program really teaches the children how to give and how to be a member of a community.”

Editor’s note: Tesseract School hopes to share the Kids Who Care concept with other schools. For more information, call Barbara Greenberg at 480-212-6158.

“This program really teaches the children how to give and how to be a member of a community.”

Lisa Rouhani

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AGING APPROPRIATELY

by Sally J. Clasen

A multi-disciplinary team of geriatric experts assesses Florence Gonzalez.

USING A FOCUSED APPROACH, ST. JOSEPH’S GERIATRIC ASSESSMENT CLINIC SOLVES INDIVIDUAL ELDERLY CONCERNS

he elderly often shuffle between multiple physician visits and appointments, seeking expertise in a disjointed—and overburdened—system of healthcare, which can leave them with undiagnosed complications and misguided treatment plans. Yet, for those 65 and older seeking evaluation at St. Joseph’s Geriatric Assessment Clinic (GAC), it’s a different elder-care story.

The GAC, which is part of the Department of Family Medicine, is held on Wednesday afternoons at the Peppertree Building on the hospital campus. A team of geriatric professionals address a multitude of elderly concerns, according to Robert Garcia, MD, the clinic’s medical director and board-certified geriatrician and family-medicine physician.

“By having this set of experts available, we’re able to evaluate complicated cases in the elderly,” Dr. Garcia says of the multi-specialist team. The team includes two other boardcertified geriatricians, Joanne Ceimo, MD, and Walter Nieri, MD, as well as Marianne McCarthy, PhD, NP-C, Summer Peregrin, PharmD, and Phillip Cieplinksi, LMSW.

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Assessing functional versus chronological age While Dr. Garcia points out that there are uniform medical and psychosocial factors connected to aging—falling, dementia, depression and polypharmacy—the GAC team also assesses complex health issues, such as diabetes and congestive heart failure. However, elderly problems are not lumped into a general category where evaluation and treatment are measured by a person’s age.

“We look at the functional age of the elderly, rather than their chronological age,” Dr. Garcia says. “In the past, we’ve often attributed problems to simply just aging or what is

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expected to happen at a certain age, but the paradigm is shifting. Through the GAC, we can sort through complicated issues that may be overlooked in other care settings. Or we can recognize a problem related to function, such as loss of independence, for example, which we can take care of very quickly by recommending placement options.”

Patient Florence Gonzalez, age 65, was referred to the GAC by her family-medicine physician in January.

Prior to this, Florence had been hospitalized multiple times and had a dramatic 40-pound weight loss, according to her daughter and caregiver, Bertha Montoya. In addition to her weight loss, she was nauseous and lethargic.

Brown-bag evaluation The GAC scheduled Florence for a “brown-bag” evaluation and asked her to bring all the medications she was taking in a bag to the appointment. They found that she was taking 25 prescriptions for a variety of problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, acid reflux, chronic pain and a recent heart attack.

“Even though all the physicians were in the room, it felt like a one-on-one appointment,” says Bertha, who attended the first and second GAC appointments with her mother. “Each team member individually addressed my mother’s questions and explained things to her thoroughly and patiently.”

Dr. Garcia says the initial hour-and-a-half assessment, which includes a complete history and physical exam, is done in a relaxed setting with family members present because it helps identify problems, such as polypharmacy, which may be difficult to recognize or easily overlooked in more traditional, clinical environments.

In addition, the team “scores” the patient’s health, using standardized scales to assess mental status, function, nutrition, depression, balance, economic resources and advance directives. A complete report with recommendations, including a proposed plan of action, is then sent to a patient’s referring physician.

Growing segment of society The comprehensive approach to caring for the elderly is a new concept in Phoenix, according to Dr. Garcia, and has an advantage over independent evaluations performed by physicians who don’t have the opportunity to manage care in a coordinated effort.

Given the increased lifespan and population of the elderly in the United States—experts estimate that more than 50 million Americans (about 17 percent of the population) will be 65 or older by 2020—Dr. Garcia says it is critical that elderly issues be addressed collaboratively using models like the GAC.“The management of complex medical issues of the elderly needs a focused effort,” he says.

Since being evaluated by the GAC team, who reduced her medication intake, Florence has experienced improved health—her sugar levels and weight have stabilized, according to Bertha.“They’ve really been able to help her and have made recommendations to solve some of her pain issues as well. We have a long way to go, but having her seen at the GAC was a good start.”

Robert Garcia, MD, Medical Director

Joanne Ceimo, MD

Walter Nieri, MD Geriatric Fellowship Residency Program Director Marianne McCarthy, PhD, NP-C

Phillip Cieplinski, LMSW Social Work and Case Management

Contact the GAC Appointments for St. Joseph’s Geriatric Assessment Clinic are coordinated by a geriatric nurse practitioner. For an appointment, call (602) 406-5556.

Summer Peregrin, PharmD Pharmacist

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PIECES OF THE PUZZLE ST. JOSEPH'S TAKES STEPS TO CREATE COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER

by Debra Gelbart

St. Josephʼs has many of the technological components of a comprehensive cancer center, including CyberKnife and Gamma Knife.

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cancer diagnosis is frightening and isolating,and sometimes it’s made worse by having to go to multiple doctors and locations for a biopsy,treatment and follow-up monitoring. St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center wants to ease the navigation part of the disease by establishing a comprehensive cancer center where patients can receive all of their care in a single setting.

“Our goal is to become a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center,” said Edward Donahue,MD,

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the medical director of St. Joseph’s Cancer Center, which became operational on Aug. 1. There are currently 39 NCI-designated cancer centers across the country.

According to Dr. Donahue, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center diagnoses and treats many different types of cancer at the same facility and conducts research and clinical trials to help develop new treatments.

“There is a lot of research into breast cancer, for example, that is showing promise,” he said, “including cryotherapy and laser therapy. There are also a number of minimally invasive cancer treatments under investigation that look encouraging.

“We’ll enhance the clinical programs already underway and develop new ones to give patients access to the services they need,” he continued.“We’ll also provide complementary services, including nutrition counseling, physical education, prevention programs and support groups. In addition, we want to include an inpatient hospice unit and an expanded outpatient infusion center where patients can receive chemotherapy.”

Dr. Donahue envisions the cancer center offering newer treatment in the field of interventional oncology, which provides image-guided therapy for different types of tumors.

“In combination with surgery, newer treatments and long-established treatments can all work together to deliver the best care to patients with cancer.An NCIdesignated cancer center contributes to advances in cancer research that lead to better evaluation, prevention, understanding and treatment,”said Dr. Donahue.

As the population ages, he noted, four types of cancer are emerging as the most prevalent: lung, prostate, breast and colon cancer.

“We’re seeing a tremendous increase in the number of patients diagnosed every year, and instead of saying ‘These patients have been diagnosed with cancer,’more and more we’re saying, ‘These patients are living with cancer.’We’re moving toward cancer becoming a chronic disease in some patients instead of a deadly disease.

Cancer care touches the lives of almost everyone.Patients and families need a lot of support and that is what our cancer center is designed to give them.”

Mary Schneider, MHA, the director of the St. Joseph’s cancer center, says that the hospital already has many of the components of a comprehensive cancer center.“My

Edward Donahue, MD

“We’re moving toward cancer becoming a chronic disease in some patients instead of a deadly disease.”

Edward Donahue, MD

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Cancer patient gives back Editor’s note: A year ago, we profiled Maria Lopez, a Phoenix mother of five who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the Women’s Wellness Clinic and treated at the Breast Evaluation Center. Today, she’s in remission and is happy and healthy. We thought our readers might like an update on her life.

“We’ll enhance the clinical programs underway and develop new ones to give patients access to the services they need.”

Edward Donahue, MD role is to pull them together under a single umbrella and at the same time collaboratively work across other segments of the institution—heart-lung, pediatrics and women’s services, for example—to enhance the current services.”

Dr. Donahue, who was named the medical director of the cancer center in May 2006, said,“At this stage we’re assessing our strengths and developing a business plan for the future.”

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Maria Lopez of Phoenix wants to give back. She feels so blessed that her breast cancer was discovered at a relatively early stage and successfully treated that earlier this year, she went on a church mission to an African orphanage.

“I want to help other people and share my experience,” Maria said through a Spanish-language translator. “I knew from the beginning that I would overcome my cancer.”

Maria, who works in a flag factory in Phoenix, was diagnosed in 2004. She was fortunate to have a place to go for the medical care that would have been prohibitively expensive almost anywhere else. She was referred to the Breast Evaluation Center,which opened at St.Joseph’s Hospital in November 2003 and receives St. Joseph’s Foundation funding.

Maria was just 42 years old when the Foundation-supported Women’s Wellness Clinic at St. Joseph’s discovered that she had a Stage II, Grade 3 infiltrating ductal carcinoma in her breast. Had she not been diagnosed when she was, her outcome might have been very different. Stage II means the tumor is larger than two centimeters in diameter and has spread to the underarm lymph nodes.Grade 3 means the cancer tends to grow and spread aggressively.

Maria had a lumpectomy and then underwent four cycles of chemotherapy as well as radiation treatment. Today, nearly three years after completing her treatment, Maria is doing well.

“I’m very grateful (for) and happy with the care I received,” said Maria, a grandmother of four and mother of five children. “I feel very, very lucky to be alive,” she said.“Today I’m healthy, thank God.”

TWO-TIME WINNERS PILOT SAYS ST. JOSEPH'S SAVED HIS LIFE; HIS WIFE WINS BIG IN FALL 2006 HEALTH & WEALTH RAFFLE

erry Stockstill had every intention of purchasing a Health & Wealth Raffle ticket on February 20, 2003—the first year of the Health & Wealth Raffle, which benefits St. Joseph’s Hospital and its internationally renowned Barrow Neurological Institute.

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Nancy Valla and Jerry Stockstill

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His wife, NancyValla, a registered nurse, was running late to her teaching position and had seen the ads about the “Early Bird” deadline. As she left, her last words to her husband were,“Don’t forget to purchase a Health & Wealth Raffle ticket!”

Jerry, then a vice president at ING, was a student pilot.

That morning, he was heading to Scottsdale Airpark to take one of his last flights before acquiring his license.

He figured he would purchase the raffle ticket after his flight.

But then, something terrible went wrong. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane he was piloting veered off the runway, crossed a taxiway and slammed into a hangar, damaging the plane’s front end and leaving Jerry with multiple leg fractures and other serious injuries. He was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he underwent several orthopedic surgeries and spent months in intensive rehabilitation.

This fall, for the first time since Jerry’s tragic accident, Nancy entered the Health & Wealth Raffle, purchasing a three-pack of tickets for $250. She won a 2007 BMW M Roadster Convertible plus $17,000 cash. The prize package value is more than $74,000.

“I’m still pinching myself,” Nancy said after she got the news. “After the crash, I was at St. Joseph’s day and night. I saw the posters for the Health & Wealth Raffle in the corridors and remembered how I had asked him to enter.”

Jerry said he is indebted to St. Joseph’s.“They saved my life. Most people don’t survive plane crashes…especially small planes.”

The couple reside in Chandler, where they own Valla Tanning Retreat. Nancy says she plans to give the car to her husband “for all the pain he endured.” Jerry says he is thinking of purchasing a custom license plate for the BMW with the tail numbers of the Cessna 172 so “the plane will still live on.”

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Fall 2006 Health & Wealth Raffle More than 11,200 people won prizes in the latest Health & Wealth Raffle.The Final Draw was conducted on November 16 by the accounting firm CBIZ Miller Wagner. The four grand-prize winners are: • N. Sandrock of Queen Creek—Grand Prize #1, a $1-million prize package featuring a mountain town home in Hassayampa Country Club in Prescott, a new Audi Q7 SUV, a full-equity golf membership, plus $200,000 cash.

• David Dudding of Gilbert—Grand Prize #2, $500,000 in cash • Twila Rojas of Scottsdale—Grand Prize #3, $250,000 in cash • Dale Kriz of Phoenix—Grand Prize #4, 2007 Maserati Quattroporte plus $35,000 cash and a two-night stay at theWynn Hotel in LasVegas.Prize package value: more than $160,000.

If you purchased a ticket in the Fall 2006 Raffle, you can check to see if your ticket is a winner by going to www.HealthWealthRaffle.org. Raffle proceeds support medical education, research and care for those in need at St.Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and its Barrow Neurological Institute.

BORN AT ST. JOSEPH’S

o celebrate the opening of the new Barrow Neuroscience Tower this year, St. Joseph’s asked people born at the hospital and former patients to share their stories. More than 1,000 people have responded. In the last issue of St. Joseph’s Magazine,we shared four of those stories.On the following pages are three more. If you would like to share your story, please send your story by email to carmelle.malkovich@chw.edu or call 602-406-3319.

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Morgan Bischoff Don and Angie Bischoff’s second daughter, Morgan, was born in Kingman on Nov. 28, 2000. The next day she was transported by airplane to St. Joseph’s due to severely low oxygen levels. Angie had to stay at Kingman Regional Medical Center while Don traveled with Morgan to Phoenix.

Later that day, Angie was told Morgan would likely die.

“I cried so hard that the staff ran in from the hallway,”Angie said.“I told the nurse I had never seen her eyes and now she would die before I could drive from Kingman to Phoenix.” Thankfully, Angie arrived at St. Joseph’s that night to see Morgan. That was when the Bischoffs met Beth, the woman they call their “angel” nurse.

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“She was very comforting,”said Don.“She told us,‘I know you’ve been given terrible news, but I don’t think Morgan’s going anywhere yet. She has things to do.’”

Beth encouraged Angie to talk to Morgan, and when she did, Morgan opened her eyes. From that point on, Morgan recovered at a rate that astounded her doctors.

Today, Morgan is a healthy 5-year-old who loves to color, cut and paste. She has no physical or developmental effects from her difficult start.

Before Morgan left the hospital, the Bischoffs tried to find Beth to thank her for giving them back their hope.

Surprisingly, they learned that there was no one in the Nursery Intensive Care Unit (NyICU) by that name.

“Whether she was an angel sent by God or an angel on earth, we know she was meant to be there for us that night,” said Don. “We’ve gone back to two NyICU reunions looking for Beth, but we’ve never found her.”

Cindy Porter Gilbert resident Cindy Porter spent the most difficult two years of her life at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center when her mother was dying of breast, bone and lung cancer.Still,she looks back on the devastating time with fond memories of St. Joseph’s.

As her mother’s sole caregiver, Cindy spent a lot of time at St. Joseph’s during countless hospitalizations and many surgeries and procedures. She was also in the emergency department regularly as her mother’s lungs would often fill with fluid.Cindy soon became friends with the ED staff.

“They would save the‘good’ magazines for me, invite me out to dinner with them, and cheer me up with funny stories to help me endure the inevitable,” says Cindy. “They even asked me to go with them on a muchneeded vacation to San Diego. I had a wonderful time,and then it was back home to care for Mom.” Caring was something the St. Joseph’s staff also did tremendously well. “My mother was no ordinary patient,” says Cindy.“She always refused chemotherapy, radiation and other treatments for various reasons. Her cancer didn’t care about my mother’s dreams or desires, but her doctors did, and they let her live life on her terms.

She stayed home for most of her illness.”

When Cindy’s mother was admitted to St. Joseph’s for the last time, she refused Hospice care. “When no one else would address the issues with me, St. Joseph’s staff prepared me for takCindy Porter

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“I love working here ing care of my dear mother until the end,” says Cindy.

“She died at home, just the way she wanted. But for me, life without St. Joseph’s would have been no life at all. I was 25 when she died, and I’m grateful every day for all the laughter and tears I shared with the staff at St. Joseph’s.”

Barbara Estrada When Barbara Estrada started working for St.Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, things were very different from today, especially the dress code.

“I became a candy striper in Maternity when I was 15,” says Barbara.“I wore the traditional striped smock, and I had to always make sure my dress was below my knees. If Sister Alice, the floor manager, saw your knees, you were in big trouble!”

While the rules have relaxed a bit since 1968, Barbara’s commitment to St. Joseph’s has not; that’s why she’s worked at the hospital ever since her volunteer days as a candy striper.

“I love working here because St. Joseph’s is truly my home away from home,” says Barbara.“The people here have helped me through hard times in my life, and I’ve always been able to depend on them. I hope to work here until I can’t work any more!”

With more than 34 years as a fulltime St.Joseph’s employee,Barbara has worked in capacities throughout the hospital, including the Admitting and Trauma departments. Today, she is an administrative team lead in St. Joseph’s Children’s Rehabilitative Services. Her duties include monitoring the front desks, financial registration and data reporting.

Barbara has passed on her St. Joseph’s heritage to her children, as well.All three were born at St. Joseph’s, as was Barbara herself in 1954.“My two oldest children now volunteer at the hospital,”says Barbara.“Life has truly come full circle.”

because St. Joseph’s is truly my home away from home.”

Barbara Estrada

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COMMUNITY HEALTH INTEGRATION ST. JOSEPH'S AND ITS 60 PARTNERS COLLABORATE

by Sarah Padilla TO SOLVE ARIZONA’S HEALTH PROBLEMS

“We’re sharing resources instead of having everybody try to figure it out on their own.”

Marisue Garganta

Marisue Garganta received the Crystal Award for her collaborative efforts on behalf of dental health.

tate-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge treatments and world-renowned physicians. By most accounts, these are the cornerstones of quality healthcare. But beneath the surface of any successful healthcare program lies an even stronger foundation—collaboration.

This is the philosophy of St. Joseph’s Community Health Integration, the department that oversees more than 60 community partnerships working to find viable solutions to Arizona’s growing and changing healthcare needs.

“Our department integrates the healing ministry of Jesus into the community and invites the community to become a part of that ministry,” says Marisue Gar-

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ganta, director of Community Health Integration.“It’s through these partnerships—and the development, enhancement and maintenance of these partnerships— that we are able to meet our mission.”

Past and present partners Collaboration is as critical to St. Joseph’s vitality today as it was when the Sisters of Mercy founded the hospital more than a century ago. Community partners helped the hospital become a reality in 1895, and today partnerships help the hospital continue to live its mission, vision and values.

Some of these programs, such as the Mercy Care Dental Clinic, have been in place for years and continue to prove valuable. Others are created, modified, or even eliminated based on the community’s changing needs.

Determining those needs is critical to the department’s success. Every three years, Community Health Integration combines data from a variety of sources, including Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and the U.S. Census Bureau. The resulting assessment identifies both the community’s and the hospital’s needs.

Initial results of the most recent assessment, which was completed this fall, were used to draft St. Joseph’s next community health initiative: Healthy Connections, Healthy Communities Sharing in Their Care. The initiative will focus on chronic ambulatory conditions, healthy women and children, and injury prevention with an emphasis on falls.

Tackling dental health The last assessment, conducted in 2002, identified challenges in dental health.

“Oral health was so prevalent as a disparity in healthcare that I created a focus group to find out what was going on,” says Marisue. “It turns out that no one had ever pulled medical and oral-health professionals together in that capacity before.”

The result, the Arizona Oral Health Collaborative (AzOHC), is an example of community health integration at its finest. The grassroots collaborative of medical and oral-health professionals strategized on how to better prevent dental problems and deliver health services. They started from square one—helping pediatricians understand the value of dental care, providing costeffective fluoride varnishes to small children and

conducting oral-health screenings on pregnant women.

The collaborative has proven so effective that today it is in the process of transitioning to the Arizona Public Health Association, where it will branch out statewide.

Earlier this year, Marisue received the Crystal Award from Mesa’s A.T. Still University for her collaborative efforts on behalf on dental health.

“St. Joseph’s has given Arizona some real gifts in the dissemination of public health,” says Marisue. “We’re sharing resources instead of having everyone try to figure it out on their own. It’s very inspiring.”

The challenges of growth While groups such as the AzOHC are a testament to St. Joseph’s successful programming, keeping up with the needs of a growing community—especially one with such a large uninsured population—is challenging. Community Health Integration continuously reevaluates programs to ensure that they are a good fit.

Earlier this year, the Community Health Integration Network was reorganized to increase collaboration, communication and efficiency.

The changes included creating an executive council, a Community Health Action Team, a Research/Evaluation/Development Team, and a Communications and Outreach Team. Also, this marks the first year that Marisue is responsible only for St. Joseph’s.

The department previously covered all CHW facilities in Arizona.

Marisue believes that Community Health Integration is critical not only to individual hospitals, but also to CHW. “We’ve truly integrated our strategic plan and our initiative to serve the community by using our key service lines to provide needed care,” she says.

She also believes that St. Joseph’s has established itself as a leader in community benefit through unique practices, such as inviting everyone, even competitors, to join into discussions and to work together on solutions.

“This is true community health in its heightened form,” she says.

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THANKING OUR MAJOR DONORS 1

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he Heritage Society honors donors whose generosity has had a significant impact on St. Joseph’s ability to fulfill its healing mission. Benefactors automatically become members of the Heritage Society when their cumulative giving to St. Joseph’s Foundation and/or Barrow Neurological Foundation reaches $10,000. Those Heritage Society members whose gifts total $50,000 or more receive further recognition through the Circles of Value.

In October, members of the Circles of Value were invited to the second annual “Soiree at the Ritz,” a relaxed evening spent with key Barrow and St. Joseph’s physicians. The event gave major donors a chance to

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become better acquainted with many of the physicians whose work they support.

In November, all members of the Heritage Society received an exclusive invitation to a private performance of Phoenix Theatre’s I Left My Heart, which featured the music of Tony Bennett. Each year, Phoenix Theatre opens its doors, free of charge, to a Valley nonprofit. This year, they chose St. Joseph’s, and the Foundation invited its major donors to the performance."

For more information about the Heritage Society and the Circles of Value Program, call the foundation office at 601-406-3041 Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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“Soiree at the Ritz” photos, previous page and this page: 1 - Anne Robbs, Lou and Evelyn Grubb, Dennis Sage and Sandra Magruder. 2 - Lynne Sonntag, Nancy Walker and Sandra Magruder. 3 - Dr. Lisa Wilkinson-Fannin, Robert Fannin and Marion “Mac” Magruder.

4 - Barbara Todd, Betty Van Denburgh and Dr. Daniel Kessler. 5 - Dr. James Balducci and Webb Todd. 6 - Dr. Jack Kerrigan, Dr. John Boyd, and Dr. and Mrs. Bruce White. 7 - Dr. Robert Spetzler, Dr. John Boyd and Dr. Michael Christopher. 8 - Dr. and Mrs. Donald Fausel. 9 - Webb Todd, Sr. Madonna Marie Bolton and Dr. Robert Williams. 10 - David Eaton and Greg Anderson. 11 - William Hunt, Dennis Sage, Karen and Robert Hobbs, and Dr. Michael Christopher. 12 - Linda Hunt, Dr. Jack Kerrigan and Susan Erne.

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NEWS St. Joseph’s heart doctor saves a life during cross-country flight As a cardiovascular surgeon, Brian deGuzman, MD, is no stranger to treating patients in exam and operating rooms, but he recently put his expertise into action while traveling thousands of feet in the air. On the evening of October 23, Dr. deGuzman and his wife, Keri, helped save a fellow airline passenger who went into cardiac respiratory arrest.

“We were about 35 to 40 minutes into our flight from Boston to Phoenix when the passenger had an asthmatic attack. She went into respiratory arrest—she was unconscious, not breathing and had no heart beat,” says Dr. deGuzman.

With the help of an Arizona law enforcement official and a flight attendant, the deGuzmans moved the patient to the galley and worked with what little equipment was available.

They secured an open airway, created an IV and administered advanced cardiac life support.

Realizing the grave situation the passenger was in, Dr. deGuzman requested that the pilots land the plane. The four continued to provide care to the passenger and breathed for her while the JetBlue crew flew back to Boston. Upon landing, a proper breathing tube was inserted, and the patient was taken to the hospital.

“I’m very happy that all four of us where on board,” says Dr. deGuzman. “There was so much to be done in such an extraordinary setting that it took a team of people to provide her the care she needed to get through this.”

Dr. deGuzman recently joined the Heart & Lung Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital as associate chief of Cardiovascular Surgery. Keri deGuzman is a pediatric cardiac intensive care nurse.

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Horse benefit planned for Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Four-year-old Cameron T. Haselhorst invites you to attend the 2007 Superstition Paint Horses Open House on April 7 to raise money for his alma mater, St. Joseph’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The event will feature a golf tournament, barrel racing and pole bending.

“Every penny goes to St. Joseph’s PICU and is tax deductible,” Cameron writes in an appeal letter urging people to support and attend the fundraiser.“There are a lot of really sick kids there and we want to help the doctors and nurses to take care of them. My family says it is our way of trying to say ‘Thanks!’”

Cameron was born at St. Joseph’s weighing just over two pounds. His first two years were rough, and he returned to St. Joseph’s for five weeks in 2005. His family considers his survival a miracle. Today, Cameron is a healthy, active child.

For information about the Superstition Paint Horses Open House, call 520-463-2898 or send an email to marilyn_ehlebracht@yahoo.com.

Spirit Awards given to BNF, SJF supporters Dr. and Mrs. Charles Alfano and Richard Houseworth received Spirit Awards at the annual recognition dinner of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in November. Richard is a long-time member of the Board of Trustees for Barrow Neurological Foundation; he recently became an emeritus member of the board. Dr. Alfano and his wife, Jean, have been active in supporting St. Joseph’s Foundation. He currently serves on the SJF Board of Directors. The Spirit Awards honor people for their contributions to philanthorpy.

New officers, members named to St. Joseph’s Foundation board Scott Eller was elected to the St. Joseph’s Foundation Board of Directors in May. Officers for the SJF board are entering the second year of their two-year terms.

They are Jerry L. Nichols - chair; Christine K. Wilkinson, PhD - vice chair; Judy Egan - treasurer; Michael Ford - secretary; and Robert T. Johnson - past chairman.

Other members of the SJF board are Charles A. Alfano, MD, Kelly J. Barr, L. Don Brown, Mary Jane Crist, Timothy J. Drexler, Richard A. Horn, C.A. Howlett, Linda Hunt, Patrick Madigan, Michelle M. Matiski, Michael L. Medici, Jacquelyn M. Michelson, Gordon Murphy, Loui Olivas, PhD, Craig S. Porter, Jorge Quintero, and Joan Rankin Shapiro, PhD. Foundations host third Retired Physicians Luncheon About 50 retired physicians who were formerly on staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center attended the third Retired Physicians Luncheon, sponsored by St. Joseph’s Foundation and Barrow Neurological Foundation. The luncheon is held twice a year.

The physicians enjoyed fellowship, lunch and a presentation by St. Joseph’s President Linda Hunt about the latest happenings and plans at the hospital.

Magic moments mark fundraiser for Andrea’s Closet The first annual Festival of Toys benefiting Andrea’s Closet netted nearly $25,000 for the nonprofit organization, which supplies toys to hospitalized children throughout Arizona.

The gala event at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa featured live and silent auctions of elaborate toys for children and adults. Andrea’s Closet founders Kenny and Traci Brunk were moved to tears by the experience and the celebration of their daughter Andrea, who battled cancer at the Children’s Health Center at St. Joseph’s.

"It’s really happening. I can’t believe it," said Traci, who paid a heartfelt tribute to her husband for his tireless efforts to deliver more than 20,000 toys annually to 13 hospitals across Arizona.

There was hardly a dry eye among the crowd of 150 as parents shared their stories about how a promised trip to Andrea’s Closet helped their children face difficult hospital treatments.

For more information about Andrea’s Closet or to host a toy drive, visit www.AndreasCloset.org.

To donate to Andrea’s Closet at St. Joseph’s, call Debbie Castaldo at 602-406-1031.

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THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO GIVE

By Kathy Kramer, vice president, Leadership Gifts

KNOWING HOW AND WHEN TO GIVE CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

xpressions of philanthropy are intensely personal. And thanks to strategies made possible in large part by tax laws that recognize the benefits of philanthropy, there is more than one way to demonstrate your support of qualified charities.

Since the earliest hours of our history as a nation, the support of organizations that strengthen the fabric of our society has been encouraged.

Today there are tax incentives for making gifts of cash before December 31 that can reduce your taxable income for this calendar year. Gifts of stock and real estate also may produce tax benefits and savings.

Trust agreements make it possible to bypass capital gains tax on appreciated assets, receive a tax deduction and even increase income. And, of course, bequests via the Last Will and Testament offer a way for anyone to give lasting voice to important values.

For more information on ways to make a charitable gift, call our office at 602-406-3041.We're open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Or email me at Kathy.Kramer@chw.edu. I would be glad to provide some personal examples of creative philanthropy!

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CREATE INCOME FOR TODAY. LEAVE A LEGACY FOR TOMORROW.

“We earn interest rates far, far higher than we could get from any CD or money-market fund, we get a very large tax deduction, and most of our annual income is tax-free. And, ultimately, Barrow, which we feel so strongly about, will receive money to grow and assist others.”

— Bill and Jane Ratsch

When you establish a lifetime income gift, you ensure that St. Joseph’s Hospital and Barrow Neurological Institute continue to grow and thrive into the future, helping thousands of people every year.

And, like Bill and Jane Ratsch, you’ll benefit with tax savings and a dependable fixed income for life.

Suggested Annuity Payments for a $10,000 Gift* Age Rate Annuity Tax Deduction _______________________________ 60 5.7% $570 $3,105 _______________________________ 70 6.5% $650 $3,952 _______________________________ 80 8.0% $800 $4,905 _______________________________ *These figures are for illustration purposes only. Minimum age: 50. Minimum gift: $10,000.

The deduction is variable and based on the available IRS Discount Rate.

Consult your adviser about such a gift.

For a personalized proposal, please contact St. Joseph’s Foundation at 602-406-3041.

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CHW Arizona St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center 350 W. Thomas Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85013