Investing in WVU Children s Hospital
WVU Children s Hospital: Making Miracles Happen Miracles happen. At WVU Children s Hospital, we see them every day. On a typical day: A 16-year-old girl from Franklin, West Virginia, is severely injured in an automobile accident. She is rushed to WVU Children s Hospital where she undergoes brain and orthopedic surgery. She will spend the next three weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Twenty-eight weeks pregnant, a woman from Poca, West Virginia, prematurely delivers a 22-ounce baby boy. The baby is admitted immediately to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he will spend the first three months of his life. A family from Moundsville, West Virginia, welcomes their beautiful baby girl only to find out she has a hole in her heart and is facing open-heart surgery. She will spend time recovering in the PICU. WVU is West Virginia s flagship, landgrant university. WVU Children s Hospital has a special mandate to improve the health of children in this state. We fulfill this promise in three interconnected ways: by providing state-of-the-art pediatric medical and surgical care, by preparing future pediatricians, and by conducting cutting-edge research on children s health issues. Our vision for the future is that every young West Virginian will be provided with the most advanced medical and surgical care they need without having to leave the state. We will do this while training the next generation of pediatricians and advancing research into the health disparities affecting West Virginia s children. To realize this vision, we must grow. We must attract new specialists to extend our range of care and expand facilities to ensure we can treat every child and expectant mother who comes through our doors. 1
The Trajectory of Success 2 WVU Children s Hospital serves patients throughout West Virginia, southern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and western Maryland. We provide care in Morgantown at the hospital and outpatient clinics, as well as at eight other locations around the state. Seven thousand times each year, parents and families turn to us for hope and healing in our hospital; our physicians, nurses, and other health professionals welcome children to our outpatient clinics more than 130,000 times a year. Located on the 6th floor of Ruby Memorial, WVU Children s Hospital is a hospital within a hospital, consisting of four separate units: a 39-bed Level 3 Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a 19-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), a 28-bed general pediatric unit, and a 29-bed Maternal Infant Care Center (MICC). We offer a continuum of care from minor injuries to serious illnesses. In fact, we are the state s only hospital offering certain specialties, including pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and pediatric neurosurgery. Our micro-preemie nursery cares for tiny newborns at the edge of life. We have grown substantially over the last five years, adding more than 40 specialists, recruited from the country s best academic medical centers, to care for a wide variety of conditions. Our NIH-funded research programs are undertaking some of the most sophisticated research happening today. WVU clinicianscientists are advancing knowledge in diseases most prevalent among West Virginia s children, including obesity, asthma, and diabetes. Our mission has never been more urgent. West Virginia s 378,000 children are our future. Unfortunately, they lead the nation in poor health. If we can improve their health now, we ll have a huge impact on their lives as they grow into adults and, in turn, on the future health and prosperity of the state.
WVU Children s Hospital is proud to be a member of Children s Miracle Network Hospitals which includes 170 children s hospitals, countless individuals, organizations, and media partners with a common goal to help sick and injured kids in local communities. We touch the lives of more kids and their families than any other children s charity.
4
Because more and more families choose us to care for their children, WVU Children s Hospital is at or near capacity almost every day. As West Virginia s leading children s hospital, we believe the children and expectant mothers of this state deserve the best. Through A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia s University, we seek to deliver this by bringing together many minds the intellect and ideas of doctors and researchers and the passion and pride of supporters. We ask you to invest in this campaign for the good of this region s youngest citizens. WVU Children s Hospital Facilities Because more and more families choose us to care for their children, WVU Children s Hospital is at or near capacity almost every day. We don t ever want to turn away a sick child or mother with a high-risk pregnancy who needs care. In order to better serve patients and families, we must expand both inpatient and outpatient facilities. We must build an addition to the existing hospital to expand crucial services and create a separate, visible WVU Children s Hospital entrance. The new facilities will make it easier for families to find us and allow us to expand access to care, including: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Each year, more than 600 babies are admitted to the NICU moments after they are born. These infants spend days, weeks, sometimes months in our NICU until they are healthy enough to go home. We need to expand the NICU both to increase the overall number of isolettes as well as to provide the necessary space for increased healthcare technology. Maternal Infant Care Center: MICC delivers state-of-the-art care to 1,500 women and their newborns before, during, and after delivery each year. Seventy percent of the births are considered high risk. The family-friendly rooms are large enough to accommodate family members while also allowing the neonatal team to respond to infant needs and the obstetrical team to stabilize moms if necessary. We are in particular need of more space for round-the-clock monitoring of mothers with high-risk pregnancies and an additional operating room to accommodate unexpected Cesarean sections. 5
6 Pediatric infusion center: This unit provides outpatient intravenous infusion for children with complex medical problems such as cancer, immune deficiency diseases, or kidney problems. Providing outpatient infusion allows these children to remain independent and participate in normal activities while maintaining necessary treatment protocols. Current plans call for doubling this unit from four to eight treatment rooms. Family education classroom: Before children can safely return home, their parents and caregivers often need to learn specific skills to care for them. This classroom would be dedicated for just this purpose a place to educate parents on everything from wound care to insulin injections to even CPR. Pediatric primary and specialty clinics, as well as research facilities: WVU Children s Hospital strategic plan calls for recruiting 10 more specialists to provide the full scope of care, ensuring no child has to leave the state. More clinicians, however, will mean more space is needed for examination, treatment, therapy, and research. Investment Total: $25 Million
In order to better serve patients and families, we must expand both inpatient and outpatient facilities.
A State of Minds: Creating HEALTHCARE Leaders for Tomorrow 8 Our children are our future. It s that simple. Every dollar we invest in West Virginia s children will determine their future and ours. Today, our state s children suffer disproportionately from conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. At WVU Children s Hospital, we envision a brighter tomorrow, where advancing children s health will transform the state s healthcare and economic destiny. Our mission is three-fold: we must provide outstanding medical and surgical care to children, train the next generation of pediatric and obstetrical specialists for West Virginia, and develop new therapies to keep children healthy. We also embrace the challenge of being the region s leader for mothers at high risk for complications in pregnancy and childbirth. These are weighty responsibilities, but they also represent a great privilege and an extraordinary calling. Putting children first means making sure no child in West Virginia has to leave our great state for care. To make this happen, we need private support from friends like you that will help us attract more pediatric specialists, underwrite cutting-edge research, fund rural health clinics, and build much-needed facilities. A healthy, educated generation of children is our best opportunity to fuel the state s economic engine and ensure its future. We ask you to join us today in supporting WVU Children s Hospital through A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia s University. Larry Rhodes, M.D. Interim Physician-in-Chief Interim Chair, Department of Pediatrics Michael Vernon, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Cheryl Jones, R.N., M.S.N. Director
WVU Health Sciences Center The WVU Health Sciences Center is West Virginia s healthcare, education, and research linchpin. Dedicated to serving our state and our world by transforming lives and eliminating health disparities, we are poised to enhance the well-being and quality of life in West Virginia and beyond. As an integral part of A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia s University, your support for the WVU Health Sciences Center is about investing in the values, intellect, and commitment that define one of the most exciting academic medical centers in the country. The WVU Health Sciences Center will drive national and global dialogue on healing, teaching, and discovery for decades to come. West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution.
WVU Children s Hospital P.O. Box 8200 ROC117 Morgantown, WV 26506-8200 304-598-4346 www.wvukids.com WVU Children s Hospital is operated by WVU Hospitals, a member of the West Virginia United Health System. One Waterfront Place, 7th Floor P.O. Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26507-1650 304-284-4000 or 800-847-3856 www.astateofminds.com