Spring 2009
Connection
In this issue: 04 | Through Parents’ Eyes
Parents help us integrate the
family perspective into everything
we do — from building design to
bedside manner.
08 | Allies on the Field
A new program puts
12 | Raising the Green Bar
Creating a healing environment
certified athletic trainers and a healthy community go
in the gym and on the fields hand in hand.
of Seattle’s public high
schools to prevent injury
to teen athletes.
 From Where I Stand
Thomas N. Hansen, MD
CEO
Seattle Children’s
I am a scientist. Before becoming a hospital CEO
more than a decade ago, I spent
about three-quarters of my time in
the laboratory trying to find ways to
save the lives of premature babies
with lung disease.
Today, I spend one day a week at
Seattle Children’s Research Institute
developing low-cost ways to help
infants around the world deal with
respiratory problems that accompany
premature birth.
Why my continued interest in
medical research?
I think it’s the key to eliminating all
childhood diseases.
I know that sounds grandiose, but I
truly believe that research breakthroughs
in our lifetimes will allow us to see the
end of childhood diseases like cystic
fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and sickle
02
cell anemia — just like our parents or
grandparents saw an end to the polio
epidemics of their generation.
And I’m not alone in my belief.
Seattle Children’s is full of people
who are working to eliminate pediatric
diseases, because they see the toll that
chronic diseases take on children.
Right now, on any given day at
Children’s, more than half of the
children and teens who come to the
hospital have serious conditions that
they must deal with every day for the
rest of their lives.
Research is our real hope that these
kids will have a different future. Your
support is the foundation upon which
we build that future.
Thank you!
Spring 2009

“ Spring is when life’s

alive in everything.”
— Christina Rossetti

Connection Team
Contents
Jennifer Fisch
Executive Editor

David Perry Feature Stories

Vice President of
Marketing and
Communications
04 | Through Parents’ Eyes
Susan Blake
Director of Operations Parents help us integrate the family perspective
Foundation and
Guild Association
into everything we do — from building design
to bedside manner.
Allison Broadgate
Marketing and
Communications Manager
08 | Allies on the Field
Kathi Elliott
Brand and Production Manager
A new program at Seattle Children’s puts
certified athletic trainers in the gym and on the
feature story writers
Elizabeth Austen field of Seattle’s public high schools to prevent
Lisa Brihagen
Brad Broberg injury to athletes.
contributing writers
Elizabeth Austen 1 2 | Raising the Green Bar
Lisa Brihagen
Anita Browning Creating a healing environment and a healthy
Jennifer Fisch
Keith Mack
community go hand in hand.
design
Methodologie, Seattle
In Every Issue
cover and feature
photographer
Nancy LeVine
1 4 | What’s Happening at Seattle Children’s
photographers
Heather Cooper
Kira Haller 1 8 | On the Scene
Jerry Johnsen
Aileen Kelly
Jeff Krahenbuhl, Monologue Photography
Bruce Lee
22 | Calendar of Events
Michael O’Neill, Team Photogenic
Michael Rosenberg
The Seattle Times 23 | Reflection
Erik Stuhaug
Ben Van Houten

connection
Vol. 11 no. 1
© 2009 Seattle Children’s, Seattle, Washington.
All rights reserved.

cover
Seattle Children’s Neonatology Fellow Dr. Andy
Beckstrom gets an education at the home of Burke To learn more about Seattle Children’s, visit www.seattlechildrens.org.
Nelson, 2, as part of his pediatric specialty training. If you’d like to stop receiving Connection, please contact us at 206-987-4841.

03
 Seattle Children’s Connection Magazine Spring 2009 Through Parents’ Eyes

04
Through Parents’ Eyes
Parents are valued as advisors, teachers and supporters
throughout Seattle Children’s, helping us integrate the family
perspective into everything we do — from building design to
bedside manner.
In the mid-1980s, a nurse administrator
at Seattle Children’s brought a group of
parents together and asked them what
the hospital could do to be a better
place. Within the span of 15 minutes,
the parents generated 50 sensible
suggestions. Staff members at that
meeting were stunned that parents
could be so on target.
Fast-forward to today. Parents are
considered essential members of the
healthcare team. As a general rule of
thumb, they’re also part of most teams
working on systemwide improvements
— from a smoother discharge process
to a better ID badge system. Children’s
Family Advisory Council, one of the
longest-running groups of its kind at any
pediatric hospital in the nation, provides
feedback on proposed changes that
affect patients and families.
“Actively involving parents has
moved us forward in countless ways,”
explains Lyn Kratz, a 20-year Children’s
veteran in social work. “They have fresh
ideas that make sense and are grounded
in what really matters to families.”
For mom Angie Sutphen, helping
Children’s improve care and service
allows her to give back and make
meaning out of her daughter’s condition.
“I want to make it even better for the
next parent.”
Valuing the parent’s perspective
Her son Logan’s leg had been bound in
a cast for four weeks, and Jenna Powell
suspected something was wrong.
Although they had only two more
weeks until the cast was scheduled to
be removed, Powell worried about her
uneasy feeling until she called their
nurse at Children’s Orthopedics Clinic.
“Even though I couldn’t point to
anything specific, Logan’s nurse told
me, ‘If you feel like something isn’t
right, then we need to take a look,’”
remembers Powell. Once at Children’s,
removing the 2-year-old’s cast revealed
dead tissue around an incision that
hadn’t closed.
That level of sensitivity to parental
concerns is just what the clinic’s nurse
manager, Patience Peale, looks for when
interviewing job applicants.
“We want to hire people who see
(Above) Deb Koon draws upon her son’s
5 1⁄2-year battle with leukemia to help his
providers give even better care.
(Left, on page 4) Kobey Chew has had 10 surgeries
at Children’s. Through the Parent Support Program,
his mom helps other families on similar journeys.
parents as experts on their own children,”
Peale explains. So she invited Powell to
be part of the clinic’s hiring committee
last year. More than 150 parents like
Powell participate as advisors through
the hospital’s Families as Consultants
program.
“Jenna’s questions bring a whole
different perspective to the interview,”
says Peale. “While I’m focused on
whether the candidate is a good
clinician, Jenna helps us determine if
that person truly understands what
matters to patients and families.”
For more than five years, Deb Koon
and her family visited Children’s
Hematology-Oncology Clinic (Hem-Onc)
several times each month for her son
Jared’s leukemia treatments.
During that time, Koon felt like she
and her husband were part of a team
and that their opinions counted. As
compassionate as Children’s cancer
specialists were, Koon knew they’d
never really been in her shoes.
“Unless you’ve been through it, no
one can really understand what it’s like
to face the cancer diagnosis of your
child, live it every single day, then cope
with a relapse.”
In 2005, Koon jumped at the chance
to participate in Hem-Onc’s newly
formed family advisory group. Since
then, she and 11 other parents have
used their hard-won experiences to
help improve everything from the way
appointments get scheduled to how
providers make rounds. Recently, the
group shared with the entire Hem-Onc
team their unique perspectives about
what made a difference for them on
the day their child was diagnosed.
05
Through Parents’ Eyes

Spending time at the Nelson family home gave Dr. Andy Beckstrom (left) insight into what parents
are thinking when they’re away from doctors and care conferences.

“
Spring 2009

I saw the “Talking with parents in this way

has helped me grow as a provider,”
child with special needs. The honest
conversations that arise during these
importance of says social worker and advisory group
facilitator Mary Jeanne Phipps. “I’m
personal encounters with parents
provide career-shaping insights for
knowing kids
Connection Magazine

inspired by our parents, and I’m proud
of the gains we’ve achieved by
apart from their involving them.”
diagnoses.” Welcome to our world
Lynn Vigo is trying to cook dinner while
— Dr. Andy Beckstrom, the phone rings and her 13-year-old
Neonatology Fellow son, Justin, yells from downstairs that
it’s time to take him to soccer practice.
All the while she’s keeping an ear on
12-year-old Carolina, diagnosed with
autism at the age of 2, who is busy
playing with toys in her room.
On this typical Tuesday evening,
Dr. Danny Mallon, a second-year
pediatric resident at Children’s, sits
Seattle Children’s
many of the nearly 40 trainees who
participate in the program each year.
For Mallon, the “Aha!” moment
came in seeing Vigo as a normal
mom — away from the controlled
hospital setting.
“I expected Lynn to be overwhelmed
with a special-needs child, but she
showed me how possible it is to be a
success. Seeing her at home with
Carolina opened my eyes to the depth
of expertise parents like Lynn have,”
says Mallon.
The evening Dr. Andy Beckstrom
spent with Chris Nelson made him
rethink his approach to care. Nelson
described the bumpy transition she and

Seattle Children’s Carol Parry (left), Lawrie
Williams (right) and Lyn Kratz advocate for
parent involvement at all levels of the organization.
in Vigo’s kitchen. They talk about the
demands of the family’s day-to-day
routine. When Justin appears, they
talk about what it’s like to have a sister
with autism. Then Carolina, who is
nonverbal, wanders in. She takes Mallon
by the hand and leads him to the
refrigerator, her way of communicating
that she’d like a snack.
Mallon’s privileged view into the
Vigos’ life is part of the Families as
Teachers program, in which pediatricians
who are training at Children’s spend
time at the home of a family who has a
her husband endured after their toddler
was transferred to Children’s for
surgery and they were faced with a
whole new set of providers. The story
helped Beckstrom realize that he
needed to do more to establish trust
with his own patients and families.
“Chris’ experience taught me to take
the time to get to know families and
find out what their needs are,” says
Beckstrom, a first-year neonatology
fellow at Children’s. “She also helped
me see the importance of knowing
kids apart from their diagnoses.”

06
 “ We ask parents for input because
their unique perspective helps
us improve care for all children
and families.”
—C
 arol Parry, Family Support Specialist

A powerful connection
During the three years Rene and Don
Denman had been seeing clinicians
at Children’s, they tried hard to check
their emotions at the door during
meetings in which important
healthcare decisions about their
daughter’s complex condition needed
to be made.
But this time — huddled with five
doctors in an exam room looking at
the MRI film that showed their 3-year-
old’s brain had herniated into her
spinal canal and was blocking the flow
of cerebrospinal fluid — Rene Denman
couldn’t hold it in. She felt the tears
begin to flow, then came great sobs
that she couldn’t stop. She cried so
hard she couldn’t speak.
“That meeting was a catalyst for
me,” remembers Denman. “I knew I
needed to talk to someone else who’d After Cassandra Sage’s son, Kobey Chew, now 7, was transported to Seattle Children’s shortly after
been through this.” birth, Sage was matched with a parent who’d been through a similar situation. Says Sage, “He was
Their nurse referred her to Lawrie a ray of hope for me.”
Williams, who coordinates Children’s
Parent Support Program. Williams
matches trained parent volunteers with month after her son Kobey was born too — a wish that’s become reality
those who are in the beginning stages with multiple birth defects that include for Kobey, who is now 7.
of learning about their child’s special limb differences. The man’s voice on Because of the support both Denman
healthcare needs. her answering machine mentioned his and Sage received from other parents,
“The parent who connected with own son’s severe limb differences and they’ve both joined Williams’ network
me understood my frustrations and encouraged her to call him just to talk. of more than 100 parent volunteers.
helped me process my emotions,” About four months later, Sage picked “Connecting with other families
says Denman. “By listening to her up the phone. who’ve walked down the same path
experiences, I learned how to talk “He was a ray of sunshine in the gives parents strength and hope,”
about my daughter’s facial differences fog — a real lifeline for me,” she says says Williams.
in a way that honors her as a unique now. When she watched him coach
individual.” his own son on a baseball team for
Cassandra Sage remembers the young athletes with special needs,
phone messages she began receiving he expressed the hope that, someday,
from her support parent about a Sage’s son would play on his team,

07
 Allies on the Field
Allies on the Field

A new program puts certified athletic trainers in the gym

and on the fields of Seattle’s public high schools to prevent
injury to teen athletes.
Spring 2009
Connection Magazine

When Cleveland High School student Clinton Parrilla (right) took a hard hit during a football game, Seattle Children’s certified
athletic trainer Phil Heywood assessed the situation and sidelined him — a decision that may have saved Parrilla’s life.

Teaming Up with Coaches to Keep Athletes Safe

He could tell that this hit Though Heywood determined that Parrilla spent five days at Children’s.
Seattle Children’s

was different. As 15-year-old
Clinton Parrilla got up from
the football field, he was
sure he’d cracked a rib.
Back on the sidelines, the Cleveland
High School sophomore sought out
his team’s certified athletic trainer,
Phil Heywood. As he examined Parrilla
and applied ice, Heywood asked Parrilla
detailed questions about the location
and intensity of the pain.
Parrilla’s rib was not broken, something
wasn’t quite right about the teen’s
condition. “I kept him out the rest of
the game, and explained that if he
noticed certain symptoms developing,
he should go to the hospital
immediately,” recalls Heywood.
The next day, Parrilla couldn’t eat,
could hardly walk and it hurt to go
to the bathroom — symptoms
Heywood had warned him about.
X-rays at Seattle Children’s revealed a
lacerated spleen — a potentially
life-threatening injury.
Though he missed the rest of football
season, he made a full recovery
without surgery.
Expertise at a crucial moment
“The fact that Phil was right there on
the field may have saved Clinton’s life,”
says Anju Jain, the associate medical
director of the Seattle Schools Certified
Athletic Trainer Program and a former
athletic trainer. “There are certain
situations where ‘playing through
the pain’ can have devastating

08
consequences. Players need someone
on the sidelines who knows what
to look for and has the authority to
say, ‘You need to sit the rest of this
game out.’”
Parrilla’s coach, Kelvin Goliday, is
grateful for Heywood’s expertise on the
field. “In a situation like that, I wouldn’t
have known what to do — I figured it
was a bruised rib. It’s an incredible
relief to have someone who knows
what he’s doing, right here.”

Focus on prevention
Through a contract with the Seattle
Public School District, Children’s
provides master's-level trained, licensed
and certified athletic trainers to seven
high schools, and oversees three other
athletic trainer/teachers who are
employed directly by the district.
Though their priority is the high-risk
sports like football, soccer, wrestling
and basketball, the trainers work with
all of the sports teams at their schools.
Before the season begins, trainers
provide each team with “pre-hab” —
sport-specific training and conditioning
programs designed to help athletes
develop strength and flexibility to
perform better and more safely
throughout the season. Trainers attend
home and away games for the high-
impact sports, and provide immediate
acute care.
“It can be difficult for a kid or a
parent to tell how significant an injury
is — an athletic trainer can take the
guesswork out of it,” says Heywood.
Rolled ankles are common — by ruling
out a fracture, the trainer can save the
family an unnecessary trip to the ER. Children’s contract with the Seattle Public School District to manage its athletic trainers
Treating sprains can be handled at gives athletes and coaches one-on-one time with seven health professionals trained at
school, by the trainer. the master’s level. Here, Children’s certified athletic trainer Nicole Jackson talks warm-up
fundamentals on the field.

A trusted ally
Children’s trainers are athletes

Only 36%
themselves, who know the exhilaration
and risks of intense play firsthand.
They also understand the pressure
to perform even while injured.
“Because we’re there, working with
them every day, the kids learn to see of Washington state high schools have
us as allies,” says Heywood. “Athletes access to a certified athletic trainer.
will tell me things they can’t tell their
coach, because they know I’m focused
on their long-term well-being.”

09
Allies on the Field
Staying Healthy Means More Options
For Antonio Gudiño, the risks
of intensive play during the
teen years are all too real.
By age 15, he was already on a semipro
soccer team in Guadalajara, Mexico.
At 18, while playing “select” soccer
in California — where scouts look for
promising players — his career was
sidelined by a hairline fracture to
his tibia.
The initial injury was treated
appropriately, but not optimally for
someone who wanted to return to
a preprofessional level of play. For
example, no one counseled Gudiño
about the need for physical therapy or
ongoing rehab. “When the cast finally
came off, my calf was about half the
Spring 2009
size of the other one,” he recalls.
Connection Magazine
Seattle Children’s
By providing assessment and care directly where it’s needed, on the field, certified athletic
trainers like Antonio Gudiño help young athletes avoid injury and get back in the game — safely.
10
Gudiño was reinjured in his very
first college game. This time, a certified
athletic trainer helped him rehabilitate.
Gudiño was impressed with the
specialized care the trainer offered
him, and realized what a difference
such help might have made a few
years earlier. In that experience, Gudiño
found a new game plan for his life,
eventually becoming an athletic trainer
dedicated to helping teen athletes
avoid injury.
Gudiño’s sense of personal mission
is evident in the work he does at
Ingraham High School, as one of seven
Seattle Children’s athletic trainers
associated with the Seattle Schools
Certified Athletic Trainer Program.
Whether he’s following up to make
sure a player is doing his rehab
exercises or resting appropriately,
scrambling for essential supplies on a
tight public school budget or coming
in on the weekend to paint the training
room with a ram (the school’s mascot),
Gudiño’s dedication is obvious.
For many of the athletes at
Ingraham and other Seattle public
schools, an athletic scholarship is their
best shot at college. The most important
thing, says Gudiño, is being one more
source of support for these kids, to
help them see that they have options.
“
I tell players: ‘I’m
here to help you
be healthy so that
you can pursue
your goals of
getting a better
education
through a sports
scholarship.”
—A
 ntonio Gudiño, Seattle Children’s
Certified Athletic Trainer
A Mission to Prevent Injury
As child athletes get older,
the focus often shifts from
playing for fun to intense
competition.
The stakes get higher as players,
parents and coaches begin to dream
of college scholarships and professional
careers. Constant training and high-
level competition can lead to overuse
injuries, and, eventually, to chronic
pain, according to Seattle Children’s
Dr. Monique Burton.
She should know. Burton began
training in gymnastics at age 6 and
competed on a national level through
college. Most of that time, she did not
have the benefit of an athletic trainer, a
medically trained expert in preventing,
assessing and rehabilitating sports
injuries. The price she pays now is
chronic pain — much of which might
have been avoided had she known
what to do differently during those
crucial teen years of heavy training
and high-stakes competition.
Hidden vulnerabilities
Young athletes have hidden
vulnerabilities, explains Burton.
Care Where It’s Needed
It’s a Sunday afternoon
and more than 100 youth
soccer teams from all
over Washington state are
gathered at Starfire Sports,
a 54-acre facility in Tukwila,
Wash., for a tournament.
After experiencing repetitive stress injuries as
a teen gymnast, Seattle Children’s Dr. Monique
Burton now leads a new program aimed at
helping prevent such injuries in teen athletes.
Because they are still growing, they
are susceptible to repetitive stress
injuries, particularly fractures.
“More and more kids have preventable
injuries related to overuse,” says Burton.
“The majority are the result of repetitive
stress without sufficient healing time.”
These are precisely the kind of injuries
that lead to lifelong chronic pain.
Burton estimates that as many as half
of these overuse injuries are preventable.
Under a small white tent, certified
athletic trainers Phil Heywood and
Antonio Gudiño of Seattle Children’s
triage injuries, tape ankles and apply
ice. They’re part of a volunteer
partnership between Children’s and
Starfire, focused on providing injury
prevention, stabilization and initial
treatment right on the field.
Teddy Mitalas, a lifelong soccer
player who directs Starfire’s soccer
program, says parents tell him the
“ As many as 50%
of sports-related
injuries due
to overuse are
preventable.”
—D
 r. Monique Burton,
Medical Director,
Seattle Schools Certified
Athletic Trainer Program
Now a sports medicine specialist,
Burton leads a new program aimed
at helping young athletes train and
compete safely. Children’s has placed
athletic trainers at seven Seattle public
high schools, where they work directly
with student athletes and their coaches.
The trainers also staff regional club
soccer tournaments to deliver on-site
care for the injuries that can’t be
avoided.
partnership with Children’s is the
best thing Starfire has done. “Having
world-class health professionals right
here, on site during the tournament,
makes teams — and parents — feel
more secure,” says Mitalas.
For Anju Jain, associate medical
director of the athletic trainer program,
the partnership is a natural, since both
organizations are nonprofits dedicated
to the well-being of children and youth
from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
11
 Raising the Green Bar
Raising the Green Bar

At Seattle Children’s, creating a healing environment and

a healthy community go hand in hand.

Seattle Children’s has a long history of seeking better ways

to care for sick and injured children. Now, the hospital is
eager to find greener ways as well.
From composting food scraps to designing new buildings
that are kind to Mother Nature, Children’s strives to tread as
lightly on the planet as possible while focusing on the health
of patients and the community.
“We can provide our patients with the best care possible,
Spring 2009

but if we don’t give them a healthy world to live in, we

haven’t fulfilled our mission,” says Jeff Hughes, who oversees
Grounds, Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship at
Children’s.
Setting the green bar high isn’t just “the right thing to
Connection Magazine

do,” says Sue Heffernan, a clinical nurse specialist. It’s a

natural part of creating a healing environment inside the
hospital and a healthy community outside. And it’s often
good medicine.

Sue Heffernan, clinical nurse specialist, shows off the phthalate-free IV bag
and tubing that is now being used at Seattle Children’s — a move that
Today’s choices, tomorrow’s impact
reduces chemical additives in equipment and possible risks to kids’ health.
In 2004, after animal studies indicated that infant males’
exposure to plasticizers was linked to a host of illnesses,
Heffernan led an effort to replace devices that contain these
chemical additives, which make materials more flexible, with
devices that don’t.
Trimming water use by 7 million gallons The experience inspired Heffernan to form a hospital-wide
Green Team to advocate, coordinate and track green projects
a year saves
throughout the hospital. “Our goal is to become the cleanest,

$90,000
greenest hospital in the country,” Heffernan says. “Our
Seattle Children’s

employees are totally committed and are constantly

suggesting ways for us to recycle, save energy and use
healthier products. It’s truly a grassroots effort.”
In 2008, Children’s became the second hospital in
Washington to earn the Governor’s Award for Sustainable
Practices from the state’s Department of Ecology. The
Cutting solid waste by 285,000 pounds annual award honors businesses and organizations that
a year saves show leadership in conserving resources and eliminating

$51,000
hazardous materials, waste and emissions.
“The award says a lot about our commitment to the
environment,” says Mitch Birchfield, the head of Environmental
Services. “Our focus on sustainability reflects the values,
awareness and leadership of the people who work here. It’s
who we are and how we want to operate.”

12
Seattle Children’s czar of all things eco-friendly, Jeff Hughes, oversees green projects that range from
cutting the institution’s solid waste output to designing new buildings with vegetation-covered roofs.
Children’s has cut annual solid waste output by 285,000
pounds and trimmed annual water use by 7 million gallons.
Strategies range from composting food scraps (diverts 1,400
pounds a week from the waste stream) to retrofitting the
surgery autoclave (saves 4,100 gallons of water a day) to
recycling 20 tons of computers and electronic equipment.
Children’s avoids using cleaning products with fragrance
because they contain environmentally unfriendly chemicals
and can cause breathing problems for patients with
respiratory diseases such as asthma. The hospital collects
unused medications and sends them to be incinerated by a
regulated facility (minimizing air pollution), which eliminates
any possibility the medications could pollute waterways
through the waste stream.
Working with Full Circle Farms, a certified organic
produce farm in Carnation, Wash., Children’s hosts a twice-
monthly farmers market and features locally grown organic
produce in the cafeteria on market days. In addition,
Children’s is a drop-off site where Full Circle customers
can pick up their weekly orders.
Lower costs, lighter footprint
As Children’s prepares to expand its main campus and build
a new outpatient clinic in Bellevue, planners are considering
numerous green design and construction options.
“Children’s is being really aggressive about this and
looking at some very interesting and innovative green
features,” says Dave Neal, a principal with Zimmer Gunsul
Frasca Architects and project manager for the hospital
expansion master plan.
One example: green roofs. Completely or partially covered
in vegetation, green roofs reduce stormwater runoff and can
cut a building's energy costs by providing natural insulation.
Other likely strategies include letting in as much daylight as
possible to save electricity, using recycled building materials
to conserve natural resources and choosing low VOC
(volatile organic compounds) paints and adhesives to
prevent harmful off-gassing.
The Bellevue clinic will seek LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design) certification from the United
States Green Building Council. Though a rarity among
healthcare facilities, LEED certification is a sign of things to
come at Children’s, says Paula Holmes, director of Seattle
Children’s Bellevue. “We want the Bellevue clinic to be the
model for all of our future regional projects,” she says.
13
 What’s Happening
What’s Happening
at Seattle Children’s
Spring 2009
Thomas N. Hansen, MD
CEO, Seattle Children’s
Connection Magazine
Cilla Joondeph
Chairman, Seattle Children’s
Hospital Board of Trustees
Pathways Lecture Series
As one of the presenting sponsors of
the Pathways Lecture Series, Seattle
Children’s joins ParentMap magazine
to connect parents with experts on
child development.
All lectures are 7 to 9 p.m. and
Seattle Children’s
tickets are $18 in advance, $25 at the
door; $25 in advance/$30 at the door
for the Dr. Gottman lecture. For more
information and to purchase tickets,
visit www.parentmap.com/pathways
or call 800-838-3006.
14
The Children’s Safety Net
The current recession presents
challenging circumstances for all of us,
and Seattle Children’s is no exception.
Now more than ever, Children’s is an
important part of the safety net for our
region’s children. The combination of
rising unemployment — with the
accompanying loss of health insurance
— and cuts to state services can be
disastrous for families caring for a
chronically ill child.
In fact, we expect to provide more
than $100 million in uncompensated
care this year — a significant increase
over our 2008 record of $86 million
— because our core mission remains
unchanged: to provide superior care
to our region’s children regardless of
their families’ ability to pay.
As we continue to stay true to our
mission, we are also tightening our
“Making Marriage Work”
John Gottman, PhD
Thursday, March 19
Town Hall, Seattle
“Opting In/Opting Out: Slow Parenting
in the Fast Lane”
Tuesday, March 24
Seattle Children’s Theatre
“CALM: Cool-Headed Strategies
for Parenting Tweens and Teens”
Dr. Laura Kastner
Thursday, April 16
Stadium High School, Tacoma
belts. We must respond to declining
investment returns and tight credit
markets. We have developed and
are enacting long- and short-term
contingency plans, including
reducing operating expenses where
prudent and feasible. We are acting
on good ideas from our staff about
how to improve access to our
services while keeping costs down.
After more than a century of
careful stewardship of our resources,
and through the continued support
of a generous community, we
believe we are well-positioned to
weather this crisis by taking
thoughtful action.
Thank you for your support.
Together, we will get through this.
Ours is a bright and hopeful future.
“More Than Baby Talk: Enriching Ideas
for Your Amazingly Teachable Tots”
Dr. Michelle Terry
Wednesday, April 29
Seattle Public Library — Main Branch
“Blessing of a Skinned Knee: How to
Stop Over-Indulging, Over-Scheduling
and Over-Protecting”
Dr. Wendy Mogel
Wednesday, May 6
Town Hall, Seattle
“CALM: Cool-Headed Strategies
for Parenting Tweens and Teens”
Dr. Laura Kastner
Tuesday, May 19
Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue
New Medical-Legal Partnership for Children
Seattle Children’s has launched a pilot
project to provide legal assistance to
low-income families with children who
are receiving medical treatment and
also have legal issues that affect their
health. Known as the Medical-Legal
Partnership for Children, the three-year
pilot will benefit low-income families
at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
(OBCC), a community clinic of Seattle
Children’s, and Harborview Children
and Teens Clinic.
The project is the first of its kind in
the Pacific Northwest and was made
possible by a grant from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. It was
created through collaboration with the
Northwest Justice Project, the law firm
“ Ifthea social worker and a lawyer can intervene to improve
family’s living conditions, that may have a significant
positive impact on the health of that child.”
— Dr. Ben Danielson
Dave Crotwell Honored for Research
Dave Crotwell
of Davis Wright Tremaine and other
community partners, and is patterned
after a legal clinic established in 1993
at Boston Medical Center.
“This partnership will help patients
who have social, housing, immigration,
economic or legal problems that
negatively affect their health,” said
Dr. Benjamin Danielson, the medical
director at OBCC. “For example, a
child with asthma living in moldy,
substandard housing may make
repeated trips to the hospital with
severe breathing problems. If a social
worker and a lawyer can intervene to
improve the family’s living conditions,
that may have a significant positive
impact on the health of that child.” Dr. Ben Danielson
Seattle Children’s respiratory therapist “By being involved with
Dave Crotwell has been named the manufacturers, we can ensure that
National Neonatal Pediatric Specialty we will have exactly what we need
Practitioner of the Year by the to provide the best care for our
American Association of Respiratory unique patient population instead of
Care. The award recognizes Crotwell’s wasting our resources on things that
contributions over a 14-year career, don’t work as well,” says Crotwell.
from his clinical care to recent research.
As part of a team of Children’s
researchers and practitioners, Crotwell
has been measuring respiratory
equipment performance and
communicating the findings to the
companies that make the equipment.
His research led to significant design
improvements in one of the most
widely sold ventilators in the world.
15
 Gates Foundation Expands Support for Prematurity and Stillbirth Initiative
What’s Happening
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
recently awarded an additional
$500,000 to the Global Alliance to
Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth
(GAPPS), bringing the foundation’s
total contributions to GAPPS to more
than $1.6 million.
Children’s formed GAPPS in 2007
to research and address the twin
problems of premature birth and
stillbirth. The Gates Foundation made
the additional award to support
research on effective advocacy and
newborn interventions.
Locally and globally, prematurity is
the leading cause of infant death, and
Susan Heath and Kiko Van Zandt: Nurses of the Year
Spring 2009
Connection Magazine
Seattle Children’s
Kiko Van Zandt (left) and Susan Heath
16
carries with it high social and economic
costs. More than 1 million children die
each year because they were born too
1 in 10
babies is born prematurely
in Washington state.
early, and many of the 12 million who
survive suffer long-term disabilities.
More than 3 million others are stillborn.
In May 2009, key findings from
GAPPS’ comprehensive literature review
and analysis will be presented at an
international conference co-convened
with Save the Children, UNICEF and the
World Health Organization in Seattle.
The conference will serve as a forum to
foster continued collaboration and to
create a roadmap for future research
and intervention efforts.
For more information,
see www.gapps.org.
The Western Washington Chapter of
the March of Dimes honored Seattle
Children’s nurses Susan Heath and
Kiko Van Zandt with 2008 “Nurse of
the Year” awards.
Heath, who serves as Children’s
chief nursing officer, was honored as
the Distinguished Nurse of the Year for
her leadership and accomplishments,
including Children’s successful quest
for Magnet designation.
David Brooks, chief executive officer
of Providence Regional Medical Center
in Everett, chaired the event. He
presented Heath’s award and noted,
“Her leadership continually pushes her
team and the hospital to find new ways
to make it the best place to work.”
Van Zandt, a nurse on Children’s
Rehabilitation Unit, was honored as
Nurse of the Year for Community
Service. The award recognizes
significant professional or voluntary
contributions in community-based
settings. Van Zandt is the coach for the
Shadow Seals, an adaptive swim team
for kids and young adults. She traveled
to China in 2008 as assistant coach for
the Paralympics swim team.
Charitable Gifts
from IRAs
A unique opportunity for senior donors is back.
Bob and Vicki Hanson
If you are 70 1⁄2 or older, you can transfer
up to $100,000 this year tax-free from
traditional IRAs to charities such as
Seattle Children’s. This opportunity,
first available in 2006, was reestablished
by recent legislation and expires
Dec. 31, 2009.
Bob and Vicki Hanson are among
the many donors who have already
made tax-free IRA transfers to
Children’s. The choice between paying
taxes on IRA distributions or helping
Children’s was an easy one for the
couple. “Tax-free gifting of IRAs
prompted us to do something we have
wanted to do for some time — create
an endowment for cancer research,”
says Vicki Hanson. The couple
transferred $100,000 from their
respective IRAs to establish the Bob &
Vicki Hanson Endowment for Cancer
“ Tax-free gifting of
Research, which will support innovative
therapies to help cancer patients live
longer, healthier and more productive
lives. “Children’s research has already
produced improved outcomes for
cancer patients, which gives us great
hope for future advances,” says Bob
Hanson.
The couple’s connection to
Children’s began many decades ago.
Both Bob’s and Vicki’s mothers —
Dorothy Hanson and Gladine Middleton
— were guild members who taught
their children about the hospital. Vicki
Hanson volunteered at Children’s for
more than 13 years and co-founded
the Dr. Jack M. Docter Guild. In 1991,
she received the Anna Clise Award,
the highest individual honor bestowed
by Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild
Association.
IRAs can make a
huge difference to
Children’s medical
care and research.”
— Bob Hanson
Bob Hanson, an attorney and real
estate investment and development
professional, shares his wife’s passion
for Children’s and encourages other
seniors not to miss this chance. “Tax-free
gifting of IRAs can make a huge
difference to Children’s medical care
and research.”
Contact Lorraine del Prado at
206-987-4977 to learn more
about making tax-free IRA gifts.
17
 On the Scene
On the Scene
Spring 2009
Connection Magazine

(From left) Lori Matsukawa, emcee; Katie Carder, auction chair; Dana Lofton, Star Guild president; Elna Duffield (left) and Robbi DeVries co-chaired
John Curley, auctioneer; and Dr. Tom Hansen, Seattle Children’s CEO, celebrate at the Season of the 30th annual Festival of Trees.
Light Auction in November.

Season of Light Auction Dazzles Festival of Trees Turns 30

The Star Guild raised nearly $450,000
through the Season of Light Auction
at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel Nov. 29.
Themed “Let the Season Begin,” the
event attracted more than 200 guests
and featured a gourmet dinner,
entertainment and silent and live
Seattle Children’s
Dr. Tom Hansen, Seattle Children’s
CEO, spoke about the growing need
for uncompensated care. Afterward,
guests danced to live music in the
Fairmont’s Spanish Foyer. Many
thanks to sponsors UNICO, Williams,
Kastner & Gibbs, Zimmer Gunsul
The Dr. Forrest L. Flashman Guild
raised $165,000 for uncompensated
care at the 30th annual Festival of
Trees at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
in Seattle Nov. 23. Guild members
created 25 themed trees, and each
was dedicated to a hospital patient

auctions. KING 5’s Lori Matsukawa Frasca Architects, ABM Janitorial, and purchased through silent auction.
and John Curley were, respectively, Copperfin and Boeing. Hundreds of guests enjoyed hot cocoa,
program emcee and auctioneer. holiday music and photos with Santa.

Money raised from events in this section supported uncompensated

care as well as critical efforts such as pediatric brain tumor research
and injury prevention.

18

Family generations gathered to support Seattle
Children’s at the Seattle Snow Ball.
Club Night Supports Uncompensated Care, Research
Kelly Gallagher (left) and Debbie
Cady of the Frances W. Nordstrom
Guild co-chaired Club Night 2008,
which raised nearly $140,000 for
uncompensated care and pediatric
brain tumor research. More than
200 guests gathered Nov. 6 at The
Triple Door in Seattle, where they
enjoyed cocktails, dinner and live
Latasha Evans (second from right), who received a heart transplant at Seattle Children’s, performed
a song at the Symphony Guild concert that she and composer Mateo Messina co-wrote. Latasha’s
sisters Lenora (left) and Letisha accompanied her on stage.
Seattle Snow Ball Raises $175,000
The Jack and Colleen Ryan Guild
raised $175,000 for uncompensated
care at the fifth annual Seattle Snow
Ball at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel
Dec. 23. The family-oriented black-tie
affair attracted nearly 300 guests,
from seventh-graders to grandparents.
Alyssa Locke, 19, spoke about being
treated at Seattle Children’s for bone
cancer. One of Alyssa’s caregivers,
music. Seattle Children’s researcher
Dr. Jim Olson spoke about the
“tumor paint” his team developed.
The substance illuminates cancerous
cells during surgery and helps
surgeons better distinguish between
a tumor and healthy tissue. After the
program, guests danced to music by
Mister Miyagi.
Dr. Ernest “Chappie” Conrad,
encouraged attendees to support
Children’s. After dinner, guests danced
to the Michael Benson Band. Special
thanks to event sponsor Blue Nile and
to platinum sponsors Pay Northwest
and Joe Clark.
Concert Strikes Right Chord
The Symphony Guild raised $153,000
at its 11th annual concert to benefit
uncompensated care. Guild founder
and composer Mateo Messina presented
the 10-movement “An American
Symphony” to more than 2,200
concertgoers at Benaroya Hall in
Seattle Nov. 7. Messina, who composed
the score for the popular film “Juno,”
was joined by Warner Bros. recording
artists Eisley, the Northwest Symphony
Orchestra and solo electric cellist
Matthew Schoening.
19

On the Scene
Former Patient Gives Back at Wedding
Spring 2009
When Liz Vivian and Graham Ford
wed recently, they included Seattle
Children’s uncompensated care on
their gift registry. “It was really special
Connection Magazine
for our friends and family to donate
because uncompensated care is so
close to my heart,” says Vivian, who
had multiple surgeries at Children’s
on her back and foot between age
5 and 18. “Although my family
couldn’t always afford the full cost
of treatment, I always received the
Seattle Children’s
20
top-notch care Children’s is known
for. Seattle Children’s is so critical
to our community.”
If you would like a special way to
celebrate an event by giving to
Seattle Children’s, please contact
Commemorative Giving at
206-987-4844.
Mariners and Schuck’s Boost Child Safety
David Byrum (left) and Bill Murdock of
Schuck’s Auto Supply presented a
check for $5,720 to Katharine
Fitzgerald (center left) and Elizabeth
“Tizzy” Bennett of Seattle Children’s
at a 2008 Mariners game. The Seattle
Mariners and Schuck’s donated the
funds to support Children’s child
passenger safety outreach program.
Jorve Roofing Supports
Summer Camp
Ted Jorve of Jorve Roofing (third
from left) presented nearly $60,000
to Seattle Children’s camp coordinator
Michele Rebert (center) and
cardiologist Dr. Stanley Stamm
(second from right) during a visit to
Children’s in summer 2008. The funds,
raised through the company’s annual
golf tournament, support the Stanley
Stamm Summer Camp, which gives
children with serious illnesses the
chance to go fishing, ride horses
and take part in other typical summer
camp activities.
Photography by Michael Rosenberg
Children’s works with Head Start in
central and south Seattle to provide
low-income families with car and
booster seats at reduced or no cost,
along with demonstrations on how
to use the seats. The program also
provides the seats to families seen at
the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, a
community clinic of Seattle Children’s.
Seattle Children’s patient Marques Mar joined
KOMO 4’s Steve Pool and Sabra Gertsch during
the “Miracle Season” broadcast in December.
Broadcast Rings
in Holidays
“Miracle Season,” Seattle Children’s
annual holiday special, raised $150,000
during its KOMO 4 broadcast Dec. 14.
Steve Pool and Sabra Gertsch (above)
shared stories of hope and healing and
encouraged viewers to pledge their
financial support. The program
highlighted the work of Children’s
nurses, and musicians performed
holiday favorites. The program was
sponsored by KOMO 4, the John L.
Scott Foundation, Credit Unions for
Kids, Log A Load for Kids and Marriott.
(From left) Nancy Senseney, Susie Ostrander, John Curley, Laurie Frink, Marikay Cuthill and Nancy
Outcalt gather at the KC Howard Guild’s Holiday Luncheon in December.
Many Seattle Children’s patient families had
more presents under the tree last year, thanks
to the hospital’s Holiday Program.
Holiday Program
Spreads Cheer
Seattle Children’s Holiday Program
provided gifts for 70 patients from
62 hospital families in 2008, thanks to
more than 50 participating companies
and organizations, including many
departments at the hospital. Children’s
Social Work Department organizes the
annual endeavor, which is supported
financially by the John L. Scott
Foundation.
Great Harvest Bread Company has raised more
than $56,000 for Seattle Children’s since annual
Bread-y Bear promotions began.
Bread Company
Raises Dough
Great Harvest Bread Company raised
more than $10,000 through the fourth
annual “Raising Dough for Seattle
Children’s” promotion in September.
Seven Seattle-area Great Harvest
stores donated 100% of sales from
honey-wheat Bread-y Bears to support
uncompensated care. Children’s
patients named the bears created
for the promotion, including “Viola,”
“Buddy” and “Bear-Bear.”
Holiday Luncheon Raises
$200,000
The KC Howard Guild’s 14th annual
Holiday Luncheon raised $200,000
for uncompensated care at the Seattle
Sheraton Dec. 8. Themed “Make
Dreams Come True,” the event
attracted more than 350 guests who
bid in live and silent auctions. John
Curley of KING 5’s “Evening Magazine”
emceed the program and conducted
the live auction. Two guests purchased
live auction packages that included
tickets to Oprah Winfrey’s Oscar show
at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
21
 Calendar of Events
Calendar of Events
Seattle Children’s
Community Health Fair
Guardians’ Circle Luncheon
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Guild Association Annual
Meeting
Purchase a Miracle
Spring 2009
Art à la Carte
Connection Magazine
Children’s Circle of Care
North American Leadership
Conference
Tri-Cities Guilds Golf Classic
25th Annual
“Miracle Makers”
Seattle Children’s
Children’s Ride Gala
and Auction
Children’s Ride 14
21st Annual Pacific
Northwest Historics
Vintage Auto Races
22
Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.; Sound Café,
Seattle Children’s
Saturday, April 18, noon;
Overlake Country Club,
Medina
Thursday, April 30, 9:30 a.m.
registration; The Westin
Seattle
May 1 through June 15;
grocery and drug stores
throughout Washington
Friday, May 1, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.;
The Golf Club at Newcastle
Thursday, May 7, Seattle
Saturday, May 16, 7 a.m.
to noon tee-off; Tri-City
Country Club, Kennewick
Saturday, May 30, 7 to 11 p.m.
on KOMO 4 TV
Friday, June 26, 6 p.m.;
Fremont Studios, Seattle
Sunday, June 28, 7 a.m.;
registration at Qwest Field,
Seattle
Friday, July 3 to Sunday,
July 5, gates open at 8:30 a.m.;
Pacific Raceways, Kent
Learn about health, safety and Seattle Children’s through the Teddy
Bear Clinic, ambulance tours and a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Free.
Call 206-987-1569.
Guardians’ Circle members will enjoy lunch, live entertainment and a
program on Seattle Children’s world-class care. Call 206-987-6827.
Celebrate guild accomplishments and learn about exciting new
developments at Seattle Children’s. Bring a gift or donation for Project
Teen. E-mail guildassociation@seattlechildrens.org or call 206-987-2153.
Benefit Seattle Children’s by purchasing products identified by bright
green Purchase a Miracle shelf tags, such as Newman’s Own, Coca-Cola,
MJB Coffee and Kellogg’s.
Enjoy a luncheon and silent and live auctions featuring jewelry, textiles,
paintings, glass and photography by Northwest artists. $50 per person.
Call 206-910-7200. Presented by the Preston Kuppe Guild.
2008 Children’s Circle of Care members are invited to attend
this conference, luncheon and gala dinner. Acclaimed journalist
Tom Brokaw will speak. Visit www.seattlechildrens.org/circleofcare
or call 206-987-2153.
Event includes continental breakfast, lunch and dinner awards ceremony
with live and silent auctions. $175 per person. Call 509-551-1808.
Presented by the Tri-Cities Golf Classic Guilds.
Pledge your financial support during the “Miracle Makers” broadcast
by calling 206-443-2468. Co-sponsored by Costco Wholesale and
KOMO 4.
Enjoy dinner, entertainment and live and silent auctions. Bid on
two customized Harley-Davidson motorcycles. $150 per person.
Visit www.childrens-ride.com or call 206-987-4876. Presented
by the Imagine Guild.
Join a Washington State Patrol–escorted ride from Qwest Field to
Emerald Downs in Auburn. $60 per person includes ride, racetrack
admission and barbecue. Visit www.childrens-ride.com or
call 206-987-4876. Presented by the Imagine Guild.
Enjoy races featuring rare pre-1970 automobiles. Adults: $25 per day or
$40 for three days. Children: $5 per day. Visit www.northwesthistorics.com
or call 206-987-4877. Presented by the SOVREN Guild.
Reflection

Boards of Trustees 2008–2009

Hospital Foundation Guild Association Executive Staff

Cilla Joondeph Laurie Oki Michele Smith Thomas Hansen, MD

Chairman Chairman Chairman CEO

Sue Albrecht Jim Ladd Sherry Benaroya Gordon Perkin, MD Pamela Baughn Lisa Mawer Patrick Hagan David Fisher, MD
Dean Allen Mona Locke Robert Cline Douglas Picha Laurie Boehme Sharon McCagg President and Chief Senior Vice President
Operating Officer, Medical Director
Rhoda Altom Cindy Masin A.M. Clise Scott Redman Sue Byers Suzanne Sinegal
Seattle Children’s
Libby Armintrout Linda Mattox Ronald Crockett Tami Reller Kerri Coyle McGill Susan Heath, RN, MN
Hospital
Robb Bakemeier Resa Moore Richard DiCerchio Fariba Ronnasi Jana Dukelow Trish Oury Senior Vice President
Nancy Schenck James Hendricks, PhD Chief Nursing Officer
Joel Benoliel Gloria Northcroft David Fisher, MD Robert Sawin, MD Krista Fay
President, Seattle
Jane Blair Laurie Oki Shalisan Foster Kenneth Schubert Jr. Mary Jo Foseid Laurie Taylor Sanford Melzer, MD
Children’s Research
Julia Calhoun Kathy Randall Thomas Hansen, MD J. Lennox Scott Shalisan Foster Dixie Wilson Institute Senior Vice President
Cary Young Strategic Planning
Pat Char Rob Roskin, MD Ray Heacox Peter Shimer Jennifer Goldberg
Douglas Picha
Nancy Daly Jan Sinegal Kandace Holley Michele Smith Dorothy Greenwood Jennifer Zinda Robert Sawin, MD
President, Seattle
Michael Delman Peggy Walton Ted Johnson Dale Sperling Mary Lynn Holman Children’s Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief
Foundation President, CUMG
David Fisher, MD Cilla Joondeph F. Bruder Stapleton, MD Jane Humphries
Bob Flowers Craig Kinzer Kelly Wallace Mari Juntunen Lisa Brandenburg Jeffrey Sconyers
Mary Ann Flynn Howard Lincoln Robert Watt Linda Maki Senior Vice President Senior Vice President
Chief Administrative General Counsel
Thomas Hansen, MD Candy Marshall Dina Wells Louisa Malatos
Officer
Kay Heron John Meisenbach Lenny Wilkens Barbara Mann F. Bruder Stapleton, MD
Genie Higgins Cameron Myhrvold Lorene Martin Drexel DeFord Senior Vice President
Senior Vice President Chief Academic Officer
Chief Information
Officer Kelly Wallace
Senior Vice President
Mark Del Beccaro, MD Chief Financial Officer
Pediatrician-in-Chief
Chief Medical
Information Officer

23
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U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
M/S S-200 Seattle, WA
PO Box 50020 Permit No. 8225
Seattle, WA 98145-5020
www.seattlechildrens.org

Address Service Requested

There’s compassionate care. And then

there’s the top 4% in compassionate care.
Congratulations to our nursing staff on achieving Magnet status.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center has designated Seattle Children’s a Magnet hospital for nursing, an honor
given to less than 4% of hospitals in the U.S. And we’re the only pediatric hospital in the Northwest to be given the award.
We’ve always known our nurses are the best, and we’re very happy the ANCC agrees. But most importantly, we hope our
patients and families do too. To learn more about Seattle Children’s and our Magnet status, visit seattlechildrens.org.