IMPACT REPORT 2017
Thank You Your ongoing support of St. Louis Children’s Hospital creates impact where it is needed most. Your donations allow world-renowned doctors and top-notch nurses to care for the more than 90,000 children we serve every year. Thank you for your remarkable generosity.
Hello, We are Cindy and John, a.k.a. Allie and Emily’s parents. Thanks for taking a moment to read about our family’s journey with cancer and the care and treatment we received at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Because of St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the amazing team of doctors, nurses and caregivers, our daughter, Allie, is an active, happy and thriving seventh grader. Hearing that your child has cancer is unimaginable. We’ll never forget that appointment and our doctor delivering the news. We still can’t believe how our minds started racing, thinking through every possible scenario, desperately trying not to imagine the worst. We had to be the voice of reason, we had to be strong...we had to be Mom and Dad. Fortunately, we always had so much support from so many people throughout this entire ordeal. People willing to help, people willing to listen, people just willing to be there for Allie, for Emily and…for us. We owe it all to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and to people like you, who enable Children’s to deliver expert family-centered care and a superior experience for all. With gratitude, Cindy and John St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation One Children’s Place St. Louis, MO 63110 314.286.0988 StLouisChildrens.org
Protecting Childhood Moments
Philanthropy at Work
Meet Allie
Protecting Childhood Moments through…
Cindy and John were looking forward to celebrating the holiday season with their daughters, Allie and Emily. Happiness turned to concern when Allie started having excruciating headaches, nose bleeds and persistent cold-like symptoms that continued even after several rounds of antibiotics. Two days before Thanksgiving, her pediatrician referred her family to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a CT scan. That evening, Cindy received a call from Dr. David Molter, pediatric otolaryngologist, informing her that the results revealed a mass in Allie’s sinus cavity. The very next day, Allie went in for surgery and her doctors were able to remove the entire tumor. Allie’s journey was far from over. Further testing indicated the mass was rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of malignant cancer that forms in muscle tissue. Over the next year, Allie had more tests, chemotherapy and radiation, followed by several admissions to the hospital for complications cancer treatments often create. Thanks to expert care and a superb team of doctors and nurses, Allie is now cancer free and enjoying her life carefree, the way childhood should be. She loves school, hanging out with friends, taking Tae Kwon Do, participating in Girl Scouts, and most of all, jumping on the trampoline with Emily.
Discoveries in Research Our Children’s Discovery Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016. This partnership between St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is uniquely positioned to leverage the expertise of clinicians, investigators, trainees and professional staff throughout the Medical School’s academic and medical community. By funding collaborations between creative scientists and clinicians to conduct multidisciplinary research aimed at some of the most devastating childhood diseases and disorders, the CDI is accelerating the realization of better treatments, cures and preventions. The $56 million of seed funding from the CDI and its investors
has attracted more than $279 million in extramural funding from sources such as the National Institute of Health. Among the projects funded are those that address the disparities in cancer research. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in childhood after accidents. Yet, less than four percent of National Cancer Institute funding is dedicated to childhood cancer. Our researchers are making remarkable gains in genomics, immunotherapy and personalized treatments. Tomorrow’s children may be able to enlist their own DNA in their cancer fight through the work our CDI researchers are doing today.
56
million dollars invested in research to date
173
Grant-funded projects
771
Published research articles
Protecting Childhood Moments through…
Outreach & Advocacy Protecting Childhood Moments through…
We believe the quality of care children receive should never be dependent on where they live or their family’s ability to pay. No child should be prevented from realizing his or her full potential. Thankfully, supporters like you believe that, too. Through donor-funded programs, such as Healthy Kids Express and Victims of Violence, we are able to transcend boundaries to create a “system of care” that extends our reach beyond the walls of the hospital.
Best-in-Class Care
5,754
Sibling Playroom visits
4,320 School Room lessons
As you can imagine, having a child diagnosed with cancer uproots your entire life. The dayto-day of school, homework and extracurricular activities soon turns into long periods of time spent in the hospital. Through all the chaos and hardship, Allie remained positive and upbeat. She was able to make up for lost school time with our on-site tutors, her family enjoyed relaxing outdoors in the Olson Family Garden and her sister spent many hours in the Sibling Playroom.
care that is unique to Children’s and makes the patient and family experience as positive as it can be. We offer Child Life Services programs, such as therapeutic Clown Docs, music and pet therapy, an onsite schoolroom with tutors, and services, like the Family Care Fund, to help families who are struggling with the added stress of having a child in the hospital. Support from our community of donors helps us protect childhood moments and allows kids to be kids even while in the hospital.
Only through the generosity of donors can we provide compassionate, family-centered
2,400
2,031
Clown Doc visits
Art Therapy sessions
1,342
Teen Lounge visits
837 Music Therapy sessions
Healthy Kids Express (HKE) is our mobile health program offering free, school-based general health and vision screening, as well as dental and asthma care to underserved areas of the community. HKE vans address the top two reasons for chronic school absenteeism by providing comprehensive asthma services, dental exams and restorative care. As the HKE vans rolled toward the 250,000th child served, St. Louis celebrated by proclaiming Monday, March 27, Healthy Kids Express Day.
The Victims of Violence program grew out of a pilot study showing that mentoring young victims of violence in ways to avert another attack reduced the likelihood of a repeat visit to the emergency department. The program consists of four social workers who mentor youths in school, earning their GED or working. Their goal is to help these children understand that violence is not a normal part of life and there are actions they can take to avoid escalating violence and keep themselves safe. The mentors meet each enrollee at least six times and communicate with school personnel, deputy juvenile officers, court personnel, police officers, community agency staff, or anyone else who may be involved with the child. In 2016, services were offered to 360 children and 100 of those children enrolled. Of those enrolled, 33 completed the program and all have been able to stay safe.
Meet Allie
Protecting Childhood Moments through…
Cindy and John were looking forward to celebrating the holiday season with their daughters, Allie and Emily. Happiness turned to concern when Allie started having excruciating headaches, nose bleeds and persistent cold-like symptoms that continued even after several rounds of antibiotics. Two days before Thanksgiving, her pediatrician referred her family to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a CT scan. That evening, Cindy received a call from Dr. David Molter, pediatric otolaryngologist, informing her that the results revealed a mass in Allie’s sinus cavity. The very next day, Allie went in for surgery and her doctors were able to remove the entire tumor. Allie’s journey was far from over. Further testing indicated the mass was rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of malignant cancer that forms in muscle tissue. Over the next year, Allie had more tests, chemotherapy and radiation, followed by several admissions to the hospital for complications cancer treatments often create. Thanks to expert care and a superb team of doctors and nurses, Allie is now cancer free and enjoying her life carefree, the way childhood should be. She loves school, hanging out with friends, taking Tae Kwon Do, participating in Girl Scouts, and most of all, jumping on the trampoline with Emily.
Discoveries in Research Our Children’s Discovery Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016. This partnership between St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is uniquely positioned to leverage the expertise of clinicians, investigators, trainees and professional staff throughout the Medical School’s academic and medical community. By funding collaborations between creative scientists and clinicians to conduct multidisciplinary research aimed at some of the most devastating childhood diseases and disorders, the CDI is accelerating the realization of better treatments, cures and preventions. The $56 million of seed funding from the CDI and its investors
has attracted more than $279 million in extramural funding from sources such as the National Institute of Health. Among the projects funded are those that address the disparities in cancer research. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in childhood after accidents. Yet, less than four percent of National Cancer Institute funding is dedicated to childhood cancer. Our researchers are making remarkable gains in genomics, immunotherapy and personalized treatments. Tomorrow’s children may be able to enlist their own DNA in their cancer fight through the work our CDI researchers are doing today.
56
million dollars invested in research to date
173
Grant-funded projects
771
Published research articles
Protecting Childhood Moments through…
Outreach & Advocacy Protecting Childhood Moments through…
We believe the quality of care children receive should never be dependent on where they live or their family’s ability to pay. No child should be prevented from realizing his or her full potential. Thankfully, supporters like you believe that, too. Through donor-funded programs, such as Healthy Kids Express and Victims of Violence, we are able to transcend boundaries to create a “system of care” that extends our reach beyond the walls of the hospital.
Best-in-Class Care
5,754
Sibling Playroom visits
4,320 School Room lessons
As you can imagine, having a child diagnosed with cancer uproots your entire life. The dayto-day of school, homework and extracurricular activities soon turns into long periods of time spent in the hospital. Through all the chaos and hardship, Allie remained positive and upbeat. She was able to make up for lost school time with our on-site tutors, her family enjoyed relaxing outdoors in the Olson Family Garden and her sister spent many hours in the Sibling Playroom.
care that is unique to Children’s and makes the patient and family experience as positive as it can be. We offer Child Life Services programs, such as therapeutic Clown Docs, music and pet therapy, an onsite schoolroom with tutors, and services, like the Family Care Fund, to help families who are struggling with the added stress of having a child in the hospital. Support from our community of donors helps us protect childhood moments and allows kids to be kids even while in the hospital.
Only through the generosity of donors can we provide compassionate, family-centered
2,400
2,031
Clown Doc visits
Art Therapy sessions
1,342
Teen Lounge visits
837 Music Therapy sessions
Healthy Kids Express (HKE) is our mobile health program offering free, school-based general health and vision screening, as well as dental and asthma care to underserved areas of the community. HKE vans address the top two reasons for chronic school absenteeism by providing comprehensive asthma services, dental exams and restorative care. As the HKE vans rolled toward the 250,000th child served, St. Louis celebrated by proclaiming Monday, March 27, Healthy Kids Express Day.
The Victims of Violence program grew out of a pilot study showing that mentoring young victims of violence in ways to avert another attack reduced the likelihood of a repeat visit to the emergency department. The program consists of four social workers who mentor youths in school, earning their GED or working. Their goal is to help these children understand that violence is not a normal part of life and there are actions they can take to avoid escalating violence and keep themselves safe. The mentors meet each enrollee at least six times and communicate with school personnel, deputy juvenile officers, court personnel, police officers, community agency staff, or anyone else who may be involved with the child. In 2016, services were offered to 360 children and 100 of those children enrolled. Of those enrolled, 33 completed the program and all have been able to stay safe.
IMPACT REPORT 2017
Thank You Your ongoing support of St. Louis Children’s Hospital creates impact where it is needed most. Your donations allow world-renowned doctors and top-notch nurses to care for the more than 90,000 children we serve every year. Thank you for your remarkable generosity.
Hello, We are Cindy and John, a.k.a. Allie and Emily’s parents. Thanks for taking a moment to read about our family’s journey with cancer and the care and treatment we received at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Because of St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the amazing team of doctors, nurses and caregivers, our daughter, Allie, is an active, happy and thriving seventh grader. Hearing that your child has cancer is unimaginable. We’ll never forget that appointment and our doctor delivering the news. We still can’t believe how our minds started racing, thinking through every possible scenario, desperately trying not to imagine the worst. We had to be the voice of reason, we had to be strong...we had to be Mom and Dad. Fortunately, we always had so much support from so many people throughout this entire ordeal. People willing to help, people willing to listen, people just willing to be there for Allie, for Emily and…for us. We owe it all to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and to people like you, who enable Children’s to deliver expert family-centered care and a superior experience for all. With gratitude, Cindy and John St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation One Children’s Place St. Louis, MO 63110 314.286.0988 StLouisChildrens.org
Protecting Childhood Moments
Philanthropy at Work