St. Joseph's Magazine

ST. JOSEPH’SmagazineA magazine for the friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006

New Emergency/Trauma CenterMore space, the latest in technology—even a place just for kids!

Heart & Lung InstituteEmerging Center for Thoracic Disease sets its sights on lung transplantation

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

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

Now that Barrow has moved into the new tower, we have begun renovating the formerBarrow building for the Heart & Lung Institute. And, as you will see in this issue ofSt. Joseph’s Magazine, there is a lot going on in that area. The Scott and Laura EllerCongenital Heart Center continues to develop—with the help of a group of dynamic volunteers whoare raising funds for the new center. Our benefactors have also enabled the hospital to begin devel-oping the lung side of the center. In “A Breath of Fresh Air,” you’ll read about the team of lung spe-cialists St. Joseph’s has recruited and their efforts to build a center dedicated to advanced thoracicand 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 with-out 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 givesthanks 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 HuntPresident

OPENING THOUGHTS

3 The Sky’s the LimitNew center takes emergency and trauma careto the next level.

8 A Breath of Fresh AirSt. Joseph’s Heart & Lung Institute makes plans forValley’s first lung-transplant program.

12 Hearts UnitedIdentical twins undergo surgery for rare heart defect.

16 Mission: Healthy KidsPediatric center treats the usual—and not so usual.

18 Why We GiveTesseract kindergarteners learn about philanthropy.

20 Aging AppropriatelyGeriatric Assessment Clinic uses team to address elderlyconcerns.

22 Pieces of the PuzzleSt. Joseph’s takes steps to create cancer center.

25 Two-Time WinnersPilot says St. Joseph’s saved his life; his wife wins bigin Fall 2006 Health & Wealth Raffle.

27 Born at St. Joseph’sEmployees, former patients share their stories.

30 Community Health IntegrationSt. Joseph’s and its 60 partners collaborate to solveArizona’s health problems.

32 Thanking Our Major Donors

34 News

ST. JOSEPH’SmagazineA magazine for the friends of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center Volume 2, Issue 2, 2006

contents

Catherine [email protected]

Justin DetwilerArt Director/Designer

Scott Baxter, Mark Delsasso,Jackie Mercandetti, Jeff Noble, Mike TaftPhotography

Steve Woods Printing

Linda Hunt, PresidentSt. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center

Mary Jane Crist, CFRECEO, St. Joseph’s Foundation

• H o w t o R e a c h U s •St. Joseph’s Magazine is published twice a year by St. Joseph’s Foundation. We welcome your comments, suggestions and requests to beadded to or deleted from ourmailing list. Call 602-406-1041, email [email protected] or sendmail to St. Joseph’s Magazine, Office ofPhilanthropy, St. Joseph’s Hospital andMedical Center, 350W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85013. Please include your name, address and day-time telephone number in all correspondence. Visit us online at www.StJosephs-Phx.com.

S T . J O S E P H ’ S M A G A Z I N E2

St. Joseph’s Foundationreceived the following emailand photo in October fromShannon Waddle, whoseinfant son, Jake, was featureda year ago in St. Joseph’sMagazine. Jake was born witha congenital heart defect andhad open-heart surgery whenhe was less than one day old.

Jake turned 1 on Oct. 13thand what an emotional daythat was for me. He isdoing so good and meltsmy heart everyday!! Ohand did he love his cake!!!It was too funny!

We think of you all there atSJ all the time and are sothankful to have you all inour lives! You all are trulyJake’s angels!!!

Shannon

This email was sent to the Health & Wealth Raffle:

I haven’t bought the tickets in the past becausebills were always so high. I have been puttingmoney away for this year’s raffle. I was thrilledwhen I finally did enter in the drawings and knewthe money was going to support St Joseph’s.

I have had several problems keeping my preg-nancies in the past and I had our first born at amilitary hospital 15 weeks premature.... he is 9now and doing great. I was referred to see adoctor at St. Joseph’s. He was going to be thedoctor to help us get through the fertility treat-ments and keep me on track. I found out wewere having twins...I was so scared but knewthat St. Joseph’s was going to be the best placefor us to be.

Living kind of far from the hospital I had wonder-ful support and great guidance. I was told thatmy body was starting to reject the babies and Iwas having problems medically. They put me onbed rest and hooked me on this machine thatplugged 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 andleft my future in God’s hands and St. Joseph’s.

I delivered my twins 5-11-03. If you look back itwas on Mother’s Day. I had a c-section and ourtwins were 10 weeks premature. St. Joseph’sHospital saved my children’s lives and mine. Mylittle babies had to stay in the NyICU for 6 weeksand the NyICU doctors were amazing, the nurs-es were my support system. What a blessing thishas been for us to give back.... just a little...forsomething they gave us that meant the world. Ihope for a win...but just happy to give back.Thank you so much.

LETTERS

S T . J O S E P H ’ S M A G A Z I N E 3

THE SKY’STHE LIMITNEW CENTER TAKESEMERGENCY AND TRAUMACARE TO NEXT LEVEL

It’s a typical Thursday

night in the Emergency

Department. A trauma

team rushes to greet an

ambulance that carries a

patient with life-threaten-

ing injuries. A group of

doctors gathers in a consul-

tation 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.

By Sarah Padilla


Only these harried staff and worried family mem-bers aren’t real—they’re on an episode ofGrey’s Anato-my 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 spaciouswaiting roomis about half full of patients,who pass the timewatch-ing television or the brightly colored fish swimming ina large fish tank.Two of the four patient zones are full,and staff members use state-of-the-art technology tocare for patients and chart information. Down thehall, three trauma patients are being stabilized andwill soon be admitted to intensive care.

The scene tonight is a far cry from just a fewmonthsago when upwards of 180 patients a day sought treat-ment in a more-than-20-year-old unit designed andequipped to treat far fewer. But in early September, St.Joseph’s greatly enhanced its emergency and traumaservices with the opening of the new Del E. WebbEmergency Department and Trauma Center on theground 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,

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


medical director of theEDandSt. Joseph’sChief of Staff.“It’s like we’ve emerged from the dark ages and we’reenjoying our Renaissance.”

Themost obviousdifferencebetween theoldEDandthe new one is sheer size. With 48 private emergencybays designed to treat patients of any acuity, the newfacility hasmore than double the bed count and squarefootage.The treatment areas,nursing stations andhall-ways are spacious and comfortable. Gone are the daysof hallways lined with patients in gurneys.

TheTraumaCenter nowhas six traumabeds in threeample trauma bays with cutting-edge technology,including overheadX-raymachines and supply booms.Trauma patients are brought in through a dedicatedambulance entrance or flown in to the new heliport,located on top of the Barrow Neuroscience Tower.

The larger facility features new additions such as aconference room, space dedicated to physician consul-tations and a three-bed fast-track area for patientswith minor injuries. It also boasts roomier physicianoffices and an expanded stat lab.

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

Equippedwith the latest technology, the EDprom-ises a more efficient experience for both patients andstaff.Large plasmamonitors at eachnursing stationdis-play real-time patient information. Flat-screen work-stations are located between patient bays, giving staffthe ability to chart into an electronic medical recordpractically from the patient’s bedside.

“Theworkstations give us easy access to the patientwhilewe’re entering information,whichmakes itmoreefficient,” says Dr. Christopher. “Also, it’s good forpatients to see us working on their pathology to givethem a better idea of howmuch timewe spend on ourpatients.”

Faster, more exact diagnosisOne addition that’s already made a huge impact is

a dedicated computerized tomography (CT) and radi-ology area.Situated conveniently between the emergencyand trauma areas, this new radiology area containstwo 64-slice CT scanners.While therewas a scanner inthe old trauma area, these leading-edgemachines offerfaster and clearer images—especially significant totrauma and stroke patients forwhoma fewminutes canmean a world of difference.

This diagnostic edge is especially important to St.Joseph’s, which is one of the leading stroke and trau-ma centers in the Southwest. In fact, St. Joseph’swas thefirstArizona hospi-tal to earn JCAHOcertification as aPri-mary StrokeCenterand is the only hos-pital inArizonawithLevel I Trauma ver-ification from theAmerican Collegeof Surgeons.

Because childrenaccount for about athird of the morethan 60,000 patients who visit St. Joseph’s ED eachyear, the new department offers a dedicated pediatricemergency and waiting area. Pediatric specialists staffthe eight-bed unit during prime times; ultimately,ded-icated pediatric emergency carewill be offered 24hoursa day.Already, the pediatric area is outgrowing its newspace, and another ED zone may be allocated topediatric patients.


Del E. Webb Emergency Department and Trauma Center

• More than double the space of theold Emergency Department

• Six trauma bays with cutting-edgetechnology, including overheadX-ray machines and supply booms.

• Forty-eight emergency baysequipped to care for patients with alltypes of needs—fromminor emer-gencies to life-threatening problems.

• An area dedicated solely to the treat-ment of children, including eighttreatment bays and a waiting area.

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

• A three-bed fast-track ED area with its own waiting room. The goal ofthis 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, morewelcoming waiting area.

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

“The difference

between the old and

new facility is like

night and day.”

Michael Christopher, MD

Mary DiJulio preparesa child for a scan inone of the EDʼs two 64-slice CT units.

Compassionate carein a comfortable setting

While a visit to the emergency room isn’t high onanyone’s list of things to do, the new facility has beendesigned to make the experience as comfortable aspossible. From the muted desert color palette andsoothing fish tank to the dedicated family consultationand viewing rooms, everything is designed to promotecomfort and healing.

“This facility will greatly help us achieve our goalof offering compassionate care in a comfortable setting,”says Dr. Christopher. “We’ve had the opportunity todesign processes that allow patients to be seen morequickly in a more comfortable environment.We nowhave the ability to promote patient satisfaction likewe’ve never had before.”

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

The goodnews for thosewaiting towork in the newED is that there is an increasing need for emergencyhealthcare workers as the demand for emergency andtrauma services continues to go up.

For example, use of the hospital’s trauma serviceshas been increasing 10 percent annually with morethan 4,250 traumavisits last year alone.Already,EDvol-ume in the new facility has increased.A typical day inthe pastmight have drawn 180 patients; today, the EDis seeing closer to 200 patients a day.And that numberwill increase as the busy winter season approaches.

This year, however, staff is better equipped to han-dle the crunch. St. Joseph’s is now the biggest hospitalin the state, offering an unparalleled depth of servic-es, technology andmedical professionals.This year,Dr.Christopher welcomes the winter challenge.

“Wehave all the toolsweneed to rock,”he says.“Thesky’s the limit.”


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

A BREATH OF FRESH AIRNEW HEART & LUNG INSTITUTEMAKES PLANS FOR VALLEY’S FIRSTLUNG-TRANSPLANT PROGRAM

Jordan Sterling, above, andRichard Sifton, right, are amongthe Valley residents whoʼve hadto go out of state for a lungtransplant.


by Catherine Menor


Imagine feeling as though a giantclampis squeezingyourchest,mak-ing everybreath a struggle. Being soshort of breath that a flight of stairsleaves yougasping for air. Having toretire fromyourwork,the sports andpastimes you love because you can’tbreathewell enough todo the thingsmostof us take for granted. Imagineslowly suffocating to death.

Just a nightmare? Formost of us, yes.But for peoplewith severe lung disease, these can be the realities ofeveryday life. “I remember thinking about every singlebreath,”says JordanSterling,a 32-year-oldPhoenixmanwhose lungs were slowly destroyed by cystic fibrosis.

Until now, Jordan and other Valley residents withsevere lung disease have had to leave Arizona for thehighly specialized care theyneed.MetropolitanPhoenixhad nomedical center specializing in themost seriousand complicated forms of lung disease.

Donors help build new lung centerThat situation is changing—thanks to start-up fund-

ing from St. Joseph’s Foundation.During the last year,St. Joseph’sHospital has recruited a teamof lung-trans-plant surgeons and pulmonologists to build a thoraciccenter as part of the new Heart & Lung Institute.

“We’ve got all the pieces in place,” says Ross Brem-ner, MD, PhD, surgical director of the new Center forThoracic Disease at St. Joseph’s.

Dr.Bremner and several othermembers of the newSt. Joseph’s pulmonary teamworked together on lungtransplants at the University of Southern California(USC) inLosAngeles.Now, theyhope to establish a sim-ilar program at St. Joseph’s Heart & Lung Institute.

“Weworkwell together,”saysDr.Bremner.“Our sur-vival rates at USC were better than the national aver-age.We just need to green light tomake it work here.”

The need in our communityThat green light would come from theUnitedNet-

workofOrganSharing (UNOS).UNOS is thenon-prof-it organization that coordinates transplant activity inthe United States. St. Joseph’s has applied to UNOS tobegin doing lung transplants.

St. Joseph’s lung-transplant specialists—thoracicand lung-transplant surgeonsDr.Bremner, JohnNigro,MD, andMichael Smith,MD, and transplant pulmo-nologists Tony Hodges, MD, and Rajat Walia, MD—say theValley needs its own lung-transplant program.

“Here is a communityofmore than fourmillionpeo-ple with no lung-transplant program. The fact is that75 percent of Valley residents in need of a lung trans-plant go out of state for care,” says Dr. Bremner. Lastyear several lungs fromPhoenixdonorswere transplant-ed into patients in Los Angeles, and a number ofValley residents received lung transplants there.

Drs.Bremner,Hodges, Smithand Nigro cameto St. Joseph’sfromUSC,whichat the time hadone of the busiestlung-transplantprogramswest oftheMississippi. Italso had one ofthe best one-yearsurvival rates oflarge programs,those performingmore than30 lung transplants a year.USCaveragedover37 lung transplants per year during the past year. Dr.Walia worked in the lung-transplant program at Stan-fordUniversity and theUniversity of Floridabeforemov-ing to Phoenix.

These lung specialists, alongwith St. Joseph’s inde-pendent-practice pulmonologists ShawnWright,MD,Jeremy Feldman, MD, Greg Ahearn, MD, and RickSue,MD, are building a programdesigned tomeet theValley’s need for treatment of the most seriousesophageal and thoracic conditions.

Thanks to Foundation

funding, St. Joseph’s

has recruited a

respected team of

lung-transplant

experts.

The surgeonshavebegunperforming esophageal sur-gery and minimally invasive thoracic surgery, includ-ing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS),whichremoves lung tumors through tiny incisions. Theyhave already establishedprograms inpulmonary hyper-tension and lung cancer. Plans for a genetic lung dis-ease center and diffuse lung disease center are alsounderway.

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

One of the lucky onesJordan Sterling considers himself very lucky—

despite the fact that he was born with cystic fibrosis, agenetic disease in which the body produces unusuallythick, stickymucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections.

Born and raised inPhoenix, Jordan,now32, says hischildhood felt normal despite his frequent medicalneeds.Heparticipated in soccer, swimming and tennis.

But by the time Jordan graduated from BrophyPreparatory and headed off to Santa Clara Universityin California, his health had declined significantly, andhemade frequent trips throughout college to StanfordUniversity Medical Center for percussion therapy.

Shortly after he receivedhis bachelor’s degree,he alsoreceived a prescription for a lung transplant.His lungswere so diseased that he could barely walk a flight ofstairs. The lack of oxygen left him exhausted and ableto work only part-time.

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

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

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


Below, the new lung-transplant teamincludes John Nigro, MD; Ross Bremner,MD, PhD; Rajat Walia, MD; and TonyHodges, MD. Left, independent-practicepulmonologists Jeremy Feldman, MD;Shawn Wright, MD; and Greg Ahearn, MD.

donated lungs testedpositive for valley fever.Sixmonthslater, in Feb. 2001, Jordan received his second page—this time the real deal.Within just a few hours, he wasflown to San Francisco and prepped for the opera-tion. Jordan received the lungs of a 25-year-old Asianwho had died in a car accident of head trauma. St.Joseph’s transplant pulmonologistDr.Walia participat-ed in his care at Stanford.

Yes, Jordan was lucky. He had a supportive familyto help before and after the surgery: relatives he couldstaywith innearby Sausalito and amotherwhowaswill-ing and able to devote the three months after Jordan’ssurgery to caring for him.

But not every person needing a lung transplant isso lucky, says Jordan. And that’s why he believes thatPhoenix needs its own lung-transplant program. “Tohave something herewould alleviate a huge amount ofstress for patients and their families,” he says.

Life-long care after transplantationDr. Tony Hodges says that Jordan Sterling is an

example of the ideal lung-transplant candidate—aperson under 65 years of age whose lung disease can-not be helped bymedicine,whose life expectancy is lessthan 18monthswithout a transplant andwhose poten-tial for successful rehabilitation is good.

“People who fit this profile have an excellent prog-nosis for a relatively normal life after transplantation,”saysDr.Hodges,who ismedical director of PulmonaryTransplantation at St. Joseph’sHeart & Lung Institute.“Of course, theymust receive lifelong care after the trans-plant, including medicine to prevent organ rejectionand regular check-upswith lung-transplant specialists.”

This ongoing aftercare can be daunting for patientswho live hundreds of miles away from a transplantcenter.Phoenix lung-transplant patient Richard Sifton,for instance, has returned to USC five times a yearsince receiving a single-lung transplant there in Janu-ary 2004. Two lung specialists and a lung-transplantcoordinator now at St. Joseph’s participated in his carethere—Dr. Bremner performed the transplant, Dr.Hodges directed hismedical care, andBrandi Krushel-niski, RN, BSN, was his transplant coordinator.

“It feels good to know that these peoplewho I knowand trust are now 400 miles closer to me. I do believeit’s a major coup for Phoenix,” Richard says.

Sunny days aheadTheoutlook for lung-transplant patients likeRichard

and Jordan is good.The longer out from surgery thesepatients get, the less likely it is that theywill have prob-lems with organ rejection.

Richard will tell you his life hasmade a 180-degreeturn since his transplant. “Before the transplant I washalf dead. I just dragged my body across the room. Ihad no energy.My skin was gray, and it was constant-ly flaking.My hair was gray and dull, very dull.

“Now I can do a treadmill for half an hour with noproblem. It’s truly like having a new life. Three weeksago, I went to the top of the Snowbowl ski lift. It wasthe first time I’d been above 9,000 feet in years. I planto go hot air ballooning sometime over the holidays.”

Richard is so grateful for a second chance that hespeaks to any and all peoplewho are interested in hear-ing his story—particularly people considering a lungtransplant and people interested in organ donation.

As for Jordan, his days of exhaustion are over. Henowholds two jobs—as a realtorwithDPRRealty andas a loan officer at Legacy HomeMortgage.

“I hit the lottery with this surgery,”he says.“I’m somuchmore driven to accomplish things inmyperson-al life and inmy career. It’s been a long road and a verydifficult 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 supportPhilanthropy will be critical to building the Center forThoracic Disease. For information about how you canhelp, call St. Joseph’s Foundation at 602-406-3041.


HEARTS UNITEDIDENTICAL TWINS UNDERGOSURGERY FOR RARE HEART DEFECT

by Melissa Morrison

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

Forty years ago, babies like Kaleb and Kaden Boopwould not have survived their first month.When Jenny Boop, 27, discovered she was preg-

nant, she and her husband, Clifton, 29, were thrilled.Not onlywere theAnthemresidents expecting their firstbaby, they were expecting twins.

Their joy turned to anguish,however,when Jenny’sultrasound revealed that the babies had malformedhearts. A cardiologist confirmed the diagnosis: In avery rare phenomenon,not just one,but both twins suf-fered from a smaller-than-normal left ventricle andaorta, the parts of the heart responsible for propellingblood throughout the entire body.

The condition is knownas hypoplastic left heart syn-drome.As recently as 40 years ago,babies bornwith thiscondition were sent home to live out the rest of theirbrief lives. Nothing could be done for them.

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

Surgery on two tiny heartsDays after the twins were born on Sept. 6 at St.

Joseph’sHospital andMedical Center, they underwenttheir first surgery: theNorwood procedure, a six-houroperation to enable the right ventricle to pump bloodto both the lungs and the body. At that point, Kadenweighed just under five pounds, and his brother, justunder six.Their heartswere the size of walnuts,and theiraortaswere amere twomillimeterswide—one-fifth thenormal size in newborns.

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


The Scott and LauraEller Congenital HeartCenter at St. JosephʼsHeart & Lung Instituteprovides life-long carefor children and adultswith congenital heartdisease. The Center isled by pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeonsJohn Nigro, MD, (aboveleft) and DavidCleveland, MD (aboveright).


The identical twins have since recovered beyondexpectations. Jennywaswarned that babies likehers tendto exhaust themselves atmealtime,but the boys are suchhearty eaters that Jenny asked her nurse if it was okayto feed themmore.

Improved odds—thanksto medical advancements

The Boop boys are now poised to join the growingranks of congenital heart patientswho reach adulthood.

This hopeful phenomenon bringswith it new chal-lenges, however.Back in the daywhen few such babiesmade it past infanthood, therewas little need to addressthehealth issues theymight face as adults.“Even10 yearsago, probably 50 percent of babies died,” says DavidCleveland, MD, the pediatric cardiothoracic surgeonwho is executive director of theHeart& Lung Instituteat St. Joseph’s.

But medical advances have dramatically improvedthe odds for the estimated 35,000 American babiesborn each year with heart defects.

That’s why the Scott and Laura Eller CongenitalHeart Center was established at the Heart & LungInstitute at St. Joseph’s in 2005—to shepherd patientsfrom thewomb to their wedding day and beyond.The

Lou Grubb eventhas a whole lot ofheart this year

The2007LouGrubbFriends ForeGolffundraiserwill raisemoneynot only forBarrow Neurological Institute, as theevent has in the past, but also for thenew Heart & Lung Institute at St.Joseph’s.

The popular charity golf event—which includes a dinner, auction andtournament—is scheduled for April19-20 at the Arizona Biltmore andMcCormick Ranch Golf Club. Co-chairmen of the event are LouiOlivas,PhD, and Dennis Sage. Other com-mittee members are Charles Alfano,MD, L. Don Brown,Wayne S. Doran,Mike Ford, Cassandra Groh, LouGrubb, Stuart Kirk, William Long,Roger Maxwell, Mike Medici, Anne Robbs and Nancy Sage.

For information about sponsorships and/or tickets, con-tactDebbieCastaldo,director of AnnualGivingProgram,at 602-406-1031 or [email protected].

“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

The Lou Grubb Friends Fore Golffundraiser is Lou Grubbʼs way of thank-ing Robert Spetzler, MD, for saving hislife in 1986 when he suffered a rupturedaneurysm during a round of golf.

center brings together the raft of specialistswho, togeth-er, keep congenital heart patients like the Boop babieshealthy through childhood, adolescence and adult-hood.

“This is a lifelong disease process,”says JohnNigro,MD, the cardiothoracic surgeon who is the center’sdirector. “Just because you make their heart functionadequately doesn’t mean they’re cured. They’re goingto need significant heart care for the rest of their lives.”

A lifetime of heart careAdult congenital heart patients may face problems

ranging from the neurological to the reproductive tothe psychological. And they will no doubt confrontother problems that no one has yet anticipated,becausethe field is still so new.

“Their needs are going tobe a lot different,but I don’tthink we know exactly what they’ll be,”Dr. Clevelandsays.

The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Centerat St. Joseph’s is the only one of its kind in the region.It was named for the parents of Elissa Eller, who wasborn with a heart defect and who is now a youngwoman, thanks to treatment that her parents had to seekout of state. The Ellers contributed $2 million to St.Joseph’s Foundation to help establish the center.

Now that such treatment is available inArizona, thecenter is continuing to strengthen its offerings for bothpediatric and adult patients. For example, it is expand-ing its heart clinics and investingmore in research andeducation.The center’s greatest contribution topatients,however, is that it streamlines their experience.

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

Two more surgeries for twinsTheBoopbabieswill be frequent visitors.Twomore

operations are planned—when the boys are severalmonthsold andagainwhen theypass the two-yearmark.When the surgeries are complete, the boys’ heartsshould adequately circulate blood throughout theirbodies, allowing them to live relatively normal lives,though vigorous activities such as competitive sportswill likely be restricted.

When Kaden and Kaleb Boop grow old enough tounderstand what they went through, their motherknows what she will tell them—“that their life is trulya blessing fromGod, because they were not supposedtomake it,”Jenny says.“The toughpartwill be if they’reinterested in doing something and can’t.”

“But,” she adds,“the good thing, too, is the doctorssaid there are somanymore years of them growing upand of research to be done, so who knows what maycome their way.”

The Scott and Laura Eller Congenital Heart Centermaywell be the placewhere those discoveries aremade.


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.

Raising funds for theHeart & Lung InstituteA group of volunteers, led by ScottEller, are working to raise $13millionfor the Heart & Lung Institute. Formore information, call St. Joseph’sFoundation at 602-406-3041.


WITH A 50-YEAR TRACK RECORD OF SERVING POORAND UNDER-SERVED CHILDREN, ST. JOSEPH'SPEDIATRIC AMBULATORY CARE CENTER CONTINUESTO TREAT THE USUAL—AND NOT SO USUAL

by Sally J. Clasen

Guillermo Garcia, a 16-year-old sopho-more, loves to run and play soccer and

other sports, but he doesn’t take his ability to dothose things lightly. The Phoenix teen’smaturediscovery that life is somewhat fragile didn’tjust occur overnight. Since 2002,Guillermohasbeen a patient of St. Joseph’s Pediatric Ambu-latoryCareCenter (PACC) for the treatment oflifelong hypertension. But in 2005 when hisphysicians became concerned that his elevatedbloodpressurewasn’t responding to anti-hyper-tensionmedication,Guillermobegan a journeyto discover the cause.

Connecting the dotsThePACCphysicians suspected thatGuiller-

mo’s high blood pressure might have a renalcause, so the teen was referred to pediatricnephrologist Eli Firzli, MD. When Dr. Firzlicouldn’t locate any kidney pathology, Guiller-mo was next sent to pediatric cardiologist LoriGuerrero,MD,who orderedmultiple echocar-diograms. These tests also failed to find a rea-son for the young man’s uncontrollable bloodpressure.

Then, during a follow-up visit, OmarRodriquez, MD, a resident working under thesupervision of PACC residency programdirec-tor Lilia Parra-Roide, MD, noted a delay inGuillermo’s pulses in his lower extremities, soGuillermowas sent back toDr.Guerrero.Whena third echocardiogram was inconclusive, Dr.Parra-Roide ordered anurgentMRIof the chest,whichultimately indicated a severeunrecognizedcoarctation of Guillermo’s aorta.

Coarctationof the aorta is a narrowingof theaorta between the upper-body artery branchesand the branches to the lower body.This block-

MISSION: HEALTHY KIDS

Guillermo Garcia is back to playing sportsafter a health scare nearly sidelined him.


age can increase thebloodpressure in the arms andhead,reduce pressure in the legs and seriously strain theheart.

Solving the mysteryWithin a fewweeks,Guillermo underwent surgery

to repair the narrowing of his aorta. The goal of sur-gery, performed by pediatric heart surgeon DavidCleveland, MD, was to prevent further damage toGuillermo’s heart and to prevent a stroke.

Severe unrecognized coarctation of the aorta inchildren is unusual, says Dr. Parra-Roide, who hasmonitoredGuillermo’swell- and sick-child visits to thePACC.“Whatmade his case fascinating is that we hada constellation of findings, such as a heartmurmur,butthe cause of his hypertension was a real mystery.”

What is usual about Guillermo’s case is the collab-orative and dedicated efforts of PACC and other St.Joseph’s staff members to find answers to pediatriccomplications, large and small. “We were led off thepath,”saysDr.Parra-Roide.“When it didn’tmake sense,we’d go back and take another look. Consistency andthoroughness were the keys, from the residents to theattending to the sub-specialists involved in Guiller-mo’s care.”

An investment in the communityThe PACC opened in 1954 and has provided both

well- and sick-care exams for poor and medicallyunder-served children up to age 18 ever since. In addi-tion, a full range of well-baby services, checkups, immu-nizations, labwork,X-rays,prescriptions,healthcare edu-cation and routine developmental assessments areoffered. The PACC team includes eight full-time staffmembers, 26 residents and nine board-certified pedi-atricians. St. Joseph’s Foundation supports PACC.

According to SusanKucharo,PACCmanager,near-ly 9,000 children were treated at the clinic betweenJuly 2005 and June 2006. In recent months, PACC,which is the primary ambulatory teaching site for St.Joseph’s pediatric residency training program, broad-ened its influence even further into the community byextending services to families with commercial insur-ance.

“PACC improves the health of our community inbig and small ways,”Susan says,“Every immunizationandevery vision test has thepotential to improve a child’shealth, but cases like Guillermo’s don’t come alongevery day.Approval fromSt. Joseph’s CharityCommit-teemadeGuillermo’s surgery, hospital stay and recov-ery possible. It’s very rewarding towork in an environ-ment where every patient is valued and where livesare affected in such powerful ways.”

Some luck and commitment“Ourmission is to do everythingwe can to keep kids

fromgetting sick,”Dr.Parra-Roide adds of the PACC’scommitment to discoveringwhat ails children,nomat-ter the case.

Guillermo is certainly an appreciative benefactor ofthat effort.“I feel very lucky. I’ve been though a lot andthe doctors have been very caring,” says Guillermo,who still takes anti-hypertension medicine as well asmedication for apulmonaryproblem.“NowIdon’t haveany pain in my legs. I can play sports and lift weightsand 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.”

Susan Kucharo

Sandy Sexton, RN, cares for achild in the PACC.

Batman, a harem dancer, a vampire and 20 otherspooky and exotic characters got a lesson in phi-

lanthropy at Tesseract School this Halloween. The 23costumed kids, students inKateWilkes andKellyWer-net’s kindergarten class, created treat bags, ate deco-rated cookies, played games—and assembled goodiebags for children at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

The goodie bags—111 of them in all—are part ofTesseract’s KidsWhoCare program,now in its secondyear. Each class at the ParadiseValley school, from thethree-year-olds to the eighth-graders, selected a year-long community partner as part of KidsWho Care.

The kindergarten class chose St. Joseph’s as its part-ner because of discussions between teacher “MissKate” and Jean Velez, RN, Kate’s husband’s cousinand anurse in St. Joseph’s EmergencyDepartment (ED)and Trauma Center. The goodie bags will be distrib-uted to children in the newpediatric area of St. Joseph’sED.

“We get somany kids who come through the ED,”Jean says.“But people don’t donate toys to us like theydo to other children’s areas of the hospital.”

The class plans to provide treats not only at Hal-loween, but at Christmas andValentine’sDay, too.And,a toy drive in the spring will also benefit children inSt. Joseph’s ED.

The KidsWhoCare program includes curriculumrelated to the class’s community partner. In the class


The children donated

111 goodie bags for

kids in St. Joseph’s

new ED.

WHY WE GIVETESSERACT KINDERGARTENERSLEARN ABOUT PHILANTHROPY

by Catherine Menor


that is partnering with St. Joseph’s, the children willlearn about the human body, medical careers, whathappens when kids go to the hospital and otherhealth-related topics.

Tesseract parents say KidsWho Care benefits theirown children asmuch as St. Joseph’s children.“Researchhas shown thatwhen children growupwith a programlike this, they stay away fromdrugs, they stay away fromgangs,”saysBarbaraGreenberg,a parentwhoalongwithJanaWilcke,chairsKidsWhoCare at the school.“It givesthem a bigger sense of belonging and purpose.”

And, for the children in this kindergarten class, theKidsWho Care Halloween project was just plain fun.Each child got a chance to stuff colorful cellophane giftbags with Crayolas, stickers, Beanie Babies, Play-Doh,toothpaste and other treats donated by their parents.

“We’re very excited about the turnout,”says parentLisaRouhani,who,alongwithDaphneCadwell, JeniferKasten and Jan Hudson, coordinated the Halloweenproject.“This program really teaches the children howto give and how to be a member of a community.”

Editor’s note:Tesseract School hopes to share theKidsWhoCare 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


The elderly often shuffle between multiple physician visits and appointments, seekingexpertise in a disjointed—and overburdened—system of healthcare, which can leave

them with undiagnosed complications and misguided treatment plans. Yet, for those 65and older seeking evaluation at St. Joseph’s Geriatric Assessment Clinic (GAC), it’s a dif-ferent elder-care story.

The GAC, which is part of the Department of Family Medicine, is held onWednesdayafternoons at the Peppertree Building on the hospital campus. A team of geriatric profes-sionals address a multitude of elderly concerns, according to Robert Garcia,MD, the clin-ic’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 theelderly,”Dr. Garcia says of the multi-specialist team. The team includes two other board-certified geriatricians, Joanne Ceimo, MD, and Walter Nieri, MD, as well as MarianneMcCarthy, PhD, NP-C, Summer Peregrin, PharmD, and Phillip Cieplinksi, LMSW.

Assessing functional versus chronological ageWhileDr.Garcia points out that there are uniformmedical andpsychosocial factors con-

nected to aging—falling,dementia,depression andpolypharmacy—theGAC teamalso assess-es complex health issues, such as diabetes and congestive heart failure.However, elderly prob-lems are not lumped into a general categorywhere evaluation and treatment aremeasuredby 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

AGING APPROPRIATELYUSING A FOCUSED APPROACH, ST. JOSEPH’SGERIATRIC ASSESSMENT CLINIC SOLVESINDIVIDUAL ELDERLY CONCERNS

by Sally J. Clasen

A multi-disciplinaryteam of geriatricexperts assessesFlorence Gonzalez.


expected to happen at a certain age, but the paradigmis shifting. Through the GAC, we can sort throughcomplicated issues thatmaybe overlooked in other caresettings. Or we can recognize a problem related tofunction, such as loss of independence, for example,whichwe can take care of very quickly by recommend-ing placement options.”

Patient Florence Gonzalez, age 65, was referred totheGACby her family-medicine physician in January.Prior to this, Florence had been hospitalized multipletimes andhad adramatic 40-poundweight loss, accord-ing to her daughter and caregiver, BerthaMontoya. Inaddition to her weight loss, she was nauseous andlethargic.

Brown-bag evaluationThe GAC scheduled Florence for a “brown-bag”

evaluation and asked her to bring all the medicationsshewas taking in a bag to the appointment.They foundthat shewas taking 25prescriptions for a variety of prob-lems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, arthri-tis, 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 secondGAC appointmentswith her mother. “Each team member individuallyaddressedmymother’s questions and explained thingsto 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 familymembers pres-ent because it helps identify problems, such as polyphar-macy, which may be difficult to recognize or easilyoverlooked inmore traditional, clinical environments.

In addition, the team “scores” the patient’s health,using standardized scales to assessmental status, func-tion, nutrition,depression,balance, economic resourcesand advance directives.A complete report with recom-mendations, including aproposedplanof action, is thensent to a patient’s referring physician.

Growing segment of societyThe comprehensive approach to caring for the eld-

erly is a new concept in Phoenix, according toDr.Gar-cia, andhas an advantage over independent evaluationsperformed by physicianswho don’t have the opportu-nity to manage care in a coordinated effort.

Given the increased lifespan and population of theelderly in the United States—experts estimate thatmore than 50millionAmericans (about 17 percent ofthe population) will be 65 or older by 2020—Dr.Gar-cia says it is critical that elderly issues be addressedcollaboratively usingmodels like theGAC.“Theman-agement of complexmedical issues of the elderly needsa focused effort,” he says.

Sincebeing evaluatedby theGACteam,who reducedher medication intake, Florence has experiencedimproved health—her sugar levels and weight havestabilized, according toBertha.“They’ve really been ableto help her and havemade recommendations to solvesome of her pain issues as well.We have a long way togo, but having her seen at the GAC was a good start.”

Contact the GAC

Appointments for St. Joseph’s Geriatric AssessmentClinic are coordinated by a geriatric nurse practition-er. For an appointment, call (602) 406-5556.

Robert Garcia, MD,Medical Director

Joanne Ceimo, MD

Walter Nieri, MDGeriatric FellowshipResidency ProgramDirector

Marianne McCarthy,PhD, NP-C

Phillip Cieplinski,LMSWSocial Work and CaseManagement

Summer Peregrin,PharmDPharmacist


Acancerdiagnosis is frighteningand isolating,and some-times it’smadeworse byhaving to go tomultiple doc-

torsand locations forabiopsy,treatmentand follow-upmon-itoring. St. Joseph’s Hospital andMedical Center wants toease the navigation part of the disease by establishing acomprehensive cancer centerwhere patients can receive allof their care in a single setting.

“Our goal is to become a National Cancer Institute(NCI)-designatedcancercenter,”saidEdwardDonahue,MD,

PIECES OF THE PUZZLEST. JOSEPH'S TAKES STEPS

TO CREATE COMPREHENSIVECANCER CENTER

by Debra Gelbart

St. Josephʼs has many of thetechnological components of acomprehensive cancer center,including CyberKnife and GammaKnife.


themedical directorof St. Joseph’sCancerCenter,whichbecame operational on Aug. 1. There are currently 39NCI-designated cancer centers across the country.

According toDr.Donahue,anNCI-designated com-prehensive cancer center diagnoses and treatsmanydif-ferent types of cancer at the same facility and conductsresearchandclinical trials tohelpdevelopnewtreatments.

“There is a lot of research into breast cancer, forexample, that is showing promise,” he said, “includingcryotherapy and laser therapy.There are also a numberof minimally invasive cancer treatments under investi-gation that look encouraging.

“We’ll enhance the clinical programs alreadyunder-way anddevelopnewones to give patients access to theservices theyneed,”hecontinued.“We’ll alsoprovidecom-plementary services, including nutrition counseling,physical education, prevention programs and supportgroups. Inaddition,wewant to includean inpatienthos-pice unit and an expanded outpatient infusion centerwhere patients can receive chemotherapy.”

Dr. Donahue envisions the cancer center offeringnewer treatment in the field of interventional oncolo-gy, which provides image-guided therapy for differenttypes of tumors.

“In combination with surgery, newer treatmentsand long-established treatments can all work togetherto deliver the best care to patientswith cancer.AnNCI-designated cancer center contributes to advances incancer research that lead to better evaluation, preven-tion, understanding and treatment,”saidDr.Donahue.

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

“We’re seeing a tremendous increase in the numberof patients diagnosed every year, and instead of saying‘These patients have beendiagnosedwith cancer,’moreand more we’re saying, ‘These patients are living withcancer.’We’removing toward cancerbecoming a chron-ic disease in some patients instead of a deadly disease.Cancer care touches the livesof almost everyone.Patientsand families need a lot of support and that is what ourcancer center is designed to give them.”

MarySchneider,MHA,thedirectorof theSt. Joseph’scancer center, says that thehospital alreadyhasmanyofthe components of a comprehensive cancer center.“My

“We’re moving toward

cancer becoming a

chronic disease in

some patients instead

of a deadly disease.”

Edward Donahue, MD

EdwardDonahue, MD


role is to pull them together under a singleumbrella and at the same time collaborative-ly work across other segments of the institu-tion—heart-lung, pediatrics and women’sservices, for example—toenhance the currentservices.”

Dr. Donahue, who was named the med-ical director of the cancer center inMay2006,said,“At this stagewe’re assessingour strengthsanddevelopingabusinessplan for the future.”

Cancer patient gives back

Editor’s note: A year ago, we profiledMaria Lopez, a Phoenixmoth-er of fivewhowas diagnosedwith breast cancer at theWomen’sWell-ness Clinic and treated at the Breast Evaluation Center. Today, she’sin remission and is happy andhealthy.We thought our readersmightlike an update on her life.

Maria Lopez of Phoenix wants to give back. She feels soblessed that her breast cancer was discovered at a relativelyearly stage and successfully treated that earlier this year, shewent on a churchmission to an African orphanage.

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

Maria,whoworks in a flag factory in Phoenix,was diag-nosed in 2004.Shewas fortunate tohave aplace to go for themedical care that would have been prohibitively expensivealmost anywhere else. She was referred to the Breast Evalu-ationCenter,whichopenedatSt. Joseph’sHospital inNovem-ber 2003 and receives St. Joseph’s Foundation funding.

Mariawas just 42yearsoldwhen theFoundation-support-edWomen’sWellnessClinic at St. Joseph’s discovered that shehad a Stage II, Grade 3 infiltrating ductal carcinoma in herbreast.Had she not been diagnosed when she was, her out-come might have been very different. Stage II means thetumor is larger than two centimeters in diameter and hasspread to theunderarmlymphnodes.Grade3means the can-cer tends to grow and spread aggressively.

Mariahada lumpectomyand thenunderwent four cyclesof chemotherapy aswell as radiation treatment.Today,near-ly three years after completingher treatment,Maria is doingwell.

“I’mverygrateful (for) andhappywith thecare I received,”said Maria, a grandmother of four and mother of five chil-dren.“I feel very, very lucky to be alive,”she said.“Today I’mhealthy, thank God.”

“We’ll enhance the

clinical programs

underway and

develop new ones to

give patients access

to the services they

need.”Edward Donahue, MD


TWO-TIME WINNERSPILOT SAYS ST. JOSEPH'SSAVED HIS LIFE; HIS WIFEWINS BIG IN FALL 2006HEALTH & WEALTH RAFFLE

Jerry Stockstill had

every intention of

purchasing a Health &

Wealth Raffle ticket on

February 20, 2003—the

first year of theHealth &

WealthRaffle,whichben-

efits St. Joseph’s Hospital

and its internationally

renowned Barrow Neu-

rological Institute.Nancy Valla and Jerry Stockstill


Hiswife,NancyValla,a registerednurse,was runninglate to her teachingposition andhad seen the ads aboutthe “Early Bird” deadline. As she left, her last words toher husbandwere,“Don’t forget to purchase aHealth&Wealth Raffle ticket!”

Jerry, thenavicepresident at ING,was a studentpilot.Thatmorning, he was heading to ScottsdaleAirpark totake one of his last flights before acquiring his license.He figured he would purchase the raffle ticket after hisflight.

But then, something terriblewentwrong.TheCess-na172 single-engineplanehewaspiloting veeredoff therunway, crossed a taxiway and slammed into a hangar,damaging the plane’s front end and leaving Jerry withmultiple leg fractures andother serious injuries.Hewastransported toSt. Joseph’sHospital,whereheunderwentseveral orthopedic surgeries and spentmonths in inten-sive rehabilitation.

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

“I’m still pinching myself,”Nancy said after she gotthe news. “After the crash, I was at St. Joseph’s day andnight. I saw the posters for the Health &Wealth Rafflein the corridors and remembered how I had asked himto enter.”

Jerry said he is indebted to St. Joseph’s.“They savedmy life. Most people don’t survive plane crash-es…especially small planes.”

The couple reside inChandler,where theyownVallaTanning Retreat.Nancy says she plans to give the car toher husband“for all the pain he endured.” Jerry says heis thinking of purchasing a custom license plate for theBMWwith the tail numbers of the Cessna 172 so “theplane will still live on.”

Fall 2006 Health & Wealth Raffle

More than 11,200 people won prizes in the latestHealth&WealthRaffle.TheFinalDrawwasconduct-ed on November 16 by the accounting firm CBIZMillerWagner. The four grand-prize winners are:• N. Sandrock of Queen Creek—Grand Prize #1,a $1-million prize package featuring amountaintown home in Hassayampa Country Club inPrescott, a new Audi Q7 SUV, a full-equity golfmembership, 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, 2007Maserati Quattroporte plus $35,000 cash and atwo-night stayat theWynnHotel inLasVegas.Prizepackage value: more than $160,000.

If you purchased a ticket in the Fall 2006 Raffle,youcancheck to see if your ticket is awinnerbygoingto www.HealthWealthRaffle.org. Raffle proceedssupport medical education, research and care forthose inneedatSt.Joseph’sHospital andMedicalCen-ter and its BarrowNeurological Institute.


Tocelebrate theopeningof thenewBarrowNeuroscienceTower 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 issueof St. Joseph’sMagazine,weshared fourof those stories.Onthe followingpagesare three more. If you would like to share your story, please send your storyby email to [email protected] or call 602-406-3319.

Morgan BischoffDon andAngie Bischoff ’s second daughter,Morgan,was born inKing-

man onNov. 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 KingmanRegional Medical Center while Don traveled with Morgan to Phoenix.Later that day,Angie was toldMorgan would likely die.

“I cried so hard that the staff ran in from the hallway,”Angie said.“I toldthe nurse I had never seen her eyes and now she would die before I coulddrive from Kingman to Phoenix.”Thankfully, Angie arrived at St. Joseph’sthat night to seeMorgan.Thatwaswhen theBischoffsmetBeth, thewomanthey call their “angel”nurse.

BORN AT ST. JOSEPH’S

Angie, Morgan and Don Bischoff


“Shewas very comforting,”saidDon.“She told us,‘Iknow you’ve been given terrible news, but I don’t thinkMorgan’s going anywhere yet. She has things to do.’”

Beth encouragedAngie to talk toMorgan,andwhenshe 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 tocolor,cut andpaste.Shehasnophysical ordevelopmen-tal effects from her difficult start.

Before Morgan left the hospital, the Bischoffs triedto findBeth to thankher for giving themback theirhope.

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

“Whether she was an angel sent by God or an angelon earth,we know shewasmeant to be there for us thatnight,” said Don. “We’ve gone back to two NyICUreunions looking for Beth, but we’ve never found her.”

Cindy PorterGilbert residentCindyPorter spent themostdifficult

two years of her life at St. Joseph’sHospital andMedicalCenter when hermotherwas dying of breast, bone and

lungcancer.Still, she looksbackon thedevastating time with fond memo-ries of St. Joseph’s.

As her mother’s sole caregiver,Cindy spent a lotof timeat St. Joseph’sduring countless hospitalizations andmany surgeries and procedures. Shewas also in the emergencydepartmentregularly as hermother’s lungswouldoften fillwith fluid.Cindysoonbecamefriends with the ED staff.

“Theywould save the‘good’mag-azines forme, invitemeout todinnerwith them, and cheer me up withfunny stories to help me endure theinevitable,” says Cindy. “They evenaskedme togowith themonamuch-needed vacation to San Diego. I hadawonderful time,and then itwasbackhome to care forMom.”

Caring was something the St.Joseph’s staff also did tremendouslywell. “My mother was no ordinarypatient,”saysCindy.“Shealways refusedchemotherapy, radiation and othertreatments for various reasons. Hercancer didn’t care aboutmymother’sdreamsordesires,butherdoctorsdid,and they let her live life on her terms.She stayed home for most of her ill-ness.”

WhenCindy’smotherwas admit-ted to St. Joseph’s for the last time, sherefused Hospice care. “When no oneelsewould address the issueswithme,St. Joseph’s staff preparedme for tak-

Cindy Porter


ing care of my dear mother until the end,” says Cindy.“She died at home, just theway shewanted.But forme,life without St. Joseph’s would have been no life at all. Iwas 25when she died, and I’m grateful every day for allthe laughter and tears I shared with the staff at St.Joseph’s.”

Barbara EstradaWhenBarbaraEstrada startedworking forSt. Joseph’s

Hospital andMedicalCenter, thingswere very differentfrom today, especially the dress code.

“I became a candy striper in Maternity when I was15,”saysBarbara.“Iwore the tradition-al striped smock, and I had to alwaysmake sure my dress was below myknees. If SisterAlice, the floormanag-er, saw your knees, you were in bigtrouble!”

While the rules have relaxed a bitsince 1968,Barbara’s commitment toSt. Joseph’s has not; that’s why she’sworked at the hospital ever since hervolunteer days as a candy striper.

“I love working here because St.Joseph’s is truly my home away fromhome,”saysBarbara.“Thepeopleherehavehelpedme throughhard times inmy life, and I’ve always been able todependon them. I hope toworkhereuntil I can’t work anymore!”

Withmore than 34 years as a full-timeSt.Joseph’s employee,Barbarahasworked in capacities throughout thehospital, including theAdmitting andTrauma departments. Today, she isan administrative team lead in St.Joseph’sChildren’sRehabilitativeServ-ices.Herduties includemonitoring thefront desks, financial registration anddata reporting.

Barbara has passed on her St.Joseph’s heritage to her children, aswell.All threewerebornat St. Joseph’s,aswasBarbaraherself in1954.“Mytwooldest children now volunteer at thehospital,”saysBarbara.“Life has trulycome full circle.”

“I love working here

because St. Joseph’s

is truly my home away

from home.”

Barbara Estrada

Barbara Estrada


State-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge treatments andworld-renowned physi-cians. By most accounts, these are the cornerstones of quality healthcare. But

beneath the surface of any successful healthcare program lies an even stronger foun-dation—collaboration.

This is the philosophy of St. Joseph’s CommunityHealth Integration, the depart-ment that oversees more than 60 community partnerships working to find viablesolutions to Arizona’s growing and changing healthcare needs.

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

COMMUNITY HEALTH INTEGRATIONST. JOSEPH'S AND ITS 60 PARTNERS COLLABORATETO SOLVE ARIZONA’S HEALTH PROBLEMS by Sarah Padilla

“We’re sharing

resources instead of

having everybody

try to figure it out on

their own.”

Marisue Garganta

Marisue Gargantareceived theCrystal Award forher collaborativeefforts on behalf ofdental health.


ganta, director of CommunityHealth Integration.“It’sthrough these partnerships—and the development,enhancement andmaintenance of these partnerships—that we are able to meet our mission.”

Past and present partnersCollaboration is as critical to St. Joseph’s vitality

today as it was when the Sisters of Mercy founded thehospitalmore than a century ago.Community partnershelped the hospital become a reality in 1895, and todaypartnerships help the hospital continue to live itsmis-sion, vision and values.

Some of these programs, such as the Mercy CareDental Clinic, have been in place for years and contin-ue to prove valuable. Others are created, modified, oreven eliminated based on the community’s changingneeds.

Determining those needs is critical to the depart-ment’s success. Every three years, Community HealthIntegration combines data from a variety of sources,including Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the Ari-zonaHealthCareCostContainment System(AHCCCS)and the U.S.Census Bureau. The resulting assessmentidentifies both the community’s and the hospital’sneeds.

Initial results of themost recent assessment,whichwas completed this fall, were used to draft St. Joseph’snext community health initiative:HealthyConnections,Healthy Communities Sharing in Their Care. The ini-tiative will focus on chronic ambulatory conditions,healthywomenandchildren,and injurypreventionwithan emphasis on falls.

Tackling dental healthThe 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 outwhatwas going on,” says Marisue.“It turns out that no onehad ever pulledmedical and oral-health professionalstogether in that capacity before.”

The result, the Arizona Oral Health Collaborative(AzOHC), is an example of community health integra-tion at its finest. The grassroots collaborative of med-ical and oral-health professionals strategized on howtobetter preventdental problemsanddeliverhealth serv-ices. They started from square one—helping pediatri-ciansunderstand the valueof dental care,providing cost-effective fluoride varnishes to small children and

conducting oral-health screenings onpregnantwomen.The collaborative has proven so effective that today

it is in the process of transitioning to theArizona Pub-licHealthAssociation,where itwill branchout statewide.Earlier this year,Marisue received theCrystalAward fromMesa’sA.T. Still University for her collaborative effortson behalf on dental health.

“St. Joseph’s has givenArizona some real gifts in thedissemination of public health,” says Marisue. “We’resharing resources instead of having everyone try tofigure it out on their own. It’s very inspiring.”

The challenges of growthWhile groups such as the AzOHC are a testament

to St. Joseph’s successful programming, keeping upwith theneeds of a growing community—especially onewith such a large uninsured population—is challeng-ing. Community Health Integration continuouslyreevaluates programs to ensure that they are a good fit.Earlier this year, theCommunityHealth IntegrationNet-work was reorganized to increase collaboration, com-munication and efficiency.

The changes included creating an executive coun-cil, a Community Health Action Team, aResearch/Evaluation/Development Team,and aCom-munications andOutreach Team.Also, thismarks thefirst year thatMarisue is responsible only for St. Joseph’s.The department previously covered all CHW facilitiesin Arizona.

Marisue believes that Community Health Integra-tion is critical not only to individual hospitals, but alsoto CHW. “We’ve truly integrated our strategic planand our initiative to serve the community by usingour key service lines to provide needed care,” she says.

She also believes that St. Joseph’s has established itselfas a leader in community benefit throughunique prac-tices, such as inviting everyone,even competitors, to joininto discussions and to work together on solutions.

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


The Heritage Society honors donors whose gen-erosity has had a significant impact on St. Joseph’s

ability to fulfill its healing mission. Benefactors auto-matically become members of the Heritage Societywhen their cumulative giving to St. Joseph’s Founda-tion and/or BarrowNeurological Foundation reaches$10,000.ThoseHeritage Societymembers whose giftstotal $50,000 or more receive further recognitionthrough the Circles of Value.

In October, members of the Circles of Value wereinvited to the second annual “Soiree at the Ritz,” arelaxed evening spentwith key Barrow and St. Joseph’sphysicians. The event gave major donors a chance to

become better acquaintedwithmany of the physicianswhose work they support.

In November, all members of the Heritage Societyreceived an exclusive invitation to a private perform-ance of Phoenix Theatre’s I Left My Heart, which fea-tured the music of Tony Bennett. Each year, PhoenixTheatre opens its doors, free of charge, to aValley non-profit. This year, they chose St. Joseph’s, and the Foun-dation invited its major donors to the performance."

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

THANKING OUR MAJOR DONORS

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“Soiree at the Ritz” photos, previous page and this page: 1 - Anne Robbs, Lou and EvelynGrubb, Dennis Sage and Sandra Magruder. 2 - Lynne Sonntag, Nancy Walker and SandraMagruder. 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 andWebb 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. DonaldFausel. 9 - Webb Todd, Sr. Madonna Marie Bolton and Dr. Robert Williams. 10 - DavidEaton and Greg Anderson. 11 - William Hunt, Dennis Sage, Karen and Robert Hobbs, andDr. Michael Christopher. 12 - Linda Hunt, Dr. Jack Kerrigan and Susan Erne.

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Horse benefit planned forPediatric Intensive Care Unit

Four-year-old Cameron T. Haselhorst invites youto attend the 2007 Superstition Paint Horses OpenHouse on April 7 to raise money for his alma mater,St. Joseph’s Pediatric IntensiveCareUnit.The eventwillfeature a golf tournament,barrel racing andpole bend-ing.

“Every penny goes to St. Joseph’s PICU and is taxdeductible,”Cameronwrites in an appeal letter urgingpeople to support and attend the fundraiser.“There area lot of really sick kids there and we want to help thedoctors andnurses to take care of them.My family saysit is our way of trying to say ‘Thanks!’”

Cameron was born at St. Joseph’s weighing justover two pounds. His first two years were rough, andhe returned to St. Joseph’s for five weeks in 2005. Hisfamily considers his survival amiracle.Today,Cameronis a healthy, active child.

For information about the SuperstitionPaintHors-esOpenHouse, call 520-463-2898 or send an email [email protected].

St. Joseph’s heart doctor savesa life during cross-country flight

As a cardiovascular surgeon,Brian deGuzman,MD,is no stranger to treating patients in exam and oper-ating rooms, but he recently put his expertise intoaction while traveling thousands of feet in the air. Onthe evening of October 23, Dr. deGuzman and hiswife, Keri, helped save a fellow airline passenger whowent into cardiac respiratory arrest.

“Wewere about 35 to 40minutes intoour flight fromBoston toPhoenixwhen the passenger had an asthmat-

ic attack. She went into respiratoryarrest—she was unconscious, notbreathing and had no heart beat,”says Dr. deGuzman.

With the help of an Arizona lawenforcementofficial anda flight atten-dant, the deGuzmans moved thepatient to the galley andworkedwithwhat little equipment was available.They secured an open airway, creat-ed an IV and administered advancedcardiac life support.

Realizing the grave situation thepassengerwas in,Dr.deGuzman requested that thepilotsland the plane. The four continued to provide care tothe passenger and breathed for her while the JetBluecrew flew back to Boston. Upon landing, a properbreathing tubewas inserted, and the patient was takento the hospital.

“I’m very happy that all four of uswhere on board,”says Dr. deGuzman. “There was so much to be donein such an extraordinary setting that it took a team ofpeople toprovideher the care sheneeded to get throughthis.”

Dr. deGuzman recently joined the Heart & LungInstitute at St. Joseph’sHospital as associate chief of Car-diovascular Surgery.Keri deGuzman is a pediatric car-diac intensive care nurse.

NEWS


Spirit Awards given to BNF, SJF supportersDr. andMrs.CharlesAlfano andRichardHouseworth received

Spirit Awards at the annual recognition dinner of theAssociationof Fundraising Professionals inNovember.Richard is a long-time

member of the Board of Trustees for Barrow NeurologicalFoundation; he recently became an emeritusmember of theboard.Dr.Alfano and his wife, Jean, have been active in sup-porting St. Joseph’s Foundation. He currently serves on theSJF Board of Directors. The Spirit Awards honor people fortheir contributions to philanthorpy.

New officers, members named toSt. Joseph’s Foundation board

Scott Eller was elected to the St. Joseph’s Founda-tionBoardofDirectors inMay.Officers for theSJFboardare entering the second year of their two-year terms.They are Jerry L.Nichols - chair; Christine K.Wilkin-son, PhD - vice chair; Judy Egan - treasurer; MichaelFord - secretary; and Robert T. Johnson - past chair-man.

Other members of the SJF board are Charles A.Alfano,MD,Kelly J.Barr,L.DonBrown,Mary JaneCrist,Timothy J. Drexler, Richard A. Horn, C.A. Howlett,Linda Hunt, Patrick Madigan, Michelle M. Matiski,Michael L. Medici, Jacquelyn M. Michelson, GordonMurphy,LouiOlivas,PhD,Craig S.Porter, JorgeQuin-tero, and Joan Rankin Shapiro, PhD.

Foundations host thirdRetired Physicians Luncheon

About 50 retired physicians who were formerlyon staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Centerattended the thirdRetiredPhysicians Luncheon, spon-sored by St. Joseph’s Foundation and BarrowNeuro-logical Foundation.The luncheon is held twice a year.The physicians enjoyed fellowship, lunch and a pres-entation by St.Joseph’sPresidentLinda Huntabout the latesthappenings andplans at the hos-pital.

Magic moments mark fundraiserfor Andrea’s Closet

The first annual Festival of Toys benefitingAndrea’s Closet netted nearly $25,000 for the non-profit organization,which supplies toys to hospi-talized children throughout Arizona.

The gala event at the JWMarriottDesert RidgeResort and Spa featured live and silent auctions ofelaborate toys for children and adults. Andrea’sCloset founders Kenny and Traci Brunk weremoved to tears by the experience and the celebra-tion of their daughter Andrea, who battled can-cer at the Children’s Health Center at St. Joseph’s.

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

There was hardly a dry eye among the crowdof 150 as parents shared their stories about howapromised trip toAndrea’sCloset helped their chil-dren face difficult hospital treatments.

For more information about Andrea’s Closetor to host a toy drive,visitwww.AndreasCloset.org.Todonate toAndrea’sCloset at St. Joseph’s,callDeb-bie Castaldo at 602-406-1031.


THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO GIVE

Expressions of philanthropy are intensely personal. Andthanks to strategies made possible in large part by tax laws

that recognize the benefits of philanthropy, there is more thanone way to demonstrate your support of qualified charities.

Since the earliest hours of our history as a nation, the supportof organizations that strengthen the fabric of our society has beenencouraged.

Today there are tax incentives formaking gifts of cash beforeDecember 31 that can reduce your taxable income for this cal-endar year.Gifts of stock and real estate alsomayproduce tax ben-efits and savings.

Trust agreements make it possible to bypass capital gains taxon appreciated assets, receive a tax deduction and even increaseincome.And,of course, bequests via the LastWill andTestamentoffer a way for anyone to give lasting voice to important values.

For more information on ways to make a charitable gift, callour office at 602-406-3041.We're open from8a.m. to 5p.m.Mon-day through Friday. Or email me at [email protected]. Iwould be glad to provide somepersonal examples of creative phi-lanthropy!

KNOWING HOW ANDWHEN TO GIVE CAN MAKEA BIG DIFFERENCE

By Kathy Kramer, vice president,Leadership Gifts

CREATE INCOME FOR TODAY.LEAVE A LEGACY FOR TOMORROW.

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

— Bill and Jane Ratsch

When you establish a lifetimeincome gift, you ensure thatSt. Joseph’s Hospital andBarrow Neurological Institutecontinue to grow and thriveinto the future, helping thou-sands of people every year.And, like Bill and Jane Ratsch,you’ll benefit with tax savingsand a dependable fixedincome for life.

Suggested AnnuityPayments 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 pur-poses only. Minimum age: 50. Minimumgift: $10,000.

The deduction is variable and based onthe available IRS Discount Rate.

Consult your adviser about such a gift.

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

CHW ArizonaSt. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center350 W. Thomas Rd.Phoenix, AZ 85013

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