Children’s Health—Donors | Minnesota Medical Foundationtag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011-02-27:/mmf/news//109442012-01-25T17:19:09ZHelping people live healthier lives by advancing health-related research, education, and care at the University of Minnesota.Movable Type Enterprise 4.31-enNever accepting defeattag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3261312011-12-05T17:59:14Z2012-01-25T17:19:09ZWhen the Jimbo Fisher and his wife, Candi, learned earlier this year that their youngest son, 6-year-old Ethan, has a rare blood disease called Fanconi anemia, they dealt with the devastating news in private. Then they decided to use their visibility in the media to raise awareness of the disease as well as money for research at the University of Minnesota.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="Jimbo and Candi Fisher and their boys, Trey and Ethan, found hope in the Fanconi anemia experts at the University of Minnesota. Ethan (on the right) was diagnosed with the rare blood disease earlier this year. (Photo: Courtesy of Florida State University)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Fisher-family.jpg" width="460" height="300" /></p>
<h2>Florida State coach and family raise awareness and funds for Fanconi anemia research at the U</h2>
<p>Jimbo Fisher has a microphone and he’s not afraid to use it. </p>
<p>When the Florida State University football coach and his wife, Candi, learned earlier this year that their youngest son, 6-year-old Ethan, has a rare blood disease called Fanconi anemia, they dealt with the devastating news in private.</p>
<p>Then they decided to use their visibility in the media to raise awareness of the disease, an inherited blood disorder that can affect all systems in the body and leads to bone marrow failure.</p>
<p>The Fishers also established the Kidz1stFund™ to raise money through online donations and T-shirt and hat sales for Fanconi anemia research at the University of Minnesota, a national leader in blood and marrow transplantation, and they are promoting the fund through a campaign called OnaKwest for a Cure. Jimbo Fisher is donating all fees from his public speaking engagements to the Kidz1stFund™ as well.</p>
<p>They’ve already raised more than $400,000 for this work.</p>
<p>“One thing I’ve learned as a football coach is to never accept defeat,” Jimbo Fisher says. “We are in this to win the fight against Fanconi anemia on behalf of all the children who share this struggle with Ethan.”</p>
<p>For decades, Fanconi anemia was thought to be untreatable, but promising advances in medical research have improved the prognosis.</p>
<p>Many of those advances have happened at the University of Minnesota. That’s why the Fisher family’s search for the country’s foremost Fanconi anemia team led them to University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.</p>
<p>Today most children who have Fanconi anemia will need a transplant of stem cells, derived either from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood, to extend their lives. University of Minnesota physician-scientists performed the world’s first successful bone marrow transplant in 1968 and have been blazing new trails in the field since.</p>
<p>“Through research, improvements are made each year in treating patients with Fanconi anemia — improvements that have changed the survival rate after unrelated donor bone marrow transplant for this disease from less than 30 percent to greater than 80 percent in the last 15 years,” says Margaret MacMillan, M.D., Ethan’s doctor and a leading Fanconi anemia researcher. “But there is much more to do. We will not stop until we have 100 percent survival.”</p>
<p>Determination is just one of the qualities the Fishers liked about MacMillan when they met her. Candi Fisher says MacMillan spent time generously with the family to help them understand what they were facing and what treatment options they had for Ethan.</p>
<p>“One thing that she gave us was hope, and that was something at that moment that we were desperately striving for,” adds Candi Fisher. “It made us feel like this was something we could beat, with her help and with the University of Minnesota. … They have invested so much of themselves in this research, and that made us feel like we weren’t alone.”</p>
<p>The Fishers’ goal for the fundraising and awareness campaign is not a dollar figure. It’s a cure, so that Ethan and other kids with Fanconi anemia may lead full lives.</p>
<p>“We’re just hoping that we could make a difference in some way,” says Candi Fisher.</p>
<p><em>By Nicole Endres</em></p>
<p><em>Visit <a href="http://www.kidz1stfund.com">www.kidz1stfund.com</a> to make a gift to this research. </em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/Wh--PlCPrb4" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/givingmatters/2011/never-accepting-defeat.htmlCelebrating Suetag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3261372011-12-05T17:54:06Z2011-12-15T18:39:56ZSuzanne (Sue) Holmes Hodder thrived on helping others. She was always happy to support her friends and even strangers through projects she believed in. And she particularly cherished her volunteer role with Children's Cancer Research Fund, an organization launched by her close friends Diana and Norm Hageboeck after their daughter Katie died of leukemia in 1979 at age 13.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 20px 20px; FLOAT: right" class="mt-image-right" alt="Sue Hodder" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Sue%2520Hodder%2520portrait-1.jpg" width="220" height="270" /></p>
<h2>Endowed chair honors a dedicated advocate for Children’s Cancer Research Fund</h2>
<p>Suzanne (Sue) Holmes Hodder thrived on helping others. She was always happy to support her friends and even strangers through projects she believed in — whether it was planning the 1992 Super Bowl or partnering with Lady Bird Johnson to seed Minnesota highway corridors with native wildflowers.</p>
<p>She particularly cherished her volunteer role with Children’s Cancer Research Fund, an organization launched by her close friends Diana and Norm Hageboeck after their daughter Katie died of leukemia in 1979 at age 13.</p>
<p>“Sue was devastated for us. She knew Katie,” says Diana Hageboeck, whose 48-year friendship with Hodder blossomed when Sue was an alumna adviser to Diana’s college sorority. “She was such a part of my support team.”</p>
<p>Before Katie died, she made a special request of her parents: She asked that memorials in her name be donated to a little-known fund at the University called Children’s Cancer Research Fund and that the money she had been saving for a new 10-speed bike be donated to it, too.</p>
<p>The Hageboecks did that and so much more. Hodder was eager to help when they began organizing a grassroots event to raise money through the fund. They wanted to honor Katie’s wishes and spread the word about the worldleading pediatric cancer research happening in their own backyard at the University of Minnesota.</p>
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="Children's Cancer Research Fund's 31st annual Dawn of a Dream event on November 5 raised more than $970,000 for pediatric cancer research at the University of Minnesota. Sue Hodder posthumously was awarded the organization's highest honor, its Dream Maker Award, which the Hodder family accepted on her behalf. (Photo: Courtesy of Children's Cancer Research Fund)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Dawn-of-a-Dream-Hodders-10A.jpg" width="460" height="300" /></p>
<p>Momentum has only built since 1980, when that first “Dawn of a Dream” raised more than $50,000. Today Children’s Cancer Research Fund has national reach and worldwide impact and has invested more than $60 million in pediatric cancer research exclusively at the University.</p>
<p>“We are amazed and in awe of what it has become over the past 31 years,” Hageboeck says. “We started something that wouldn’t stop! We could not have done it without our many friends and their dedication and enthusiasm.”</p>
<p>Sue Hodder’s enthusiasm will be greatly missed, she adds. Before Hodder died on July 5 of this year, she named Children’s Cancer Research Fund as her memorial fund.</p>
<p>To recognize Hodder’s devotion to the organization, her husband, Bill Hodder, has made an even more powerful gift. With the wholehearted support of their five children, he gave $4 million to create the endowed Suzanne Holmes Hodder Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research and another $1 million for pediatric cancer research to be used over the next few years.</p>
<p>“We all felt we wanted to do something significant in her name,” says Bill Hodder, emphasizing that the family also wanted to honor the Hageboecks by supporting Children’s Cancer Research Fund.</p>
<p>“What we are doing is investing in Diana and Norm and their ‘dream,’” he says. “They have convinced the whole world to fund that dream. They have done a monumental job.”</p>
<p>Sue Hodder was honored posthumously with the 2011 Dream Maker Award at the 31st annual Dawn of a Dream event.</p>
<p>“She loved a celebration,” says Diana Hageboeck, “and we will continue to celebrate her and her dedication to helping others.”</p>
<p><em>By Nicole Endres</em></p>
<p><em>To support innovative pediatric cancer research at the University of Minnesota through Children’s Cancer Research Fund, visit <a href="http://www.childrenscancer.org">www.childrenscancer.org</a>. </em></p>
<h6>Making strides toward a cure</h6>
<p>Many discoveries funded by Children’s
Cancer Research Fund have revolutionized
the way childhood cancer is
treated worldwide, investing in the
research areas that will have the most
impact in the pursuit of cures and
better treatments.</p>
<p>Here are just a few advances Children’s
Cancer Research Fund has supported:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The <strong>double cord blood transplant</strong> —
developed at the University of
Minnesota — has dramatically
increased leukemia survival rates
in both children and adults. It is
known worldwide as the Minneapolis
regimen.</p></li>
<li><p>The largest study of <strong>childhood
cancer survivors</strong>, which now
number more than 300,000 in
the United States alone, found
that survivors faced a higher
risk of ongoing health issues
following their treatment. This
finding stresses the importance
of long-term follow-up care so that
physicians can monitor survivors
for early signs of disease — and treat
them before they become serious
problems — and design new treatment
protocols to avoid these
issues altogether.</p></li>
<li><p>University researchers developed
and manufactured a <strong>brain tumor
vaccine</strong> that is now in clinical trials.
This novel therapy holds the potential
to increase survival rates and
produce fewer side effects.</p></li>
</ul>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/YNpUfOMkuv0" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/givingmatters/2011/celebrating-sue.htmlVikings adopt a room at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospitaltag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3225762011-11-17T20:57:23Z2011-12-15T18:42:28ZThe Minnesota Vikings and head coach Leslie Frazier have announced a gift of $200,000 for the Minnesota Vikings Adopt A Room at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. The endowed gift from the Vikings will furnish a patient’s room with today’s groundbreaking technologies and comfortable amenities while securing a place for future pioneering medical advancements.
The Vikings will also donate $240,000 from the Vikings Children’s Fund (VCF) to the University's Department of Pediatrics for promising research to treat and cure childhood diseases.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="The Minnesota Vikings present a custom jersey, commemorating their Adopt A Room, to U of M Amplatz Children’s Hospital President Kathie Taranto and Physician-in-Chief Joseph Neglia, M.D., M.P.H. (Photo: Jim Bovin)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Vikings-Adopt-a-Room.jpg" width="460" height="300" /></p>
<h2>Team’s gift of $200,000 will coincide with additional $240,000 to the University of Minnesota Department of Pediatrics for research to treat and cure childhood diseases</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.vikings.com/">Minnesota Vikings</a> and head coach Leslie Frazier have announced a gift of $200,000 for the Minnesota Vikings Adopt A Room at <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital</a>. The endowed gift from the Vikings will furnish a patient’s room with today’s groundbreaking technologies and comfortable amenities while securing a place for future pioneering medical advancements.</p>
<p>Frazier, along with a group of other Vikings coaches and players, visited patients in the hospital on November 18 and unveiled a special jersey that will decorate the room.</p>
<p>“Watching a child battle a serious illness is one of the most difficult challenges a family can face,” Frazier says. “The <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/children/adoptaroom/index.cfm">Adopt A Room program</a> allows for a better experience for the patients and their families during those challenging times. Adopting a room is a great way for the Vikings organization to support Minnesota families and show our continued commitment to children’s health.”</p>
<p>“We can truly transform the experience for hospitalized children by providing a healing environment that works to meet a family’s social and emotional needs as well as the complex health conditions of the child,” says <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/hemonc/faculty/negliajoseph/home.html">Joseph P. Neglia, M.D., M.P.H</a>., physician-in-chief of University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital and chair of the Department of Pediatrics in the University of Minnesota Medical School. “We are so grateful for gifts like this from the Minnesota Vikings, which help to remind our community that we can all make a direct impact on the lives of children and their families.”</p>
<p>The Vikings will also donate $240,000 from the <a href="http://www.vikings.com/outreach/vikings-childrens-fund.html">Vikings Children’s Fund (VCF)</a> to the <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/">Department of Pediatrics</a> for promising research to treat and cure childhood diseases. This critical funding allows researchers the opportunity to secure data and leverage national research awards. Of that gift, $80,000 will be directed to support the Vikings Fitness Playbook as part of a three-year commitment to tackle childhood obesity.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/Xjo2_PinO_w" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/vikings-adopt-a-room-at-university-of-minnesota-amplatz-childrens-hospital.htmlCoach and family raise awareness and funds for Fanconi anemiatag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3163192011-10-24T16:57:48Z2012-01-19T21:14:11ZWhen Florida State University football
coach Jimbo Fisher and his wife, Candi,
learned earlier this year that their son
Ethan has a rare, life-threatening blood
disorder called Fanconi anemia, they felt
compelled to take action that would help
not only Ethan but other children, too.
So they established the Kidz 1st Fund
to raise money for Fanconi anemia research
at the University of Minnesota. The University
is a leader in discovering better ways
to treat the disorder and in the pursuit
of a cure.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="Jimbo and Candi Fisher threw their support behind Fanconi anemia researchers at the University of Minnesota after their son Ethan (far right) was diagnosed with the disease. (Photo courtesy of Florida State University)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Jimbo%20Fisher%20and%20family_croped.jpg" width="460" height="300" /></p>
<p>When Florida State University football coach Jimbo Fisher and his wife, Candi, learned earlier this year that their son Ethan has a rare, life-threatening blood disorder called Fanconi anemia, they felt compelled to take action that would help not only Ethan but other children, too.</p>
<p>So they established the <a href="http://www.kidz1stfund.com/">Kidz1stFund</a><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; COLOR: #232323; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font face="Times New Roman">™</font></span> to raise money for Fanconi anemia research at the <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/hemonc/education/hemoncfellow/faprogram/home.html">University of Minnesota</a>. The University is a leader in discovering better ways to treat the disorder and in the pursuit of a cure.</p>
<p>A hereditary disease, Fanconi anemia can affect all systems in the body and leads to bone marrow failure. For decades, it was thought to be untreatable, but advances in medical research have improved the prognosis for people with the condition.</p>
<p>“One thing I’ve learned as a football coach is to never accept defeat,” says Jimbo Fisher. “We are in this to win the fight against Fanconi anemia on behalf of all the children who share this struggle with Ethan.”</p>
<p>The family and their supporters already have raised more than $400,000 for the University’s work. Six-year-old Ethan’s physician is <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital </a>blood and marrow transplant physician <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/Providers/Bio/D_120959">Margaret MacMillan, M.D.</a></p>
<p>“Through research, improvements are made each year in treating patients with Fanconi anemia — improvements that have changed the survival rate after unrelated donor bone marrow transplant for this disease from less than 30 percent to greater than 80 percent in the last 15 years,” MacMillan says. “But there is much more to do. We will not stop until we have 100 percent survival.”</p>
<p><em>Visit <a href="http://www.kidz1stfund.com/">www.kidz1stfund.com </a>to make a gift to this research.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/PbSKMsQlI3Q" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/bulletin/2011/coach-and-family-raise-awareness-and-funds-for-fanconi-anemia.html'Little red wagons' inspire gifttag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3127132011-10-12T16:53:33Z2011-10-12T18:16:32ZLooking back, Marcy Betcher thinks the seeds that would later grow into her family's support for University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital were planted back in 1997 at the sight of little red wagons.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="The Betcher family (from left): Marcy, Andrew, Randy, and Kira." src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/family__cropped.jpg" width="460" height="300" /></p>
<p>Looking back, Marcy Betcher thinks the seeds that would later grow into her family’s support for University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital were planted back in 1997 at the sight of little red wagons.</p>
<p>As Marcy waited for a hematology appointment at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, she saw a brigade of volunteers bringing young cancer patients to the clinic in colorful Radio Flyer wagons.</p>
<p>“I was so touched by it all—the wagons, the clown who came in to entertain the children while they waited for their blood tests,” Betcher says. “And the fact that the University let it happen so these kids could have a piece of normalcy during a difficult time.”</p>
<p>Fast forward to 2011, when the new University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital opened with dozens of Adopt A Rooms, special rooms designed to make the hospital a little more like home. Adopted rooms give sick children more control of their environments and provide more amenities for their families.</p>
<p>After hearing about the Adopt A Room program, Betcher remembered the cheer that the little red wagons had brought to the children she saw years ago—and she saw Adopt A Rooms providing that cheer on a larger scale. Plus, sponsoring a room fit perfectly with her and her husband’s convictions.</p>
<p>“Family giving is important to us,” says Randy Betcher. The family also believes that giving back to the community is important in its own right, he adds.</p>
<p>Marcy and Randy Betcher also want to instill this value in their children, Andrew, age 14, and Kira, age 10, whom they adopted from Korea.</p>
<p>Now the Betchers have given generously to adopt a room at Amplatz Children’s Hospital— a room they named “Andrew and Kira’s Room.”</p>
<p>“You don’t get an opportunity to make a big difference in people’s lives like this every day,” Randy says. “This is our chance to do that.”</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/zHxFtmEPoJs" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/little-red-wagons-inspire-gift.htmlMany thanks to our current Adopt A Room sponsorstag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3148012011-10-12T15:16:42Z2011-12-15T18:56:28ZOur goal is to find sponsors for all 96 patient rooms in University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital. Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><em>
<p>Aerotek</p>
<p>Caroline Amplatz, J.D.</p>
<p>Anonymous</p>
<p>Randy and Marcy Betcher</p>
<p>The Calmenson family</p>
<p>Champions for Children Golf Classic</p>
<p>Listeners of Cities 97 (KTCZ 97.1)</p>
<p>Dave Lee’s Gutter Bowl and fans of WCCO Radio</p>
<p>The Dolphin family</p>
<p>Edwards Memorial Trust</p>
<p>The Jack and Camie Eugster Family Foundation</p>
<p>Members of the Fairview Corporate Board</p>
<p>Fairview Health Services employees</p>
<p>Favre 4 Hope Foundation</p>
<p>The Friswold family</p>
<p>Listeners of KFAN (FM 100.3)</p>
<p>John and Nancy Lindahl and family</p>
<p>Dana and David Millington</p>
<p>The Rich and Mary Ostlund Charitable Fund</p>
<p>Pediatric Home Service employees</p>
<p>Brian, Kristen, Brian Jr., and Angela Schepperle</p>
<p>Ron and Teresa Sit</em></p>
<p>Our goal is to find sponsors for all 96 patient rooms in University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. To learn how you or your company can adopt a room, visit <strong><a href="http://www.uofmhope.org/adoptaroom">www.uofmhope.org/adoptaroom</a></strong> or contact Elizabeth Patty at 612-625-6136 or <a href="mailto:e.patty@mmf.umn.edu">e.patty@mmf.umn.edu </a>.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/PRz5UAsLlAI" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/many-thanks-to-our-current-adopt-a-room-sponsors.htmlSupporting body and spirittag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2972932011-06-15T21:00:00Z2012-01-25T17:21:03ZOf all the things a teenage boy might choose to do with his bar mitzvah money, giving a portion to medical research might seem low on the list. After all, there are Xboxes and iPods and skateboards to buy. But when Matthew, 13, gave his money to a research program led by John Wagner, M.D., at the University of Minnesota, he was sharing a heartfelt thanks.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<h2>Amplatz Children’s Hospital inspires giving from the heart</h2>
<h6>By Martha Coventry</h6>
<p>Of all the things a teenage boy might choose to do with his bar mitzvah money, giving a portion to medical research might seem low on the list. After all, there are Xboxes and iPods and skateboards to buy. But when Matthew, 13, gave his money to a research program led by <a href="http://www.cancer.umn.edu/research/profiles/wagnerj.html">John Wagner, M.D.</a>, at the University of Minnesota, he was sharing a heartfelt thanks.</p>
<p>“His research saved my life, and I wanted to help him save other lives,” Matthew says.</p>
<p><img alt="In gratitude to his doctors, Matthew donated part of his bar mitzvah money to research at the University of Minnesota. [Photo: Alison Langer]" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/matthew.jpg" width="220" height="300" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></p>
<p>When Matthew was a week shy of his eighth birthday, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. As he was undergoing chemotherapy in Miami, where he lives, his parents, Marcy and Harry, were busy researching treatment options in case he relapsed. Matthew had no family or non-related bone marrow match. His best hope, they learned, was a transplant of publicly donated blood from two umbilical cords.</p>
<p>Wagner, director of the University’s <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/bmt/home.html">Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program</a> and clinical director of the <a href="http://www.stemcell.umn.edu/">Stem Cell Institute</a>, had pioneered the world’s first umbilical cord blood transplant for leukemia in 1990. Later, he found that, for older children and adults, co-infusing units from two different donors instead of one led to faster recovery and a markedly lower risk of leukemia relapse.</p>
<p>Aware of Wagner’s successes, Matthew’s parents contacted him to learn more about his work. He got back in touch immediately. “The University was the only place willing to offer Matthew a double cord blood transplant if he needed it,” says Marcy.</p>
<p>Within a year, Matthew’s leukemia had indeed relapsed. He came to <a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital</a> in April 2007 and became the first child in the world to receive a double cord blood transplant specifically to reduce the chance that his leukemia would ever recur again.</p>
<p>Today, Matthew has a clean bill of health, and his parents have made their own financial gifts to the University to support medical care and research. “One of the things that we particularly like about the University is that we know our gifts will go to developing therapies, like Matthew received, that will be brought to the bedside as soon as possible,” says his mom.</p>
<h3>A cascade of names</h3>
<p>Matthew says he’s excited about seeing his name on the digital donor roster in the lobby the next time he visits University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital, which opened a new state-of-the-art facility on April 30. Located on the University’s West Bank, the new hospital stands out because of its inviting, colorful, and “green” design — inside and out — and for its many other special features that accelerate healing and make young patients and their families feel at home.</p>
<p>Cascading down the large digital screen like a waterfall are the names of those who have contributed to the Children’s Health Campaign at the University of Minnesota, which aims to raise $175 million for the hospital building project, as well as pediatric research, education, and care. Thanks to Matthew, his parents, and many others like them, more than half of that amount — $98 million — had been raised by mid-May.</p>
<h3>The gift of solace</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/Providers/Bio/D_121942">Ted Thompson, M.D.</a>, and his wife, Lynette, have given a lasting — and growing — place of healing and comfort to Amplatz Children’s Hospital.</p>
<p><img alt="Dr. Ted and Lynette Thompson hope their gift to fund the hospital's healing garden will provide families with a place of peace and respite. [Photo: Kristie Anderson]" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/thompsons-umach.jpg" width="460" height="300" class="mt-image-center" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 20px;" /></p>
<p>Dr. Thompson has been in the <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/">Department of Pediatrics</a> at the University of Minnesota since 1975. When he comes home after caring for ill or premature newborns, his wife’s garden offers him respite. Lynette, a certified master gardener and former adult intensive care and coronary care unit nurse, knows the consoling power of flowers and plants. The Thompsons wanted to make that solace available to patients and families at Amplatz Children’s Hospital, as well as to the hospital’s physicians, nurses, and other staff.</p>
<p>Near the hospital’s main entrance is the healing garden they have funded and endowed. Paths leading off from the main garden have benches under the trees to create a feeling of peaceful, private space.</p>
<p>“One of the most stressful things in life is to have your child in the hospital,” says Thompson. “We wanted to provide a place where people can go to get away from that stress for a moment, to think and to contemplate.”</p>
<p>Thompson says he is proud to help bring about a dream he and his colleagues have shared for decades: a top-notch facility at the University that gathers the very best of pediatric care, research, and education all under one roof.</p>
<p><em>To learn about additional recognition opportunities at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital and the many ways to support the Department of Pediatrics, contact the Minnesota Medical Foundation’s Children’s Health Team at 612-626-1931 or <a href="mailto:childrenshealth@mmf.umn.edu">childrenshealth@mmf.umn.edu</a>, or visit <a href="http://www.uofmhope.org/">UofMHope.org</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>To become part of our Partners in Care program, contact Jen Foss at 612-626-5276 or <a href="mailto:j.foss@mmf.umn.edu">j.foss@mmf.umn.edu</a>.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/112-million-gift-will-transform-pediatric-behavioral-health.html">Read more about a champion for children’s mental health</a></h3>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/CbHohQBB3AA" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/supporting-body-and-spirit.htmlA family crusadetag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2972982011-06-15T20:00:00Z2012-01-19T21:17:59ZNine-year-old Zachary "Zak" Bartz isn't your typical second-grader -- to many, he's an inspiration. Zak has a disorder called neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), which has caused tumors to grow in his brain and for which there is no known cure. Zak has endured multiple surgeries, countless rounds of chemotherapy, and 30 radiation treatments -- all conducted at clinics associated with the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<h2>An extended family bands together to support the U’s neurofibromatosis research</h2>
<h6>By Robyn White</h6>
<p>Nine-year-old Zachary “Zak” Bartz isn’t your typical second-grader — to many, he’s an inspiration.</p>
<p>Zak has a disorder called neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), which has caused tumors to grow in his brain and for which there is no known cure. Zak has endured multiple surgeries, countless rounds of chemotherapy, and 30 radiation treatments — all conducted at clinics associated with the <a href="http://www.cancer.umn.edu/">Masonic Cancer Center</a>, University of Minnesota.</p>
<p><img alt="Zak Bartz" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/zak-bartz.jpg" width="220" height="300" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></p>
<p>Although the treatments are difficult, Zak doesn’t let NF1 get him down, says his grandpa Harvey Bartz. Zak still finds the time and energy to “coach” his 13-year-old brother’s hockey team. “He goes into the locker room … and gives them a pep talk,” says Bartz. “He gets them all psyched up.” </p>
<h3>Family support</h3>
<p>Seeking a cure and grateful for Zak’s care at the University, Bartz in 2009 contacted the Minnesota Medical Foundation to find out how he could speed up NF1 research. After talking with MMF, he decided to create the <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/zachary">Zachary Neurofibromatosis Research Fund</a> at the University.</p>
<p>“What I really wanted was to find someplace where every dollar I raised would go to research,” says Bartz.</p>
<p>Bartz and his wife, Janet, along with Zak’s other grandparents, Dave and Darlene Rudolph, contributed initial gifts to establish the fund. Both sets of grandparents and other family members — Zak’s parents, Carol Ann and Nathan Bartz, Zak’s aunt Sandy Bartz, and many others — have contributed to the fund through various marketing efforts, fundraisers, and direct donations. To date, the fund has raised nearly $82,000.</p>
<h3>Advancing NF research</h3>
<p>The University is home to a clinic for NF1 patients and to two nationally known experts
in NF — pediatric hematologist-oncologist <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/hemonc/faculty/moertel/home.html">Christopher Moertel, M.D.</a>, and cancer geneticist <a href="http://www.cancer.umn.edu/research/profiles/largaespada.html">David Largaespada, Ph.D.</a> Together Moertel and Largaespada lead the Minnesota Neurofibromatosis Clinic Without Walls, which provides care to NF patients from infancy through adulthood and maintains strong ties to research in the field.</p>
<p>Currently, they are working on three research projects studying NF1-related cancer. NF1 is one of two types of NF. The disorder is not a type of cancer, but it can cause cancer. </p>
<p>“The patient experience and laboratory experiments merge at the University of Minnesota so that we can learn more about NF1 and how to improve treatment in patients like Zachary,” says Moertel, who is Zak’s doctor.</p>
<p>Largaespada is identifying gene pathways related to NF1 cancers and testing new drug combinations in mouse models of these cancers. He hopes to soon move into a clinical trial with patients, working with Moertel.</p>
<p>Zak and Harvey Bartz recently visited Largaespada’s lab to see how the research was taking shape. “It was very illuminating for us to know that we were making a direct difference,” says Bartz.</p>
<p>Zak’s visit made an impression on the researchers, too, says Largaespada. “It really drove home that what we’re doing could have an impact on people’s lives.”</p>
<p><em>To support the University’s NF research, contact
Kathy Beenen at 612-625-6495 or give to the Zachary Neurofibromatosis Research Fund at <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/zachary">www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/zachary</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>To become part of our Partners in Care program, contact Jen Foss at 612-626-5276 or <a href="mailto:j.foss@mmf.umn.edu">j.foss@mmf.umn.edu</a>.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/ogNQjF3ibXk" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/cancer/2011/a-family-crusade.html$11.2 million gift will transform pediatric behavioral healthtag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2865872011-04-25T17:19:06Z2011-07-12T19:52:30ZUniversity of Minnesota Amplatz
Children's Hospital has received an
$11.2 million gift from its lead donor,
Caroline Amplatz, J.D., to help renovate
the hospital's children's and adolescent
behavioral health units.
"I am making this gift in honor and in
memory of my mother, Maxine Heinrich
Amplatz, M.D., a pioneering
physician who courageously
battled
depression," Amplatz
says.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 20px 20px; FLOAT: right" class="mt-image-right" alt="Maxine Heinrich Amplatz, M.D." src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Amplatz_Maxine_100.jpg" width="100" height="100" /> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.uofmchildrenshospital.org/">University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital</a> has received an $11.2 million gift from its lead donor, Caroline Amplatz, J.D., to help renovate the hospital’s children’s and adolescent behavioral health units.</p>
<p>“I am making this gift in honor and in memory of my mother, Maxine Heinrich Amplatz, M.D., a pioneering physician who courageously battled depression,” Amplatz says. “I strongly believe children facing mental health challenges deserve as fine a care environment as children experiencing medical health concerns. As a community, we must step up and do more to recognize and support those facing mental illness. Behavioral health impacts us all.”</p>
<p>The gift, which follows a $50 million gift Caroline Amplatz made to the hospital two years ago, sets in motion the initial phases of a $16.5 million renovation.</p>
<p>“Ms. Amplatz’s commitment to impacting the lives of children facing physical and mental health challenges is truly amazing,” says Kathie Taranto, president of University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. “Her gift will allow the state’s premier academic children’s hospital to offer the state-of-the-art care environment these children need.”</p>
<p>Home to one of the nation’s largest behavioral health programs for children and adolescents, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive mental health, substance abuse, and dual-disorder services for children and adolescents. With 74 beds and outpatient program services, including partial hospital, day treatment, and community-based substance abuse treatment programs, the children’s and adolescent behavioral health units provide care to more than 3,400 youth and their families each year.</p>
<p>“This gift will enable our academic faculty and staff to provide quality care in an environment of learning and research that ensures our families receive the best, personalized approach to their child’s mental health needs,” says <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/hemonc/faculty/negliajoseph/home.html">Joseph P. Neglia, M.D., M.P.H.</a>, chair of the <a href="http://www.med.umn.edu/peds/">Department of Pediatrics</a> and physician- in-chief of University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.</p>
<p>Five behavioral health units — two secured inpatient units, a sub-acute inpatient unit, and two outpatient care units — are located in existing hospital facilities and were not renovated as part of the new hospital building project. Amplatz’s gift allows for a full renovation of the two secured inpatient units, where children with the greatest care needs are treated. It also supports secured exercise spaces and repairs to a therapeutic pool.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/g64xCJh_vl4" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/bulletin/2011/112-million-gift-will-transform-pediatric-behavioral-health.htmlA toast to a neurosurgeon-turned-vintnertag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2866712011-04-25T13:46:26Z2011-07-12T19:50:37ZUniversity of Minnesota alumnus Thomas Kenefick, M.D. (Class of 1960), followed an unconventional retirement path when he started Kenefick Ranch Winery in Napa Valley in 2000. "There aren't a lot of neurosurgeon-winemakers," he acknowledges.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 20px 20px; FLOAT: right" class="mt-image-right" alt="Retired neurosurgeon Thomas Kenefick, M.D., has found that both medicine and winemaking require a solid base of chemistry knowledge. (Photo courtesy of Kenefick Ranch Winery)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Tom-Kenefick-300-DPI.jpg" width="230" height="300" /> </p>
<p>University of Minnesota alumnus Thomas Kenefick, M.D. (Class of 1960), followed an unconventional retirement path when he started <a href="http://www.kenefickranch.com">Kenefick Ranch Winery</a> in Napa Valley in 2000. “There aren’t a lot of neurosurgeon-winemakers,” he acknowledges.</p>
<p>Kenefick, who completed his residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and practiced at California’s Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, has been growing wine grapes since 1978. He draws parallels between the science of winemaking and medicine.</p>
<p>“Winemaking [involves] a fair amount of chemistry,” he says, offering the study of grape deficiencies and alcohol and acid levels as examples. Though he’s working with wine these days rather than patients, he describes “mending” an average vineyard and transforming it into a “super-healthy” ranch.</p>
<p>Eager to share his latest vocation with his Medical School classmates, Kenefick provided the wine for his class reunion dinner last September. “I really enjoyed seeing people who I haven’t seen in 50 years,” he says. And his classmates seemed to enjoy the wine; many contacted him afterward to find out where to buy it.</p>
<p>For the past few years, Kenefick also has donated wine to WineFest — A Toast to Children’s Health, an annual wine charity event that benefits University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital (learn more at <a href="http://www.thewinefest.org">www.thewinefest.org</a>).</p>
<p><em>Visit <a href="http://www.kenefickranch.com">www.kenefickranch.com</a> to learn more about Kenefick Ranch Winery. The 125-acre vineyard property at the foothills of the Palisade Mountains produces primarily Bordeaux varietals.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/AaX2tlDjSPQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/alumni/2011/a-toast-to-a-neurosurgeon-turned-vintner.html$11.2 million gift to transform pediatric behavioral health unitstag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2844322011-04-12T19:30:27Z2011-12-15T19:25:57ZUniversity of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital received an $11.2 million gift from
its lead donor, Caroline Amplatz, J.D., to help renovate the hospital's behavioral health units.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 20px 20px; FLOAT: right" class="mt-image-right" alt="Maxine Heinrich Amplatz, M.D." src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Amplatz_Maxine_100.jpg" width="100" height="100" /> University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital received an $11.2 million gift from its lead donor, Caroline Amplatz, <span class="caps">J.D., </span>to help renovate the hospital’s children’s and adolescent behavioral health units.</p>
<p>“I am making this gift in honor and in memory of my mother, Maxine Heinrich Amplatz, <span class="caps">M.D., </span>who was a pioneering physician who courageously battled depression,” Amplatz says. “I strongly believe children facing mental health challenges deserve as fine a care environment as children experiencing medical health concerns. As a community, we must step up and do more to recognize and support those facing mental illness. Behavioral health impacts us all.”</p>
<p>The gift, which follows a $50 million gift Caroline Amplatz made to the hospital two years ago, sets in motion the initial phases of a $16.5 million renovation effort.</p>
<p>“Ms. Amplatz’s commitment to impacting the lives of children facing physical and mental health challenges is truly amazing,” says Kathie Taranto, president of University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. “Her gift will allow the state’s premier academic children’s hospital to offer the state-of-theart care environment these children need.”</p>
<p>Home to one of the nation’s largest behavioral health programs for children and adolescents, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive mental health, substance abuse, and dual-disorder services for children and adolescents. With 74 beds and outpatient program services, including partial hospital, day treatment, and communitybased substance abuse treatment programs, the children’s and adolescent behavioral health units provide care to more than 3,400 youth and their families each year.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/k2n7jVyJ7NE" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/112-million-gift-to-transform-pediatric-behavioral-health-units.htmlBowling for a causetag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2844292011-04-12T19:22:11Z2011-07-12T19:54:41ZNearly 30 teams participated in Dave Lee's Gutter Bowl 5, presented by WCCO Radio, raising $94,000. Proceeds from the event, which took place February 18 at Brunswick Zone XL in Brooklyn Park, helped to fund the WCCO Adopt A Room at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/bowling_460.jpg" width="460" height="300" /> Nearly 30 teams participated in Dave Lee’s Gutter Bowl 5, presented by WCCO Radio, raising $94,000. Proceeds from the event, which took place February 18 at Brunswick Zone XL in Brooklyn Park, helped to fund the WCCO Adopt A Room at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/uBfAS4OdZVo" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/bowling-for-a-cause.htmlA special gifttag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2844232011-04-12T19:10:58Z2011-12-16T18:39:29ZMinnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 20px; DISPLAY: block" class="mt-image-center" alt="Ben, Vivian, and Bob Calmenson in 2008 (Photo: Tim Rummelhoff)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/specialgift_460.jpg" width="460" height="300" />
<h2>Family creates Ben & Bob’s Room to honor loved ones and make the hospital more like home for young patients</h2>
Bob Calmenson lived decades longer than doctors predicted. But when he died at 60 in 2009, his life seemed far too short to family and friends. “He left us too soon,” say his sisters, Margie Howell and Janet Lesgold.</p>
<p>Yet the spirit of Bob, and his father, Ben, who died at age 90 just 13 days before Bob died, will live forever in Ben & Bob’s Room, one of the patient rooms designed to feel more like home under the Adopt A Room program at the new University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.</p>
<p>Though Ben lived to age 90, it was Bob who truly beat the odds. He was born with a congenital heart defect and not expected to make it past age 20. However, surgery as an adolescent at the University’s former Variety Club Heart Hospital helped extend his life.</p>
<p>In gratitude, Ben and his wife, Vivian, established the Robert L. Calmenson Pediatric Cardiology Research Fund when Bob turned 50. Now members of the entire Calmenson family have given $200,000 to create Ben & Bob’s Room. It and other privately funded “adopted rooms” promise to provide a vastly different experience than Bob and his family had when he was hospitalized.</p>
<p>Vivian remembers small, shared rooms and restricted visiting hours. Family members were not allowed to stay overnight. The situation left a lot to be desired. And that’s why the Adopt A Room program appealed so much to the Calmensons.</p>
<p>“This is a way of paying it forward,” says Laurie Calmenson, Bob’s widow.</p>
<p>Adopted rooms will be private and large, with mini-fridges, microwaves, tables for eating together and doing homework, and sleeper sofas. These rooms also will feature technology that allows children to control the lighting, TV, inter-room communications, and video conferencing that keeps them connected to school, family, and friends.</p>
<p>Both men surely would approve of Ben & Bob’s Room, says Lesgold. “If they’re looking down on us, they would be very pleased.”</p>
<p><em>To learn more about how you or your company can sponsor an Adopt A Room, contact Lauren Moore at 612-626-7946 or l.moore@ mmf.umn.edu.</em></p>
<p><em>To become part of our Partners in Care program, contact Jen Foss at 612-626-5276 or <a href="mailto:j.foss@mmf.umn.edu">j.foss@mmf.umn.edu</a>.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/dMxwEcLqvIA" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/a-special-gift-family-creates-ben-bobs-room-to-honor-loved-ones-and-make-the-hospital-more-like-home.htmlNew fellowship program helps ease shortage of pediatric rheumatologiststag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2844192011-04-12T19:09:36Z2011-12-15T19:54:37ZMore than 6,000 children in Minnesota live with the pain of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. But the state has only six pediatric rheumatologists to provide specialty care for these young patients.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p>More than 6,000 children in Minnesota live with the pain of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. But the state has only six pediatric rheumatologists to provide specialty care for these young patients.</p>
<p>A nationwide shortage of pediatric rheumatologists prompted the Minneapolis-based Wasie Foundation to take part in a challenge grant: If the University of Minnesota raised half of the $1 million needed to start a pediatric rheumatology fellowship program, The Wasie Foundation would provide the other half.</p>
<p>Now the match is complete, and the fellowship program is in full swing. The program’s first fellow began training in 2009. A second enrolled last summer, and a third will begin this summer.</p>
<p>“Our board … really wanted to see the program get going,” says Jan Preble, The Wasie Foundation’s vice president of programs. “Mostly we’re just grateful that there will be more people in practice to serve the children in need.”</p>
<p>The three-year fellowship includes one year of clinical training and two years devoted to research.</p>
<p>“We hope that by training more pediatric rheumatologists for the region, we will help to ensure that children with rheumatic diseases have timely access to the subspecialty physicians they need,” says pediatric rheumatologist and fellowship program coleader Bryce Binstadt, M.D., Ph.D.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/r3SCi8q855k" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/new-fellowship-program-helps-ease-shortage-of-pediatric-rheumatologists.htmlTurning loss into hopetag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.3277042011-03-25T17:28:29Z2012-02-16T21:34:06ZWhen Jaclyn and Tony Doffin found out that they were having triplets, they got busy planning for their new life with three infants. One of the triplets was diagnosed with a heart condition prior to birth, but the family never anticipated the devastating complications that their baby would have as a result.
When the triplets, Tyler, Sophia, and Grace, were born on September 8, 2008, doctors quickly determined that Grace had a more severe case of hypoplastic right heart syndrome than originally thought. “She was born with three [heart] chambers,” explains Tony. “She was missing the one that pumped [blood] to the lungs.” Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><img alt="Jaclyn Doffin holding Sophia and Tony Doffin holding Grace and Tyler. (Submitted photo)" src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/Doffin-family_blog.jpg" width="460" height="300" class="mt-image-center" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 20px;" /></p>
<h2>Family hosts community fundraiser, creates a pediatric heart research fund in daughter’s memory</h2>
<p>When Jaclyn and Tony Doffin found out that they were having triplets, they got busy planning for their new life with three infants. One of the triplets was diagnosed with a heart condition prior to birth, but the family never anticipated the devastating complications that their baby would have as a result.</p>
<p>When the triplets, Tyler, Sophia, and Grace, were born on September 8, 2008, doctors quickly determined that Grace had a more severe case of hypoplastic right heart syndrome than originally thought. “She was born with three [heart] chambers,” explains Tony. “She was missing the one that pumped [blood] to the lungs.” </p>
<p>In her first few months of life, Grace had two heart surgeries at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital, and she spent more than two months in the neonatal intensive care unit—most of that time on a ventilator. She went home before Thanksgiving, but while awaiting her third heart surgery, Grace died unexpectedly on July 7, 2009. </p>
<p>Compelled to create some good out of their tragic loss, the Doffins created the Grace Doffin Pediatric Heart Research Fund through the Minnesota Medical Foundation to benefit pediatric heart research at the University of Minnesota. They raised money for the fund through a community fundraiser they organized called Hope in Grace. </p>
<p>“You can do something good with it. Life is what you make of it,” Jaclyn explains. </p>
<h3>Superior care at the University</h3>
<p>The Doffins say that the high level of care Grace received at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital inspire them to give back to the University. “We had great experiences with the doctors and nurses,” says Jaclyn.</p>
<p>Their situation was particularly complex, she explains, because they had two babies at home while Grace was still in the hospital—resulting in many trips back and forth between the hospital and their home in Blaine, Minnesota. </p>
<p>“It was very hard to not be able to be by Grace’s side constantly,” Jaclyn says. “We found out that a lot of nurses and staff members were coming in to hold Grace when we couldn’t be there. That was really awesome.”</p>
<h3>Helping babies like Grace</h3>
<p>In the fall of 2009, the Doffins started planning the first Hope in Grace Family Fun Run, which took place in their Blaine neighborhood in April 2010. “This was an opportunity for other people with healthy children to give back,” Jaclyn says. </p>
<p>And give back they did. </p>
<p>The run and silent auction drew more than 300 participants and 50 volunteers, and far exceeded the Doffins’ expectations—raising $17,000 for the <a href="https://www.mmf.umn.edu/give/?giveto=1597">Grace Doffin Pediatric Heart Research Fund.</a>
“It was really great to see neighbors afterwards wearing the T-shirts with Grace’s name on them,” Jaclyn recalls.</p>
<p>The run’s success has encouraged the Doffins to make it an annual event. They recently gained nonprofit status for their Hope in Grace organization and are preparing for the next run, set for April 16, 2011. That will be a busy time for the Doffins, who are expecting twins in June.</p>
<p>Tony says that he’s hopeful that the money raised will help others like Grace. “Maybe with research they could find a fix for it,” he says of Grace’s condition. </p>
<p>Adds Jaclyn, “If it helps even one child that would be rewarding.”</p>
<h6>Hope in Grace Family Fun Run</h6>
<p><img alt="Hope in Grace" src="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/_/img/Giftsinaction/grace-run-sign.jpg" width="260" height="160" /></p>
<p>Learn more about the event at <a href="http://www.hopeingrace.org/">www.hopeingrace.org</a></p></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/HYkkRIqxjxo" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/heart/2011/turning-loss-into-hope.htmlA partnership for pediatric cancer researchtag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2813612011-03-15T17:00:48Z2011-07-12T19:55:53ZChildren's Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) has teamed up with the Minnesota Medical Foundation (MMF) to help fund research to find a cure for pediatric cancers and other childhood diseases faster.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p>Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) has teamed up with the Minnesota Medical Foundation (MMF) to help fund research to find a cure for pediatric cancers and other childhood diseases faster.</p>
<p>CCRF and MMF—which raises money for health-related research, education, and care at the University of Minnesota—have worked together publicly and privately for nearly 30 years to combat pediatric cancer. In that time, CCRF has raised nearly $60 million exclusively for the University’s leading-edge pediatric cancer research and education efforts, helping investigators develop new ideas and improve treatments for children who have cancer and rare genetic diseases.</p>
<p>To learn how you can make a gift to pediatric cancer research, contact Joslyn Biever at 612-626-6430 or <a href="mailto:j.biever@mmf.umn.edu">j.biever@mmf.umn.edu</a>.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/QRDucO1vNKw" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/cancer/2011/a-partnership-for-pediatric-cancer-research.html<![CDATA[$11.2M gift to transform behavioral health at U of M Amplatz Children’s Hospital]]>tag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2011:/mmf/news//10944.2717942011-01-19T19:45:22Z2011-12-15T19:58:17ZJanuary 19, 2011 — University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital announced a gift of $11.2 million toward the goal of $16.5 million to renovate the children’s and adolescent behavioral health units. The gift was made by the hospital’s lead donor, Caroline Amplatz, J.D., and sets in motion the initial renovation effort which is scheduled for
completion in 2014.Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p>January 19, 2011 — University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital
announced a gift of $11.2 million toward the goal of $16.5 million to
renovate the children’s and adolescent behavioral health units. The gift
was made by the hospital’s lead donor, Caroline Amplatz, J.D., and sets
in motion the initial renovation effort which is scheduled for
completion in 2014. </p>
<p>Ms. Amplatz made the decision to add to the lead gift she made nearly
two years ago for two reasons. “I am making this gift in honor and in
memory of my mother, Maxine Heinrich Amplatz, MD, who was a pioneering
physician who courageously battled depression,” explains Amplatz.
“Second, I strongly believe children facing mental health challenges
deserve as fine a care environment as children experiencing medical
health concerns. As a community, we must step up and do more to
recognize and support those facing mental illness—behavioral health
impacts us all.”</p>
<p>Behavioral Health Services at the University of Minnesota Amplatz
Children’s Hospital provides comprehensive mental health, substance
abuse, and dual disorder services for children and adolescents. It is
one of the largest behavioral health programs for children and
adolescents in the nation. With 74 beds and outpatient program services
including partial hospital, day treatment and community-based substance
abuse treatment programs, more than 3,400 youth and their families
receive care each year.</p>
<p> There are five different units—two secured inpatient units, a
sub-acute inpatient unit and two outpatient care units. These patient
care units are located in existing hospital facilities that were not
renovated as part of the new children’s hospital facility building
project. This gift was made to fully renovate the two secured inpatient
units which treat children with the greatest care needs. Behavioral
health facilities renovation and research have been identified as a
critical priority for the state and region. The fundraising efforts are
being led jointly by the Minnesota Medical Foundation and Fairview
Foundation.</p>
<p>“Ms. Amplatz’ commitment to impacting the lives of children facing
physical and mental health challenges is truly amazing,” said Kathie
Taranto, president, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital.
“The demand for high quality inpatient behavioral care for children has
never been greater. Her gift will allow the state’s premier academic
children’s hospital to offer the state-of-the-art of care environment
these children need. Because of Ms. Amplatz’s gift, our inpatient
pediatric behavioral health facility will be designed to achieve an
environment of healing and promise for these youth.”</p>
<p>“Mental health and behavioral health issues are an important part of
the health care of children and adolescents,” said Joseph P. Neglia, MD,
Chair, Department of Pediatrics. “We must improve the experience, care
and perception of mental and behavioral health for our younger patients
and their families. This gift will enable our academic faculty and staff
to provide quality care in an environment of learning and research that
ensures our families receives the best, personalized approach to their
child’s mental health needs.”</p>
<p> The gift will renovate the two children’s and adolescent behavioral
health inpatient units (27 beds) of University of Minnesota Amplatz
Children’s Hospital. It will also provide large muscle therapy spaces to
include repairs of the therapeutic pool, a secured outdoor exercise
space, and a secured indoor exercise space. The units will align with
the design of and be physically connected to the new University of
Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital. Research physicians will be
engaged in planning and designing of the renovated space to ensure it
supports the highest quality patient care together with the relevant
residency programs and the teaching and research activities of the
University faculty.</p>
<h3>About University of Minnesota Amplatz
Children’s Hospital</h3>
<p> Located on the east and west banks of the Mississippi River in
Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital is part
of Fairview Health Services and is affiliated with the University of
Minnesota Medical School, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s
Hospital provides a broad spectrum of pediatric health care. Our
services range from pediatric general surgery, imaging and neonatal and
pediatric intensive care to cardiac and oncology services and blood and
marrow and organ transplantation.</p>
<p>Innovative approaches and affiliation with the University of
Minnesota have led to several firsts, including the first successful
pediatric blood marrow transplant, infant heart transplant in Minnesota
and cochlear ear implant surgery for a child. University of Minnesota
Amplatz Children’s Hospital features one of the three largest kidney
transplant programs in the world specializing in infants and small
children.</p>
<p>University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital staff, University
of Minnesota Physicians and community physicians work together to
balance innovative technology and treatments with personal concern.
University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital will open a new
innovative facility for mothers and children on March 26, 2011. This new
facility will provide patient- and family-centered care in more than 50
pediatric and maternal services in one convenient location.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/gdKrXhJHHsE" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2011/112-million-gift-to-transform-pediatric-behavioral-health-at-university-of-minnesota-amplatz-childre.htmlDonors accelerate autism researchtag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2010:/mmf/news//10944.2614022010-11-30T18:33:10Z2012-01-19T21:14:56ZPhilanthropy makes a real difference in the lives of children with debilitating diseases and disorders.
Because of Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison’s $1 million challenge gift to the University of Minnesota’s Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Initiative in 2007, for example, researchers here are digging deeper into the causes and possible therapies for autism and related conditions.
Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p>Philanthropy makes a real difference in the lives of children with debilitating diseases and disorders.</p>
<p>Because of Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison’s $1 million challenge gift to the University of Minnesota’s Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Initiative in 2007, for example, researchers here are digging deeper into the causes and possible therapies for autism and related conditions.</p>
<p>Some of the research initiatives made possible by the Harrisons and the generous group of donors who contributed to the challenge fund include efforts focused on:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Improving attention among people with ASDs </p></li>
<li><p>Identifying infants at risk for ASDs </p></li>
<li><p>Understanding speech and voice processing in the autistic brain </p></li>
<li><p>Using stem cell infusions in treating autistic children with gastrointestinal inflammation, a common effect of autism</p></li>
<li><p>Determining whether congenital cytomegalovirus is linked to autism</p></li>
<li><p>Uncovering the roles of serotonin signals in early forebrain development</p></li>
<li><p>Obtaining metabolomic profiles of people who have ASDs</p></li>
</ul>
<p><em>To make a gift in support of autism research at the University of Minnesota, contact Lauren Moore at 612-626-7946 or l.moore@mmf.umn.edu.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/8V5AB8GOdtc" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2010/gifts-in-action-donors-accelerate-autism-research.htmlRemembered forevertag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2010:/mmf/news//10944.2614012010-11-30T18:29:07Z2011-11-22T16:40:22ZChristopher Meyer, M.D., loved her career as a pediatric critical care doctor at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. It was an intense job that required her to be on her feet all day, but she was continually amazed at the strength of the families she met.
But a childhood spine condition made it difficult and often painful for Meyer to stand for hours on end. She had several surgeries, trying to alleviate the pain, and each had a rather long recovery period when she couldn't work at all.
Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20with%2018mo%20Erik-64140.html" onclick="window.open('http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer - with 18mo Erik-64140.html','popup','width=2044,height=2952,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20with%2018mo%20Erik-thumb-200x288-64140.jpg" alt="Erik Nichols, 18 months. " class="mt-image-right" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px;" width="200" height="288" /></a>
<h2>Fund named in son’s memory supports educational opportunities for pediatric critical care fellows</h2>
Christopher Meyer, M.D., loved her career as a pediatric critical care doctor at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. It was an intense job that required her to be on her feet all day, but she was continually amazed at the strength of the families she met. </p>
<p>But a childhood spine condition made it difficult and often painful for Meyer to stand for hours on end. She had several surgeries, trying to alleviate the pain, and each had a rather long recovery period when she couldn’t work at all.</p>
<p>Meyer worried that she was burdening her colleagues at the University, with which Gillette was then affiliated. “But they never, ever made it seem that they were resentful at all,” she says. “They were very compassionate and understanding.” </p>
<p>In gratitude for that understanding, Meyer in 1999 made a gift of $27,000 to help trainees in the University’s pediatric critical care fellowship program attend professional conferences or to support their research. Meyer completed her pediatric critical care fellowship training at the University in 1992. </p>
<p><a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20with%20Erik%20same%20height-64143.html" onclick="window.open('http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer - with Erik same height-64143.html','popup','width=1551,height=2362,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20with%20Erik%20same%20height-thumb-200x304-64143.jpg" alt="Meyer with son Erik Nichols. " class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt;" width="200" height="304" /></a>“Some of the leaders in the international community have trained here,” says fellowship program director Marie Steiner, M.D.</p>
<p>“There’s a long history of training the movers and the shakers—in terms of research, education, and service.” </p>
<p>Though Meyer’s back problems forced her to retire early, in 2003, she firmly believes in the power of research and education.</p>
<p>Then four years ago, her middle son, Erik Nichols, died suddenly at age 23. In his honor, Meyer recently renamed the fund she had created the Erik David Nichols Memorial Pediatric Critical Care Fellows Fund. She also has added to the fund, which now contains more than $37,000, and she made it an endowment so it could be a funding source for fellows in perpetuity.</p>
<p>“That way [Erik] could be remembered forever,” Meyer says. </p>
<p><a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20Erik%20sr%20photo-64146.html" onclick="window.open('http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer - Erik sr photo-64146.html','popup','width=1368,height=1981,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Meyer%20-%20Erik%20sr%20photo-thumb-130x188-64146.jpg" alt="Erik Nichols. " class="mt-image-right" style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px;" width="130" height="188" /></a>The support her funds provide to fellows will have a lasting impact as well. The fund allows them to attend professional meetings and educational conferences that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford on their trainees’ salaries, Steiner says.</p>
<p>For instance, if a fellow is chosen to present at a professional meeting, he or she will attend that conference, although it may not be the most beneficial educationally, Steiner says. But the Erik David Nichols Memorial Pediatric Critical Care Fellows Fund allows fellows, today and in the future, additional opportunities for professional development. </p>
<p>“It’s so selfless,” Steiner says. </p>
<p><em>For more information on supporting fellowship funds, contact Courtney Billing at 612-626-1931 or c.billing@mmf.umn.edu.</em></p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/rRlUD8qNI5k" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2010/remembered-forever-fund-named-in-sons-memory-supports-educational-opportunities-for-pediatric-critic.htmlMinnesota Vikings team up with U experts on 'fitness playbook' to prevent childhood obesitytag:blog.lib.umn.edu,2010:/mmf/news//10944.2613972010-11-30T18:24:56Z2011-07-12T19:59:33ZAn alarming 32 percent of children today are considered overweight. About 16 percent are considered obese, and up to 6 percent are considered extremely obese.
These statistics carry considerable health implications. Obese children have an increased risk of prematurely developing many serious chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Minnesota Medical Foundationmmf@umn.edu
<p><a href="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Vikings Martha Burns swim school 2010 Nov 02-165-64134.html" onclick="window.open('http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Vikings Martha Burns swim school 2010 Nov 02-165-64134.html','popup','width=1280,height=833,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/assets_c/2010/11/Vikings Martha Burns swim school 2010 Nov 02-165-thumb-200x130-64134.jpg" width="200" height="130" alt="Minnesota Vikings players join community kids for a swim to encourage exercise as part of the Vikings Fitness Playbook program." class="mt-image-right" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 20px 20px;" /></a>An alarming 32 percent of children today are considered overweight. About 16 percent are considered obese, and up to 6 percent are considered extremely obese. </p>
<p>These statistics carry considerable health implications. Obese children have an increased risk of prematurely developing many serious chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. </p>
<p>Thanks to a three-year gift commitment from the Minnesota Vikings and the Vikings Children’s Fund, experts at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital are addressing this issue through what they’re calling the Vikings Fitness Playbook—a weight management and physical fitness program designed to improve heart health and quality of life for children and families in Minnesota. </p>
<p>“We’re excited to support an endeavor that has the potential to change so many young lives,” says Lester Bagley‚ vice president of public affairs for the Vikings. </p>
<p>Through the Vikings Fitness Playbook, University physician-researchers hope to identify strategies that could help improve physical fitness and weight management in children and adolescents. They will employ nutrition education and counseling, behavioral management, structured physical activity, and regular contact with participants for nine months.</p>
<p>They’ll also teach families about factors such as unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles that contribute to children becoming overweight. </p>
<p>“We’re addressing the overall environment that’s contributing to the child’s obesity,” says Aaron Kelly, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatric epidemiology and clinical research at the University. “We see this as crucial to long-term effectiveness and to increasing the chance that success will extend to the real world.” </p>
<p>In addition to funding the program, the Vikings are providing tangible encouragement. The team will motivate participants through player appearances at exercise sessions, visits to Winter Park, and more. </p>
<p>“We envision a continued partnership with the Vikings and others to expand this program to the community by promoting research findings and principles to help children and families lead healthier lifestyles,” says Kelly. </p>
<p>Through the Vikings Children’s Fund, the Vikings organization has supported innovative pediatric research and community partnerships with University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital for more than three decades.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors">You can make a difference</a></h3>
<p>Help the University of Minnesota save lives, inspire hope, and prepare the world’s future health care leaders. <a href="http://www.mmf.umn.edu/giveto/ch-donors"><strong>Make a gift today</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Because with your support, anything is possible.</strong></p>
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MMF-ch-donors/~4/LmFdvmC6d1o" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/mmf/news/children/2010/minnesota-vikings-team-up-with-university-experts-on-fitness-playbook-to-prevent-childhood-obesity.html