Dear Friends,

As we gather with loved ones to celebrate the season and reflect on 2023, we are filled with gratitude for your generous partnership and support this year. Words and dollar amounts simply cannot convey the significance of your contributions to make possible the many young lives saved and forever changed, the miraculous stories, the outpouring of hearts, and the community heroism that we have witnessed at Valley Children's Foundation in 2023. If you have a moment this holiday season, please review some of our newsletters or our Facebook or Instagram posts from this year, and you'll see just a glimpse of what we see every day. With our deepest thanks, I want to wish each and every one of you Happy Holidays and best wishes for an exciting New Year!

Gratefully,

Rob Saroyan

President

Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation

The Merriman family of Bakersfield recently gave a major gift to Valley Children's Pediatric Trauma Center and Injury Prevention Program. They want this major gift and their story to help others safeguard their children from preventable injuries.

In February of 2021, their then-3-year-old son Jack was found pinned under their home treadmill, blue and lifeless. Jarred and Kellie, Jack's parents, both work in the medical field and were able to not only get him out from under the heavy equipment, but to get him breathing again before the ambulance came and took him to Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield, where he was further stabilized before being air-lifted to Valley Children's.

Jack had a brain injury and was at Valley Children's for two weeks, followed by months of outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and neurology appointments. Lingering and frightening effects of his accident such as temporary blindness and seizures eventually healed.

Now Jack is a thriving six-year-old who enjoys Kindergarten. His parents want every family to be better educated and equipped to see and address items in their home lives that are potentially dangerous. Valley Children's Trauma Nurse Liaison and Safe Kids Central California Coordinator Kristina Pasma has helped put the Merriman gift to good use with educational programs and distribution of equipment such as child car seats and infant sleep sacks. She says, "It is gifts like these that truly make the difference in the lives of children and not only allow us to take better care of them, but to also keep them safe and out of the hospital."

Kellie wholeheartedly agrees. "If one child is kept safe, it will be worth it."

On Saturday, October 21, our friends from Phi Delta Epsilon medical fraternity at UC Merced hosted their Stand For The Kids Walk-a-Thon and costume contest to raise funds for Valley Children’s Hospital. Stand For The Kids is an annual day of philanthropy for Phi Delta Epsilon fraternities nationwide and each chapter hosts a unique event to benefit their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. 

This year, UC Merced’s chapter organized a fun-filled event where participants got creative and came dressed up in their best Halloween costumes. George joined in the fun but forgot his costume! Their walk was from the center of UC Merced's sprawling campus to the beautiful nearby Lake Yosemite Park. Thanks to the dedication of the Phi Delta Epsilon members and all those who volunteered and participated, the event raised $2,172.50 for Valley Children’s Hospital. 

We’re incredibly grateful to have such wonderful partners who help make a difference in the lives of the kids we serve, and we wish all of these pre-med students the best for their futures. Perhaps we will see several of them serve at Valley Children's someday!

Throughout the month of November, Valley Children’s staff continued to focus on our Value of Excellence. We are honored to share an example of a Valley Children's nurse who implemented a way to provide better patient care.

In 2020, the state of California developed a program approving newborn screening (NBS) genetic testing for patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) – a disorder affecting the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement. During testing, if a patient is diagnosed with SMA, the patient is eligible to receive therapy before the appearance of symptoms.

After completing the state training, it was up to the Valley Children’s Muscular Dystrophy program team to develop what our process would look like. Recognizing there was an opportunity to improve patient outcomes, Neurology Clinic Nurse and MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) Coordinator Rachel Meisner spearheaded an interprofessional team to create an NBS SMA program.

Rachel and her team mapped out a process, the steps to take and how to support the family based on the therapy they chose for their child. Furthering her commitment to the project, she also developed education so others could learn the new process.

With the new program in place, asymptomatic SMA patients are now treated and life-altering symptoms are prevented, which is a life-changing intervention for patients and families receiving care at Valley Children's.

As a result of the new program, our SMA admission rate saw a 100% reduction. Prior to this program, patients who developed symptoms might not ever sit, stand or walk. They often experienced respiratory complications that caused them to be hospitalized or required placement of tracheostomies and ventilators in order to breath. They also often required the placement of g-tubes for nutrition. There lifespan was significantly shortened. Because we are now diagnosing patients early, due to newborn screen, and treating early, the majority of these new patients are able to achieve these milestones.

Many thanks to Rachel and the numerous interprofessional teams who collaborated on this project for the betterment of our patients. And thanks to your support of Valley Children’s, staff initiatives such as Rachel’s are better equipped to be implemented. We look forward to bringing you more stories like this one in future Staff Spotlight segments.

Ace Hardware Holiday Roundup

November 1 - December 31

Stop by participating Ace Hardware stores throughout the Central Valley as they round up at the register for local kids during the holidays.

7-Eleven

November 1 - January 9

Our newest Children's Miracle Network Hospitals partner, 7-Eleven, will launch their holiday campaign to support Valley Children's through 66 store locations from Modesto to Porterville.

Save the date! Kids Day is Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Join us in supporting a Valley tradition! If you're interested in being a Site Leader or volunteering, please call us at 559-353-7100 or visit valleychildrens.org/kidsday. This is a great volunteer opportunity for businesses and schools.