Shriners Hospitals for Children–Los Angeles Approved to Build a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles (SHC-LA) does not have a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Consequently, a local children’s hospital has been utilized for planned and un-planned patient cases requiring a higher level of care.

Unfortunately, we have recently been informed that we will no longer be able to transfer our patients to this local children’s hospital as they have exceeded 100% of their capacity for inpatient care. This has severely impacted our ability to reduce our current backlog of over 500 surgical cases - some of which will require this PICU support. SHC-LA surgeons have also expressed concern for being able to maintain their surgical proficiency at a non-PICU capable hospital.

Due to these issues, the hospital has received approval to build a four bed PICU at SHC-LA from our Corporate Headquarters. The targeted opening date of this new unit is scheduled for the spring of 2009.

Construction of a PICU will allow SHC-LA to continue to provide services to patients
requiring a higher level of post-surgical care while maintaining superior patient safety.

This is in perfect alignment with the Shriners Hospitals for Children vision, mission and strategic plan. A SHC-LA PICU will also assist with the retention and recruitment of skillful pediatric orthopaedic surgeons along with the enhancement of present and future capabilities of the hospital. It will allow us to increase the number of complex surgeries performed at SHC-LA without the use of expensive transfers to other pediatric hospitals.

Two of the hospital’s multi-bed patient rooms and an isolation room are planned to be
renovated into the four bed PICU. The types of cases that will benefit from this onsite PICU care include: spinal fusion surgeries, toe-to-hand transfers and other cases with complications that require intensive monitoring. SHC-LA performs 70 spinal operations per year. Because our post-operative capabilities are limited, our spinal surgeons perform about 12 of these cases at outside pediatric facilities. We also send out approximately four cases per year with postoperative difficulties that we cannot currently manage in-house. In addition, we have been forced to deny care to some children who will need post-operative care because we are unable to provide the sophisticated medical management that is needed.

The cost savings of bringing these surgeries in-house will be substantial. The cost to
SHC-LA to treat a PICU patient at an outside pediatric facility is over $7,000 per day. On average, this resulted in total charges of over $210,000 per patient! A PICU at SHC-LA would cost only $4,600 per day resulting in a savings to the hospital of over $330,000 annually.
The unit will be built according to the State of California Department of Health Services and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) standards specifications and requirements.
It will be supported by pediatric intensive care trained nurses, respiratory therapists
and intensivist physicians. This specially trained team will provide the care and oversight for the patients of the PICU 24 hours a day. The expected length of stay for these patients in intensive care is anticipated to be between two to three days.

Based on approval by local and State of California agencies, the first steps in this process will be to proceed with design and construction bids, apply for permits and then begin construction and other renovation tasks. Equipment will then need to be purchased and installed.

If you are interested in learning how to support SHC-LA in its efforts to raise funds for this much needed service, please contact Jon Dellaria at (213) 368-3394.

Nor-Cal Shrine Screening Clinic

The Nor-Cal Shrine Club will be conduction a Children's Screening Clinic 9am to 1pm Saturday March 7th at the Shasta Health Center 1053 Placer St. in Redding,Ca.

The Clinic is to identify children who can benefit from the expert orthopedic, Spinal cord & burn care provided by Shriners Hospital for Children

New Shrine Traveling Display for West Region

This is the unit that will be heading to WSA in San Jose this May. Be sure to stop by and take a look at the new trailer when you are at WSA. It will heading to Sacramento after the Parade. Check the links for the D'elagence
It is in Colorado now at the IHOP for National Pancake Day and will be traveling to several schools in the State.

RV's & Motorcycles Roadside program on Shrine Savers

Dear Noble,

After an overwhelming response from fellow Brothers about whether the ShrineSavers Roadside Assistance Program is available for motorcycles and motor homes, I decided to resend the newsletter with the answers to those questions.

I am glad to announce that motorcycles are included in our basic roadside program. This program is for all light duty vehicles >10,000 lbs GVW and could be a great program for all those in your Motor Corps Unit.

For you RVers, we just launched a RV Roadside Assistance Program for all vehicles up to DOT class 8 or >80,000 lbs GVW. Take a look and see how it compares with your current coverage. I think you will find it very comparable and very affordable.

Remember that both coverages are offered in the US and Canada alike. Please pass this along to any Brother that you feel could use this or any other benefit offered through your ShrineSavers program.


Fraternally,

Larry Mann
Director of Operations

Shriners Hospitals for Children Advance the Science of Burn Care

In order to provide the best, most up-to-date, innovative treatment to patients with burns and burn related injuries, Shriners Hospitals for Children has a strong commitment to conducting medical research related to burn injuries and burn care.
Currently, Shriners Hospitals for Children is funding approximately 60 research studies involving different aspects of burn injury and treatment.

The health care system is also involved in many additional externally funded burn-related research efforts as well, bringing the total number of research efforts in this field to approximately 200. Researchers at Shriners Hospitals for Children are responsible and recognized for advances in burn care that significantly improve the lives of those with severe burns.

Specific examples of these advances include the invention of cultured skin substitute, which is a major improvement in coverage of large burns.
Additional advances in wound healing include proving that prompt surgical removal of burned tissue increases a patient’s potential for survival, improves long-term function and decreases the need for reconstructive surgeries.
Advances in fluid resuscitation include the creation of a formula based on body surface area and body weight, which is more appropriate for pediatric patients and is now used worldwide.
Usage of this formula has decreased the mortality rate from kidney failure among children with severe burn injuries from 100 percent to 56 percent.Shriners Hospitals for Children’s research studies brought about the understanding that inhalation injury causes fluid to build up in the lungs, and that additional fluid resuscitation actually reduces this buildup, which has led to a new worldwide standard of care for fluid resuscitation in pediatric burn patients.

In addition, Shriners Hospitals for Children’s researchers have contributed to increased understanding of hypermetabolism and the nutrient requirements of patients with burn injuries.
The effects of burn injuries may last a lifetime, and researchers at Shriners Hospitals for Children are dedicated to improving long-term outcomes for patients with burn injuries, especially in the areas of scar development, rehabilitation and psychological adjustment. For example, the use of pressure garments helps minimize scarring, and the creation and implementation of a 12-week exercise program decreases the need for reconstructive surgery, improves quality of life, and eases return to the
home community.
Researchers at Shriners Hospitals for Children share their expertise through academic affiliations at noteworthy nearby institutions and by providing opportunities for post-doctoral researchers.
The emphasis on research and education is proof of Shriners Hospitals for Children’s’ total commitment to determining, as well as providing, the best care for children with burn injuries.
The Shriners Hospitals for Children health care system depends on donations to fund all its programs, including research. For information on ways you can support this effort, please visit www.donate2SHC.org or www.shrinershospitals.org

Bonnie St. John: Letting Go of DeFeet

author of LIVE YOUR JOY, Olympic Ski Medalist, amputee, Rhodes Scholar, and all-around inspiration!

Bonnie St. John: Letting Go of DeFeet

There were hardly any kids at the Shriners Hospital today… The administrative assistant I contacted had tried to discourage me from coming because the hospital would be so empty. But I went anyway, because I was in town. I wore my Olympic medals and brought souvenir postcards to sign for the patients who were there. So I visited a few kids and talked. Then we met this little girl with her mother in the hallway. Neither spoke English. Through the translator I shared the story of my amputated leg and being at Shriners for my surgeries when I was a kid. Then the girl lifted up her pants leg to show her foot was five inches off the ground with a brace like mine was. It turns out she had the same problem, but refused to let them cut her foot off. We talked a bit more.
Then I visited some other kids.
I saw her again and asked “is getting a leg like mine an option?” She shook her head quickly as if to say “no way”
“Do you have any questions about it?” I asked through the interpreter.
She shook her head faster. I wasn’t getting through at all.
So I put down my purse, took off my high heels, adjusted my ankle to flat and ran across the room and back as fast as I could. Then I took out my jump rope and jumped. I didn’t see her face while I was running, but they told me they saw the light in her eyes go on! A man who had seen her when she first came in–shy and withdrawn–started crying. Words didn’t get through to her, but action speaks louder than words. If she was the only kid in the hospital that day, I think it was worth going.

When I spoke at a church later that day I told the story of the little girl…and I said, “Here she is in the middle of free, state of the art medical care turning down the treatment she needs–and a powerful new leg–because she wants to keep a foot that doesn’t work!”
“How often are we like that with God? God has everything prepared for us but we are like a small child from a foreign country who doesn’t understand the big picture. What is the foot you are holding onto in your life that is blocking your blessings? Is it a job you need to move on from? Is it a relationship that you need to let go of? A degree you are afraid to get? What are you holding onto?”

Anacondan on hospital board of governors

By The Montana Standard Staff

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON (February 18, 2009) n E.G. Leipheimer IV of Anaconda, Montana has been appointed to the Board of Governors for Shriners Hospitals for Children-Spokane. Mr. Leipheimer, owner of Discovery Buick & GMC Trucks in Anaconda, is a long time member of the Bagdad Shrine Center in Butte, Montana. He began is three year term in January 2009.

The Board of Governors at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Spokane is responsible for the oversight of the hospital operations and is performed on a volunteer basis. The board meets monthly in Spokane and is comprised of members from supporting Shrine centers from Washington, Montana, Idaho and Canada.