Board Member Thankful for Receiving Life-Changing Care With November right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to kick off the season of giving thanks with a story about a former patient who is now an active member of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation board. When Ned Hodge was leading the Alamo Heights Mules to a state tennis championship, his coach would joke that he was “pretty good for a preemie.”  But without the care he received in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital, now The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, Hodge says he never would have had a swinging chance. “We wouldn’t be talking.” In 1978, Hodge was born three months early, tiny enough to fit in the palm of his father’s hand.  He spent two and a half months in the NICU.  Thirty-four years later, Hodge gives back to the hospital that game him a start by serving on the board of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation. “At the end of the day, it’s about people,” Hodge says.  “That’s what sets CHRISTUS apart.” You never know how the work you’re doing today will make a difference in someone’s life tomorrow.  We, at the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundations, are thankful for your support.  We are able to continue to help our hospitals provide the best possible care for our patients because of your generosity.  The donations we receive help fund a variety of patient health and wellness programs and cutting-edge medical technologies at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, as well as the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa adult hospitals. If you would like to make a donation in support of either of the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundations, visit us at SantaRosaFoundation.org or call our Foundation offices at (210) 704-2800. We want to connect with you! Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date about upcoming events and fundraisers benefiting both of our Foundations.  You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter…and don’t forget to follow our blog!

It Takes a Team Mark Gilger, M.D., pediatrician-in-chief, greets colleagues at a recent physician open house. “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek The physical transformation of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is readily apparent. But behind the construction fence, changes to the team are even more profound. The partnership with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) is enabling powerful changes to people and programs that are already making a difference. “The depth of expertise and resources that are now available to our team is amazing,” said Trisha Montague, Chief Nursing Officer. “It’s opening the door to resources we never would have dreamed of having.” A significant part of the recruiting success is due to the contributions of the Pediatrician-in-Chief, Dr. Mark Gilger, a BCM pediatrician who joined the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio team some 10 months ago. Gilger has helped secure more than 60 of the 250 physicians the children’s hospital plans to recruit as part of its transformation. “His knowledge, his ability to interact with physicians and his talent to recruit outstanding physicians, is evidence of the strength of our partnership,” said Pat Carrier, president and CEO of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System. “We are assembling a team with some of the best and brightest minds in pediatric medicine. This is allowing us to provide top-notch care for the children of San Antonio and South Texas – a level of care this area has never had before.” This is an exciting time for the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio! We look forward to sharing more stories about the great things this transformation is doing for our community. If you would like to make a donation to help fund the miracles happening at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, visit us online at SantaRosaFoundation.org, or call our Foundation offices at (210) 704-2800. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do for our patients without the support of our community! For a full list of new physicians at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, click here.

Making a Difference, One Family at a Time: The Every Baby Matters Mission New Mom Amanda (left) undergoes an assessment by Michelle Bryant, RN, in the comfort of her home. Bringing a baby into the world is a joyous occasion, but can sometimes be a stressful time for new mothers. The Every Baby Matters Mission (EBMM) at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital – New Braunfels (CSRH – NB) takes the care we provide within the hospital walls out into the community to ensure mothers and babies are healthy and happy. Serving nearly 400 patients annually, the EBMM aims to give parents the tools they need to allow babies to thrive in strong, healthy families.  The program gives new mothers the opportunity for in-home visits by a registered nurse following delivery. The nurse conducts medical assessments on both mother and baby in the comfort of their home, addresses any concerns or questions the mother may have, and provides educational information on maternal and child health issues and child development. Michelle Bryant, a registered nurse with more than 14 years of experience in mother-baby care, is currently the sole EBMM nurse at CSRH-NB, making home visits to families throughout New Braunfels and surrounding areas. “Having a new baby at home can be stressful – whether it’s the mother’s first or third child.  When mothers return home after giving birth, they may not always be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of illness, infections or feeding problems,” said Michelle. “It helps to have some assistance from a medical professional in the comfort of their home, especially if they have questions or concerns, or if a mother is feeling anxiety that can lead to postpartum depression.” The EBMM is a free service available to high-risk patients, ranging from teen mothers and mothers with pre-term babies to those with feeding or social issues. The McKenna Foundation recently presented a generous gift to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital – New Braunfels with $25,000 earmarked for the Every Baby Matters Mission. The Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation has helped fund the EBMM through generous donations from the McKenna Foundation and the United Way of Comal County. For information about how you can contribute to the Friends Foundation’s efforts, call 210.704.2800, email SantaRosaFoundation@ChristusHealth.org or visit us online at FriendsFoundation.org.  

Calling on the Community At The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, we are compelled to end fragmented pediatric care in our community. We are inspired and intend to achieve Top Tier status, making us “the best place for the sickest children” and “the only place for every child.” Located downtown in the heart of San Antonio since 1959, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio has always been the destination for children and families in need. We are currently undergoing a complete transformation of our hospital to include state-of-the-art critical care facilities, research space and family-centered amenities with a design focused on healing of bodies, minds and spirits. CHRISTUS Health is making a substantial financial commitment to the project. Beyond the $250 million in plant and facilities, CHRISTUS Health is investing $135 million for demolition and new construction. Philanthropy is essential to our creating a world class, top tier, children’s hospital for our community. The future of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. In February 2013, the USAA Foundation announced a generous gift of $3 million to the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation.  Spurred by their strong commitment to improving the lives of those in our community, the USAA Foundation made this gift to ensure that the children and families of South Texas have access to world  class pediatric care. More recently, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation announced a $20 million grant from Goldsbury Foundation in April 2013, the single largest gift to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa in its 144 year history. The gift will be used to help create an environment of healing and hope for children and their families, as well as support innovative, collaborative initiatives focused on health, wellness and community outreach at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. In July, Harvey E. Najim and the Najim Family Foundation donated $3 million to be used for construction;  the gifts will be recognized in KidsSTOP and the Child Life Center. Since the Children’s Hospital Foundation was established in 1955 to raise funds for the building of the children’s hospital, the board members have been steadfast in their commitment to generate the resources needed to support the life saving and health restoring care for children.  The impact of these beacon gifts is significant in helping us provide the best care for the children of San Antonio and South Texas.  We are so grateful to these community partners for their vision and their shared commitment to our children.

The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation is Finalist for LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation has been selected as a finalist to receive the Jeffrey Frank Wacks Music Therapy Program as part of the LIVESTRONG®Community Impact Project, which was created to bring proven cancer support programs to communities across the U.S. Grantees will now be determined through a public, online voting campaign that began March 24 on vote.LIVESTRONG.org. After the voting period comes to a close, the 39 organizations with the top votes in seven geographical regions across the country will receive up to $15,600 to replicate and implement the program dedicated to supporting people living with cancer. The Jeffrey Frank Wacks Music Therapy Program has become an essential component of the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center’s integrative approach to caring for cancer patients. The program’s overarching goal is to facilitate relaxation, decrease anxiety and stress, enhance wellness, improve pain management, and provide comfort and support for cancer patients and their caregivers. Music therapy is proven to reduce stress and pain levels associated with illness and hospitalization. For many patients, the simple act of listening to music provides a therapeutic release, promoting healing and overall wellbeing. Clinical music therapy services are provided on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. Two part-time music therapists conduct sessions with patients either at the bedside or in common (environmental) areas of the cancer center. The program has served 2,175 patients/caregivers and conducted 5,842 sessions. Voting ends at 5 p.m. CST on April 11. For more information about the LIVESTRONG Community Impact Project and to vote for The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation, visit http://vote.livestrong.org/applicant/13-children’s/.

Welcome! Our children will always be first. The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is undergoing a $150 million renovation to support the vision of becoming a world class children’s hospital. Welcome to the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundations blog, a place to read about our programs and services, and our community partners that support us as we work to raise money for patient health and wellness programs and cutting edge medical technologies at the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa adult hospitals and The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. We are two foundations under one roof – the Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation and The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation. While the Foundations have different needs and are governed by separate boards, both work toward a common goal – to do the best we can to help our hospitals provide the best possible care for our patients, regardless of their ability to pay. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System is the only faith-based, non-profit health system in San Antonio and New Braunfels. The Friends Foundation supports adult health and wellness by raising funds that assist uninsured patients, as well as support innovative programs and equipment at hospitals and regional health and wellness outreach programs in the South Texas Medical Center, at Westover Hills, and in New Braunfels. The Children’s Hospital Foundation supports The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, the only free-standing, academic pediatric hospital in south and central Texas and the only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in San Antonio. Thanks to funding from the Friends Foundation, the Mobile Mammography (MMU) underwent an extensive upgrade in 2013. The MMU offers convenient and affordable breast cancer screenings for women who have difficulty accessing services due to lack of transportation, financial resources, cultural or other constraints. This is an exciting time for the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundations. Visit us often to read stories about our work, browse through photos, and hear the latest about what we’re doing to make a difference and how you can get involved.  We want to connect with you! You can find the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundations on Facebook and Twitter, or visit us at SantaRosaFoundation.org.  

Grateful for Your Generosity The holiday season is a wonderful time to reflect on the blessings of the past year and plan for the upcoming year. During this time, we at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation and the Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation are specially grateful for your generous support throughout the year. Your generosity helps hospitalized patients throughout San Antonio and South Texas, patients like Mackenzie who will get to spend another Christmas at home with her family because of the care she received at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. See Mackenzie’s story. Remember, this is your last week to make your tax deductible year-end donation to the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation or the Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation and we invite you to consider making your gift today. Your partnership and support is vital in enabling us to continue to provide care to those in need.

Early Pioneers in Philanthropy There is a long history of philanthropy with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the founding congregation of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System. One of the earliest and most legendary philanthropists was Sister Mary of Jesus Noirry. In the late 1800s, Sister Mary of Jesus traveled through San Antonio and surrounding towns and ranches to beg for money to help the children served at the Santa Rosa Infirmary and at St. Joseph’s Orphanage. Sisters, including Sister Mary of Jesus, regularly went out and begged for donations at local government offices, businesses, military posts and railroad construction sites. Sister Mary of Jesus was fearless in her travels and in her fundraising. She disguised her religious habit by donning an overcoat that reached to her ankles, boots and a broad-brimmed straw hat. Because the roads were often dangerous, she carried pistols for protection from wild animals and unruly encounters. As described by one of her traveling companions: “After tying the horses to the wagon, she would spread her blankets on the ground, say her night prayers, take out her pistols, and placing one of them at each side of her, at a convenient distance, she would lie down and sleep as peacefully as if she were in her bed.”1 Today, the generosity of our donors makes it possible for us to continue our mission and we thank our founding Congregation for paving the philanthropic way.   1 Promises to Keep, Vol. I, pgs. 35-36

Miracle Balloons Bring Hope and Healing to Local Kids Last year, CST Brands, Inc.’s Corner Store employees across the San Antonio market, including sub-markets in Laredo, Victoria and Del Rio, asked customers to purchase $1 or $5 Miracle Balloon icons to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, one of 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® in the country and the only in our community. The month-long campaign raised $563,000! Like all Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals fundraisers, the funds raised from Corner Store’s month-long campaign will help fund medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of millions of kids treated at Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals each year. Corner Store has donated nearly $20 million to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals since the partnership began in 1995. Donations given through the Children’s Miracle Network stay in our community, ensuring every dollar helps local children. Plans for this year are already underway and the dates for the campaign are set for October 1 – 31. So mark your calendar and join in the effort to bring hope and healing to kids in our community!

The Big Give S.A. Scheduled for May 5 On January 14, representatives from the Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation and the The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation attended a kickoff event for The Big Give S.A., along with more than 500 other attendees representing non-profits from across the San Antonio area. The Big Give S.A. is a 24-hour online giving day that will take place from midnight to midnight on Tuesday, May 5. The purpose is to increase public awareness and make an impact for local non-profits, ultimately addressing the needs in our community. Last year was San Antonio’s first year participating in the national giving day. The Big Give S.A. set a $1 million goal and blew it out of the water. Our community doubled that goal, raising $2.09 million for 467 agencies with 21,361 donations from every zip code in Bexar County. This year, The Big Give S.A. will expand to 11 surrounding counties with a goal of $3 million. Learn more about The Big Give S.A. via this video by our friends at Key Ideas.   The Friends of CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Foundation and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation are participating in The Big Give S.A. for the second consecutive year. We are excited to be part of such a profound movement, but even more excited for the opportunity to raise funds that will make a difference for the patients and families we are so honored to serve. We will share more information as the big giving day approaches, so please stay connected with us! Follow us on Twitter and be sure to “like” the Friends Foundation and the Children’s Foundation on Facebook.