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A Legacy of Support: Children’s Emergency Center, Radiology, and Surgical Services

October 31st, 2016 · Leave a Comment

As we celebrate the 40th year of the Art and Antiques Show and the 25th year of Florida Forum, we are proud to look back on The Women’s Board’s legacy of support for Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Funds raised by The Women’s Board over the past 43 years have supported a number of projects and programs, and we are excited to share our legacy through this special series of patient stories.

Isabel

Isabel Schimpff, a pediatric Emergency Center, Radiology, and Surgical Services patient

The week of her tenth birthday, Isabel Schimpff was sent home early from school with an upset stomach. When Isabel’s symptoms worsened, Isabel was sent to Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Center.

After a quick examination of Isabel’s abdomen, the pediatric physician ordered an ultrasound to help confirm his suspicion that Isabel was suffering from acute appendicitis. With the physician’s suspicions confirmed, Isabel was immediately sent to the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Operating Room for an emergency appendectomy. Isabel’s surgery was successful, and after an overnight stay at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, she was discharged the next morning.

Appendicitis is the most common acute surgical condition in children, and among children ages 10-17, it results in a ruptured appendix 10-20% of the time. A ruptured appendix can lead to a severe intra-abdominal infection and hospitalization of several weeks.

Though the condition itself poses a risk, the radiation that is often utilized at ER’s for a diagnosis of appendicitis can be just as risky to children. As Dr. Robert DeFlorio, MD, a pediatric radiologist with Nemours explains, ” Radiation is cumulative.” This means that “parents and clinicians want to avoid radiation exposure for children whenever possible.”

Wolfson Children’s Hospital is proud of a new “Safe and Sound” initiative, which seeks to avoid unnecessary radiation in children by utilizing ultrasounds as the first step in the diagnosis of appendicitis. The initiative compared the outcomes of children who visited Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Center with abdominal pain to other Emergency Centers and national benchmarks set by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program of the American College of Surgeons and American Pediatric Association. The results showed that ERs across the country often turn to CAT scans first in the diagnosis of appendicitis, exposing children to unnecessary radiation.

The “Safe and Sound” initiative, combined with Wolfson Children’s Hospital’s experienced pediatric sonography and radiology team, provides safe, cutting edge care for children like Isabel every day. The Women’s Board is proud of our  support of the programs that served Isabel, including the Children’s Emergency Center, Children’s Radiology, and the Children’s Surgical Services program.

We hope you will  join us in 2016 for the 40th annual Art and Antiques Show and the 25th annual Florida Forum as we continue to raise funds for Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Every dollar raised does more to further the quality of care provided to children like Isabel – today, tomorrow and for years to come.

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