The hospital also has many financial fund options. Children’s Miracle Network supports pediatric services at Penn State Children’s Hospital at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Children’s Miracle Network’s mission is to raise funds for children’s services and create community awareness of children’s issues. At Penn State Children’s Hospital, CMN has raised over $25 million since it began locally in 1984. Another funding service is the Four Diamonds Fund.
The mission of The Four Diamonds Fund is to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children treated at Penn State Children’s Hospital and their families through superior care, comprehensive support, and innovative research. Any family with a child being treated for pediatric cancer at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Hershey is automatically eligible for support. The Fund has helped over 2,000 families since 1972. Approximately 90 new families receive support each year.
The Fund offsets the cost of treatment that insurance does not cover, as well as expenses that may disrupt the welfare of the child, such as car repairs, rent, or household utilities. The Fund supports the medical team that cares for the children and funds pediatric cancer research through start-up grants and the Four Diamonds Pediatric Cancer In addition to the basic scientific research that occurs within the labs at The Four Diamonds Research Institute at Penn State College of Medicine, the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology is actively involved in the management of clinical trials to treat childhood cancer.
Four-year-old Lakeisha Camacho and her three-year old sister Lelani of Lebanon are survivors. Less than a year after she was born, Lakeisha was diagnosed with leukemia. Their mom Tonya was thankful to have Penn State Children’s Hospital so close to home during this difficult time. Thanks to the treatment facilities at the hospital, Lakeisha celebrated her last chemotherapy treatment on January 25. Today she is a beautiful little girl who recently enjoyed a dream come true with a trip to Walt Disney World. Lelani was diagnosed in 2004 with hydrocephalus, an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles of the brain.
Thanks to the excellent care provided by Lelani’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Mark Dias, Lelani is doing very well. She can now enjoy the merry-go-round at the park and lots of play time with Lakeisha. Both the sisters were helped by the Child Miracle Network (HCPSU, 2007). Nicolas Cropper of Lancaster was born with severe narrowing of the aorta and a single ventricle heart defect. His heart was mixing the oxygen-rich blood from his lungs with the oxygen-depleted blood coming back from his body. His lungs had to work twice as hard to provide enough oxygen for him to survive.
His parents, Ed and Connie, rushed to Penn State Children’s Hospital where, at just two months of age, he finally received the surgery he needed to save his life. The Croppers are grateful to pediatric cardiologist Dr. Timothy Wolff and the staff at Penn State Children’s Hospital for the outstanding care they provided to the entire Cropper family. Nicholas had his final heart surgery on October 31, and today he is well on his way to being a happy, healthy, thriving two-year-old who enjoys playing ball with his older siblings, Emily and Michael (HMCPSU, 2006).
Penn State College of Medicine researchers have discovered the first molecular therapy to target cancer-causing components and thereby destroy a bona fide human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Penn State Hershey Medical Center has a comprehensive system for providing rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke when patients are admitted to the emergency department. This includes being equipped 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations, and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.
To prevent secondary stroke, Penn State Hershey Medical Center follows a particular program’s guidelines for use of statins and anti-platelets. Other prevention methods include treatment of atrial fibrillation and atherosclerosis, smoking cessation, and management of weight, exercise, diabetes, and cholesterol (News Release, 2005). The past year has seen significant development in the Cancer Institute’s four scientific programs: Viral Oncogenesis and Host Defense, Chemical Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention, Cancer Prevention and Control, and Experimental Therapeutics.
Mark Kester, Ph. D. , and Gavin Robertson, Ph. D. , professors of pharmacology, have developed components of a drug delivery system that uses small particles and a naturally occurring substance called ceramide to fight cancer. This method promises to be more successful than the combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Likewise, the Medical Center is involved in research in many areas. All of these above facts demonstrate that Penn Hershey’s Medical Center and in particular the Penn State Children’s Hospital are doing yeomen work in the realm of healthcare.
The institution stands out as a model for treatment facilities, organized medical care, community service and research. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this medical centre is a jewel in the crown of the United States.
Bibliography:
HMC Penn State College of Medicine (2007). About Us. http://www. hmc. psu. edu/college/about/index. htm BBC (2001). The Milton S. Hershey medical Center. http://www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h2g2/A308981 HMC Cancer Institute (2006). Annual Report. HMCPSU (2006). Newsletter. Fall 2006. http://www. hmc. psu. edu/cmn/events/newsletter/Fall06. pdf