Did you know that over the past decade, CHOC Children’s has distinguished itself as the fastest-growing free-standing children’s hospitals in the state? This year alone, over 200,000 children will come through CHOC’s doors for inpatient, outpatient and emergency care.

To accommodate our community’s growing needs, while providing state-of-the-art care in a facility designed just for our children and their families, CHOC has embarked on a transformative journey to become a world-class pediatric institution.

To support CHOC on this remarkable journey, hundreds of community members just like you are rallying around the “Change CHOC, Change the World” fund-raising campaign benefiting the children of Orange County. 

The comprehensive campaign will transform CHOC and, with it, the delivery of pediatric healthcare in the region by building a state-of-the-art tower; building a substantial endowment to support recruiting more of the world’s top pediatric experts; and building upon the academic and research affiliation with UC Irvine and its School of Medicine.

The keystone of the campaign is a new, patient care tower set to open on CHOC’s Orange campus in Spring 2013. The seven-story tower will bring an additional 88 patient beds to the hospital by 2013 and provide space for further growth in later phases. Most importantly, it will be a place where sick kids and their families find serenity, hope for healing, and people who understand their unique needs.
 
As members of our community, you have a voice in defining the heart of Orange County. With your support, we can take CHOC Children’s to world-class status and create a future where Orange County is one of the medically safest and healthiest communities for children in the nation.

To learn more about our “Change CHOC, Change the World” campaign, please click here: http://www.choc.org/changetheworld.

To get your family started, here are a few, easy tips:

• Avoid waste by letting your child pick out a favorite lunch box and thermos to reuse every day at school.
• Turn off the tap! Turning off the water while you brush your teeth can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals to 240 gallons a month.
• Use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags.
• Save energy (and money!) by replacing incandescent bulbs in your home with an Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL).
• Walk more. If possible, walk your child to school or to after school activities.
• Set up a recycling center in your home. Have your child decorate labels for separate bins for glass, plastics and paper. 
• Plant a garden with your child. Whether inside or outside, plants clean the air.
• Turn used tires (not steel-belted) into children’s swings or other playground equipment.
• Turn a giant cardboard box into a child’s playhouse.
• Transform a plastic ice cream tub into a flower pot.

Let us know what green or waste-free ideas your family is doing to protect our environment!

Just print and decorate our “Be Mine” heart (or make one of your own), then take your photo holding the valentine and send it in. Click here for easy-to-follow instructions: http://www.choc.org/bemine/index.cfm

In recognition of National Heart Month, click here: http://www.choc.org/healthlibrary/topic.cfm?PageID=P01800 to learn more about the CHOC Heart Institute, which brings hope to children with heart disease and their families, by providing state of the art diagnosis and treatment for an entire spectrum of cardiac conditions in newborns to adolescents.

Anyone interested in donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards to the patients at CHOC, can deliver them from December 11 to December 23, to the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership, located at 8677 Research Dr., in Irvine.  On Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., the dealership will provide a pancake breakfast to anyone who drops off donations that day!

Individuals and groups who have donated to CHOC during the holiday season are encouraged to join efforts with the Harley Owners Group and drop off their toys at the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership instead of the hospital, due to campus construction.

For questions about the Harley Toy Drive, please email the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group at director@ochog.org. For the hospital’s “wish list,” please visit www.choc.org and click on “Give to CHOC,” followed by “Ways to Help.”

Anyone interested in donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards can deliver them, from December 11 – December 23, to the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership, located at 8677 Research Dr., in Irvine.  The dealership will provide a pancake breakfast to anyone who drops off donations on Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.  For the hospital’s “wish list,” please visit www.choc.org and click on “Give to CHOC,” followed by “Ways to Help.”

Individuals and other groups who have donated to CHOC during the holiday season are encouraged to join efforts with the Harley Owners Group and drop off their toys at the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership instead of the hospital, due to campus construction.  Anyone with questions about the Harley Toy Drive can email the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group at director@ochog.org.

Thanks to our friends at KIIS FM, CHOC Rocked (literally) with many celebrity guests stopping by the Radio Lollipop studio and visiting patients up on the floors. Be sure to check out our website for even more photos and video: http://www.choc.org/radiolollipop/index.cfm?id=P00091

Every year, two special children lead 15,000 CHOC Supporters down Main Street, U.S.A. in the Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim California. These remarkable children remind us of how important CHOC Children’s is to our community. It’s for the children that we walk and it’s for them that CHOC makes miracles and Disney® makes magic!

We are honored to introduce you to the 2009 CHOC Walk in the Park Kid Chairs, sisters, Lauren and Stacie! Visit the CHOC Walk website to read their story. And be sure to register for this year’s CHOC Walk in the Park by visiting http://www.chocwalk.org. See you at the walk!

CHOC patients and I agree – we like bears! Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires hosted a caring Build-A-Bear Workshop® experience for CHOC oncology patients today. The umpires, joined by members of the Angels Strike Force, offered encouragement and Build-A-Bear Workshop stuffed animals to patients. Patients choose from a variety of pre-stuffed animals as well as clothing outfits for their new “furry friend”!

Thank you to our friends at UMPS CARE Charities for making this special event possible. The stuffed animals, especially the bears, brought many smiles to our patients today!

Founded by MLB Umpires, UMPS CARE Charities enriches the lives of at-risk youth and children coping with serious illness by providing memorable sports experiences, supporting pediatric medical care, and raising the awareness of foster care children waiting to be adopted. MLB Umpires have distributed more than 3,500 Build-A-Bears to children since the program began.

Not all heroes don capes, but around here, they do wear lab coats and scrubs!  One of them is Dr. Sender, the medical director of the CHOC Children’s Cancer Institute.  Read this incredible story highlighting his dedication and compassion, and you’ll see why he’s a hero in my book:  

Shaun Tanner, a 6-foot, 250-pound 18-year-old, stood out on the oncology floor while being treated by Dr. Sender and the team for a rare sarcoma cancer.  He loved CHOC – the kids, nurses and doctors, but hated the white walls in his hospital room and often commented that there was not much for someone his age to do in a children’s hospital, where he would benefit from aggressive pediatric protocols.

While Dr. Sender was hanging Shaun’s stem cells in preparation for his stem cell transplant in 2002, he promised the young man that he would create a teen environment and program at CHOC.  Shaun lost his brave battle to cancer later that year, but Dr. Sender never forgot his promise.  He created the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program as part of the CHOC Cancer Institute, and recently helped celebrate the completion of the new AYA wing on the existing cancer floor.  The wing includes three new patient rooms with individual televisions and PlayStations, in addition to the usual patient amenities; teen room with iPod docks and PlayStations; Hope Room, a resource area for patient/family use; school room; playroom; family lounge; staff lounge; conference room for multidisciplinary treatment planning; and storage space. 

Shaun’s family was there for the celebration of the wing – they helped raise funds for it, and his dad commented that Shaun would have thought the new addition was “sweet.” 

I am sure they would agree with me in calling Dr. Sender a hero!

In additon to the Tanners and their foundation Hugs from Shaun, I want to thank the other supporters of the new AYA wing:  Anaheim Ducks, John McQuade, Weingart Foundation, Ralphs/Food 4 Less, Catherine Scrafield, OC Shoot for a Cure, Doris Covelli-Freitz, Kenneth and Eileen Norris Foundation and Allen Charitable Lead Trust.