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Your 12x12 pledge will allow a teddy bear like this to be presented to a patient at Children's Hospital. A 12x12 pledge is a pledge of $12 a month for 12 months to benefit Children's Hospital.

2008 Use of Funds

Every year, the Star 102.1 Radiothon for Children's Hospital helps to purchase new equipment for the hospital's Home Health Care Department. From year to year, Home Health Care requests the same general types of equipment, and there are two main reasons for that:

  • Increasing patient volume each year means more equipment is needed by a larger number of patients.
  • Older equipment must constantly be updated with newer technology to ensure patients are receiving the best care possible.

But since last year, Home Health Care now faces a new challenge. Several insurance companies have begun "capping" their coverage for Home Health Care equipment. This means that after 10-13 months, these insurance companies consider the rented equipment to have been "purchased" and now the property of the patient.

This has a direct impact on Children's Hospital Home Health Care's ability to provide the equipment to its patients. Home Health Care's typical patient uses equipment such as a feeding pump for 14-16 months. In the past, when a patient no longer needed the equipment, it would be returned to Home Health Care, where it would be cleaned and certified, and then it would be given to another patient for use.

Because of the insurance change to a "capping" policy, the equipment now belongs to the patient even if he or she is no longer using it. It is not returned to Home Health Care for cleaning and certification and eventual reuse. This creates two problems for Home Health Care:

  • The department now has a lack of equipment because equipment is being sent out for use and then not being returned for reuse. So Home Health Care must purchase more new equipment than in previous years to ensure equipment is available to all patients who need it.
  • Perhaps more significantly, the rental amount paid by the insurance company before the capping period takes effect is sometimes less than the actual cost that Home Health Care paid for the equipment. So Home Health is not being fully reimbursed for the cost of the equipment it is providing.

So this year, funds raised at the Star 102.1 Radiothon for Children's Hospital are even more important to Home Health Care and its patients than ever before! Following is the list of what Children's Hospital will purchase this year with Radiothon dollars:

FEEDING PUMPS – NEED 150 AT TOTAL COST OF $90,000
In Home Health Care, feeding pumps are used to feed babies and children through a tube inserted in their stomach or nose. These children have any one of many conditions where they do not take in enough nutrition orally to be able to grow properly. We currently have more than 400 patients throughout our service area who use this piece of equipment at the child's home or carried in a small backpack when going out. The new feeding pumps that Children's Hospital Home Health Care is purchasing are substantially smaller than the existing pumps. The new pumps are easier to learn and easier to use, making them more family-friendly. They also come in a more attractive and traditional style of backpack (red and white floral, camouflage or solid black) that does not look "medical." Families who have already begun using the new pumps really appreciate the ease of use, the smaller size and the more child-friendly, non-medical appearance of the backpacks.

PHOTOTHERAPY UNITS – NEED 2 AT TOTAL COST OF $6,400
A condition common in newborns is jaundice, more technically called hyperbilirubin. When a baby has too many red blood cells, he or she cannot process them and get rid of the waste product quickly enough. This results in the yellow skin color that is associated with jaundice. This portable piece of equipment looks like a suitcase. When opened, it has space for a baby to lie inside to be treated by the unit's phototherapy lights. The lights help break down the waste product in the baby's body, which resolves the jaundice and helps the baby feel better. Home Health Care is replacing its existing phototherapy units with newer models that offer several improvements. The units are much smaller and lighter, making them easier for families to manage. In addition, the phototherapy lights are more intense, so that they work more quickly -- therefore shortening the time the baby requires phototherapy.

HOME VENTILATORS – NEED 5 AT A TOTAL COST OF $72,000
Children with certain medical conditions, primarily chronic lung disease, require the assistance of a ventilator to breathe. A home laptop ventilator basically breathes for a child who cannot do so on his or her own. The laptop ventilator is so named because it is the size of a normal laptop computer, making it very portable for parents to take with the child when leaving the house.

APNEA MONITORS - NEED UP TO 120 AT A COST OF $1,400 FOR EACH MONITOR (TOTAL OF UP TO $168,000)
An apnea monitor measures breathing and heart rate in infants. The device will sound an alarm if the respiratory rate or pulse goes below the levels set by the physician. This is especially useful in premature infants and infants with a family history of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The device has a built-in recorder that allows the physician to evaluate the significance of any problem the child has. The device also has a modem so that information can be retrieved over the telephone if parents have questions. The new monitor is smaller and lighter than the existing monitor. It also allows for an increased sensitivity and parameter range, thus providing more detail to the physician.

HOME HEALTH VEHICLE – ONE VAN NEEDED AT $24,500
The staff of Children's Hospital Home Health Care put a great deal of miles on their vehicles each year, as they provide care to children throughout the hospital's 16-county service area. Home Health Care must continuously maintain its fleet of vehicles in good operating condition to ensure the staff can get supplies, formula and equipment to patients in a timely manner, and this year, the department needs to replace an aging van. Depending on a patient's needs, a nurse may make a trip to the child's home in a Home Health Care vehicle, carrying a small number of supplies for the patient, or a technician or therapist may need a van to transport a large piece of medical equipment to the child's home.

PULSE OXIMETERS – NEED 15 AT COST OF $50,000
A pulse oximeter measures the amount of oxygen in a patient's blood. It requires no "needle stick"- only something that looks like a bandage wrapped around the patient's finger. This instrument is used on patients who require home oxygen, have severe asthma or are ventilator-dependent. These devices can be operated on batteries, thus making them easy to transport.

CAREPAGES SERVICE FOR HOSPITAL PATIENT FAMILIES – AT COST OF $2,500
The Internet offers an opportunity for families to create simple web pages about a sick or injured relative. The pages can be updated as often as the family chooses, and guests to the page can see the updates about the patient anytime they access the family's web page. This proves easier to families than having to repeat the same information through phone calls or multiple emails to different family and friends seeking updates. It is, therefore, a help and comfort to these patient families. With funds raised by the Star 102.1 Radiothon, Children's Hospital offers CarePages for our patient families, who are able to access the service through computers in the hospital's Family Resource Center or in their own homes. Children's Hospital licenses CarePages, which is offered free to our patient families.

We invite your comments and questions. Please complete our comment form or visit our Phone Numbers page for departmental telephone listings.


Revised 12-17-07