Wednesday, August 26, 2009

More Good News to Share


I received an email yesterday from the person at Johns Hopkins who has been part of the team implementing the "TouchStones of Compassionate Care" Program. His email provided, in part:


This past year we made a habit of handing out the stones and a copy of your "Dear Future Physician" letter to each physician resident that served a rotation in our pediatric intensive care. They were a hit! Folks really seemed to appreciate the thought that went into your letter and in the gift you made available. . . . It was so successful, in fact, we were wondering if there is anyway we could receive another supply of stones to be able to offer to future residents as they come to the pediatric intensive care portion of their training.


How totally cool is that! It just made my day. To know that Jack and I really can made a difference almost makes this journey worth it. (well, that might be pushing it.) So, where do I go from here? I get more stones to Johns Hopkins to start with. And then, I start contacting other Childrens Hospitals around the country and share with them the success of the program at Hopkins. After talking with the PICU doc who agreed to be the first to try the program (who was at Hopkins when the program was started, but who is now at Vanderbilt Children's), we both think that pediatric residencies are the best venue for this project because these physicians have the clinical experience needed to truly understand the impact of the program. I also need to find a way to raise money to support this program - the stones aren't cheap! Somehow, I'll get it done.

This has been a good week!



9 comments:

Christy said...

That is VERY cool! Congratulations! By the way, LOVE the necklace, too. And I hope you're doing okay with Hilary being gone. The stones letter was well-timed!

Thinking of you,
Christy

Alicia said...

Wow, that is AWESOME!! Congratulations! It must feel great to know you and Jack are having a positive impact on people's lives, especially on future doctor's who will be taking care of our future "Jacks".

Susan said...

That's really great Ann! I wonder if you could setup some sort of website where people could go to contribute money toward a set of stones (or 5, 10 even a hospital's worth). Perhaps you could contact your local TV stations. I think they could spin this into a consise and very news worthy story which if you had a website set up, could get you a lot of donors. Could turn big.

Sarah said...

What exciting news! I'm so excited that the program is starting to make a difference. Yay Ann and Jack!

Anonymous said...

That is so wonderful! I think it is such a wonderful idea!

Sandra

Anonymous said...

You should be very proud my friend. That is just awesome.
Love,
Tess

Vicki said...

Ann, that is such wonderful news. You and Jack have already made a difference in so many lives, and here you go again! Could you approach the suppliers of the materials and the manufacturer for to request partial or complete contributions? I know it's tight in the business community right now, but you never know.

Katie said...

That's great! How exciting!! Now that JH is on board I wonder about Mayo's children's hospital in MN--(Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital) Which is also a teacher hospital/clinic. Wow, very exciting.
I think Susan is right with the website and contacting local TV stations. Good luck!!

bettyd said...

Very Cool.