Have you been to our inpatient floor lately?

November 20, 2012 was an exciting day for Children’s Hospitals and Clinics—Minnesota.  That day we celebrated the naming of the 7th floor inpatient unit, The Jim and Colleen Ryan Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.  This change reflects the wonderful generosity and commitment of the Ryan family whose son Sean was treated here for Hodgkin’s disease several years ago.  It further identifies the 7th floor as a hematology-oncology specific unit, meaning that specialized nursing and policies are in place to meet the unique needs of the child with cancer or serious blood disorder.  All the nurses have special training to deal with chemotherapy and immunosuppressed children.  The majority of patients on the unit will likely be those with cancer or blood disease, but  there are usually other patients on the floor as well, recovering from surgery or  admitted with other issues.  There are guidelines about which patients should be on the 7th floor to minimize infectious exposure; and of course, the infection control measures on the floor (and throughout the entire hospital) help keep germs from spreading from patient to patient.

Pathways to give back.

There are many ways for families of our Cancer and Blood Disorders Clinic to give back and offer ideas to improve care based on experiences they've encountered.  At Children’s we offer the Families as Partners program, and in the community Parent to Parent USA Alliance offers Family Voices of Minnesota.

Families as Partners

Families as Partners promotes, coordinates, and supports family involvement throughout Children’s organization.  Opportunities include the Family-to-Family program, Family Advisory Council, Family Advocates, and Family Advisors, and the Youth Advisory Council.

Family-to-Family Program
Families use their experiences to mentor, and to provide encouragement, emotional support and non-medical information to other families in a variety of ways, including one-to-one matches between families and family volunteers with similar experiences.

Family Advisory Council
The Family Advisory Council is a diverse group of parents whose children have received care at one of Children’s facilities.  They represent inpatient and outpatient experiences working collaboratively with staff to promote and enhance family-centered care and to improve the family and patient experiences.

Family Advocates
Family Advocates play a role in advocating on behalf of Children’s patients and on the behalf of the health of children.  Families receive specific training and are informed of advocacy opportunities in regard to public policy issues affecting the health of children.

Family Advisors
Family Advisors are designated family representatives involved in committees, design teams, unit advisory councils, experience teams, policy groups, family panels, family focus groups and family testimonial events.

Youth Advisory Council
The Youth Advisory Council is a group of patients and siblings who provide feedback on issues related to healthcare experiences that are important to children and teens.   They work in partnership with Child Life staff.

For more information about Families as Partners, contact the program coordinator Tessa Billman at 612-813-7407, tessa.billman@childrensmn.org or at familiesaspartners@childrensmn.org.

Family Voices of Minnesota

Family Voices of Minnesota is a parent run organization that provides families with resources, tools and information available in their community as well as connects families of children with special health care needs with one another.

For more information visit: www.familyvoicesofminnesota.org

Give to the Max Day – November 15th, 2012

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota reached the $100,000 goal on Minnesota’s day of philanthropy. Specifically, $2,290 was raised for cancer care at Children’s. Thank you for your contributions!  If you wish to donate it is never too late to make a gift!

Visit: https://giving.childrensmn.org/cancer-kids-fund-donation

Treatments for the Common Cold.

Common colds are usually caused by viruses. Your oncology team will always want to know when your child is sick and if he or she has a fever. Antibiotics are not effective for children or adults with a common cold virus. In children there is a potential for harm with over the counter cough or cold medicines. They should not be used at all for children under 4 years old and used only under the direction of your health care provider for older children.

Products that are not effective include antibiotics, Echinacea and over the counter cold remedies. Vitamin C has not been studied for children.

Products that have been shown to be helpful in children include vapor rub, nasal saline irrigation and buckwheat honey for children older than 2 years. The dose for honey is one half teaspoon for ages 2-5 and one teaspoon for ages 6-11 and 2 teaspoons for ages 12-18 once a day.  Probiotics may be effective for prevention for children older than 3 years of age.  If your child is wheezing or has a fever please call the clinic.

Halloween Fun at the Clinic

Clinic staff dressed for Halloween!