|
|
NEW PEDIATRIC BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT UNIT TO OPEN AT HOLTZ CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
The largest of its kind in South Florida, the seven-bed unit serves pediatric cancer and sickle cell patients
|
|
|
|
Who:
|
Carlos A. Migoya, Jackson Health System President and CEO; Steven Burghart, Holtz Children’s Hospital Chief Administrative Officer; Steven Falcone, M.D., Chief Executive of the University of Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital; Judith L. Schaecter, M.D., Professor and Interim Chair of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Martin Andreansky, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program; Holtz bone marrow transplant patients Paul Kinsey, 19, Alejandra Melgar, 8, and Rafe Chowdhury, 5, and their families
|
|
What:
|
Paul Kinsey was an athletic teenager when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010. After months of chemotherapy, he went into remission, but relapsed last year. His only chance at survival was a bone marrow transplant. His younger brother, Jason, was a perfect match. In March 2012, Paul received the gift of life from his brother at Holtz Children’s Hospital at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. He spent more than six weeks recovering in the pediatric bone marrow transplant unit at Holtz.
Beginning in August, Holtz patients like Paul will receive bone marrow transplants and recover from procedures in a new, state-of-the-art, seven-bed unit equipped with many features. The unit is the largest of its kind in South Florida and will serve pediatric patients of all ages with various types of childhood cancers and sickle cell disease. With this expansion, which replaces the current two-bed unit, Holtz will be able to treat four times as many patients. The new unit has a family activity center with TVs, movies and computers, a kitchen area and laundry facilities.
Holtz doctors, nurses and other caregivers support a family centered care model for all pediatric patients, including those who undergo bone marrow transplants. The goal is to ensure that patients and their families are comfortable during long hospital stays – oftentimes lasting more than two months.
|
|
When:
|
July
24, 2012, 1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.
|
|
Where:
|
Holtz Children’s Hospital
Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, seventh floor
1611 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33136
|
| Why: |
Holtz doctors, nurses and other caregivers support a family centered care model for all pediatric patients, including those who undergo bone marrow transplants. The goal is to ensure that patients and their families are comfortable during long hospital stays – oftentimes lasting more than two months.
|
|
Editor’s Note:
|
*Media should meet outside of the Holtz entrance at 12:45 p.m.
|
# # #
Jackson Health System
1611 N.W. 12th Avenue Miami, FL 33136
|
