Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute

4-Year-Old with Sickle Cell Anemia Lights Up Seeing Her Portrait as Part of International Exhibit Where Children with Rare Diseases Shine LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Children with rare diseases know a lot about some pretty grown-up topics. Many can tell you how doctors treat their life-altering symptoms while in pre-school. Others can recall lengthy therapy names before their first spelling test. Some can share statistics that prove just how unique they truly are while their peers are still learning to count. Continue Reading This week the organizations unveiled the portrait of 4-year-old Kynnedi Sturges, who is thriving and keeping her care team on their toes as she lives with sickle cell anemia type SS. Kynnedi’s portrait, painted by North Little Rock artist Rex DeLoney, will become a fixture of an international traveling art exhibit featuring portraits of kids touched by rare disease disorders. Arkansas Children's, a leader in primary and specialty care, is teaming up with nonprofit Beyond the Diagnosis to make sure the beauty of childhood itself stays at the heart of the national conversation about rare diseases. They are showcasing 40 artworks of children with rare diseases with Thea Foundation, an Arkansas non-profit that advocates for the importance of arts in education and development. This week the organizations unveiled the portrait of 4-year-old Kynnedi Sturges, who is thriving and keeping her care team on their toes as she lives with sickle cell anemia type SS. The Camden, Ark. native was all grins when she recognized her face in cool purples and pinks as her portrait went up as part of the internationally traveling exhibit. Kynnedi wanted everyone in attendance to know those same colors are her favorite when she's building with blocks and shaping modeling clay. Her portrait by North Little Rock artist Rex DeLoney will become a fixture in this show, alongside a portrait of 14-year-old Matthew Lance, a Bella Vista, Ark. teen who has a rare chromosomal disorder. His portrait was painted by Arkansas artist Diana Shearon. They are the first Arkansas children and Arkansas artists to be featured in the gallery. Kynnedi's and Matthew's faces shine a light on the rare disease experience, reminding people that more than 50 percent of people affected by rare disease are children. "Arkansas Children's cares for and supports thousands of children every week. They are children who need us only briefly to treat an illness or injury. And they are children who rely on our extraordinary team to search for an elusive diagnosis, to explore options for treatment, to advocate for advances in medicine that might someday lead to their cures," said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Children's. "These are the children whose journey will be harder than most can imagine. We strive to safeguard their childhood alongside our expert colleagues at all children's hospitals nationwide." Beyond the Diagnosis highlights childhood with playful depictions of children simply being children. Whether in superhero costumes or mermaid skirts, surrounded by tricycle wheels or sunflower blooms, the faces in the Beyond the Diagnosis gallery tell this story: Children with rare diseases are shaping their own narratives of resilience, joy and endless possibilities amid their challenges. Beyond the Diagnosis opens at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock on Monday, Oct. 9 and runs through Thursday, Oct. 26. Gallery Display at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock (open to public) 401 N. Main Street, North Little Rock, AR 72114 Experience 40 original breathtaking portraits Oct. 9 – Oct. 26 (Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., or by appointment) archildrens.org/beyondthediagnosis About Arkansas Children's Arkansas Children's is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' more than 700,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state's only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); the state's only magnetoencephalography (MEG) system for neurosurgical planning and cutting-edge research; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children's is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023—2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology. Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org. About Beyond the Diagnosis The Beyond the Diagnosis art exhibit's focus is the rare disease patient. Artists have donated their time and talents to paint rare disease patients for this groundbreaking exhibit. Each portrait represents a single orphan disease. Our goal is to put a face to all 7,000 rare diseases. This beautiful exhibit is traveling to medical schools, research institutes, hospitals, galleries, and museums around the globe encouraging the medical community to look "beyond the diagnosis" to the patient. About Thea Foundation Thea Foundation's mission is to advocate the importance of the Arts in the development of our youth. Three programs are implemented statewide to support this mission—Thea Scholarships, Art Closet and Arts Reconstruction. Since 2002, Thea Foundation has awarded more than $3.2 million in scholarships to Arkansas students and provided more than $2.5 million in art supplies and creative materials to underfunded schools through our Art Closet program. In addition, Arts Reconstruction is our focused effort to help teachers receive professional development and supplies to enable a better platform to advance in their own careers and schools. Our collective aim is to enrich young minds through the power of the Arts. Named for the daughter of Paul and Linda Leopoulos, Thea Foundation carries on the legacy of Thea Kay Leopoulos, who thrived academically, socially and emotionally thanks to her artistic pursuits. For more information about Thea Foundation, visit theafoundation.org. MORE INFORMATION: Hilary DeMillo Arkansas Children's Media Relations Manager [email protected] (501) 364-4300 SOURCE Arkansas Children’s

Walker Foundation Gives Their Largest Single Gift, $25 Million to Transform Child Health in NWA SPRINGDALE, Ark., Aug. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkansas Children's will further transform child health in northwest Arkansas through a $25 million investment from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc. In recognition of this gift – the largest in Arkansas Children's history – the Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW) campus will be named the Pat Walker Campus. Continue Reading Walker Foundation Gives Their Largest Single Gift, $25 Million to Transform Child Health in NWA Of the generous $25 million donation, $12.5 million will support expansion efforts, including an addition to the Springdale hospital announced earlier this year. The remaining $12.5 million will create an endowment — benefiting ACNW in perpetuity and helping meet the needs of children in the region for generations to come. Mandy Macke, executive director of the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc., announced the historic gift, also the largest single donation Walker Foundation has ever made, during the 15th annual Gala of Hope at the Fayetteville Public Library. "Pat played such an integral role in making sure the children of Arkansas have every advantage they can have," said Macke. "That includes quality health care close to home. Our involvement in Arkansas Children's Northwest was a part of Pat's plan. This next step of where we're going with Arkansas Children's Northwest is part of our tribute." During the event, Arkansas Children's leaders invited the northwest Arkansas community to follow the generous example of the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc. Their gift is one piece of a tremendous investment that will be required to meet the needs of the region's children in the years ahead. Northwest Arkansas' growth trajectory will quickly result in more children needing access to specialized health care services. "Pat Walker's love of children and northwest Arkansas shines across this region, and Arkansas Children's is deeply grateful to have a role in continuing her unwavering legacy in the years ahead," said Marcy Doderer, FACHE, president and CEO of Arkansas Children's. "Her spirit of generosity and compassion will ensure thousands more Arkansas children have access to exceptional care that allows them to reach their fullest potential." In May, Arkansas Children's announced the expansion at its two hospitals as part of its commitment to make its highly specialized services more accessible for all Arkansas children, with an eye on Northwest Arkansas' accelerated growth. The project will deliver better access, exceptional outcomes and improved on-campus experiences at the state's nationally-ranked pediatric health system. Arkansas Children's Northwest opened in 2018, with a commitment that the hospital would expand to meet the needs of this rapidly growing region. The expansion's primary focus areas are orthopedics, urology, gastroenterology and ear, nose and throat. These efforts will expand the acuity of services provided and the complexity of surgeries performed. The four-story addition will connect to the current floors of the hospital, and the project will add inpatient beds, operating rooms and a new endoscopy suite. The plan also calls for additional outpatient clinic space in the adjacent Children's Center for Health & Wellness, where patients currently attend primary care appointments. "Pat Walker was a founding matriarch of northwest Arkansas, and she wanted the very best for our children," said Fred Scarborough, executive vice president and chief development officer for Arkansas Children's. "This generous gift from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation will put children's best interests at the forefront through transformational changes that improve access to care as we continue to deliver a premium experience to patients and families." The annual earnings of the endowed fund the Walker Foundation gift establishes will help Arkansas Children's Northwest recruit the most highly qualified providers and meet key long-term needs, including purchases such as specialized state-of-the-art equipment that will lead to better outcomes for children. The Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc., is a long-time supporter of Arkansas Children's. In 2003, the foundation committed $1 million to support ventilators in the ACH neonatal intensive care unit. In 2011, ACH received a $2 million gift toward outpatient clinic and emergency room expansion. In 2018, the foundation gave a transformational $8 million gift toward the construction of ACNW, the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region. "Pat was very passionate about helping children, and I know it would have brought her great joy to have seen Arkansas Children's Northwest come to fruition. To know her name will soon adorn the campus is enough to bring tears to my eyes," said Macke. "The Walker Foundation is pleased to play a role in the continuous journey of making children better today and healthier tomorrow." ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S NORTHWEST Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center with plans for ambitious expansion to meet the needs of the growing region. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S Arkansas Children's is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' more than 700,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state's only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); the state's only magnetoencephalography (MEG) system for neurosurgical planning and cutting-edge research; and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children's is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2023—2024): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology and Urology. Arkansas Children's Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the Northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and Northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org. Media Contacts Hilary DeMillo Arkansas Children's (501) 364-6445 Office (501) 416-7981 Mobile Katrina Dupins Arkansas Children's Foundation (501) 364-1490  Office (501) 852-9793  Mobile  SOURCE Arkansas Children’s

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists at Arkansas Children's Research Institute and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will use $9.7 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a first-of-its-kind study to determine if a shorter course of therapy effectively treats uncomplicated candidemia, the most common invasive fungal disease in children. Continue Reading William Steinbach, MD, of Arkansas Children's & University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Brian Fisher, DO, MSCE, MPH, of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The seven-year project will help researchers understand whether children with uncomplicated candidemia that has improved after seven days of antifungal therapy can stop treatment at that time or should continue for another seven days which is the current standard of care. This research marks the first randomized, controlled trial to define the optimal duration of therapy for any invasive fungal disease in any age group. While invasive candidiasis can have severe and potentially deadly consequences in immunocompromised patients, much of the invasive candidiasis diagnosed in children is uncomplicated candidemia. Unlike in adults, the vast majority of children with uncomplicated candidemia improve relatively quickly on appropriate antifungal therapy. However, in certain cases, candidemia can result in a more complicated infection that impacts other organs and the musculoskeletal system. Currently, the minimal duration of therapy for candidemia is 14 days regardless of whether it is complicated or uncomplicated. This standard approach can result in unnecessarily long durations of antifungal therapy for uncomplicated candidemia. Researchers will examine the benefits and consequences of the shorter-term treatment of uncomplicated candidemia and assess whether a new molecular biomarker that already allows for rapid diagnoses of children with invasive candidiasis can also indicate the shorter course of therapy may be a better option for patients. "This study will build a foundation for improved guidelines that allow us to treat children more rapidly, reduce the medicine they need and get them back to thriving quickly," said William Steinbach, MD, the study's co-principal investigator, pediatrician in chief at Arkansas Children's and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and associate dean for Child Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). "The results also will inform future trials in adults and allow us to change guidelines for care of all patients with these diseases." Also leading the study will be Brian Fisher, DO, MSCE, MPH, an attending physician and director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Training Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "In addition to being one of the first clinical trials to compare different durations of therapy for invasive fungal disease, this study will also utilize a novel outcome measure referred to as Desirability of Outcome Ranking or 'DOOR,'" Fisher said. "This outcome approach, developed by Dr. Scott Evans at the George Washington University, captures both the benefits and consequences of an intervention which makes it an ideal measure for a trial assessing different durations of antifungal therapy." Randomized clinical trials and studies of bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and Gram-negative bacteremia have proven that shorter durations of therapy are effective and spare patients some of the unintended consequences of continued anti-infective exposures. The study will leverage the International Pediatric Fungal Network (PFN), a 55-site international research consortium focused on defining the best ways to diagnose and treat deadly invasive fungal infections in children. Drs. Steinbach and Fisher co-lead the network, whose study coordinating center is now housed at Arkansas Children's Research Institute. Its data coordinating center is located at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S Arkansas Children's is the only healthcare system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' more than 700,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children's Hospital is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric specialties (2022—2023): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Pulmonology and Urology. Arkansas Children's Research Institute provides an on-site research environment for faculty and scientists of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences working on the Arkansas Children's Hospital campus, as they discover life-changing solutions to the most complex children's health problems. To learn more, visit . ABOUT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA A non-profit, charitable organization, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, the 595-bed hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. The institution has a well-established history of providing advanced pediatric care close to home through its CHOP Care Network, which includes more than 50 primary care practices, specialty care and surgical centers, urgent care centers, and community hospital alliances throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as a new inpatient hospital with a dedicated pediatric emergency department in King of Prussia. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit . ABOUT UAMS UAMS is the state of Arkansas's only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS' clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,047 students, 873 medical residents and fellows, and six dental residents. It is the state's largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children's, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit or . Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. CONTACT Hilary DeMillo [email protected] Wireless phone: 501-416-7981 501-364-6445 Yavonda Chase [email protected] Wireless phone: 501-416-0354 501-686-8994 SOURCE Arkansas Children’s