1. society
2. welfare
3. healthcare
4. hospital

March 2007
world
difference
making a
of
t h e ca m p a i g n for C h i l d re n s Hos p i ta l Los A n ge l es
even her husband was cared for
as a young boy.
“When our son became ill, we
knew this was the place we had to
come. No words can express our
gratitude and appreciation for the
excellent care we have received at
this hospital,” said Mrs. Aispuro.
The Walt Disney Company is a
longtime supporter of Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles. The hospital’s main entrance lobby,
where the gift was presented, was
designed by volunteers from Walt
Disney Imagineering, the master
planning, creative development,
design, engineering, production,
project management and research
and development arm of The Walt
Disney Company and its affiliates,
working in a unique partnership with hospital architects and
those who care for our children.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles,
along with children’s hospitals
and pediatric wings across the
country, receives a fun-filled shipment of Disney DVDs, toys, blankets and other merchandise each
year. In addition to the company’s
support of hospitals, The Walt
Disney Company donated more
than $170 million in cash and inkind support to worthy charities
around the world last year to help
children and families in need.
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City Council President Eric Garcetti (left), Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Board of Trustees Co-chairs Jack Pettker
and Marion Anderson, Childrens Hospital President and CEO Richard D. Cordova, Mickey Mouse, The Walt Disney
Company President and CEO Robert Iger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at the announcement of The
Walt Disney Company’s $5 million gift for the New Hospital Building.
“The Walt Disney Company
and Childrens Hospital share a
commitment to the well-being
of children, each in our own
very special way, and it is natural that we work together to
benefit the children and families of Los Angeles, and children
everywhere,” said Mr. Cordova.
“We are enormously grateful
to The Walt Disney Company
Foundation for its support over
the years, and particularly for
this generosity — a marvelous
way to express its confidence in
our physicians, nurses and other
caregivers, our physician-scientists and researchers, and all who
support the important work
being done here at Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles.”
The New Hospital Building
will be a state-of-the-art 460,000
square-foot inpatient facility. It
will house one of the finest medical environments for children in
the United States, and will be a
model of family-centered care in
which children and their families
can heal and learn together.
The Walt Disney Company
Foundation was established in
1951 by Walt and Roy O. Disney
to serve philanthropic needs and
interests, and does so today along
with Disney Worldwide Outreach,
part of The Walt Disney Company.
The Walt Disney Company’s outreach initiatives are dedicated to
making the wishes of families and
children a reality through public
service programs, community
outreach and volunteerism in the
areas of compassion, learning, the
arts and the environment.
•
Living Proof: Building for our Children
0
1, 9
0
5, 2
Dollars raised and designated for the New Hospital Building as of February 28, 2007
2
9
photo by mimi haddon
T
he Walt Disney Company
President and CEO Robert
A. Iger has presented
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
with a $5 million contribution
from The Walt Disney Company
Foundation. The funds will go
toward the construction of the
New Hospital Building, scheduled
for completion in 2009. The gift,
presented to Los Angeles Mayor
Antonio R. Villaraigosa and
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
President and CEO Richard D.
Cordova on October 30, 2006, is
the largest single gift ever made to
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
by a corporate foundation.
“At Disney, we like to say we’re
in the business of magic,” said Mr.
Iger. “This hospital has always been
in the same business. It is creating
miracles for families… and that
is true magic.”
“I am pleased to accept this generous gift from Disney on behalf
of the children of Los Angeles,”
said Mayor Villaraigosa. “I’m hoping it will inspire other corporate
citizens to make similar commitments to our community.”
At the gift presentation ceremony, Abdy Aispuro spoke of
her appreciation for Childrens
Hospital, where three of her four
children have been treated, and
photo by Bob Riha, Jr.
The Walt Disney Company Foundation gives
$5 million for New Hospital Building
CORPORATE
L E A D E R S HIP
Wells Fargo Foundation makes $1 million gift;
serves as leader in the corporate community
W
Laura Schulte, president of Wells Fargo’s Western Region
and a member of the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Board of Trustees.
IN S PI R E D
TO
ells Fargo has made a
$1 million leadership
gift for the New Hospital
Building at Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles. The gift will support and
name the respiratory care suite in the
New Hospital Building’s Emergency
Department.
This leadership gift to the hospital’s
Corporate Campaign continues Wells
Fargo’s generous support, including a
donation of $100,000 earlier in 2006,
and Friend Sponsorship of Noche de
Niños, the hospital’s signature gala.
Wells Fargo also supports the DAISY
Foundation, which gives monthly
awards to outstanding nurses at over
100 participating hospitals, including
29 nurses at Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles to date.
“We are enormously grateful to
Wells Fargo for its leadership and
generosity, and we appreciate its commitment to our fund-raising efforts
to build the New Hospital Building,”
says Richard D. Cordova, president
and CEO of Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles.
The largest corporate donor to Los
Angeles-area nonprofit organizations,
Wells Fargo contributes more than
$10 million annually to local charitable organizations. Nationwide, the
company gave $102 million last year
to more than 14,000 nonprofits, targeting community development, education and human services. But the
company’s commitment to the community goes beyond dollars donated.
Its team members across the country
also give hundreds of thousands of
hours as volunteers at community and
nonprofit events.
“Clearly, the New Hospital Building
at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles represents the next generation of state-ofthe-art pediatric health-care facilities
that are sorely needed for children,”
explains Laura Schulte, president of
Wells Fargo’s Western Region and a
member of the Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles Board of Trustees. “Wells
Fargo is very proud to make this donation because we believe that the health,
education and potential of our young
people are critical to a successful future
for everyone.”
Ms. Schulte, who has been with Wells
Fargo for 25 years, is one of the hospital’s dedicated trustees. She has taken
on a leading role with the New Hospital
Building Corporate Campaign, a committee that focuses on raising funds
for the Emergency Department and
Trauma Program facilities in the New
Hospital Building.
“Laura’s background, business acumen and her own personal experience
of being a dedicated mother have been
invaluable as we seek new funds that
are absolutely vital to building and
equipping a state-of-the-art hospital,”
says Marion Anderson, co-chair of the
Board of Trustees. “We’re all simply
delighted that Wells Fargo has chosen
to make this gift.”
Corporate support is crucial to
the New Hospital Build­­ing, and each
member of the Corporate Campaign
Committee represents a different segment of Los Angeles’ diverse business
and entertainment industries.
The Emergency Depart­ment in the
New Hospital Building will expand
in size and services to 30 exam rooms
from its current nine exam rooms. In
addition to the dedicated respiratory care section that Wells Fargo is
naming, the upgraded department
will include a Disaster Command
Center and two trauma rooms with
CT scanners.
The Emergency Department currently sees more than 62,000 children
annually. It is the only freestanding
Level I Pediatric Trauma Center designated by the Los Angeles County
Emergency Medical Services Agency
and one of very few nationwide.
•
GIVE
Joachim and Christine Splichal make
pledge to support Childrens Hospital
S
Christine and Joachim Splichal
page two
eeing young children and their families in waiting
rooms and in the hallways of Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles, Christine Splichal knew she was in
the presence of something special. She and her husband,
Joachim, have given generously to the hospital for the past
nine years, and recently made a $100,000 pledge for the
New Hospital Building.
“Being a parent, I knew this was something I wanted
to support,” says Mrs. Splichal, who was introduced to
Childrens Hospital in 1998 when one of their twin sons,
Stephane, began speech therapy at the hospital. For two
years, Stephane, then two, worked with Aaron Tanner,
lead speech and language pathologist in Rehabilitation
Services, to develop his speech and language skills.
“Aaron gave us a lot of advice and walked us through
the process of what needed to be done,” she says, adding
that her son, now 10, is “doing great.”
Mr. and Mrs. Splichal are founders of Patina Restaurant
Group, one of Los Angeles’ most prolific culinary empires
and home to nationally acclaimed restaurants Patina,
Pinot, Nick & Stef ’s and Zucca, as well as the premier
Patina Catering.
Dubbed one of the nation’s “Legendary Chefs” by Bon
Appetit magazine and named Bon Appetit/Food Network’s
“Restaurateur of the Year” in 2002, Mr. Splichal is widely
known as a major force behind the growth of Los Angeles
into one of the world’s preeminent dining capitals.
During his career, Mr. Splichal, who was born and
raised in Germany, has earned numerous awards and dis-
tinctions, including an induction into the James Beard
Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America.
In addition, he has appeared on numerous local and
national talk shows and authored “Joachim Splichal’s
Patina Cookbook: Spuds, Truffles and Wild Gnocchi.” He
and his wife also have published “Feeding Baby: Simple,
Healthy Recipes for Babies and Their Families.”
Since founding Patina Restaurant Group with her husband, Mrs. Splichal, a French native, has gone on to cofound Kinara, a skin care clinic, day spa, café and boutique
in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Library Council
and Trusteeship and serves on the boards of Hillsides, a
home for abused children in Pasadena, as well as the Music
Center’s fund-raising arm, The Blue Ribbon. She also is a
former member of the Westside Guild, a volunteer Affiliate
fund-raising group for Childrens Hospital.
The Splichals, who live in San Marino with their sons
Nicolas and Stephane, say their commitment to Childrens
Hospital is a way of giving back to the community. In
addition to their generous gifts over the years, the couple
has asked their friends to give to the hospital in lieu of gifts
for such milestones as their 20th wedding anniversary and
birthday celebrations.
“It’s such an important part of the community and
many people’s lives that we felt rather than give gifts to
us, friends should give to Childrens Hospital,” says Mr.
Splichal. “The hospital does a fantastic job and that’s why
we continue to support it.”
•
NEW
H O S PI T A L
B U ILDIN G
Caring for the caregivers
Design and technology that support the staff and physicians of Childrens Hospital
photo BY Walter Urie
W
orking at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles,
which admits thousands of patients annually,
can sometimes be an around-the-clock endurance test: marathon shifts, late night calls, meals eaten on
the run and the constant stress of taking care of the sickest and most seriously injured children. Creating the best
environment for those who take on the daily battle to save
young lives is of paramount importance in the design of
the New Hospital Building.
“Supporting efficient and comfortable work flow
is a high priority for us,” says Anne Marie Dazé Floyd,
RN, MSN, director of transition and occupancy for
the New Hospital Building. “Every detail, from the
amount of natural light to the placement of electrical
outlets, has been evaluated.”
Many aspects of the building designed to support the
facility’s family-centered care philosophy also improve the
work of physicians, nurses, and the vast number of other
support staff who comprise the highly regarded interdisciplinary care teams of Childrens Hospital. For example,
private rooms will decrease the need to transfer patients to
accommodate special needs. Increased technical support,
such as advanced monitoring equipment and electronic
medical record computer access, all will be based within
the patient’s room. “The current patient rooms are not
large enough to comfortably accommodate the many large
machines involved in today’s high-tech medical environment,” says Mary Dee Hacker, RN, MBA, vice president of
Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer.
To improve communication, an innovative cell phone
system will be implemented allowing patients to contact
their nurse with a push of a button. Nurses also will be able
to communicate with physicians and other nursing staff
via the cell phones. The phones will be integrated with
an alarm system in each room to automatically notify the
patient’s nurse and physician in case of an emergency.
The New Hospital Building’s design will incorporate
new furniture that meets the highest ergonomic standards,
and all electrical outlets will be placed two feet above the
floor, on either side of the bed, to eliminate employees
searching for an outlet placed beneath or behind the bed.
A pneumatic tubing system will allow medications and
lab samples to be easily transported from the pharmacy and
labs to each unit, and for transport of items between units
Many design aspects of the New Hospital Building will improve the work of physicians, nurses and other support staff who care for the patients at Childrens Hospital.
as well. “The 30-second transit time will reduce the time it
takes for physicians to receive lab results, or for patients to
receive urgent medications, since individuals can’t travel
between departments so quickly,” says Ms. Floyd.
Nurses’ stations will be more spacious and will include
adjacent workrooms for confidential patient care discussions and other meetings. There will be “quiet rooms”
offering a place for staff to rest during breaks. The Jane
Vruwink Palmer Healing and Play Garden, featuring a
kids’ play area, will be added on the north side of the café
where families and staff can watch young patients at play
from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Outdoor Dining
Terrace. “It’s very rewarding for everyone to be able to see
kids having fun, just being regular kids,” says Ms. Floyd.
The New Hospital Building will further enhance the
facility’s education capabilities by providing exceptional
accommodations to support teaching. Every state-of-theart unit will have a physician and caregiver workroom
to provide space for teaching both physician and nurse
residents. The building also will feature large conference
facilities on the first floor, including the John Stauffer
Conference Room.
“We’ll be able to divide the area into multiple rooms
to accommodate educational panel discussions and
breakout workshops allowing us to host both local and
national conferences,” says Robert Adler, MD, vice chair
of the Department of Pediatrics, director of the Childrens
Institute of Medical Education (CHIME), and professor
and vice chairman of Pediatrics at the Keck School of
Medicine of the University of Southern California. “We
want to be the premier destination for those who will be
educated about the best care of children.”
•
page three
G E T T IN G
IN V O L V E D
photo by Richard George
Tyler’s Team sets its sights on $100,000 mark
Tyler’s Team student members Jennifer Kellogg (second from left) and
Kami Lennox present a check to Drs. Larry Ross (left) and Barry Maurer.
I
t has been six years since Tyler
George died of leukemia, but
the high school club named in
his honor is still going strong.
So far, Tyler’s Team has
raised $90,000 for leukemia
research at Childrens Hospital
Los Angeles, and hopes to break
DEVOTED
the $100,000 barrier by the end
of this school year.
A group of Tyler’s close
friends came up with the idea
for the team, just as Tyler was
going into the Bone Marrow
Transplant Unit in September
of 1999.
“It was totally spontaneous,” says Tyler’s father, Richard
George. “There were no adults
involved. They just came up
with the idea and everyone
jumped on it.”
With over 40 members,
Tyler’s Team is now one of
the most popular clubs at San
Marino High School.
“The first few years were different because Tyler was on various sports teams and had all those
relationships,” says Mr. George.
“Today, 95 percent of the club,
while they know of Tyler, never
really knew him. But I think they
see it as a chance to help somebody else through their involvement with this group.”
Tyler’s Team president Kami
Lennox agrees. It’s her fourth
year as a member of the team
and her second as president. The
17-year-old senior is one of the
few remaining students who did
know Tyler, through his friendship with her brother.
“At the first meeting, we
always show a video of Tyler.
It really moves people and they
see it’s such a great cause,” says
Kami. “We raised about $16,000
last year. It would be amazing if
we could go over $100,000 this
year [in total dollars raised].”
The club holds two main
fund-raising events each year:
A Tyler’s Team banquet, held
in February at a restaurant in
Pasadena; and a “Sweat the Love”
event at Equinox Fitness Clubs
in which people are invited to try
out the gym facilities and make a
donation toward the team.
Most of the money raised goes
to support the work of Barry
Maurer, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and cell neurobiology at Childrens Hospital
and the Keck School of Medicine
of the University of Southern
California. Dr. Maurer’s research
focus is the creation of new drugs
to attack cancer.
“Dr. Maurer is normally the
keynote speaker at the dinner.
He’s very good at explaining
what he does with the money he
receives,” adds Mr. George.
Tyler’s Team is firmly committed to raising funds for the
fight against leukemia.
“Tyler had a lot of friends and
he really affected people,” says
Mr. George. “I don’t know if it’s
possible that his enthusiasm and
spirit are still around, but we like
to think so.”
•
VOLUNTEERS
Alan Wilson and Ina Coleman–
“Childrens Hospital is one of Los Angeles’ greatest assets”
A
Alan Wilson (second fron left) and Ina Coleman (right),
with their children.
page four
lan Wilson, president and U.S. research
director for Capital International Research,
Inc., has had many memorable moments
at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles during his time
on the hospital’s Board of Trustees. One recurring
event remains his favorite — pulling up in the circular driveway of the hospital’s front entrance and
watching parents taking their kids home.
“I love seeing families checking out of the hospital,” says Mr. Wilson. “They have balloons and
smiles and everybody is so happy. It’s just such an
uplifting visual.”
Mr. Wilson was compelled to become involved
with the pediatric medical facility. “The more I
learned about this hospital, the more I realized
just how unique it is. It was a natural inclination
to become involved, both as a donor and volunteer leader.”
Mr. Wilson and his wife, Ina Coleman, have
three children who are very active in sports. And,
as Ms. Coleman explains, they have spent several
hours with their children in the hospital’s emergency department in need of stitches or x-rays due
to various types of sports injuries.
“I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so I
always knew about Childrens Hospital,” says Ms.
Coleman. “But, going there as a mom, you truly
get the sense that this is a place geared to make kids
comfortable. From the color on the walls, to the
way the waiting room is arranged, to the specialized child-size machines, everything is designed so
children and families can easily navigate through
the hospital.”
Mr. Wilson and Ms. Coleman, who live in
Hancock Park, received their MBAs from the
Harvard Business School. Ms. Coleman is currently managing a personal portfolio of real estate
investments and Mr. Wilson is both an analyst and
portfolio manager specializing in U.S. equities. He
also serves as senior vice president and a director
for Capital Guardian Trust Company. They support a variety of local and national causes.
Mr. Wilson has been a member of the Board
of Trustees since 2002. He also is chair of the
Investment Committee, co-chair of the New
Hospital Building Corporate Campaign that
focuses on raising funds for the Emergency
Department and Trauma Program facilities in
the New Hospital Building, and a member of
the Executive Committee, Strategic Planning
Committee and the Development Advisory
Campaign Cabinet.
In the past five years, Mr. Wilson has worked
tirelessly to create greater awareness of Childrens
Hospital among individuals and corporations.
“For many years, this hospital has been quietly
providing world-class care,” says Mr. Wilson.
“And that’s part of our challenge — to make sure
more companies are familiar with the great work
being done here.”
The New Hospital Building represents the
enormous possibilities that lie ahead for the medical facility. “Childrens Hospital has proved that it
can deliver outstanding care independent of the
facility,” says Mr. Wilson. “I hope that with this
new building the broader Los Angeles community
realizes the gem that we have in this city. Childrens
Hospital is one of Los Angeles’ greatest assets.”
•
C O N T IN U E D
S U PP O R T
F
or James and Debbie Burrows, it has become a holiday tradition to send their greeting cards with the
message, “A gift has been made in your name to
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in the spirit of the holidays.” As a result of this practice, the couple has given
generously to the hospital over the past several years.
Mr. Burrows started giving to Childrens Hospital
in 1990 after reading and hearing about “the good work
being done at the hospital. The more I heard about it,
the more I liked it,” he says, adding that being the parent of four children, ages 14 to 24, “I had an affinity for
the organization.”
“I had no prior experience with Childrens Hospital,
but it seemed like a worthy cause. I was doing well in my
business and decided that I would try to give some money
to worthy causes,” he adds.
Mr. Burrows is a director and producer, and one of
television’s most respected and honored creative talents.
Over his distinguished career, he has been the recipient
of 10 Emmy Awards, four Directors Guild of America
Awards and the 1996 American Comedy Awards’ Creative
Achievement Award. He recently received his 20th nomination for a Director’s Guild of America Award and has
the honor of being the most nominated director in the
history of television at the Guild.
He is best known as co-creator, executive producer
and director of the critically acclaimed television series
F O U ND A T I O N S
THAT
“Cheers.” The hit show, which aired for 11 seasons, is the
most nominated series in the Academy of Television Arts
& Sciences’ history and is in third place for most Emmys
received.
He also has received numerous awards for his work
on “Frasier,” “Will and Grace,” “Friends,” “Wings,” “Night
Court,” “Taxi” and “Dear John.” Mr. Burrows got his start
in TV directing episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,”
“The Bob Newhart Show” and “Rhoda.”
In addition to Childrens Hospital, Mr. and Mrs.
Burrows, who reside in Los Angeles, contribute to the
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, organizations supporting Alzheimer’s Disease research, educational institutions and other hospitals.
The couple took their first tour of Childrens Hospital in
late 2006 with their good friend, Chris Albrecht, chairman
and CEO of HBO and co-chair of Childrens Hospital’s
New Hospital Building Campaign. “Chris makes an
impressive case about the hospital. He’s very persistent,”
says Mr. Burrows.
Seeing the young patients and the care they received
during the hospital tour confirmed that their annual contributions were going to a worthwhile cause, according to
Mr. Burrows.
“Kids who are really sick are taken to Childrens Hospital,”
he says. “It’s hard not be blown away. I was very impressed
with the facility and the magnificent work they do.”
photo by Alex Berliner © Berliner Studio/BEImages
A tradition of giving for James and Debbie Burrows
Debbie and James Burrows
•
CARE
Bloomfield Family Foundation supports
New Hospital Building
P
Peggy Bloomfield
eggy Bloomfield’s relationship with Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles began in the mid-1970s when
she joined the Bel Air Guild, one of the hospital’s
Associate and Affiliate fund-raising groups.
More recently, the Bloomfield Family Foundation made
a gift of $250,000 toward the New Hospital Building, after a
more personal encounter with the hospital. In February of
2004, Mrs. Bloomfield’s then 10-month-old great-grandson, Dylan Hunter, developed opsoclonus myoclonus
syndrome (OMS), a dramatic and unusual neurological
disorder in which the immune system attacks the cells of
the brain. This led quickly to a diagnosis of neuroblastoma,
a cancer of the peripheral nervous system and adrenals,
and the most common cause of OMS in young children.
“He was diagnosed at another hospital,” says Mrs.
Bloomfield, “but I knew the best place for him to be was
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.”
Joanne Hunter, Mrs. Bloomfield’s daughter and Dylan’s
grandmother, agrees. “We had been told the tumor was
inoperable, but the doctors at Childrens Hospital wanted
to give it a shot.”
Surgeons successfully removed the tumor. Now threeand-a-half, Dylan is in remission from the cancer, but
continues to be treated for OMS as an outpatient at
Childrens Hospital.
“Every month, he goes in for a six- to eight-hour
infusion of intravenous immunoglobulin to depress the
immune system and protect his brain,” says Mrs. Hunter.
“There’s no known cure for OMS. The doctors can only
keep it under control and protect Dylan’s quality of life.”
Dylan’s care also is being enhanced through a collaboration between Childrens Hospital and a doctor conducting research on OMS at the Southern Illinois University
School of Medicine.
“It’s a real challenge with something as rare as OMS,”
says Mrs. Hunter, who has made a gift of $10,000 through
the Bloomfield Family Foundation toward OMS research.
“But we are thrilled with what Childrens Hospital is doing
and that they work so closely with the doctor in Illinois.”
The experience prompted the Bloomfields to make
the donation of $250,000 through their foundation.
The money will be used to name a double patient
room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the New
Hospital Building.
“We wanted Childrens Hospital to be able to treat
other children in the same way they helped Dylan,”
says Mrs. Bloomfield.
Mrs. Bloomfield, Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Bloomfield’s
son, William Edward Bloomfield, Jr., all are involved in
the Bloomfield Family Foundation, which was set up after
the death of Mrs. Bloomfield’s husband, William Edward
Bloomfield, Sr., in February of 2004 — the same month
Dylan was diagnosed.
“My late husband and I had talked about setting up
a foundation, but he passed away before we could do it,”
says Mrs. Bloomfield. “It’s not a big foundation, but it will
grow over time.”
Childrens Hospital is currently one of the primary
beneficiaries of the foundation, which also supports
education and the arts.
•
page five
ABOVE
A ND
B E Y O ND
I
t takes the generosity of many
people to fulfill the mission
of Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles. Few do more to advance
that cause than the institution’s
own medical staff, administrators and employees. Their time,
talent and goodwill rest at the
heart of all that is accomplished
at the hospital everyday.
In one more gesture of dedication, a growing number of
employees are opting to include
Childrens Hospital in their estate
plans. Their individual stories vary, but each reflects deep
determination to protect and
preserve a tradition of excellence
in pediatric care and research.
For example, Diane Zeoli,
administrative director of
Pediatrics and Academic Affairs,
also is co-chair of the Employee
Giving Campaign. She has allocated part of her estate to the
hospital for precisely the same
reason that she left a lucrative
FIRST
financial industry career to join
the hospital’s administrative staff
six years ago. “I realized that, for
me, success is doing something
I consider important,” she says.
“What we do here is important.
It’s a remarkable place and I
want to help ensure its future.”
A mother of two collegebound youngsters, managing the
most expensive years of her life,
Ms. Zeoli is drawn to the particular benefits of an estate gift. “This
approach keeps me involved in
the financial solidity of the hospital while allowing me to defer
the actual outlay of my gift.”
It is passion for research and
teaching that led Dr. and Mrs. J.
Gordon McComb to designate
their estate gift. Head of the hospital’s Division of Neurosurgery
and professor of Neurological
Surgery at the Keck School
of Medicine of the University
of Southern California, Dr.
McComb knows better than
most that the escalating cost
of providing exceptional clinical service can leave too few
resources for scientific investigation. “Only research will help
us continue to improve patient
care and achieve better outcomes,” he explains. “My wife
and I have focused much of our
life around this hospital and we
want to contribute to the medical innovations that will come
out of it for years to come.”
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Nafie
feel much the same. As assistant
vice president of Major and
Planned Gifts in the hospital’s
Foundation Department, Leslie
Nafie sees both the incredible achievements and pressing
needs of the institution. She and
her husband want their estate
gift to augment the annual giving they have done for several
years. The Nafies have elected to
allocate a specific percentage of
their estate to the hospital. “This
Photo BY Sarah T. Brown
Employees and physicians include
Childrens Hospital in their estate plans
Leslie Nafie (left), J. Gordon McComb, MD and Diane Zeoli, among many other
physicians and staff, have included Childrens Hospital in their estate plans.
way, as our estate grows, so will
our gift,” Mrs. Nafie says. “And
should unforeseen circumstances draw down on our estate,
we will still have given what we
consider to be an appropriate
share of our resources.”
A wise person once said: if
you need something done, ask
the busiest person you know.
Similarly, it seems that the most
selfless individuals are inevitably
those most willing to give even
more. This is definitely demonstrated by estate planning
among Childrens Hospital staff.
Their commitment is one of the
institution’s proudest emblems
of achievement.
•
F A MILI E S
John and Linda Seiter – putting family first
First Families
Legacy Program
The First Families Legacy Program
celebrates families who provide
generous support for the New
Hospital Building. All First Families
will receive special recognition in
the New Hospital Building.
To begin a legacy of family philanthropy through First Families,
we invite you to join by making
a contribution of $100,000 or
more to the New Hospital Building
Campaign. Commitments may be
made over five years.
If you are an Associate or
Affiliate group member, your gift
of $100,000 or more to the New
Hospital Building Campaign may
qualify your group to receive additional credit toward its current
fund-raising project.
Associate and Affiliate members
inquiring about First Families
may contact Bonnie McClure,
chairman of the Associates and
Affiliates, at 323-669-5431 or
bmcclure@chla.usc.edu. For more
information about First Families,
please contact Leslie Nafie, assistant vice president of Major and
Planned Gifts, at 323-669-4146
or lnafie@chla.usc.edu. •
page six
A
walk into the home of John and Linda Seiter gives the
immediate impression of a couple who have built their
lives around their family. Though their two daughters,
Kristi Simmons and Shannon Williams, are grown and have children of their own, the Seiters are ready for visits at a moment’s
notice. You’ll often find them cheering for their youngest granddaughter Claire during gymnastics practice or oldest grandson
Hunter at a Loyola High School football game.
Though all seven of their grandchildren are healthy and very
active now, Mr. and Mrs. Seiter can easily relate to the torment of
having a sick child in intensive care. Three of their seven grandchildren were, at one point or another, admitted to a neonatal
intensive care unit.
“There’s probably nothing more touching or emotional than
when a little newborn baby is born with some sort of medical
problem. You realize how vulnerable they are and how important proper medical attention is,” says Mr. Seiter.
Mr. Seiter, a retired director at Capital Group Companies,
Inc. and executive vice president of Capital Guardian Trust
Company, and Mrs. Seiter, a retired school nurse, had been
looking forward to their retirement for some time. Though
they enjoyed traveling and rooting for USC football on the
road, they also knew that once he retired, they’d give to organizations like Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
“A large percentage of our giving is focused on organizations
that provide health care and promote education, specifically for
children,” says Mrs. Seiter, an associate member of the Pasadena
Guild, one of Childrens Hospital’s Affiliate fund-raising groups.
They first became familiar with Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles when their then four-year-old granddaughter, Kassie,
was referred to the hospital. Unable to diagnose Kassie’s high
fevers, her doctors knew that Childrens Hospital would be able
to help. Eventually discovering that Kassie’s fevers were caused
by an underdeveloped immune system, a condition she would
outgrow in time, did wonders to ease both her parents’ and
grandparents’ minds.
Ten years later, in 2006, the couple were invited to the hospital
on a tour. Mr. Seiter was fast approaching his retirement date,
and seeing the hospital again confirmed their decision to give.
Linda and John Seiter
“All you need to do is walk through that hospital. You can just
see the empathy and caring that’s there,” he says.
“The thing that struck us more than anything is how clearly
committed and caring they are,” Mrs. Seiter added. “The entire
atmosphere of the hospital lends itself toward helping younger
people who are so vulnerable, and the fear of being in a hospital.
Childrens Hospital works to overcome that fear and make the
patients and their parents as comfortable as possible.”
With a generous gift of $250,000, the Seiters became First
Family members in November of 2006. They chose to name a
double patient room in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in the
New Hospital Building, because of their grandchildren’s experiences in intensive care situations.
“There’s no end to a hospital’s lifespan,” says Mr. Seiter. “It
keeps re-circulating, rebuilding. It’s important for people such
as ourselves to be ongoing supporters of this. The need never
disappears, no matter how much money is raised.”
•
PL A NN E D
[
G I V IN G
Pay on Death Accounts
Charitable giving with maximum flexibility
Many people would like to provide for their favorite causes
after they pass away, but don’t feel comfortable tying up
their assets in case they might need them at some point in
the future. There is an easy solution to this problem — a Pay
on Death (“POD”) account.
A POD account allows a donor to make a gift to Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles at death, while still retaining complete
access to the funds during his or her lifetime.
POD accounts also are known by financial institutions as
“In Trust For” (ITF), “Transfer On Death” (TOD) or “Totten
Trust” accounts. In each instance, the account holder retains
complete authority over the account during his or her lifetime, including the right to close the account, without any
consent of or notice to the intended recipient. Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles recently received more than $30,000
from a POD account established by Mark R. Hoover in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Hoover provided that the
funds in his POD account would be paid to six different
charities. Last year, Childrens Hospital received more than
A
T R A DI T I O N
OF
$110,000 from Los Angeles resident Ann Dolores Brennan in
this manner. The hospital was not aware of the gifts before
they were received.
Using a POD account enables the donor to make a gift
without going to the trouble of revising other estate planning documents; the donor merely completes the necessary
papers at a bank or other financial institution. He or she can
then notify Childrens Hospital of the gift, so the hospital
can appropriately recognize the donor’s generosity. In addition, since the funds in the account are payable directly to
Childrens Hospital at the donor’s death, they are distributed immediately, without a delay in distribution from the
donor’s probate estate or living trust.
If you are interested in creating a POD account, contact your
financial planner or financial institution. For more information about these accounts or to notify Childrens Hospital of
the existence or creation of an account, please contact David
D. Watts, associate vice president of Major and Planned
Gifts, at 323-671-1752 or giftplanning@chla.usc.edu.
•
Charitable Gift Annuity
A gift that gives back!
A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is
created by transferring a minimum
of $5,000 in cash or other assets
to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
The donor receives a steady, fixed
amount for life that is partially
tax-free. At the donor’s death, the
remaining balance goes to Childrens
Hospital. CGAs offer excellent payment rates (up to 11.3 percent) and
an income tax charitable deduction
for the donor.
If you defer the payments from your
CGA, the amount you eventually
receive will increase significantly.
With a deferred CGA, you make
your contribution now and receive
an immediate income tax charitable
deduction, but you postpone the
start of your income until a specified
future date. Because payments are
deferred, the rate is considerably
higher than the rate for an immediate annuity.
To find out more about Charitable
Gift Annuities, please contact
David D. Watts, associate vice
president of Major and Planned
Gifts, at 323-671-1752 or
giftplanning@chla.usc.edu. •
C A R IN G
James and Joyce Allen give to
Childrens Hospital at “a perfect time”
J
Joyce and James Allen
ames P. and Joyce Allen seem to always find just the right
moment to support Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, in
just the right way.
Mrs. Allen’s involvement began with her own Debutante
Ball, the gala hosted each year by Las Madrinas, one of the
hospital’s highly-valued Associate and Affiliate groups. In
the years since, all three of the Allens’ daughters, Lynn, Kate
and Diane, have participated in the Ball; and in 2003, so did
their granddaughter Casey.
Mrs. Allen has donated time to the hospital as a “toy lady,”
delivering books, toys and conversation to young patients,
and as a volunteer in the Gabriel C. and Mary Duque Gift
Shop, the Allergy Clinic and in a hospital playroom. Since
1965, she has been a member of Las Madrinas.
The Allens recently contributed once again to Childrens
Hospital, after receiving a letter describing an innovative
new method of charitable giving.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 made it possible for
taxpayers age 70.5 and over to make tax-free transfers of up
to $100,000 from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
directly to non-profit organizations.
“It is an extremely propitious time to support the institution and its work,” says Mrs. Allen.
Applicable only to distributions made through 2007, the
act has created a remarkable window of opportunity for
donors who want to put their philanthropic dollars to work
without incurring the tax traditionally imposed on IRA
withdrawals.
“There’s very little paperwork involved in the transaction
and it offers a true win-win opportunity,” says Mr. Allen, a
retired Los Angeles manufacturer and businessman. “We win
because we can enjoy the sense of donating to a charity that
we respect enormously; and we hope the hospital will win by
using our gift to continue its work and expand its services.”
Their gift allowed them to continue their family’s legacy of support, and gained them membership in the First
Families Legacy Program. In addition, the Allens’ gift qualified them for a dollar-for-dollar matching gift supporting
Las Madrinas’ current project. In recent years, Las Madrinas
has raised millions of dollars for programs that include
hematopoietic stem cell research, experimental therapeutics
for ophthalmology and molecular genetics.
Mounted on the Marion and John E. Anderson Building
Donor Wall in the John Stauffer Lobby of Childrens Hospital,
a large panel lists the names of many Las Madrinas volunteers — women who have devoted untold time, effort and
financial resources to help the institution fulfill its mission
of pediatric excellence for every child in need. As a gift from
her husband, Joyce Allen’s name was recently added to that
list. “It was a wonderful and unexpectedly moving experience,” she says, “to look and see my name there.” It also is an
honor very graciously earned.
•
page seven
Address Service Requested
4650 Sunset Blvd. MS #29
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-669-2308
www.ChildrensHospitalLA.org
Permit No. 22460
Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Postage Paid
Nonprofit Organization
rendering of the new hospital Building
The New Hospital Building
at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles­
The New Hospital Building is the jewel in the crown of Living Proof: the
Campaign for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and over the next three
years, this seven-level, 460,000-square-foot hospital facility will rise at
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. When the New Hospital Building is complete in 2009, it will provide one of the finest medical and surgical environments for seriously ill and injured children anywhere in the United States.
The New Hospital Building will be the physical expression of our mission,
our values and our expertise — the things that make Childrens Hospital so
unique. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has attracted the very best pediatric
physicians and surgeons, nurses and other caregivers. Now, the commitment
is to improve and expand our facilities to meet our patient care responsibilities well into the future.
We are not just constructing a new building, we are building for the future
— a future that holds great promise for advanced treatments and cures for
diseases that ravage our children.
STRATEGY
FOR
SUCCESS
I
n early November 2006, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Trustees, volunteers and fund-raising staff gathered
to discuss the plan and direction for the New Hospital
Building Campaign. The day’s events were led by New
Hospital Building Campaign Co-chairs, Trustee and
“Entertainment Tonight” Host Mary Hart, and Chris
Albrecht, chairman and CEO of HBO.
As the cornerstone of Living Proof: the Campaign for
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, the campaign seeks to raise
$250 million in private philanthropy for the New Hospital
Building. Over $100 million has been raised to date.
Ms. Hart and Mr. Albrecht warmly welcomed everyone
to the summit, and Board of Trustees and Living Proof
Campaign Co-chair Jack Pettker spoke as well.
“Each of us has a personal story as to how we came to
Childrens Hospital and why we are here today,” said Mr.
Pettker. “Almost 10 years ago, Dr. Stu Siegel led me on my
first tour of the hospital… Like everyone else who visits
our hospital, I was moved and inspired… I knew I wanted
to do something to help the hospital in its mission.”
Attendees received a briefing on the status of construction by Walter W. Noce, Jr., vice chair of the Board
of Trustees.
“The erection of structural steel will begin in March of
2007 and will be completed in June 2008,” said Mr. Noce.
“The building is estimated for completion in 2009.”
Leaders of the various campaign committees raising funds for the New Hospital Building effort gave
progress reports, and the group reviewed fund-raising
“best practices.”
Ms. Hart and Mr. Albrecht thanked the volunteers for
their involvement in the campaign, and reminded everyone why they had come together for this cause. “It’s all
about the kids,” said Mr. Albrecht.
photo by Keats Elliott
Campaign volunteers gather to discuss New Hospital Building
Mary Hart and Chris Albrecht, co-chairs of the
New Hospital Building Campaign.
•
Editors Sarah T. Brown, Shelley L. Conger • Contributing Writers Sarah T. Brown, Vicki Cho Estrada, Elena Epstein, Michelle Kunz, Katie Sweeney, Kate Vozoff, Elaine Whelan • Design Warren Group | Studio Deluxe