Gillette Childrens Hospital Foundation

Programs: Capital: the foundation raises money to support the gillette mission to provide specialized health care for children and adults who have complex and rare medical conditions affecting the musculoskeletal and neurological systems. In 2016, the foundation transferred donated funds to support the purchase and installation of an eos x-ray imaging system in its facility in st. Paul. Eos offers a significantly lower dose of radiation than that of traditional x-rays, making it ideal for use in the treatment of patients who have a limb issues or spine deformities like scoliosis. See schedule o. Eos captures the body area in a single scan, and this accuracy of the imaging allows staff to tailor treatments to the unique circumstances of each patient, all with less radiation. Gillette is the only hospital in the twin cities to offer eos imaging, and the only hospital in the state of minnesota to offer it specifically for children. Foundation transfers to the hospital in 2016 also supported development of the hospital's neurosciences programs through the purchase of mri software and hardware. The technology allows gillette to perform functional mri (fmri), a neuroimaging procedure that measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. The equipment helps specialists explore where seizures begin and how they spread throughout the brain in patients who have epilepsy.

patient care:the foundation raises money to support activities related to the gillette mission. This includes offering financial aid to patients based on need, whether or not they have health insurance, and offering charity care to patients who are financially unable to pay all or part of their medical bills. Gillette evaluates each situation based on a patient's income, assets and other resources, and the hospital assists with establishing manageable payment plans (including co-pays and co-insurance). For people without insurance, gillette charges for care in accordance with the 501(r) guidelines. See schedule o. If patients inform gillette that they will have a difficult time meeting their financial obligations, gillette helps patients in their efforts to qualify for public assistance or the gillette charity care program. Income eligibility for the program is based on national poverty guidelines. Gillette will never turn away a family due to an inability to pay for treatment. Additionally, funds raised by the foundation support areas of gillette operations that are unreimbursed or under-reimbursed. For example, gillette operates outreach clinics in communities in greater (largely rural) minnesota. However, in providing these services, gillette incurs losses. Gillette outreach clinics offer appointments with doctors, nurse practitioners, and seating and adaptive equipment specialists. Outreach clinics also help with care coordination and education for community providers in the specialized needs of gillette patients living in their communities. Similarly, gillette provides a variety of services to patients through our child and family services area that are unreimbursed or under-reimbursed. Child life specialists, for example, help children and families prepare for and cope with hospital stays and medical procedures. Social workers provide emotional support and help with practical concerns for families of children who have disabilities, such as ordering medical equipment and finding transportation or other resources.

research:research that advances the knowledge base and improves care and outcomes is an important part of the gillette mission and is key to developing effective medical interventions for disabling conditions and their related effects. See schedule o. In 2016, grants from the foundation supported research across 14 research emphasis areas. These 14 research emphasis areas are bone health, cerebral palsy, craniofacial, epilepsy, gait and motion analysis, legg-calve-perthes disease, musculoskeletal, neuromuscular disease, pain and comfort, rett syndrome, spina bifida, spine, upper extremity and nursing. One example is the gait and motion outcomes fund. The james r. Gage center for gait and motion analysis at gillette children's specialty healthcare is the busiest clinical motion laboratory in the u. S. And among the busiest in the world. In addition to providing vital information on patients' movement to help physicians plan treatments and surgeries, the motion laboratory is also used for research. In 2016, researchers completed a study of the long-term outcomes of patients who had received distal femoral extension osteotomy with patellar tendon advancement surgery at gillette. The surgery was pioneered at gillette many years ago. The study was designed to determine how patients treated as children are doing as adults. Funds were used to bring back two groups of patients: 1) those who had the surgery >8 years prior and 2) those who didn't have the surgery but looked "similar" (based on gait data, age, etc. ) to the other group before they had surgery. These studies are for research purposes only, and therefore are not paid for by insurance or reimbursed by medicare. Findings will become the cornerstone of future work and will be shared with motion analysis centers throughout the world. Support from the foundation made this groundbreaking research possible. 2016 foundation grants also supported other research aimed at improving the care of patients served at gillette, including to improve methods for diagnosing hip damage in patients who have legg-calve-perthes disease, a rare orthopedic condition. Because of its specialty care focus, gillette has unique expertise in treating this condition.