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Description

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About Us
Blank Childrens Hospital is completely dedicated to meeting the unique healthcare needs of children Blank Childrens is an 88bed environment that embraces and encourages families to be a part of their childs healing and recovery Everything from equipment to decor is designed specifically for children

Committed to FamilyCentered Healing Caring and Teaching
At Blank Childrens Hospital we embrace a familycentered care philosophy where families are recognized as the most important part of a childs healing process and are encouraged to be actively involved in patient care the constant in childrens lives

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History

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Blank Childrens Hospital has the distinction of being the only civilian hospital built during World War II At that time Iowa had the highest rate of polio among children of any state but was one of only a few states that did not have a childrens hospital to care for them The AH and Anna Blank family built the original hospital in 1944 in honor of their son Raymond who died at a young age to address the healthcare needs of Iowas ill and injured children and that legacy has continued for more than 65 years

Legacy of Care A detailed History
1943

Construction on Blank Childrens Hospital begins The original hospital with 80 beds included a playroom decorated with Disneycharacter murals designed by Walt Disney artists Lee Forest Hill MD is instrumental in the development of Blank Childrens Hospital

1944

Blank Childrens Hospital is dedicated

1945
The Pediatric Residency Program begins at Blank Childrens Hospital under the direction of Lee Forest Hill MD Blank Childrens is one of two teaching hospitals in the state training future pediatricians

1947

Raymond Blank Hospital Guild forms to support the services of Blank Childrens Hospital Because of the overwhelming number of children hospitalized for polio Blank Childrens is expanded to add more patient rooms

1948

When the polio epidemic strikes the Midwest Blank Childrens Hospital becomes a statewide center for the care of hundreds of children

1950

Iowa records the highest polio rate in the United States during this year Blank Childrens Hospital staff cared for 252 patients Two years later 570 children were treated at Blank Childrens and 560 of them survived

1951

Blank Childrens Hospital constructs its first nursery for highrisk infants featuring ultraviolet light banks to eliminate bacteria and viruses

1956

The first pediatric open heart surgery outside the Mayo Clinic is performed successfully on a 6year old Blank Childrens Hospital patient

1957

Blank Childrens Hospital Pediatric Residency Program hosts the firstever Spring Conference addressing important pediatric health and wellness topics for pediatricians and family practice physicians across Iowa

The tiniest surviving baby is born at 1 pound 13 ounces His first three months of life are spent in the premie nursery

1958

The Raymond Blank Memorial Hospital Guild provides funding for a poison information center During the first six months of operation 222 children benefit from its service

1961

The Blank Guild purchases two incubators for the care of infants born prematurely

1964

Pediatric carts carrying specialized equipment are introduced in surgical recovery rooms

1972

Blank Childrens Hospital opens the neonatal intensive care unit the first in central Iowa and one of only three in the state under the direction of Dr Charlotte Fisk and Dr James Hopkins

1974

The neonatal intensive care unit introduces an Xray machine specifically designed for infants

1975

The first Variety Club telethon to benefit the neonatal intensive care unit is held A total of 50000 is raised

1976

With continuing support from the Variety Club Blank Childrens Hospital neonatal intensive care unit is renamed and dedicated as the Variety Club Intensive Care Nursery NICU

1979

Plans are announced to build a Ronald McDonald House to provide lodging for families of hospitalized children Des Moines joins only seven other cities in the United States with Ronald McDonald housing

1980

Blank Childrens Hospital establishes the NICU transport team where speciallytrained professionals transport highrisk infants to the Variety Club Intensive Care Nursery

1981

The new Blank Childrens Hospital building is completed and patients are moved in

1983

The first Festival of Tress amp Lights fundraiser is held to raise money for programs and services at Blank Childrens Hosiptal

1986

Iowas first Childrens Cancer Center opens at Blank Childrens Hospital Blank Childrens is one of two hospitals in the state caring for children with cancer

1991

Variety Club Pediatric Therapy Services opens at Blank Childrens Hospital to provide a centralized location for childrens rehabilitation services including Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy SpeechLanguage Pathology and Audiology Services

1992
Blank Childrens establishes the Greater Des Moines SAFE KIDS Coalition quotProject Safetyquot Blank Childrens first bicycle safety program begins

1993

Blank Childrens Hospital establishes a Child Life Department to help children cope and understand their medical situations

Karen Gerdes MD pediatric critical care physician joins Blank Childrens Hospital She is the first pediatric intensivist in Iowa

1994

Blank Childrens Hospital introduces its Fire Safety House to teach children fire prevention and survival skills

Iowas only dedicated pediatric emergency department opens at Blank Childrens Hospital

Blank Childrens Hospital becomes the lead organization for the Greater Des Moines SAFE KIDS Coalition an organization dedicated to preventing childhood injuries

1995

The first child advocate is hired at Blank Childrens Hospital to actively promote health safety and wellbeing of children

1996

Blank Childrens Hospital creates Iowas only dedicated pediatric transport team which transported more than 130 criticallyill and injured children in its first year of service

1997

Blank Childrens Hospital Guild celebrates 50 years of supporting programs for children

The familycentered care program is started at Blank Childrens Hospital and continues to serve as the overarching philosophy for patient care

The John R GrubbVariety Club Childrens Health Center opens providing comprehensive medical care for children in one outpatient location The Variety Club Intensive Care Nursery celebrates quot25 Years of Tiny Miraclesquot

The worlds first surviving septuplets are cared for in the Variety Club Intensive Care Nursery

1998

Blank becomes the lead organization for the statewide Iowa SAFE KIDS Coalition

Blank Childrens Hospital receives approval from the Iowa Health Facilities Council to perform pediatric kidney and liver transplants as part of the new Central Iowa Transplant Association

The Dr Jack Spevak Visiting Professorship begins through an endowment in his memory from family and friends The first visiting professor is William Zinkham MD

1999

Blank Childrens Hospital becomes the lead agent for the Iowa SAFE KIDS Coalition

The Family Resource Library opens at Blank Childrens Hospital The library was made possible through a grant from the Fraternal Order of Eagles

Blank Childrens Hospital embarks on a 154 million community capital campaign to redesign and renovate the hospital to better meet the needs of children and their families

2000

The groundbreaking ceremony for the quotnewquot Blank Childrens takes place Myron Blank Raymonds brother is present to assist in the groundbreaking

Candidate forums are hosted at Blank Childrens to get local political candidates to voice their stance on childrens issues

Blank Childrens Hospital with National Association of Childrens Hospitals and Related Institutions NACHRI completes the first presidential candidate survey with responses included in The Des Moines Register

Blank Childrens Hospital receives the firstever NACHRI award for Advocacy

2001

Blank Childrens Hospital restructures its bicycle safety program and names it quotAll Heads Coveredquot

Blank Childrens Hospital opens its newly renovated all privateroom facility The Variety Club Intensive Care Nursery becomes one of the first in the world Level III private room neonatal intensive care units

2002

Blank Childrens Hospital launches a web page to provide child passenger safety information and assistance to parents and caregivers across Iowa

Blank Childrens Hospital performs its very first pediatric da Vinci Surgical System surgery Drs Michael Irish and Stephen Wolf perform the surgery Blank Childrens is the only hospital in Iowa utilizing the da Vincireg Surgical Systemin pediatric surgeries

The Regional Child Protection Center RCPC opens at Blank Childrens Hosiptal The RCPC is under the medical direction of Rizwan Shah MD nationallyrecognized child abuse and neglect physician

The Advocacy and Outreach Departments at Blank Childrens Hospital hosts the first ever Child and Youth Injury Prevention Conference with keynote speaker Christine Branche PhD director of unintentional injury prevention at the Centers for Disease Control

2003

Medical Outreach initiated the Just for Kids Care Cart to provide neonatal and pediatric equipment and supplies to healthcare providers across Iowa

Dr Michael Irish pediatric surgeon operated on the youngest and smallest patient in the world using the da Vincireg Surgical System

The Advocacy and Outreach Department obtained the Robert Wood Johnson Grant to start an Injury Free Coalition for Kids in the Des Moines area

2004

The smallest baby ever born in Iowa and the third smallest male baby to survive in the world was born at Iowa Methodist Medical Center IMMC and cared for at Blank Childrens Hospital John Shirley weighed just 325 grams or 115 ounces and measured only 1025 inches long Today John is a happy healthy little boy

2005

Blank Childrens Hospital purchased a brand new completely wheelchairaccessible Fire Safety House The 38foot fire safety tool will be utilized by schools and fire departments statewide to teach thousands of children about fire safety

2006

The Wishes Endowment is created by the Iowa Health Foundation to provide longterm sustainable support for programs and services at Blank Childrens Hospital

In February the PGA TOURs Champions Tour selected Blank Childrens Hospital a beneficiary of the Allianz Championship as its 2005 Charity of the Year The honor included a 30000 gift to the hospital The Allianz Championship in its six year history donated more than 187000 to Blank Childrens Hospital

The new Adolescent Health Center is opened as a dedicated clinic for teens and young adults

2007

Pediatric Endocrinology began holding outreach clinics in Ames once a month

The Pediatric Therapy Department opened a second location in Ankeny located next to the Iowa Health Physicians Pediatric Clinic Services offered by Pediatric Therapy in Ankeny include physical therapy speechlanguage therapy and occupational therapy

Blank Childrens Hospital added a new specialty Pediatric Nephrology Ari Auron MD joined staff to help care for children with kidney diseases and illnesses

2008

The National Institutes of Health NIH announced that its comprehensive study to examine the effect of genes and the environment on childrens health had entered the next phase of operations Dr Rizwan Shah Regional Child Protection Center medical director was name one of the principal investigators of the study for Iowa

Blank Childrens Hospital was verified as a Level II Trauma Center by the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons

The 25th annual Festival of Trees amp Lights is held raising funds for the Child LIfe and Adovcacy amp Outreach programs

2009

Helen M Johnson from Webster City left a generous estate gift which is the single largest gift ever received at Blank Childrens Hospital More than 5 million was given to the Wishes Endowment Campaign Her substantial gift will establish an endowment in her name and support essential programs for children where reimbursements only cover a fraction of the cost

Surpassed the 35 million mark for the Wishes Endowment Campaign goal is 50 million

Launched the Mobile Simulation Program offered by Medical Outreach to provide handson education to medical professions in their hospitals and clinics

Dr Michael Irish pediatric surgeon was the first surgeon in Iowa to perform minimallyinvasive single incision appendectomy and cholecystectomy on patients using new surgery technology

Launched our new Neonatal amp Pediatric Critical Care Ambulance for use by the Neonatal and Pediatric Transport Teams Its the only ambulance of its kind in the region and offers the ability to transport more than one patient in addition to family members The ambulance was made possible by a generous gift from Variety The Childrens Charity

Center for Advocacy and Outreach was recognized by the United Way of Central Iowa with the 2009 Live United Advocate Award