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Family Fund awards campaign grant money The MUSC Family Fund is among the many MUSC Foundation funds supported by employee giving during the YES Campaign.   The fund provides grants to projects that positively impact the mission of MUSC through education, patient care and research. Established in 1999, the Family Fund has given more than $166,567 to 80 projects on campus. Through the years, the fund has supported the work of the College of Nursing School-Based Clinics, Alliance for Hispanic Health, Pharmacy Services free medication program, SAFE Kids, the free, student-run CARES medical clinic and more.   This year the committee chose 10 projects to receive the $18,255 available in grant money. Car Beds for Infants—$2,500 grant given to Clinical Effectiveness This grant would allow the purchase of about 35 car beds for infants who are unable to safely travel upright in a car seat. Having car beds on hand at discharge allows the parents to safely transport their baby from the start. CARES Clinic—$2,500 grant given to the Department of Family Medicine CARES (Community Aid, Relief, Education and Support) Clinic was designed by a group of second-year students in the spring of 2005 to meet the educational needs of MUSC students and the health care needs of uninsured patients in the area. The grant money will go toward providing clinic/office supplies, imaging services, and lab services. Sickle Cell Sisters—$2,500 grant given to the Child Life Program The Child Life Program provides psychosocial services to help children cope more positively with illness and with health care experiences. The Child Life Department runs a support group, Sickle Cell Sisters, for black girls, ages 13-18 years old living with sickle  cell disease. The group’s main source of funding is the YES Campaign Family Fund grant. Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Prevention Project —$2,500 grant given to Clinical Effectiveness This project is a continuation of the SBS Project funded by the MUSC Family Fund last year. It includes a coordinated, hospital-based, parent education program, targeting parents of all newborn infants. This type of program has been used in other birthing hospitals (in other states) and studies have demonstrated that SBS education can reduce inflicted head injuries in infants. Preliminary data from the MUSC SBS Prevention Project indicates a significant reduction in the number of SBS injuries for children whose parents received this education. The grant pays for brochures, certificates, DVDs/posters and other educational material and community awareness billboards. School Based Clinics—$2,500 grant given to the College of Nursing This grant money provides support to community-based health education activities in schools that have clinics operated by the College of Nursing. School-based health clinics have been developed in five schools in Charleston County. These clinics serve a dual purpose: to improve access to primary and behavioral health care in medically underserved communities and provide learning experiences for MUSC nursing students and other health professionals. Additionally,  funding  has been requested for medical supplies and a membership to the National Assembly of School based Clinics. Funding for these items is not provided from other sources. Brain Tumor Family Assistance Guide Project—$500 grant given to Ambulatory Care Rutledge Tower The parents of children with brain tumors tell nurses that because of their heightened state of anxiety they often have questions for doctors that they forget to ask. They have so much to learn in a short period of time, that they could use a guide that can explain things to them in lay terms. This money would allow them to purchase 25 copies of the book, “Childhood Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors: A Guide for Families, Friends and Caregivers,” by Tania Shiminsky-Maher, Patsy McGuire Cullen, and Maria Sansalone. Juvenile Medical ID Jewelry—$380 grant given for the Abdominal Transplant Center Some children have a medically complicated illness. This may put them in danger of not receiving adequate and timely care. This is especially true if children who are lost and/or injured. In order to help address this issue, the staff at the Abdominal Transplant Center would like to provide medical ID jewelry for the children. This jewelry would help ensure that necessary treatment is provided as soon as possible. Each child will receive an ID bracelet or necklace once they are transplanted. These items would be ordered based on the average number of juvenile transplants annually. Abdominal Transplant Center—$175 grant awarded This grant would cover the cost of installing a data line in the waiting area for abdominal transplants. Through specific transplant-related Web sites, kidney recipients can gain access to valuable information that reinforces the education they have gained prior to transplant while emphasizing initiative with their own health care. The computer will have only specific sites available, which would give patients and caregivers direction and guidance to resources that can offer community assistance and transplant-related support. A posted sign will provide simple instructions and encourage patients to ask staff if they need assistance.  Family Day at Black Beards Cove—$2,500 grant given to Ambulatory Care Rutledge Tower The parents of children with cancer find it comforting to talk with other parents who have endured a similar disease or situation. It can be a good experience for a parent of a child with a brain tumor to talk with the parents of another child who has been through a similar diagnosis and treatment. Often times the parents get to know another family only to lose touch with them after treatments such as chemotherapy are finished. Money received would provide a day package for each child, their siblings, and parents at Blackbeard’s Cove amusement park. Teaching Video for Spanish Speaking Parents of Newborns with Sickle Cell Disease—$2,200 grant given to  Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Several educational tools for English speaking parents in the Pediatric Sickle Cell program, including books, pamphlets and a video has been developed. The book, A Parent’s Guide for Children Ages Infant to 2, has been translated into Spanish for use with Latino families, but the pediatric Hematology/Oncology staff do not have any materials for Latino individuals who are not literate, or who learn better through combined auditory and visual means. The funds from the fund grant would be used to produce a short video in Spanish that explains the diagnosis and describes the care of infants with sickle cell disease.     Friday, June 20, 2008 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.