Spring 2010 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

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DONORS Pat Walker, chairman of the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, is a lifetime member of Children’s Circle of Care, a giving society made up of individuals, family foundations and privately held companies that support ACH with annual gifts of $10,000 or more. Children’s Circle of Care Spotlight: Pat Walker ■ Kila Owens Helping children lead happy, successful lives has always been a passion for Pat Walker. As the chairman of the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, which she and her late husband founded, she has built a legacy of generosity, helping numerous nonprofit organizations, including Arkansas Children’s Hospital, better serve the people in this state. Pat, who was born Amy Seamens, was raised in Oklahoma before she and her mother moved to Kansas in 1942. Pat, who was 22 at the time, went looking for work at S.H. Kress, the local five-and-dime store. Willard Walker, an employee at the store, was smitten and told his friends, “I’m going to marry that girl.” Willard was right. Later that year, Pat married Willard and the two began their life together. Willard began to lovingly call Amy “Pat,” and over the years, the nickname has stuck. During the next twelve years, Pat and Willard moved several times before finally settling in Springdale with their two children, Patricia and Johnny Mike. In 1954, Willard became the store manager of one of Sam Walton’s first five-and-dime stores, which was located on the square in Fayetteville. In the early 1960s, Walton had begun to launch his Walmart stores and Willard became the manager of the third Walmart store, which was in Springdale. “Those early days were hard because we really didn’t have a lot of money,” Pat says. “But Willard was devoted to his job and he loved his work. Sometimes he would even sleep in the back room of the store.” Willard remained a store manager at the Springdale Walmart until 1972, when he took a sabbatical and never returned. Pat and Willard enjoyed their retirement. They spent the next few years raising cattle, traveling throughout the world and playing with grandchildren. In 1986, the Walkers started their charitable foundation. “We always had an interest in supporting health and education, so we decided to start the foundation, which would enable us to do even more,” Pat says. “Over the years, we found that giving back to our community and our state was very rewarding and we wanted to do it on a larger scale.” The Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation made its first gift to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 2001 to support a capital campaign. The next year, the foundation gave $1 million to ACH toward the purchase of new ventilators for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). “Willard and I both always loved children and we always wanted to do anything we could to help families,” Pat says. “We decided to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit because we want all babies to get off to a good start.” The $1 million gift the Walker Foundation gave to the hospital made them lifetime members of Children’s Circle of Care, a giving society made up of individuals, couples, family foundations and privately held companies who support ACH with annual gifts of $10,000 or more. Willard passed away in 2003 and Pat has continued her work with the foundation, donating millions of dollars to several nonprofit organizations each year. “Pat is such an amazing woman,” says Debbie Walker, executive director of the Walker Fundation. “She is kind, caring and giving, and people all over the state look up to her.” In May, Pat visited ACH for an event celebrating the foundation’s support of the hospital. As part of her tour of the NICU, she was able to see for the first time the area that has been named in her honor. “Thousands of children are treated at Arkansas Children’s Hospital each year,” she says. “Through the foundation, we want to make a difference for these children and their families, giving children the best healthcare available and enabling them to enjoy healthy, happy lives.” For more information on Children’s Circle of Care, please contact Leah Greenfield at 501-364-1807 or greenfieldlw@archildrens.org. 14
DONORS The Pugh family, including (from left) Tip, his mother, Mary Dean, and his wife, Suzanne, has supported the hospital since 2003. The Pughs have created endowments, which are permanent funds that will support programs at the hospital forever. ■ Kila Owens Tipton “Tip” Pugh has a personal experience with ACH, though it differs from most ACH patient experiences. At the age of 52, Tip had open-heart surgery at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Tip was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect when he was a child and had two surgeries in Memphis to repair his heart problems. After his surgeries, he and his parents made an annual trip to Memphis for a follow-up visit with a cardiologist. As an adult, Tip continued visiting a cardiologist once a year. In 1998, Tip was referred to a cardiologist in Little Rock, who, upon learning about Tip’s heart condition, referred him to a pediatric cardiologist who specialized in the field of congenital heart defects. “The doctor, who was the head of pediatric cardiology at ACH at the time, explained my entire condition in detail,” says Tip. “He drew my heart on a sheet of paper and showed me exactly what it looked like and explained exactly what was wrong. He told me I would need surgery in the future, due to too much pressure on my aorta.” Rarely does an adult patient receive treatment at ACH. In fact, the Heart Center and the Burn Unit are the only areas of the hospital that see adults. Tip’s condition was rare, and his heart surgeon preferred to perform the surgery at ACH. In April 2003, Tip had his surgery. His mother, Mary Dean Pugh, and his wife, Suzanne, stayed at the hospital with him. “It doesn’t matter how old he was, he’s still my child,” says Mary Dean. “It was hard to see him taken back to surgery.” Tip spent 10 days at ACH recovering from his operation. He and his family experienced the hospital first-hand – visiting with social workers, conferring with physicians, being entertained by members of the Child Life and Education staff. “It was an interesting experience to say the least,” Tip says. “We got a big kick out of me being 52 and being treated in a children’s hospital. But I’ll tell you, the care they provided was fantastic. I saw nurses and other staff members interact with other patients and families and I saw that our experience was just like everyone else’s. Everyone received the one-on-one attention we did. It was amazing.” As an only child, Tip has always been close to Mary Dean. She and his late father, Hampton, imparted to Tip the importance of giving. After Tip’s experience at ACH, he and Mary Dean decided to support the hospital with an endowment, a permanent fund that will last forever, the earnings from which will support the heart program at the hospital. The Pugh Family Builds a Legacy of Giving with Endowments Pugh funds supporting cardiology, neonatology and research programs at ACH will benefit children and families for generations to come. “We decided to support cardiology, because of Tip’s time in the hospital,” Mary Dean says. “We were all so impressed with the care he received, we wanted to make sure every child has a chance to receive that same level of care.” Over the next few years, the Pugh family would visit ACH several times. Two of Tip and Suzanne’s grandsons received treatment in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Because their experience was also very positive, the Pughs decided to create another endowment – this one to benefit the neonatology program. The Pugh grandchildren continue to visit ACH for check-ups, but they are now doing well. Tip occasionally has a heart murmur that can be treated at an adult hospital, but overall, he is feeling healthy. “Having that surgery was great,” he says. “I feel better and I have more energy. Arkansas Children’s Hospital not only helped me, they helped my grandchildren. I’m sure there aren’t many families who can say that.” The Pughs recently met with the director of genetic research at ACH. “We were interested in learning more about why birth defects happen,” Tip says. “Why were two of our grandsons born almost three months early? Why did I have a congenital heart defect? How can we prevent these problems for children in the future? These questions can one day be answered through genetic research.” The Pughs recently established a third endowment – this one supporting genetic research at ACH. “There are a lot of people who are not in the position to support the hospital with gifts,” says Tip. “So those of us who can give, need to. That’s how we have always felt.” For more information on supporting Arkansas Children’s Hospital through endowments, please contact the ACH Foundation at 501-364-1476 or achfdn@archildrens.org. 15
Page 2 and 3: CONTENTS Ambassadors Make a Differe
Page 4 and 5: PEDIATRIC CARE Michelle Leach, an A
Page 6 and 7: RESEARCH For the past few years, Al
Page 8 and 9: EDUCATION CareHub System Is Transfo
Page 10 and 11: PEDIATRIC CARE Ambassadors Continue
Page 12 and 13: Your Gifts Make Us Better W Thank y
Page 16 and 17: DONORS Because they were impressed
Page 18 and 19: CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK The We
Page 20 and 21: CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK Walmar
Page 22 and 23: AUXILIARY GROUPS CIRCLE Quarterly O
Page 24: Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foun

Spring 2010 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

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