Mary Cornelia Bradley Society - University of Wisconsin Hospital ...

Turn to page 4
and meet other amazing kids during
“A Visit to the Pediatric
Intensive Care Unit”
Meet
Makayla
With her beaming smile, beautiful
blue eyes and happy temperament,
one would never guess that little Makayla Kuehn of
Juneau, Wisconsin, has needed her share of advanced
care at American Family Children’s Hospital.
Born three months early, measuring 13.5 inches and
weighing not quite two pounds, Makayla was soon
diagnosed with a grade 4 intraventricular hemorrhage
(IVH), meaning that the blood vessels in her ventricles
(fluid-containing spaces in the brain) were leaking.
These ventricles were obstructed as a result of her
premature birth.
Makayla also developed hydrocephalus, a condition in
which too much of the cerebral spinal fluid accumulates
in the brain. The fluid can only drain properly with
surgical insertion of a shunt, a procedure performed by
UW Health pediatric neurosurgeons.
“Makayla requires a shunt, but they don’t always work
perfectly,” says her father, Adam Kuehn. “When they
need repair, she comes here and her care is always
top-notch.”
Adam, his wife, Stacey, and Makayla’s twin sister,
Madyson, all appreciate the little touches from everyone
the family encounters at the children’s hospital.
“They’re always asking, ‘Can we get you something?’ or
‘What can we do?’ and that goes a long way when you
just want to focus on your child.”
Makayla is also featured on the cover.
Dear Friends,
Since opening American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) in 2007, we have cared for more than
10,000 inpatients from Wisconsin and beyond. In this year’s report, we feature some of these children
whose incredible stories help unite us in our commitment to make AFCH the best that it can be. These
are children who were recently treated in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), where patients in the
most vulnerable situations are cared for by our expert medical staff.
As we are experiencing increased need for our specialized pediatric services at AFCH, demand for our
PICU continues to grow each day as well. Thankfully, we have never turned a child away, but future
predictions show that our inpatient volume will rise by 50 percent by 2015. With this in mind, the time
has come to increase our capacity to serve.
We are already addressing our capacity issue by raising money to complete the shelled spaces,
including adding 26 new critical-care beds to the 6th floor and building a pediatric cardiac
catheterization lab. Our Advisory Board co-chairs, John Flad and Jack Salzwedel, address this project
in their message on page 9.
It is important for families to know that there will always be room for their children at AFCH. And due
in large part to your continued benevolence, we are adding the infrastructure, technology and services
necessary to care for those who need it most. On behalf of our staff and the patients and families we
serve, thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Donna Katen-Bahensky Jeff Poltawsky
President and CEO Vice President
UW Hospital and Clinics and American Family Children’s Hospital
American Family Children’s Hospital
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