Philanthropy
A Place of Their Own
A community comes together to build a new children’s hospital.
Kids get sick. Kids get hurt. When they do — because it can be scary, lonely, and boring — they need three things: expert care, their families, and stuff to do.
Children coming to the new American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH), which opened in August, get all three and then some. There’s a Town Square on “Wisconsin Avenue,” complete with a theater, store, and the Picnic Point Café. There are rooms for pets to visit and for doing schoolwork. Parents and guardians have a bed for the night, a shower, and places to fix a snack and do laundry. Brothers and sisters hang out in Tyler’s Place, an area where they, too, get much-needed attention.
Most important, each child receives top-quality, advanced treatment from skilled doctors, nurses, technicians, and assistants. AFCH integrates clinical care, academic programs, and research not found in this part of Wisconsin or in many places in this country.
“It leaves me speechless,” says Mary Kaminski MS’91, director of Patient and Family Services. “Now we can give families so much more than we have been able to do.”
Kids get sick. Kids get hurt. When they do — because it can be scary, lonely, and boring — they need three things: expert care, their families, and stuff to do.
Children coming to the new American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH), which opened in August, get all three and then some. There’s a Town Square on “Wisconsin Avenue,” complete with a theater, store, and the Picnic Point Café. There are rooms for pets to visit and for doing schoolwork. Parents and guardians have a bed for the night, a shower, and places to fix a snack and do laundry. Brothers and sisters hang out in Tyler’s Place, an area where they, too, get much-needed attention.
Most important, each child receives top-quality, advanced treatment from skilled doctors, nurses, technicians, and assistants. AFCH integrates clinical care, academic programs, and research not found in this part of Wisconsin or in many places in this country.
“It leaves me speechless,” says Mary Kaminski MS’91, director of Patient and Family Services. “Now we can give families so much more than we have been able to do.”
“Our general pediatric wards were simply out of date. Probably the most exciting improvement is the larger rooms,” explains Christopher Green, AFCH medical director. “Parents today stay with their children. Advanced technology means more equipment. With a cot, patient bed, nursing care supplies, and machines, typical 130-square-foot rooms were hard to move around in.”
From its sea of windows to the detailed interior scenes of Wisconsin prairies, farms, woodlands, and lakeshore that distinguish each floor, AFCH was designed for, about, and even by the people who will use it. David Berry, AFCH vice president, estimates that three hundred to four hundred people were involved in the planning phase, including medical staff, patients, families, and community groups. “They had a really, really long wish list,” he says.
“We also organized three advisory boards of six to eight members each — Patient/Family, Kids as Partners, and Teens,” says Kaminski. “They met every other month and educated us about things like the need for multiple washers and dryers, ethnic and religious dietary restrictions, even the annoyance of clocks that tick.”
“We listened, planned well, and executed the way we planned,” Berry says. “When a child is hospitalized, it’s the little things that matter.”
While a children’s hospital has been associated with UW-Madison for nearly a century, there has never been a hospital quite like AFCH.
From its sea of windows to the detailed interior scenes of Wisconsin prairies, farms, woodlands, and lakeshore that distinguish each floor, AFCH was designed for, about, and even by the people who will use it. David Berry, AFCH vice president, estimates that three hundred to four hundred people were involved in the planning phase, including medical staff, patients, families, and community groups. “They had a really, really long wish list,” he says.
“We also organized three advisory boards of six to eight members each — Patient/Family, Kids as Partners, and Teens,” says Kaminski. “They met every other month and educated us about things like the need for multiple washers and dryers, ethnic and religious dietary restrictions, even the annoyance of clocks that tick.”
“We listened, planned well, and executed the way we planned,” Berry says. “When a child is hospitalized, it’s the little things that matter.”
While a children’s hospital has been associated with UW-Madison for nearly a century, there has never been a hospital quite like AFCH.
Pediatric Care: A Look Back
Bradley Memorial Hospital for the Study of Children’s Diseases, completed in 1920 at the corner of Linden and Orchard streets, was planned as a facility for children and medical research. However, its first occupants were influenza victims from World War I. Over the years, it housed a variety of functions. Starting in 1952, it was used exclusively as a children’s hospital for five years.
Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, a fortress-like structure west of Bradley Memorial, opened in 1931. Where children with non-orthopedic conditions were treated is not clear. In 1952, a one-floor wing of the main Wisconsin General Hospital, located at 1300 University Avenue, was designated for pediatrics. Five years later, all pediatric patients were admitted to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, which quickly became known as Children’s Hospital.
Though ostensibly for children, the atmosphere was seriously grown-up. Sick children were isolated from their families and confined. Their fears were not recognized, their educations were postponed, and their comforting toys were put away. They were treated with what nursing professor Florence G. Blake called “ritualistic attention to detail.” Blake, who came to the UW in 1963, revolutionized pediatric nursing practices. Her pioneering work changed the care of sick and injured children around the world.
With the move west to the new University Hospital and Clinics on Highland Avenue in 1979, Children’s Hospital was a distinct unit within the larger hospital. However, the need for treatment, teaching, and family space in an even more sophisticated, more kid-friendly environment was obvious.
Bradley Memorial Hospital for the Study of Children’s Diseases, completed in 1920 at the corner of Linden and Orchard streets, was planned as a facility for children and medical research. However, its first occupants were influenza victims from World War I. Over the years, it housed a variety of functions. Starting in 1952, it was used exclusively as a children’s hospital for five years.
Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, a fortress-like structure west of Bradley Memorial, opened in 1931. Where children with non-orthopedic conditions were treated is not clear. In 1952, a one-floor wing of the main Wisconsin General Hospital, located at 1300 University Avenue, was designated for pediatrics. Five years later, all pediatric patients were admitted to Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, which quickly became known as Children’s Hospital.
Though ostensibly for children, the atmosphere was seriously grown-up. Sick children were isolated from their families and confined. Their fears were not recognized, their educations were postponed, and their comforting toys were put away. They were treated with what nursing professor Florence G. Blake called “ritualistic attention to detail.” Blake, who came to the UW in 1963, revolutionized pediatric nursing practices. Her pioneering work changed the care of sick and injured children around the world.
With the move west to the new University Hospital and Clinics on Highland Avenue in 1979, Children’s Hospital was a distinct unit within the larger hospital. However, the need for treatment, teaching, and family space in an even more sophisticated, more kid-friendly environment was obvious.
The Community Responds
Private gifts established the first children’s hospital. Bradley Memorial was built with $75,000 from Dr. and Mrs. Harold Bradley and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Crane, Mrs. Bradley’s parents, in memory of their daughter and granddaughter, Mary Cornelius Bradley. The board of regents added $18,000.
Today, of the $78 million needed for the project’s first phase, which completes four of the hospital’s six floors, private gifts have provided nearly $41 million. The balance will come from bonding. American Family Insurance led the effort with an initial $10 million gift. The company and its employees later added another $5 million.
Madisonians John MS’72 and Coleen Flad made a major family gift, and gifts from the Bakke-Schwartz family’s Sub-Zero Foundation and the Harvey Pierce family continued the momentum. Together, they and other “Founding Families” (see sidebar) turned a dream into a world-class facility.
Former Madisonians Bob and Marlene Wilson thought about their grandson, Trevor, who was successfully treated for cancer in Georgia as a toddler. “We were fortunate to be able to afford to help move things along,” says Bob about a gift from the Wilsons that named two rooms. The couple gave now-teenage Trevor the chance to choose the rooms. Not surprisingly, he picked rooms in the cancer center.
Private gifts established the first children’s hospital. Bradley Memorial was built with $75,000 from Dr. and Mrs. Harold Bradley and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Crane, Mrs. Bradley’s parents, in memory of their daughter and granddaughter, Mary Cornelius Bradley. The board of regents added $18,000.
Today, of the $78 million needed for the project’s first phase, which completes four of the hospital’s six floors, private gifts have provided nearly $41 million. The balance will come from bonding. American Family Insurance led the effort with an initial $10 million gift. The company and its employees later added another $5 million.
Madisonians John MS’72 and Coleen Flad made a major family gift, and gifts from the Bakke-Schwartz family’s Sub-Zero Foundation and the Harvey Pierce family continued the momentum. Together, they and other “Founding Families” (see sidebar) turned a dream into a world-class facility.
Former Madisonians Bob and Marlene Wilson thought about their grandson, Trevor, who was successfully treated for cancer in Georgia as a toddler. “We were fortunate to be able to afford to help move things along,” says Bob about a gift from the Wilsons that named two rooms. The couple gave now-teenage Trevor the chance to choose the rooms. Not surprisingly, he picked rooms in the cancer center.
Medical director Green believes the most successful children’s hospitals have the community behind them. AFCH has benefited from a committed community, including some very young supporters who were as enthusiastic and important to the project as anyone. The students at Windsor Elementary School in Windsor, Wisconsin, decided to participate in the auction of life-size painted cows from Madison’s 2006 Cow Parade, an event held with proceeds going to AFCH. Students organized penny wars, hat days, and spaghetti dinners, ultimately raising $13,000 — enough for them to purchase their favorite cow, “Rosie,” for their school.
Chugging across the trestle above the AFCH front door is a steam locomotive, engine number 1950 on the Welcome Train. The engine number honors the UW-Madison Class of 1950 and its latest gift. More than 60 percent of the class were veterans of World War II, whose educations were paid for by the GI Bill. These veterans and their classmates are grateful, loyal alumni whose gifts to UW-Madison have reached a record $100 million.
“Many of us are grandparents now,” says Tony Brewster ’50, LLB’55. “These days we have a grandparent’s concern about children’s health, and the class wanted to help put our university on the cutting edge, to maintain our position as a world leader, and to advance learning.” Class members Robert J. “Red” Wilson ’51, Ted Iltis ’50, Dale “Buzz” Nordeen ’50, June Sweitzer ’50, and Mary Moen ’50, MA’77 engineered the effort.
Although no one likes to think about a child being sick or injured, it’s comforting to know that, thanks to a caring community, American Family Children’s Hospital is now open.
— Merry Anderson
Chugging across the trestle above the AFCH front door is a steam locomotive, engine number 1950 on the Welcome Train. The engine number honors the UW-Madison Class of 1950 and its latest gift. More than 60 percent of the class were veterans of World War II, whose educations were paid for by the GI Bill. These veterans and their classmates are grateful, loyal alumni whose gifts to UW-Madison have reached a record $100 million.
“Many of us are grandparents now,” says Tony Brewster ’50, LLB’55. “These days we have a grandparent’s concern about children’s health, and the class wanted to help put our university on the cutting edge, to maintain our position as a world leader, and to advance learning.” Class members Robert J. “Red” Wilson ’51, Ted Iltis ’50, Dale “Buzz” Nordeen ’50, June Sweitzer ’50, and Mary Moen ’50, MA’77 engineered the effort.
Although no one likes to think about a child being sick or injured, it’s comforting to know that, thanks to a caring community, American Family Children’s Hospital is now open.
— Merry Anderson
American Family Children’s Hospital Founding Families
American Family Insurance
Oscar Rennebohm Foundation
Sub-Zero Foundation
Helen Bakke, Frederick and Deborah Schwartz
Friends of University Hospital and Clinics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation
Department of Surgery, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
John and Coleen Flad Family
Pierce Family Foundation
Harvey, Delores, Jeff, Steve, Julie, and Susan
Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber
Irwin F. and Linda S. Smith
Department of Pediatrics, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Kohl’s Department Stores
American Family Insurance
Oscar Rennebohm Foundation
Sub-Zero Foundation
Helen Bakke, Frederick and Deborah Schwartz
Friends of University Hospital and Clinics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation
Department of Surgery, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
John and Coleen Flad Family
Pierce Family Foundation
Harvey, Delores, Jeff, Steve, Julie, and Susan
Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber
Irwin F. and Linda S. Smith
Department of Pediatrics, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Kohl’s Department Stores
