Springfield Foundation, Children’s partner for 22 heart monitors

Hundreds of Clark County children require monitoring each year.

Dayton Children’s Hospital purchased 22 heart monitors for area children thanks to a $34,000 donation from the Springfield Foundation.

Hospital officials received the check on Thursday at the Ohio Pediatric Care Alliance on North Limestone Street, a collaboration between Dayton and Nationwide Children’s hospitals to provide sub-specialty care to the children in the Springfield region.

“We are so pleased to have our first-time donation from the Springfield Foundation to Dayton Children’s Hospital,” said Jena Pado, chief development officer at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Pado said the hospital purchased 12 Holter monitors and 10 looping monitors for local children.

A Holter monitor is a 24-hour recording of a patient’s heart activity. Looping monitors offer a continuous recording of a patient’s heart rhythms.

“It truly is making an impact in the daily lives of our kids that we treat here … There’s a huge need in our community, especially in Clark County for cardiac needs,” Pado said.

Nick Jordan, 10, who has a heart arrhythmia, wore a heart monitor for 24 to 48 hours.

“I think the monitor helped me,” Jordan said.

Last year, the facility treated 324 children from Clark County who needed cardiac monitoring, Pado said.

“In the past ,there was a long wait time for kids to actually be able to receive the monitors. With the Springfield Foundation, we’re able to provide the care that the kids need,” Pado said.

President and CEO of Dayton Children’s Hospital Deborah Feldman said the hospital serves more than 20,000 children in Clark County every year.

“Every child in our region deserves a great Children’s Hospital close to home. Partnership with Nationwide Children’s ensure the children of Springfield have the pediatric services they need as close to home as possible,” Feldman said.

Since the Ohio Pediatric Care Alliance opened, it has served more than 2,700 children.

In the past, children now treated at the clinic would have travel to Dayton or Columbus to receive specialized pediatric services, Feldman said.

“By keeping these services close to where they work and where they live, we’re able to provide a very special service,” Feldman said.

The money donated to the hospital comes from the Bruce Mayer Cardiac Fund, set up to fund diagnosis and treatment cardiac and pulmonary diseases, said Ted Vander Roest, executive director of the Springfield Foundation.

“This was a perfect fit for the use of those funds, and we’re just really pleased to be able to partner with Dayton Children’s to help improve the health of the children in our community,” Vander Roest said.

About the Author