1974 Craig grad achieves success in medicine, academia

ImpactIndependenceInnovationInvolvement

Redefining ROI

If you would like to receive this newsletter electronically, please contact Jordan Ames at james@craighospital.org or (303) 789-8108.

NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE CRAIG HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER APRIL 2014

3425 South Clarkson StreetEnglewood, CO 80113

www.craighospital.org/foundation

The 18th Annual Golf Tournament will take place at the spectacular Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia, Colo. This day on the links benefits Craig Hospital’s programs. A variety of sponsorships and individual player slots are available.

When Emily Hawkins Stahl was six years old, she was playing a computer game with a joy stick. Her father Hugh asked her if he could play.

“I said, ‘Dad, you can’t play, you have foofie hands,’” she recollects. “He found this comment very amusing and then proceeded to beat me at the game. Never again did I doubt his ability to do something.”

Throughout his life, Dr. Hugh Hawkins continually surprised people, never allowing his quadriplegia to define him. The Craig Hospital graduate is a radiologist and active community volunteer. In his 25 years at the University of Cincinnati, he pursued medical education, including direct student teaching and computers in medical education, clinical practice in emergency medicine and breast imaging and clinical research on imaging utilization.

He became a full professor before leaving academics to build breast imaging practices at two private institutions.

In 1974, Hawkins broke his neck in a collegiate rugby game two weeks before graduating from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. The accident left him unable to walk and with extremely limited use of his hands. Hawkins spent six weeks in a traction bed in Pittsfield, MA before flying to Craig.

“My family researched rehabilitation hospitals and Craig seemed to be the best choice,” he says.

With his pregnant wife Poppy by his side, Hawkins rehabilitated at Craig for three months. “People were very nice, and I still remember a lot of the therapists,” he recalls. “Craig does a good job of education and teaching the family. That’s been important for us over the years as it’s helped me stay as healthy as I could and allowed me to avoid things like UTIs and ulcers.”

Following his discharge the family moved to Cincinnati where he started his intern-ship in Internal Medicine at Cincinnati General Hospital. He then completed his Residency in Radiology.

“There were no computers; we had to deal with films and fluoroscopy equipment. Since I have no real use of my hands, I had to make a few adjustments,” he says.

Hawkins hired a pre-med student to assist him. Each year during residency he hired a person to work with him, doing fluoroscopy, hanging films, and helping with projects. “They were essential for getting work done, especially before digital equipment,” Hawkins said.

As technology changed and Hawkins took on his professorial work at the University, the program evolved, and his aides, seventy- five in all over 37 years, began working with him on academic and translational research and papers. Over 90 percent of the aides then went on to medical school.

Dr. Katie Dolbec worked with Hawkins in 2005 after her college graduation.

“My year as an Aide in Radiology gave me applicable knowledge that I took with me into my first year of medical school – I was able to participate in patient interactions, learn procedural skills, participate in reading radiology studies, and work on independent projects. Hugh provided the

The first annual Pedal4Possible charity bike ride, sponsored by Coloplast and LogRhythm, will feature courses for all skill levels, including a 10K, 50K, 100K and 100 mile route. All cyclists will start and end at the Colorado Technology Center in Louisville, just a half-mile northeast of Highway 36. Handcyclists are encouraged to participate. Tagalong bike trailers are welcome on the family-friendly 10K course.

All riders are invited to a post-ride party with food, prizes and an appearance by Will Lachenauer, 2012 USA Handcycling Champion.

Registration is $75 per participant and each rider is encouraged to raise $250 for Craig Hospital using a personal fundraising website. All money raised will fund innovative therapy programs that help Craig Hospital patients affected by spinal cord and brain injury thrive like Therapeutic Recreation, Nurse Advice Line, the PEAK Center, and many more.

Pedal4Possible sponsorships are available, ranging from $10,000 to $1,250 with varying benefit levels. For more information about the event, to purchase a sponsorship, or to register, visit pedal4possible.org.

JUNE 6, 2015

MAY 15, 2015

MAY 20, 2015Belair Sitework Services Sporting Clays

Belair, a leader in the construction and sitework industry conducts a charity shooting event befitting Craig Hospital’s Therapeutic Recreation department each year.

Brain Injury Benefit & Soiree

The Brain Injury Benefit & Soiree (BIBS) at Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar will benefit civilians with brain injury and proceeds will be distributed between Rocky Mountain Human Services and Craig Hospital.

JUNE 25, 2015

Craig Hospital/RE/MAX, LLC Invitational Golf Tournament

EDALCENTURY RIDE FOR CRAIG HOSPITAL

OSSIBLE4Mark your Calendar for Upcoming EventsLearn more at craighospital.org/foundation/events

In February, Craig Hospital Foundation staff reached a major milestone in the Redefining ROI Campaign when they met the $18 million goal for unrestricted and program funding! Staff will continue working with donors to raise the remaining $11 million needed to fund the renovation and expansion project.

The hospital recently took possession of the full fourth floor of the Craig West building. This spinal cord injury floor includes additional patient rooms, a new bistro café, an expanded therapy gym, an adaptive technology lab, patient transfer room, wheelchair shop and clinical staff offices. Demolition is underway on the second floor, and work continues on the south side of the third floor.

A variety of spaces are available for naming in the new and renovated West Building for gifts starting at $50,000. These major gifts are vital to the completion of the expansion and revitalization project. These gifts can be paid over three years and may entitle the donor to a 25% Colorado state tax credit through the Enterprise Zone program.

For more information about how you can help the Craig Hospital Foundation meet the Redefining ROI Campaign goal, visit craighospital.org/foundation/roi-campaign or call 303-789-8650.

Craig Hospital PUSH Dinner raises nearly $1.3 million

RESEARCH UPDATE

The Craig Hospital Research Department conducts a wide variety of applied spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation research. The department receives funds from a variety of sources, including the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Colorado TBI Trust Fund, the Department of Defense, and more. In addition, funds raised at the annual PUSH dinner and through generous donations to the Craig Hospital Foundation support basic and clinical research.

The department is currently working on a variety of Foundation-funded research projects, including:

• Translational Research on Neuropathic Pain in SCI. A joint project with the laboratory of Linda Watkins, Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder to explore genomics and biochemistry of neuropathic pain following SCI. The objective of this research is to analyze tissue samples from the spinal cords of patients with neuropathic pain who have undergone dorsal root entry zone surgical treatment in an attempt to identity treatment opportunities for investigation in clinical trials.

• Manual Therapy for the Treatment of Shoulder Pain for Overuse Syndrome. This is a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the potential benefit of manual therapy to treat shoulder pain in persons with paraplegia who are manual wheelchair dependent for mobility.

• Observational Case Series Measuring Impact of Ankle Foot Orthoses for Persons with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) or SCI and Spasticity. This pilot study is to observe the impact of the use of insoles with tone inhib-iting qualities on foot loading patterns and gain kinematics and ankle foot orthoses designs for the management of spasticity for persons with ABI or SCI.

• Post Traumatic Hydrocephalus (PTH): Clinical Characteristics and Rehabilitation Outcomes. This pilot study will describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, compli-cations and outcomes of patients diagnosed with clinically significant PTH who under-went ventricular shunting while participating in inpatient rehabilitation at Craig.

• Retrospective Analysis of Treatment of Bacteriuria in Patients with SCI. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine if treating bacteriuria prior to transition from an indwelling catheter to a less invasive bladder management program reduces the frequency of urinary tract infections within 30 days of transition for SCI in-patients undergoing rehabilitation.

To learn more about how you can support research at Craig, visit craighospital.org/foundation/research.

ImpactIndependenceInnovationInvolvement

Redefining ROI NEWSLETTER APRIL 2015 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Redefining ROI: The Campaign for Craig Hospital

Craig Hospital’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the annual PUSH dinner, took place on February 27. The presenting sponsor for the 2015 event was Empower Retirement. PUSH was attended by 1340 people and brought in an estimated $1,276,889 for Craig Hospital programs, research and patients.

Patrick Ireland, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting and Craig “graduate,” was awarded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Inspiration Award.

This award is given in recognition of Ireland’s determination, advocacy, and commitment to serving as a positive and influential role

model to those who have sustained a traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.

Also at the dinner, Steve Peters accepted the Dave and Gail Liniger Spirit of Craig Award. This new award recognizes a Craig graduate who, through their community service, pro-fessional achievement, and personal support of Craig’s patients, graduates, and mission, significantly brings to life the spirit of Craig Hospital to others in the community.

To watch the PUSH dinner honoree videos featuring Patrick Ireland and Steve Peters, visit craighospital.org/events/2015-push-dinner.

In recognition of Brain Injury Awareness Month in March, Craig asked staff members and patients to leave a Post-it® message on the “Brain Wall” about how they “fuel their brains.”

“When we do activities for Brain Injury Awareness Month, I think it is important for us to do things that are interactive, so people have time to actually engage or take pause to either learn or reflect,” says Amy Berryman, Craig occupational therapist. “The mural was a good way for us to include multiple people, to build something together, and have something that will continue to remind folks about being mindful about their brain.”

To watch a time-lapse video of the Brain Wall project, visit craighospital.org/blog/how-do-you-fuel-your-brain

Craig Hospital Research UpdateCOVER STORY CONTINUED:

perfect mixture of autonomy and direction, producing the ideal post-collegiate learning environment,” she says. “I had also gained a perspective on life, removed from the march through school, that I badly needed in order maintain my focus going forward.”

Dolbec now works as an emergency physician and serves as a team physician for the U.S. Ski Team. “I am living my dream life, thanks in large part to Dr. Hawkins.

Hawkins believes that his injury might have helped him be a better doctor, as his specialties in emergency medical imaging and breast imaging are very patient- oriented. “I talk with patients and interact with them a lot more than other radiologists,” he says. “Being in a wheelchair might ac-tually be helpful. When patients interact with me they have a sense that I might be able to relate to them—I can’t think of a time when it might have held me back.” He has served on a variety of community boards and worked on projects to help individuals with disabilities, including accessible housing and playground projects.

Daughter Abigail Bliss, who was born shortly after his discharge from Craig, says that her father saw his injury and change of life as “a small blip on his radar.”

“I learned to set my sights on something and achieve it—this comes from the fact that I grew up with my dad,” she says.

Hawkins is currently working half-time as director of women’s imaging at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, Ohio. He plans to transition to full retirement in five years. He credits his extensive support network with contributing to his personal and professional success.

“I have to say that getting over the first period of injury is difficult in terms of psyche, that’s to be expected,” he says. “Then there were ups and downs, and being in a wheelchair is something you never forget, it’s always there.”

“But if didn’t have the support of my wife, kids, my extended family and my colleagues, I couldn’t have done what I’ve done.”