Reflections from the Cancer Team
2005 Annual Report
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This is why we do what we do. |
Dear Friends:
Last fall Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center embarked on a nine-month planning initiative to develop a new strategic plan. We drew on the insights of physicians, nurses, researchers, hospital trustees and administrators, community pediatricians and many others to develop a plan that will guide us in the coming years.
Our starting point, as always, was our vision: to be the leader in improving child health.
How can a children's hospital in a mid-size, Midwest city become the world leader in improving child health? By providing the best care available anywhere, resulting in the best medical and quality of life out-comes. By continually seeking innovations that improve how we deliver care. By investing in research that leads to better ways of preventing and treating childhood illnesses. And by sharing our knowledge to improve the health of children everywhere.
We are working systematically to make our vision a reality. Our strategic plan is the road map, defining the pathways we must follow to achieve our biggest aspirations.
The plan identifies specific medical and research arenas where Cincinnati Children's can have the most dramatic impact on improving child health. One of those arenas is the study and treatment of childhood cancer — the subject of this year's annual report.
The dedicated cancer specialists who are the focus of this report have devoted their lives to fighting this dread disease and replacing fear with hope. On a daily basis they marshal all the knowledge, resources, skill, compassion and wisdom at their command to outsmart a relentless enemy.
As you will learn in this report, there have been huge strides in pediatric cancer care. Diseases that once were death sentences are now routinely treated. And yet, it hardly needs to be said: there's so much more to be done.
For this reason, Cincinnati Children's has invested significant resources over the last five years to strengthen our cancer program. Under the leadership of Frank Smith, MD, director of Hematology / Oncology, and David Williams, MD, director of Experimental Hematology, we have recruited outstanding physicians and scientists, reorganized and expanded our clinical services and expanded our research capabilities. Today we are serving more children than ever before, offering the most cutting-edge treatments and harnessing knowledge of the human genome to pioneer exciting new approaches to care.
At Cincinnati Children's, the cancer team finds an environment that combines the intellectual prowess of outstanding clinicians and researchers, a commitment to innovation, and the determination and resources to make a bold vision a reality.
The work is inspiring. We invite you to read on to hear, in their own voices, reflections from the cancer team.
Lee A. Carter
Chairman, Board of Trustees |
James M. Anderson
President and Chief Executive Officer |
