Melvin's Musings

One of the things I wanted to do with this blog is include the articles I write for the Lee County Shrine Club Newsletter. This is the one for the September 2009 issue about the Cincinnati Hospital...I hope you enjoy it...Melvin

Cincinnati Shriners Hospital for Children, Wow!

When you think about Cincinnati, Ohio, baseball or maybe even the famous Skyline chili comes to mind. When Shriners think about Cincinnati, we think of the award winning pediatric burn center that is part of our twenty-two Shriners Hospitals for Children system. This hospital, which is a thirty bed burn center, is nothing less than totally amazing. From the facility, medical staff, and the volunteers you will swell with major pride as a Shriner the minute you walk into the place.

Last week Ruben called me saying he needed someone to make a trip to Cincinnati with a patient. It wasn’t like he was sitting around on his hands; we already had two other trips to Shreveport to make. So I didn’t refuse him, besides I had never made a trip to a burn center and since Galveston was shut down for repairs, I wasn’t going to see one any sooner. I called my little brother, Noble Ross Ford, and told him to load up for two days of Kentucky bluegrass and Tennessee highways. Ross was the perfect choice for a co-driver because he knows the route and can tolerate two days in a car with me.

Hamasa wasn’t too familiar with the Cincinnati facility mainly because we normally transported patients to the Galveston Burn Center. Details like appointment schedules and hotels weren’t clear. Many of us had already seen the DVD produced by the Imperial Headquarters, so we knew they did quality work in Cincinnati. My first real experience with the Cincinnati facility involved a phone call to ask about which hotel Shrine Drivers use. I spoke to a very helpful and friendly lady named Belinda who not only gave me good information but also set me up with reservations. The experience started out on a high note, so I was excited about making the trip.

Thursday morning Ross and I picked up a 2010 minivan from Enterprise Rental; we loaded up and headed north. The minute we crossed the Tennessee state line we heard a little voice ask, “Are we there yet?” That began a two day trip of laughter and sightseeing green hills and tobacco farms the best we could from the road. Once we spotted that famous Cincinnati skyline we were able to settle in for a decent night’s sleep.

The outpatient clinic doesn’t start seeing patients until 1:00 PM because the doctors perform surgeries in the morning, so we didn’t have to rush Friday morning. We got to the hospital about 11:15 AM to sign in and have lunch. Once we walked into the lobby we were all impressed with how nice the place was and when we walked into the outpatient clinic, wow. We were all speechless on how wonderful this Shriners Hospital is, full of art work, murals and furnishings designed as a village. Here is a place for children who have suffered the most painful and horrific injuries can come to and be treated in an atmosphere of love, caring and happiness. Just the children I saw in the outpatient clinic will tear you up and make you swallow hard.

We were greeted by some extra friendly volunteers and staff, after we signed in we headed to the fifth floor for lunch in the cafeteria. Well, you can call it a cafeteria if you want, I think of it as a very nice restaurant with good food that I want to visit again. The food service people were grilling out on the rooftop patio as a special, so we got a nice lunch for free. I looked over the buffet and considered calling Ruben and telling him we had to stay through the weekend.

Once we finished with lunch, our patient was able to settle into the colorful play area at the clinic while Ross and I had the opportunity to talk to other Shriners and volunteers. I was able to meet with Louise Hoelker, the Director for Volunteers and Public Relations, who in spite of the fact she was extremely busy preparing for an open house the next day took the time to talk to us and e-mail me the information I requested. She set us with Wanda, a Lady Shriner and volunteer associated with Syrian Temple who gave us an informative tour of the facility along with a couple of Nobles from Tennessee. She told us about addressing the children as “sweet-pea” or “honey” because you couldn’t tell from the bandages if the child was a boy or a girl.

We found out that this “village” wasn’t just colorful impressive art work but a fully functional burn hospital. The Dress Shop was really Radiology and the Beauty Shop was administration. The Cobbler Shop was Orthotic Services and Garment Fabrication, where the special masks and custom fitted spandex garments are made to assist with healing and reducing burn scars. This “village” with hand-painted lettering that even impressed Ross, an accomplished artist himself, also houses accounting, human resources, and a school for the children; plus recreational areas divided by age group for the patients. The second and third floors also have patient rooms while fourth floor was research. They have a visual art department that photographs the healing process and produces other vital information. There is a muti-functioning auditorium for movies for the children, medical conferences and even Masonic meetings. We were shown the Shrine representative board room that also serves as the tele-medicine room for the doctors, saving us thousands in transportation costs.

This burn center has 350 employees and over 200 volunteers from students to Shrine Ladies and Nobles with an award winning transportation team. They also have a child-life program and a school re-entry program helping these young burn victims return to their homes and school as well as occupational and physical therapy units. Cincinnati Shriners Hospital provides a summer camp for our children as part of their family centered care allowing parents and family members to deal with every stage of treatment and recovery. As someone involved with various fund raising efforts I was impressed with the efficiently and overall utilization of the facility.

We normally don’t think about what is truly involved with a tragic and painful burn injury. We hear about it on the news, but don’t understand the devastating reality of a child being burned. Many of us are lucky enough not to have the experience, but for the ones that do suffer this painful tragedy, Shriners have a solution. Like all our Shrine Hospitals, Cincinnati is a special place that works miracles for children and families. Nobles I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to visit one of “YOUR” Hospitals and see what we really do and understand why so many of us are totally dedicated to being a Shriner.

As we crossed the Ohio River headed home, we heard a little voice say, “Are we in Mississippi yet?” and the laughter started again for a pleasant but long ride home, happy due to the positive experience in Cincinnati.