RENOWN NEWSROOM

Renown Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) are excited to announce Shaylie Edwards as the 2023 Champion Child. A fighter from a young age, seven-year-old Shaylie has overcome many challenges in her short life. In 2019 when she was three, Shaylie was hit by a car while using a crosswalk with her father. She was admitted to the Wilbur D. May Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Renown Children’s Hospital and stayed there for three months. A video introducing Shaylie and her journey can be found here.  Shaylie’s mom, Erica Edwards reports that as a result of the accident, Shaylie has been treated by Renown Children’s Hospital physicians, nurses and team for a broken neck in two places, a broken jaw in two places, a fractured sacrum, a broken femur and three small brain bleeds. She has been in outpatient therapy for the last three years and continues making strides daily. “Shaylie’s perseverance, dedication and joy inspires all of us at Renown Children’s Hospital,” said Kristina Deeter, MD, MBA, FAAP Physician-in-Chief, Renown Children’s Hospital and Chair of Pediatrics, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine,” (pictured right with Shaylie). “It has been an incredible joy to witness her progress and to care for Shaylie and her family. We are thrilled she has been chosen to share her story with the world.”  The New England Journal of Medicine cites preventable injuries as the number one leading cause of death among children. This includes motor vehicle accidents, firearm injuries, drowning, poisoning, burns and suffocation. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, an average of 155 children under the age of 10 die every year as a result of pedestrian injury, with 64% of those involving motor vehicles. Across the U.S., due to distracted driving, a pedestrian is killed every two hours and injured every seven minutes. Most drivers feel they can safely take their eyes off the road for 0-2 seconds, but a car can travel the length of a football field in 5 seconds at 55 MPH. Shaylie’s family and the team at Renown Children’s Hospital urge drivers to be fully aware and eliminate distractions while driving.  “We were in the Wilbur D. May PICU for three months and the first five days were very iffy. We did not know if she would come out of her coma, but Shaylie is a fighter. The care team at Renown Children’s Hospital made me feel at home and like we were all going through this together,” said Shaylie’s mother, Erica Edwards. “Shaylie’s recovery was a collaboration between doctors, nurses, and our family. Together we were there to support Shaylie, who has proven to us repeatedly that she has a greater purpose in life.” “It was heartwarming to meet Shaylie and her family,” said Dr. Brian Erling, MBA, CEO of Renown Health. “Shaylie is truly a champion! She and her family have faced life's unanticipated events with strength and resilience. Despite the struggles, they have carried on with hope and determination. They find joy in life every day and inspire us all. We have much to learn from their example.” Through Renown Children’s Hospital, Shaylie and 100,000 area children now have access to more than 60 pediatricians, including those specializing in adolescent medicine; anesthesia; cardiology; craniofacial surgery; dentistry; ear, nose and throat conditions; emergency medicine; endocrinology; gastroenterology;  general pediatrics; hospitalist medicine; intensive care; neonatology; neurology; oncology; ophthalmology;  orthopedics; psychiatry; psychology; pulmonology; surgery; urology and other subspecialties previously lacking in the community, as well as a pediatric emergency room, pediatric ICU and contemporary healthcare services at Renown Children’s Hospital. Prior to 2016, about 30% of all pediatric patients had to leave northern Nevada to receive the specialty care they needed. Now, thanks to donor support, Renown estimates that 97% of all pediatric patients and their families can receive both general and specialty pediatric care locally. The next nearest children’s hospital in the state is 7 hours or 438 miles away in Las Vegas. Renown Children’s Hospital is proud to be the only CMNH hospital in northern Nevada, one of only 170 premier children’s hospitals in North America. Shaylie will serve as Renown Children’s Hospital’s CMNH Champion Child for the next year, shining as the face of the hospital in the community and sharing her inspiring story. Renown Health Foundation oversees the local CMNH programs and its fundraising. One hundred percent of all funds raised by CMNH partners stay local to support children and families in our community. Your generous support affords much-needed items to help our littlest patients cope with the potential stressors associated with hospitalization and illness. To donate, visit www.renown.org/donate. About Renown Health Renown Health is Nevada’s largest, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and northeast California. With a diverse workforce of more than 7,000 employees, Renown has fostered a longstanding culture of excellence, determination, and innovation. The organization comprises a trauma center, two acute care hospitals, a children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a medical group and urgent care network, and the locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown is hiring people like you. Visit us at www.renown.org/careers.  About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment, and charitable care. Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $7 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children's hospitals need community support, and learn about your member hospital, at www.renown.org/CMNH.

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Expanded test processing capabilities is resulting in faster test results, lessening the load on the state lab, and helping keep patients, care providers and the community safe. Renown Health announced today that its in-house laboratory is now able to process up to 500 COVID-19 tests for hospital patients and care providers each day. The organization has invested in expanded test processing capabilities to better serve the community amid the coronavirus pandemic, and to increase testing available across the state. Next month, Renown anticipates continuing to further expand testing capacity and doubling its capacity to be able to provide 1,000 tests per day in preparation for the continued response to the pandemic. “The COVID-19 pandemic is not going away- it is still with us. I am concerned by the number of new cases and hospitalizations we are seeing across northern Nevada. We must do more testing. We need broader capabilities around making sure we have broad-scale surge testing available, so we can help people identify if they have COVID-19 or not,” said Tony Slonim, MD, DrPH, Renown’s President & CEO. “If I could test 60,000 people in northern Nevada for COVID-19, like we did for the Healthy Nevada Project, we could better understand with data and facts the proportion of people who actually have COVID-19 versus those that just have the sniffles and a cold.” Launched in 2016, the Healthy Nevada Project https://healthynv.org/ is a community-based population study where free genetic testing is provided to thousands of Nevadans to learn about the health of the community and each person’s genetic risks. As of Tuesday, 2,286 people in northern Nevada have been tested, and positive cases were nearing 700. Seventy four people in northern Nevada have died; 1,526 have recovered. https://www.washoecounty.us/ Dr. Slonim says it would help him and others make important decisions and plans for coronavirus with evidence. He wants to be able to test many more individuals across northern Nevada. “Testing is pivotal upstream, so you can prevent consequences downstream,” said Dawn D. Ahner, DSc, FACHE, Chief Operating Officer – Renown Acute Services. “By processing our own tests, we’ve reduced the turnaround to receive results to just 12-24 hours, which will have a profoundly positive impact on our community, and lightens the load on the State lab. “Testing is an incredibly important tool in our fight against coronavirus,” said Tim Stephens, vice president of ancillary services. “There's no 100% perfect test, however, the PCR tests are so incredibly sensitive, that when done perfectly, have a very low false-positive rate. Certified labs like Renown’s use a number of procedures to reduce the risk of false test results.” “The expansion of our lab’s new testing capabilities during this time is a testament to the innovative and important work being done here at Renown,” said Erik Olson, CEO of Renown Regional Medical Center. “Throughout the pandemic, our ancillary team, which includes services like laboratory, radiology and pharmacy, has been quick to adapt to the needs of our patients and our community. I am pleased that we are able to generate critical test results for patients and providers as we continue the fight against COVID-19 and go the extra mile for safety.”   Going the extra mile for safety As an added safety measure, acute hospital patients; patients preparing for surgery, and care providers who may have come into contact with those positive for COVID-19, are among those that receive mandatory PCR testing from Renown at this time. For patients receiving hospital care, these tests help determine if patients should be placed in a designated area of the hospital to mitigate the risk of transmission to those not infected. Furthermore, all surgery patients are tested ahead of their surgery and self-quarantine prior to their surgical procedure at Renown Regional Medical Center and Renown South Meadows Medical Center. How do PCR tests work? PCR tests use a sample of mucus typically taken from a person's nose or throat. The test looks for the genetic material of the coronavirus, using a technology called PCR to detect if the viral genetic material is present. Those actively infected with the virus will show the existence of that material. Individuals who think they should be tested for COVID-19 are encouraged to call their medical provider or contact the Washoe County Health District at 775-328-2427 for a risk assessment. For up-to-date information on Renown’s approach to keeping our community safe, visit our website at renown.org/covid-19/.   Please see b-roll for this story here.     About Renown Health Renown Health is a locally governed and locally owned, not-for-profit integrated healthcare network serving northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe and northeast California. Renown is one of the region’s largest private employers with a workforce of more than 7,000. It comprises three acute care hospitals, Renown Children’s Hospital, Renown Rehabilitation Hospital, the area’s most comprehensive medical group and urgent care network, and the region’s largest and only locally owned not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health. Renown has a long tradition and commitment to continually improve the care and the health of our community. For more information, visit renown.org.

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