Events & News

On November 18th, CHAoC welcomed Patricia Payne to the Board.  She shared how she has been personally touched by congenital heart disease and why she decided to get involved:

Why I joined CHAoC:

When I was a child, I sat on the sidelines during recess with my best friend, Kathy, who suffered from heart disease and was unable to play.  She had surgery when she was 10 and did not survive.  That was a long time ago and many advances have been made since then in the treatment of pediatric heart disease.  So when my next door neighbor, a long time member of the CHAoC Board and the proud father of Zak, asked me to join CHAoC, I was happy to do so.  Zak has congenital heart disease and I am delighted to say I have known him since he was born.  He’s a super young man! 

“We believe Patty will bring a great combination of experience and heart to our team and we are excited to work with her.” ~Dana Kimball, Trustee

Though enveloped in candlelight and smooth jazz, the energy in the room was absolutely palpable! The Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati celebrated, and we mean celebrated, our 75^th birthday at the Queen City Club on October 2^nd. A perfect prototype of the cliché “it takes a village”, our guest list included all who join our mission to advance pediatric cardiology – trustees of CHAoC, faculty and staff of the esteemed Heart Institute/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, patients and their families, devoted donors, as well as administrative and tech support friends.

Aside from the appetizers, desserts and ambiance, special highlights of the evening:

– Janet Davis, Board Member extraordinaire, sharing her personal loss as well as the progress made in the field of pediatric cardiology over 75 years – AMAZING!

– Dr. Tom Kimball, Heart Institute Medical Director, offering a few words on the necessary support CHAoC provides the Heart Institute and introducing his Heart Institute colleagues to all of our guests.

– Zak Katchman, Jodie Walter and Andrew Donnellon relaying their inspiring journey of growing up (all now in their 20’s) with a congenital heart defect.

– Julie Balzano, Trustee, parent of two children born with CHD, and support group leader, touched on the fact that after losing her daughter and then raising her son with CHD, great progress has been made but there is still much work to be done.

CHAoC President Michael Katchman in concluding remarks honored three Trustees of the CHAoC Board who have contributed a combined 106 years of service to CHAoC:

Janet Davis – 45 years

Bonnie Paul – 31 years

Sallie Sumerel – 30 years

Serving as Officers and spearheading fundraisers, each Trustee has given and continues to give of her time, talent and treasures to our cause. Thank you ladies and don’t even think of resigning!

The party could’ve been easily mistaken for a mutual admiration society event, as each guest plays a vital role in the hearts of children.

We’d like to give special thanks to our sponsors: AAA/Bob Sumerel Tires and Jones the Florist. We would also like to thank Trustee Charlene Pfingstag and the musicians from CCM.

Janet Davis (45 years), Bonnie Paul (31 years) and Sallie Sumerel (30 years) were honored for their many years of service.

President Michael Katchman pictured with Cincinnati Children’s cardiologists Dr. Jim Cnota, Dr. Michael Taylor, Dr. Russel Hirsch and Dr. Tom Kimball

Trustees Bonnie Paul, Julie Balzano, Pam Farber and Sallie Sumerel

The Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Reds baseball go way back.  For many years, then Reds owner and CHAoC trustee, Marge Schott, hosted the Red’s Rally to raise money for advancement in the treatment of pediatric congenital heart disease.  This is CHAoC’s largest fundraiser to date.  After her death, former CHAoC president Bill Heckman said, “Marge has done more than any other citizen to improve the quality of life in Cincinnati”.  We are thankful to Marge for all she did to support the mission of the Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati.

In 1973, Dr. Samuel Kaplan (left), Dr. David Schwartz (right) and heart patients of Cincinnati Children’s met Reds manager Sparky Anderson on the field at Riverfront Stadium during the second annual Reds Rally.  The late Drs. Kaplan and Schwartz were both former cardiology division directors and trustees of the Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati.

Congratulations to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for being ranked third in the nation among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015-16 Best Children’s Hospitals ranking!  This is the fifth consecutive year at #3!  We’d also like to congratulate Cincinnati Children’s Cardiology and Heart Surgery for moving up from #9 to #7!  We are honored to be a part of such an amazing hospital so dedicated to becoming the leader in improving child health.

The Best Children’s Hospitals rankings highlight the top 50 pediatric facilities in the nation in 10 specialties.  Based on a combination of clinical data and reputational surveys of pediatric specialists, 83 of the 184 hospitals surveyed ranked in at least one specialty, while Cincinnati Children’s ranked in all of them.

Pulmonary #1

Cancer #2

Nephrology #2

Orthopedics #3

GI/GI Surgery #4

Urology #5

Neurology/Neurosurgery #6

Cardiology/Heart Surgery #7

Endocrinology #7

Neonatology #9

Click here to learn more about US News & World Report’s 2015-16 Best Children’s Hospitals

Here is your chance to win a free pass to Cincinnati’s Slide the City!  All you have to do is LIKE & SHARE on Facebook or TWEET & RETWEET on Twitter @ChildHeartCincy.  The winners will be drawn on June 1st.  Don’t forget that you can purchase additional discounted slides by entering code SLIDE4TCHA5.  You will receive 10% off and Slide the City will donate 10% to CHAoC!  Good luck!

The Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati is excited to announce that we’ve been selected to receive 10 passes to Slide the City, taking place on Saturday, June 20th! Stay tuned to find out how one of these passes can be yours!

If you or someone you know is planning to guarantee a slide by purchasing a single slide or slide package, use this code to receive 10% off: SLIDE4TCHA5. Slide the City will donate 10% of all slides purchased with this code to the Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati!

Click here to learn more about Cincinnati City Slide

We’d like to wish Dr. James Helmsworth a very Happy 100th Birthday!  As an extremely talented surgeon at Children’s Hospital, he was part of the team that created the Heart Lung Machine, making repairs of the interior heart possible. Dr. Helmsworth performed the first open heart surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the 1950’s.  Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati is proud to have been involved in the recruitment that brought him to Cincinnati many years ago.

WLWT News Story

On Sunday March 1, 2015, the Children’s Heart Association of Cincinnati hosted a celebration of our 75th birthday at EnterTrainment Junction in West Chester. Families were invited to enjoy lunch, view the world’s largest indoor model train display, play in Imagination Junction and the A Maze N Funhouse, as well as ride Thomas the Tank Engine. A few guests even went home with a colorful balloon! A great day was had by all and we thank our guests for joining in our celebration!

Trustee, Jack Wieland, brought his family out for the celebration.

Our annual wine tasting soirée was a great success! This year’s event took place on Friday, November 21st at the Celestial Steakhouse. There were over 50 in attendance, including some new faces. We look forward to next year!