Some say it takes heart to work in a children’s hospital, and I agree. Every day we see heroes — the big ones and, of course, the little ones. We do what we do for the children. We also do it for the parents, the siblings, the extended family, and the friends. Here at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, we all are dedicated to delivering the best in patient care, medical education and research right to you, your children, the Ann Arbor area, the state, the nation and the world.

Patients travel from all parts of the world to receive care in the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center (MCHC). From specialized prenatal diagnosis to open-heart surgery, the MCHC provides some of the best care available anywhere for infants, children, adolescents and adults with congenital heart defects and diseases.

This issue features some of the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Center’s heroes — people like parents Colleen and Mike Schomaker, whose lives were turned around by their son Tommy’s serious heart condition; a U-M nursing student who has a heart for working with young children; pediatric cardiac care surgeons whose surgical outcomes and research are world renowned; and all of the specialized staff who are so important to providing for the numerous needs of the patients and their families. We also recognize the behind-the-scenes heroes such as Tom and Maureen Murray, who have supported the U-M Congenital Heart Center for over a decade, and the Carls Foundation and the Mott Foundation, whose grants will help us build our next children’s and women’s hospital.

The nursing student featured on pages 8 and 9 talks about the complexities of working with young patients, and then says, "But I wouldn’t have it any other way." We wouldn’t have it any other way, either. That could be the reason publications such as Child magazine named us as one of the top children’s hospitals in the United States — and a leader in the specialties of pediatric orthopaedics and cardiac care.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. Warner
Associate Hospital Director
Chief Administrative Officer, C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
The University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers