“It’s been a huge advantage for them,” Cardiologist Michael Vance said. “They’re getting off of the ventilators, eating better, and getting out of the hospital sooner.”

NORFOLK, Va. – CHKD is saluting 7-month-old Zoe Irby of Virginia Beach and other heart patients like her during Heart Month of February, along with Congenital Heart Disease Week, which runs from February 7 to 14. 

Zoe was born with an opening between the two main vessels in the heart that usually closes on its own when a baby starts breathing. But like many premature, low birth weight babies, the opening in Zoe’s heart did not close after she was born last June. Medication or surgery are two options doctors usually turn to next. Medication didn’t help Zoe. Since she only weighed 1 pound, 3 ounces at birth, surgery would be a risky option.

Last year, though, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved a new device called the  Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder to treat tiny babies like Zoe. The self-expanding wire mesh device is inserted through a small incision in the leg and guided through vessels to the heart. 

While larger devices like this had been available for bigger babies with the defect, which is called patent ductus arteriosus, they were too big for the nearly 12,000 low weight babies born a year with this same defect. 

Dr. Michael Vance, a cardiologist at CHKD, was in the first batch of doctors from about a dozen pediatric centers across the country to be trained to use a miniaturized version approved by the FDA in January of 2019 and developed by the healthcare company Abbott.

On July 18, Zoe was the first baby at CHKD to undergo the Piccolo treatment. Three days later, she was breathing so much better that she was taken off the ventilator. She gained weight. By September, she was discharged home, and has continued to thrive.

Since then, four more babies at CHKD have had the same procedure. 

“It’s been a huge advantage for them,” Dr. Vance said. “They’re getting off of the ventilators, eating better, and getting out of the hospital sooner.”

Zoe’s mother, Cheyenne Irby of Virginia Beach, said her baby is reaching her development milestones, and her pediatrician has been pleased with her progress. “It was scary at first to try something so new, but the procedure didn’t take long, and Zoe started doing so much better afterwards.”

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Hometown hero David Wright, former captain of the New York Mets, hosted the 10th and final Vegas-Style “Wright Night” January 17, with hundreds enjoying the fundraiser to benefit CHKD kids at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The night of casino gaming, cocktails, and a live auction raised $xxx,000 for the children’s hospital, for a 10-year total of more than $1.6 million. CHKD honored Wright, a seven-time All-Star third baseman, and his wife, Molly Beers, by naming the playroom on the 8th floor of the hospital after the couple.

Born in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake, Wright has been a long-time supporter of CHKD, regularly visiting the hospital to play games and talk baseball with the children. He has retired as a Mets player, and now works for the Mets’ front office as a special advisor to the team. He recently was nominated to the 2020 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

“I’d like to recognize David Wright for his support in hosting a decade of fundraisers for CHKD, and for the countless hours he has spent lifting the spirits of our patients in the playroom and at their bedsides,” said CHKD President and CEO Jim Dahling. “His selfless commitment has been an enduring benefit, not just to CHKD, but to the whole community.”

Major sponsors of this year’s event include the David Wright Foundation, The New York Mets Foundation, Capital Group, Charles Barker Automotive, and more.

CHKD patient Tymiere Grayson presents David Wright and his wife, Molly Beers, a gift of appreciation for a decade of hosting a casino night fundraiser for CHKD.

Mr. Met dances the night away with CHKD patient Julian Garcia.

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CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers, and satellite offices throughout its service region. Learn more at CHKD.org.

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters is pleased to welcome Dr. Mary Margaret Gleason to CHKD as vice chief of the mental health program.

Dr. Gleason earned her medical degree at Columbia University, and completed a triple board residency training program in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, RI. She completed a fellowship in infant and early childhood psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

At CHKD, Dr. Gleason, a pediatrician and child and adolescent psychiatrist, will lead the academic child psychiatry program. With the growing mental health team, she will develop a new fellowship program, support faculty development and clinical programming, and promote research.

Dr. Gleason will also be treating patients in CHKD’s mental health program. She’s trained to treat children of all ages, but has specialized training in working with children under 6, especially those who have experienced traumatic or stressful life events, as well as children with chronic medical conditions.

Before coming to CHKD, Dr. Gleason was on the faculty at Tulane University School of Medicine and at Brown University in Providence. She worked closely with the state of Louisiana to develop programs that expand child mental health services across the state, especially in rural areas, and to support pediatricians, obstetricians, and other healthcare professionals in addressing children's mental health needs. In her research, Dr. Gleason has studied interventions designed to ensure that children at risk for mental health concerns are identified early and have access to quality interventions.

Dr. Mary Margaret Gleason

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CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers and satellite offices throughout its service region. Learn more at CHKD.org

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Baseball All-Star David Wright will step up to the plate for CHKD as host of Wright Night, an evening event of casino gaming and cocktails in a Vegas-style setting.

The seven-time All-Star third baseman for the New York Mets will host the 10th annual event at the Virginia Beach Convention Center on January 17 at 7 p.m. Wright, former third baseman and team captain of the Mets, is now a special advisor for the team. He recently was nominated to the 2020 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Before the benefit, Wright will greet fans at a special VIP Meet and Greet gathering at 5:30 p.m. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit CHKD.org/DavidWright.

Born in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake, Wright has been a longtime supporter of CHKD, dropping by the hospital to play games and talk baseball with children. In 2011, he hosted his first Vegas-style event, which has raised more than $1.5 million for CHKD.

Major sponsors of this year’s event include the David Wright Foundation, The New York Mets Foundation, Capital Group, Charles Barker Automotive, and more. To learn about additional sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kate Ryan, CHKD development officer, at (757) 668-9066 or Kate.Ryan@CHKD.org.

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CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers, and satellite offices throughout its service region. Learn more at CHKD.org.

NORFOLK, Va. – The state’s only inpatient pediatric rehabilitation center will unveil a major renovation this week that features “ZeroG” technology, a robotic body-weight support device that will help children at CHKD gain the balance and strength to stand and walk after injuries and illnesses.

That’s just one feature of a year-long, $3.7 million renovation project that brings leading-edge technology to patients who are recovering from conditions such as traumatic brain injury, strokes, car accidents, and spinal injuries. The device will also help patients recovering from surgery and those with chronic conditions like cerebral palsy and developmental delays.

The ZeroG system, developed by Aretech, will hold and support patients from a robotic device that glides across an overhead track the length of a therapy gym ceiling, allowing patients to practice walking, going up stairs, and going from sitting to standing, without fear of falling. The system also can be adjusted to allow gradually more weight to be borne by the patient as they regain strength.

The “Soar” theme of the renovated unit includes U.S. Navy “Blue Angels” plane formations on the walls, and nurse stations that look like aircraft hangars, along with “runway” hallways with markers to motivate patients to walk and wheel themselves greater distances.

Navy pilots and former rehabilitation patients will join current patients, staff, and CHKD officials to celebrate the grand opening at noon on Thursday, October 17.

The rehabilitation inpatient unit treats more than 100 patients a year, who stay an average of three to four weeks. People come from all over the commonwealth and neighboring states. The renovated unit has eight private rooms with patient lifts that are attached to the ceiling and move along a track to the bathroom, for the safety of patients and staff. Patients began moving into the rooms in late August, but the therapy gym was only recently completed.

A suite of rooms simulates a home-like setting where patients can learn how to do daily activities like cooking, laundry, and dressing. One of the bathrooms looks like one you’d find in a regular house instead of a hospital so patients can prepare to transition home.

“The state-of-the-art technology on the unit aims to optimize functional recovery and independence for our patients,” said Dr. Katrina Lesher, medical director of CHKD’s physical medicine and rehabilitation program.

Members of the media are invited for tours of the unit during the grand opening. Please call or email Elizabeth Earley, elizabeth.earley@chkd.org or (757) 477-7286 in advance, if you will be attending, to meet in the lobby for an escort to the unit.

CHKD Physical Therapist Michael Graham guides 5-year-old Lucas Guinn through a physical therapy session using ZeroG technology at CHKD's newly renovated therapy gym. The CHKD patient is relearning to walk after suffering a stroke in September.

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CHKD is the only freestanding children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers, and satellite offices throughout its service region. Learn more at CHKD.org.