Taylor Family Foundation Board tours Pediatric Intensive Care

Members from the Taylor Family Foundation tour the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Simulation Room at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. (L to R) Steve Wagner, Development Officer, CHOA; Lynette Alt, Taylor Family Foundation; Katlyn Foulks, Taylor Family Foundation; Noah Foulks, Taylor Family Foundation; Kiran Hebbar, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; Mike Taylor, Taylor Family Foundation; and Marcia Taylor, President, Taylor Family Foundation

(L to R) Steve Wagner, Development Officer, CHOA; Lynette Mathis, Taylor Family Foundation; Katlyn Foulks, Taylor Family Foundation; Noah Foulks, Taylor Family Foundation; Kiran Hebbar, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; Mike Taylor, Taylor Family Foundation; and Marcia Taylor, President, Taylor Family Foundation

The Taylor Family Foundation Board members tour Pediatric Intensive Care and Simulation Room at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

In June 2013, the Taylor Family Foundation made a donation to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in support of its mission to support children and provide quality healthcare. In May 2014, board members of the Taylor Family Foundation, including Marcia Taylor, president, and Lynette Mathis, Taylor’s daughter and board member, toured the children’s health care facility located on Clifton Road to see firsthand the impact the foundation’s donation has made at the hospital, its staff, its patients, and the community.

Kiran Hebbar, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, led the group on the tour of the facility. During the tour Taylor and the others were shown the Pediatric Intensive Care and Simulation Room, a regular hospital room equipped with special teaching tools where health care workers train and practice to update and perfect their skills.

Kiran Hebbar, M.D. demonstrates the Vein Viewer Vision to members of the Taylor Family Foundation during a tour of the CHOA facility.

Kiran Hebbar, M.D. demonstrates the Vein Viewer Vision to members of the Taylor Family Foundation during a tour of the CHOA facility.

A crucial element included in the simulation room is a mechanical (simulator) infant that, when programmed, can mimic symptoms of a number of medical conditions and emergency situations. Once the infant is programmed for a specific medical condition, medical personnel can practice on the infant as if it were a real life situation. Near the simulation room there is an area where doctors and health care workers can control the infant and observe how the medical personnel react as they practice their skills, something that Hebbar said was so very valuable to the hospital when it comes to patient care. Eventually, CHOA would like to take the simulation room on the road by way of a mobile simulation room to provide training at other facilities in and around the metro Atlanta area.

In addition to the simulation room, a portion of the donation went to purchase what’s called Vein Viewer Vision for the CHOA satellite facility located in Henry County on Hudson Bridge Road.

The Vein Viewer Vision, a patch that is placed over one’s hand, forearm, or other area, uses technology that allows clinicians to visualize the location of veins using infrared light that highlight the veins underneath the skin. This helps the medical staff avoid multiple “sticks” when accessing a vein for procedures such as drawing blood or starting an I.V.; and fewer sticks result in less pain for younger patients giving them better overall experience.

Kiran Hebbar, M.D. demonstrates the mechanical (simulator) infant for Marcia Taylor and Taylor Family Foundation members as they tour the facility.

Kiran Hebbar, M.D. demonstrates the mechanical (simulator) infant for Marcia Taylor and Taylor Family Foundation members as they tour the facility.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a not-for-profit organization that relies on the generous financial donations and volunteer support of the community. Equipment like the Pediatric Intensive Care and Simulation Room and the Vein Viewer Vision aren’t included in the hospital’s operating budget, and therefore, is purchased only from additional donations made outside of the operating budget.

At one time or another a few of Taylor’s own grandchildren have been patients at CHOA for medical procedures, so the family understands how important it is to have the best medical care with well-trained doctors and nurses. The donation to CHOA hits close to home and is part of the overall goal of the Taylor Family Foundation.

“Because our family has a heart for children, it was important that we did something to help children,” Mathis said. “And that was our main goal making this donation to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.”

For more information about the Taylor Family Foundation, visit https://www.thetaylorfoundation.org/.