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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hope Street Kids Awards $100,000 to Columbus Children's Hospital for Development of Palliative Care Training Curriculum for Pediatric Oncologists

Columbus, September 27, 2004 — Columbus, OH - At a press conference today, Hope Street Kids Founders Congresswoman Deborah Pryce and Randy Walker announced a research award in the amount of $100,000 to Columbus Children's Hospital. The grant award will support a study to develop a palliative care training curriculum for pediatric oncologists at the hospital.

Hope Street Kids' mission is to eliminate childhood cancer through cutting-edge research, advocacy and education. The organization was founded by Congresswoman Pryce and Mr. Walker in 1999 after the death of their nine-year-old daughter, Caroline, to an aggressive form of childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma.

Palliative care is the term used when the care or relief of pain and suffering becomes a priority greater than or equal to the cure of the patient’s disease. The development of this curriculum will allow for a family-centered, collaborative transfer of the patient's needs into the hands of capable and highly trained professionals.

Dr. Kathryn Klopfenstein serves as the principal investigator on the project, with Dr. Cynthia Gerhardt and Dr. Tammy Young-Saleme serving as co-investigators. Klopfenstein is Medical Director for Columbus Children’s Hospice, Gerhardt has specialized in bereavement and cancer for the past 12 years, and Young-Saleme is a pediatric psychologist who specializes in hematology/oncology.

Congresswoman Deborah Pryce said, "This is a great step in improving the quality of care that our critically ill children receive during their last days. This training will create more qualified doctors, who will in turn move on to other institutions to teach what they know to others, and will also provide peace of mind to families in their greatest hours of need."

The study, Development of Palliative Care Education for Pediatric Oncologists, was awarded a two-year, $100,000 grant from Hope Street Kids in the organization’s 2004 round of funding. The study began officially on July 1 of this year, and will continue until June 30 of 2006. The study will be partially underwritten by National City.

"At National City, we strongly support efforts that improve the quality of healthcare," said Mike Gonsiorowski, National City president and CEO, Central Region, who is also a trustee of Children’s Hospital Foundation. "The research and education this study offers will be crucial to enhancing the care this region’s outstanding medical professionals provide to our critically ill children."

Congresswoman Pryce and Mr. Walker joined the Principal and Co-Investigators today at Columbus Children’s Hospital to announce this exciting new project to the media and community. They were joined by Mr. Gonsiorowski and Dr. Thomas Hansen.

Please call Robin Stock at Hope Street Kids or Amy Ranalli at Columbus Children’s for more information. Additional information about Hope Street Kids and/or Columbus Children’s can be obtained at www.hopestreetkids.org or www.columbuschildrens.org.

About Hope Street Kids:
Our Vision
Hope Street Kids envisions a world without childhood cancer. To achieve this goal, Hope Street Kids sustains both public and private research efforts through fundraising initiatives, and provides leadership in advocating new and innovative research investigations. Hope Street Kids is dedicated to translating the latest scientific breakthroughs into effective treatment and prevention strategies to improve the quality of life for all children. This diligent effort will continue until current and future advances in cancer treatment and prevention produce the HOPE for a new generation of children and adults free from cancer.


About Children's Hospital:
Columbus Children’s Hospital is a healthcare network that provides wellness, preventive, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative care for infants, children, adolescents and selected adult patients. A medical staff of more than 750 and a hospital staff of nearly 4,000 provide state-of-the-art pediatric care for 500,000 patient visits annually. Children's is home to Ohio’s first Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and its Columbus Children's Research Institute is one of the top ten National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More than 75,000 consumers receive health and wellness education each year and affiliation agreements with nearly 100 institutions allow more than 1,700 students and 500 residents to receive training at Children's. The preferred pediatric provider in Central Ohio since 1892, Columbus Children's Hospital is dedicated exclusively to full-service health care for children - serving every child for every reason. More information is available by calling (614) 722-KIDS (5437) or through the hospital’s Web site at http://www.columbuschildrens.com

About National City:
National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the nation's largest financial holding companies. The company operates through an extensive banking network primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania, and also serves customers in selected markets nationally. Its core businesses include commercial and retail banking, consumer finance, asset management, mortgage financing and servicing, and payment processing. For more information about National City, visit the company’s Web site at NationalCity.com.

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Contacts
Robin Stock Amy Ranalli
Hope Street Kids Columbus Children’s
614-228-4820 614-722-4592
rmstock@rrohio.com ranallia@chi.osu.edu


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