Photo (from left to right): Leopoldo Viana; Jackie Viana; Esteban Bovo, MCH Director of Community Affairs; Mathew Viana; Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart; Jonathan Viana, MCH patient; Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Oscar Mesa, MCH Patient and Family Services Manager.
Miami, FL - Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) patient Jonathan Viana and his family joined more than 30 other families from across the nation as part of the June 15-16, 2010 National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.) Family Advocacy Day.
The two-day event included one-on-one Congressional visits, a luncheon on Capitol Hill, a tour of Washington, D.C. and a celebratory dinner to honor the child patients known as Family Advocacy Day “All Stars.” Jonathan, age 12, traveled to the nation’s capital to discuss his personal health care story with lawmakers who are carefully monitoring how health reform implementation rolls out. Doctors discovered that Jonathan had a brain tumor when he was only two weeks old and has been a patient of Miami Children's Hospital since then.
About Miami Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Miami Children's Hospital® is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with several specialty programs ranked among the best in the nation in 2008, 2009 and 2010 by U.S.News & World Report. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor.
About the National Association of Children’s Hospitals
The National Association of Children’s Hospitals – N.A.C.H. – is the public policy affiliate of NACHRI. N.A.C.H. is a trade organization of 141 children’s hospitals and supports children’s hospitals in addressing public policy issues that affect their ability to fulfill their missions to serve children and their families. N.A.C.H. fulfills its mission and vision through federal advocacy, collaboration and communication designed to strengthen the ability of children’s hospitals and health systems to influence public policy makers, understand federal and state policy issues, advance access and quality of health care for all children, and sustain financially their missions of clinical care, education, research and advocacy.
For more information on Family Advocacy Day and to follow the event on Twitter (#FAD10), visit www.childrenshospitals.net.