Gail Tomlinson, M.D., Ph.D.,(back, left) and Thomas Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., (white coat) thanked Macy’s associates for donating blankets to cancer patients at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. Representing Macy’s are Amy Baenen, Rick Sandoval, Susan Banks and Kimberly Nappi.
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Boys and girls fighting cancer and blood disorders at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital smiled shyly as they received soft fleece blankets made by employees of Macy’s department stores on June 22.

The children are all patients of physicians from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio who staff the Howard A. Britton, M.D., Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. “While we can provide excellent and state-of-the-art medical care, the care of children with cancer goes far behind medicines. Through gifts like these, we are able to provide a nurturing and healing environment for the kids we care for,” said Thomas Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., professor and chairman of the Health Science Center’s department of pediatrics and physician-in-chief at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa.

Macy’s donation
Amy Baenen, regional vice president for Macy’s for South Central Texas, said that she and Rick Sandoval, general manager of the Ingram Park Macy’s, came up with the idea of providing the 210 employee-made blankets on the way back from delivering a check for more than $19,000 to the Health Science Center’s Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) in May to help fund children’s cancer research. “We were walking back out to our cars and wondering what we could do to continue this relationship,” she said. “Macy’s and our employees are passionate about this cause.”

Casandra Pearson, 10, snuggles with her new blanket.

Partners in Time
“The employees get together in the store after work to make these blankets,” explained Kimberly Nappi, regional director of visual merchandising and regional coordinator of the Partners in Time employee volunteer program. “Our associates wanted to give not just money, but also their time to provide something special to the children with cancer.” Each no-sew blanket takes about four hours to complete.

Children’s cancer
Gail Tomlinson, M.D., Ph.D., said, “The most common type of childhood cancer is leukemia, which is 80 percent curable. But there are some types of brain tumors have only a 10 percent survival rate, so we have a long way to go in finding cures for all children with cancer.” Tomlinson was recruited to the Health Science Center in January, where she serves as professor of pediatrics and deputy director of the Greehey CCRI. She also is director of pediatric hematology and oncology at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa.

Dr. Mayes noted that, in addition to staffing the department of pediatrics at the hospital, medical students, medical residents, nursing students and allied health sciences students from the Health Science Center rotate through CHRISTUS Santa Rosa. “The department of pediatrics and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa are very appreciative of the Macy’s donation,” he added. “We welcome inquiries about our missions and the children for whom we care.”