First Coast Register August/September 2015 | Page 44

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Wolfson Children’s Hospital garnered national attention in May
when a team of 17 pediatric surgeons, anesthesiologists and other
surgical professionals worked together to separate conjoined
twins Conner and Carter Mirabal. The miraculous 12-hour surgery
brings into focus the importance of The Women’s Board’s current
funding target, the Pediatric Surgery Center of Distinction.
The twins were born facing each other with livers and bile
ducts fused and small intestine attached. Due to a dangerous,
unanticipated rupture in their abdomen after their birth at UF
Health Jacksonville, the boys were immediately transferred to
Wolfson Children’s Hospital via the Kids Kare Mobile Intensive
Care Unit, provided through The Women’s Board. Since their birth,
250 health care professionals have treated the twins at Wolfson.
The Mirabal twins are the first conjoined twins separated in
Jacksonville. Conjoined twins are very rare, with estimates ranging
from one in 100,000—200,000 births.
The objective of Wolfson’s Pediatric Surgery Center of
Distinction is to enable the most skilled surgical staff to work
on advancing surgical techniques, expand the use of minimally
invasive and robotic surgery and help the hospital meet the needs
of pediatric trauma patients. The Women’s Board has pledged
$4 million for the Center over five years. In an incredible boost to
that target, the funds will be matched at 150 percent, bringing the
total contribution to $10 million. For 43 years, The Women’s Board
has been committed to raising funds to help lives of thousands of
hurting and sick children in our community and beyond.
The Women’s Board relies on the generous support of local
businesses and individuals in this community to raise the much-

44 August - September 2015 | First Coast Register

needed funds for facilities and services at Wolfson, a private
hospital that gives almost $40 million annually in uncompensated
and charity care, so that no child is ever turned away.
When you make a donation to Wolfson Children’s Hospital
you give to a special place where miracles like the Mirabal twins
happen every day. And your giving this year will be matched at
150 percent through the generous matching grant. This means a
donation of $50 becomes $125, and a donation of $10,000 becomes
$25,000.
For more information about donating to The Women’s Board
and our two signature events, The Art and Antiques Show and the
Florida Forum, please visit www.womensboardwch.com or call
904.202.2886.
The mission of The Women’s Board is to further awareness in
the community of the services and facilities of Wolfson Children’s
Hospital and to raise funds to ensure the finest available pediatric
health care.