The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, October 7, 2011 - 5A

Graduate student Kaitlin Phelps watches as volunteer Marlene South draws her blood in the School of N
first day of the annual UM vs. OSU Blood Battle on Friday.

BLOOD BATTLE
From Page 1A
field with 17 wins in the past 30
years. Iast year, Michigan beat
OSU with a total of 2,615 pints
of blood over OSU's 2,515. LSA
senior Carrie Burgess, Blood
Battle co-chair said while there
is an emphasis on donating more
pints than OSU, there are other
goals to the Blood Battle.
"Our main goal is to get as
many people involved as pos-
sible," she said. "We save tens of
thousands of lives each year."
In its 30-year history, the
Blood Battle has undergone
significant changes, Burgess
said. TheA event began in 1982
with eight, small drives and has
grown rapidly since then.
"We expand every year," Bur-
gess said. "Each year, we're look-
ing at getting new locations on
campus."
Mark Huizenga, the Blood
Services coordinator at the
Washtenaw County chapter of
the American Red Cross, said
students can make a huge differ-
ence in saving lives.
"It's a really wonderful com-
petition," Huizenga said. "We
look forward to it every year."
Huizenga added that the goals
for the Blood Battle are higher
than average blood drives. In one
Red Cross-sponsored drive, the
ELECTION
From Page 1A
endum - it's a matchup, and ...
the president's chances really
depend more on who the Repub-
lican nominee is," Traugott said.
"By that criteria, he is not in as
bad a shape."
In terms of congressional
races, Traugott said he doesn't
see big changes on the horizon,
but hypothesized that Demo-
crats may lose more seats to
Republicans. The new redistrict-
ing resulting from the 2010 U.S.
Census will also play a role in the
election.
"The recent history of redis-
tricting has been that more and
more seats are homogeneous and
safe for one party or the other,"
Traugott said. "So redistricting
is not going to be able to radi-
cally alter that particular part of
the calculation. There has been a
continuation of population shifts
from the North and the Midwest
down to the South and the South-
west, and these areas have gener-
ally become more Republican."
Democrats are more vulner-
able in the Senate because more
of them are up for re-election
in this cycle than Republicans,
Traugott added.
Political Science Prof. Vincent
Hutchings said the core of the
coalition that brought Obama to
power in 2008 will essentially
stay faithful, but the electoral
map will change noticeably from
the 2008 election. This will
make it difficult for Obama to
regain the support of states such
as Virginia and North Carolina.
However, Hutchings said the
assessment that the electoral
map "has been permanently
redrawn" since 2008 is "vastly
overblown."
Hutchings echoed Tragott's

sentiment that the economy is
the dominant issue going into
the election. He said the Obama
campaign will likely try to steer
the conversation away from eco-
nomics, while the GOP candidate
will probably focus almost exclu-
sively on it.
"If I'm Obama, I try to focus
on the bad qualities of my oppo-
nent, and if I'm the GOP candi-
date, I focus on the inability of

HOSPITAL
From Page 1A
According to Pat Warner,
executive director of the new
hospital, C.S. Mott emphasizes
patient and family centered
care. Unlike other children's
hospitals, the new hospital was
designed specifically with fami-
lies in mind, Warner said.
"We decided we would design
the facility from the patient and
family perspective wherever
possible," she said. "Tradition-
ally hospitals have always been
designed from the (health care)
provider's perspective."
Marie Lozon, director of pedi-
atric emergency services, said it
was important to look beyond
a typical clinical perspective
because caretakers have a dif-
ferent experience in the hospital
than their patients.
"If I need to do a spinal tap
on a child, I'm focused on get-
ting it just right and doing the
procedure correctly," Lozon
said. "What are the child and the
family focused on? They're terri-
fied."
To ensure visitor comfort,
amenities such as a meditation
space, family exercise room,
indoor playground and dining
area were included in the design
plan. Lozon said these spaces are
helpful to a family enduring a
long hospital stay.
"When you're suffering over
the pain and discomfort of your
child, you're worried and you're
fearful," she said. "But then if
you don't have the amenities, if
you don't have the proper food,
or if you don't have a place to get
clean, it's much worse."
Artwork by former patients
and professional artists fills the
brightly colored halls to create a
welcoming environment. Other
displays inspired by nature, like
large backlit photographs of
plants on campus, decorate the
building and highlight the prox-
imity to Nichols Arboretum just
a short walk from the facility.
Melanie Manos, curator of the
new Mott art collection, selected
the pieces that adorn the walls.
More than 200 works are fea-
tured and are valued collectively
at $1.8 million. Manos said it was
important to not only choose
typical children's art.
"We were trying to create an
environment that could reach

multiple generations," she said.
"We wanted parents, teenagers
and children of all ages to be able
to enjoy it."
Manos said people often find
it difficult to handle the hospi-
tal environment when spending
so much time by the bedside of
a sick loved one. To try to allevi-
ate some of the emotional stress
of the process, Manos and her
team tried to make the building
look a little less like a traditional
hospital.
"Sometimes you just need to
get away," she said. "And this
way, patients can feel like they're
somewhere else."
Photographer Edda Pacifico
contributed a special exhibit
to the museum in the new-
born intensive care unit. The
wall, titled "Wall of Hope," is
designed to reassure worried
patients and families by por-
traying stories of success. It
features small black and white
photos of infants born prema-
turely next to larger color pho-
tographs of them at an older age
doing an activity they enjoy.
The snapshots feature chil-
dren horseback riding and skate
boarding, among other favorite
childhood pastimes. In one shot,
twins born prematurely, who are
now in their teens, reach for a
basketball in mid-air during an
intense one-on-one game.
The project was especially
important to Pacifico because
her twin daughters were born
prematurely at the original Mott
hospital.
"My daughters were patients
here, and it's just an amazing
feeling to be able to give some-
thing back to the hospital," she
said.
Now they are 8 years old, and
a picture of them is included in
"Wall of Hope," in which they
embrace while barefoot and
smile at the faces of future anx-
ious parents.
Warner said the commitment
to create a positive atmosphere
for patients was the driving
force behind every choice on the
building's aesthetics.
"We were committed to create
an environment that would be
supportive, restful, healing and
fun," Warner said.
It might surprise some to hear
a hospital described as fun, War-
ner said. But she explained that
when administrators thought
about which rooms to include in

the new building, they decided
that play facilities were impor-
tant.
"Even when our children are
sick they still want to play," War-
ner said. "They still want to have
fun. You can't forget that when
you're taking care of children."
The playroom was designed
with an athletic theme, featuring
a mural and a light fixture that
plays "Hail to the Victors" when
activated. Warner said the room
is a reflection of the hospital's
close relationship with the Uni-
versity's Athletic Department.
In recent years, student-ath-
letes on a variety of University
teams have visited children at
the hospital on Thursday nights.
Warner said children staying in
the hospital love the visits, and
the playroom was a way to build
on that excitement.
She added that one of the
beloved aspects of the University
is its commitment to athletics,
and the hospital wanted to draw
on that attraction that brings so
many people to Ann Arbor.
"If we were in Orlando, maybe
Disney would be the focus,"
Warner said. "But here at the
(University), it's about athletics."
Many of the families who
spent time in the former hospital
buildingand those who are going
to move into the new building
were present at the open house
to celebrate the space. One par-
ent, Scott Newport, project assis-
tant for the hospital's Patient &
Family Centered Care Program,
began working in the Univer-
sity of Michigan Hospital Sys-
tem after spending time in the
former Mott building when his
son Evan was sick. After his son
passed away, Newport became
committed to the C.S. Mott com-
munity and continued to provide
support for other parents.
"The hospital has always had
a great staff, loving nurses, sup-
portive doctors and great leader-
ship. But they didn't havea place
like this," Newport said of the
new facility.
Newport added that he
thinks the hospital administra-
tors followed through with their
promise to make sure families
were included in the redesign
process.
"I think they really realized
4hey)needed to take (that inclu-
sion) to the next level," he said.
"And they're puttingtheir money
where their mouth is."

goal is typically 25 to 30 pints.
During the Blood Battle, many
of the individual drives bring in
200 pints or more.
While the Blood Battle is the
biggest partnership with the
Washtenaw County American
Red Cross, Huizenga said the
"partnership lasts all year" since
students continue to donate
blood outside of the competition.
Burgess acknowledged stu-
dent's anxiety about giving blood
as an obstacle to receiving more
donors, but she urged students
not to be nervous.
"It's really not as bad as you
think," she said. "Think of the
end result. Ultimately, that
should be enough to overcome
that initial state of fear."

For Mueting, he had no con-
cern about donating blood, and
he feels all eligible students
should participate. He added that
taking advantage of the rivalry
with OSU encourages students to
donate.
"I think it's a really good idea
(to donate) ..." he said. "It helps
people that need it because you
never know when you might
need it too."
Huizenga encouraged poten-
tial donors to hydrate properly
the day they give blood, avoid
caffeinated drinks and eat
healthy, iron-rich foods to "help
the experience go smoother."
"It only takes an hour, but you
can help someone for the rest of
their life," Huizenga said.


the current administration to
solve the economic problems,"
Hutchings said.
For Republican students on
campus, the nomination process
is not about endorsing one can-
didate. According to LSA junior
Brian Koziara, vice chair of the
University's chapter of College
.Republicans, the organization's
members have formed subgroups
within the group to campaign for
their favored GOP candidates,
including former Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota
Rep. Michelle Bachmann and
Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
"These are interest groups,
they talk about the candidates
and they've done grassroots
stuff for those candidates here
in Michigan," Koziara said. "It's
just the mobilization stage, get-
ting people involved, getting
people recruited for next year."
After the primaries, Koziara
said the College Republicans
will begin registering voters,
canvassing door to door and tak-
ing trips to other districts in the
state to campaign not just for the
presidential race, but for "races
down the ticket."
"The presidential candidate is
like the general in the battlefield,
and he or she will help to rally
the troops and turn out the vote
for those tickets farther down
the ballot," Koziara said.
For politically active Demo-
cratic students, the procedure is

and motivate its members. For
Caldwell, issues such as health
care and student loans play into
the broader economic debate,
and she believes Obama can win
on those issues.
"History has shown us that
Democrats do better when
the economy is the top issue,"
Caldwell said.
In the 2008 election, more
than 70 percent of Univer-
sity students voted for Obama,
according to Public Policy senior
Joe Sandman, spokesman for
College Democrats.
Sandman said issues that were
important in the 2008 campaign,
such as the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, are receiving less
attention. While these issues are
still important to some voters, he
said domestic economic issues
have overshadowed them.
However, both Caldwell and
Sandman said they are optimis-
tic about the chances of the Dem-
ocrats in congressional races,
particularly in Michigan. Mem-
bers of the organization plan to
work for Democratic candidates
and assist to register voters at
the University in a program
called District Invasions.
"Our number one issue is reg-
istering students to vote and
making sure that everyone has
all the correct information about
what they need to go to the polls,


CONTRACT
From Page 1A
tions to the contract, according to
the UMHS press release.
Amid ongoing negotiations,
Ora Pescovitz, the University's
executive vice president for medi-
cal affairs, praised the work of
University nurses and supported a
resolution to the bargaining nego-
tiations in her State of the Health
System address on Sept. 28.
"Our nurses are really on the

front line of seeing our patients,"
she said in her speech. "Our nurs-
es are criticalto creatingthe ideal
patient care experience."
Last month marked a mile-
stone for both parties when
UMHS and the Professional
Nurse Council reached their first
tentative agreement - which
came just over a week after hun-
dreds of nurses and supporters
rallied in downtown Ann Arbor
for a finalized contract.
UMHS nurse Katie Oppen-
heim, chair of the University of

Michigan Professional Nurse
Council, said at the time that the
nurses were "unanimously rec-
ommending" the ratification of
the tentative agreement.
In the Michigan Nurses Asso-
ciation press release, Oppenheim
called the finalized agreement a
"win" for all parties.
"Our nurses came together to
stand up for what they believed
she wrote. "It was the strength
and unity of our union that has
allowed us to push forward to
such a successful settlement."

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the same, but the goal is differ-
ent - campaigning to keep the
president in office and spreading
the word about what they see as
the administration's successes.
LSA senior Amanda Caldwell,
chair of the University's chapter
of College Democrats, is leading
her group to promote the presi-
dent's policies as a way to secure
re-election.
"We had record-breaking
phone banks with students on
campus making calls in support
of health care reform," Caldwell
said. "We've also been out on the
Diag handing out some informa-
tion about the stuff that (Obama
has) done for student loan
reform."
The College Democrats also
held an event called the "Youth
Launch Campaign" to form a
general plan for the campaign


Campus Mind Works Groups

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FREE drop-in education and support
groups for any U-M student with
Depression, Bipolar, or Anxiety
Seasonal Affective Disorder
and Depression
When: Tuesday, November 8
from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Where: Chrysler Center, Room 133,
North Campus
Visit www.campusmindworks.org
for more information.

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