Pediatric Surgery Chief leads record-setting benefit for March of Dimes

By Josh Shepherd
University of Kentucky Department of Surgery

The 2016 Greater Bluegrass Signature Chefs Auction set a new fundraising record for this event on Friday night, Nov. 4, at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort, according to Dr. Joe Iocono, division chief of ��ɫ�� Pediatric Surgery, who served as the event chair this year.

The event, which was presented by ��ɫ�� HealthCare, raised over $165,000 for the March of Dimes Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the health care needs of newborn infants and mothers. The event also increased its attendance by nearly 25 percent from 2015, according to Whitney Elswick, Development Manager for this region of the March of Dimes. Elswick credits a great deal of the event’s success to Dr. Iocono’s leadership and the work of his “amazing Executive Leadership Team.”

Team members and volunteers who came from the University of Kentucky included Dr. Wendy Hansen, Gwen Moreland, Ann Smith, Dr. Carol Steltenkamp, Colleen Swartz, Casie Trimble-Stevens, Byron Gabbard, Penny Gilbert, and William W. Stoops.

“There were a lot more outside of ��ɫ�� who helped, too,” Elswick noted. “We are so thrilled by the results and know that we could not have done it without the support of such great volunteers.”

The Signature Chefs Auction consisted of several different fundraising events, including a light-hearted gourmet hors d’oeuvres competition among a dozen chefs from area restaurants, food trucks, and hospitals in the region. Offerings ran the gamut from variations on traditional appetizers and original barbecue recipes to more exotic creations using buffalo, lamb, and fresh water mussels.

Participants included the Athenian Grill, Brasabana Cuban Cuisine, The Gastro Gnomes, J. Render’s Southern Table, Joella’s Hot Chicken, The Lockbox at 21C Museum Hotel, Nick Ryan’s, and Sonny’s Real Pit Barbecue. Hospital food services also joined in the competition with Mike Montes of St. Claire Regional Medical Center, Jeff Mayer of Baptist Health, and the evening’s lead chef, Justin Clark of ��ɫ�� HealthCare.

There was also a silent auction, heads or tails competition, and a live auction hosted by the Bermuda Mavericks, a comedy duo featuring Les McCurdy and Ken Sons. A highlight from the auction was a spirited bidding war for a NICU holiday party. Dr. Carol Steltenkamp concluded the fundraising with an old fashioned call for guests to “Fund the Mission” with tax-deductible donations.

The focus of the Signature Chefs event is to raise awareness about the critical care needs of infants born premature. It is also a celebration of the skills of health care professionals in neonatal care, from the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) to the Pediatric Surgical teams, all of whom confront the myriad complications that arise with premature newborns on a daily basis.

“My reason for chairing the event is that the March of Dimes provides services and research funding for our most at risk population, premature babies,” Dr. Iocono said. As a symbol of that progress, and to demonstrate the importance of the March of Dimes, Dr. Iocono invited Misty and Stephen Thompson to share the story of their son, Connor, who was born 14 weeks premature.

According to a statement written by Dr. Misty Thompson, OB/GYN, Connor’s premature birth was forced upon the family by a pregnancy complication that threatened the life of mother and child. Connor Thompson was born on February 20, 2013 weighing no more than 1.5 pounds, she said.

As a further illustration of Connor’s frailty at birth, Dr. Iocono showed a photograph of Connor next to a standard sized ink pen. The infant was barely longer than the pen. “We used that pen as a gauge to measure Connor’s progress as we nurtured him from NICU to term,” Dr. Iocono said.

“He spent 74 days in the NICU at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. He had a very difficult start to life including five major surgeries, multiple procedures, and blood transfusions,” she wrote.

When Connor was about nine months old, Misty noticed another complication, a suspected bowel obstruction, and called Dr. Iocono at 4 am to say that Connor was on his way to the hospital. “Dr. Iocono calmly told me that whatever came up, we got it. That was very reassuring to us.” Connor came through the surgery and continues to thrive.

Dr. Iocono became involved with the Signature Chefs Auction as one of the competing chefs. Chairing the event was simply the next logical level of participation. He is glad to have led the event to a successful conclusion and looks forward to returning next year as one of the Signature Chefs.