Children S Hospital

The Rev. Javan M. McBurrows was a strict disciplinarian who spanked a 4-year-old boy in his care for wetting his pants the night before he died, his wife told police early yesterday morning. But she emphatically denied that Mr. McBurrows beat any of the eight children living with them. The family fled Pennsylvania early Saturday morning after learning that the boy had died, she said, because Mr. McBurrows feared that the seven remaining children in his care, including five of his own, would be taken from him. Authorities have told Mr. McBurrows' attorney that they intend to charge the minister with homicide in the death of the child, Michael Davis of North Philadelphia.

District 1199C of AFSCME's National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reached a tentative agreement on a new contract covering 1,300 workers, mostly support staff, the union said. The union said it is still in contract negotiations with 12 other area employers, including Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Hahnemann University Hospital, and Temple University Health System. Existing agreements at those facilities expire Sunday and cover about 6,000 additional workers, the union said.

Cherylle Staley, a woman who became so caught up in the tale of pregnancy she concocted for friends that she abducted a baby, yesterday pleaded guilty to kidnapping and related charges. "She wanted a baby, basically. She felt the baby made a difference with her boyfriend," said Assistant District Attorney Beverly Muldrow, after the plea was entered. Staley, 21, told friends late in April that she was about to go to Delaware to deliver the child she had told them she was expecting.

A man who fled Northeast Philadelphia with his 3-year-old daughter last night after a triple murder appeared at a New Jersey hospital less than two hours later with the child, and both had suffered gunshot wounds. Keith Scavo, 43, was being treated at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/Stratford Division for a gunshot wound to the chest, officials said. He was in serious condition. His daughter, Giovanna, was moved by ambulance to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and she arrived just after 10 p.m. Her condition was listed as fair.

Joy Ellen Spering, 29, of Cinnaminson, who at age 6 fought off a rare and deadly blood-clotting disease, surviving nearly 40 operations at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, died Monday of complications from the disease, purpura fulminans, at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-University Medical Center/ Cherry Hill. Ms. Spering's struggle with purpura fulminans began when two bruises appeared on her legs during a bout with chicken pox. The bruises grew darker and larger by the hour. Karen and Kenneth Spering took their daughter to the hospital, where the disorder was diagnosed.

Many years ago, specialists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recognized an obstacle in diagnosing and treating fetal abnormalities and babies born with life-threatening defects.The babies had to be delivered at adult hospitals, then transferred to Children's Hospital. This added medical and logistical challenges for hospitals and the families. Now, the hospital is celebrating a milestone in its solution to the problem: the 1,000th baby was recently born in its Special Delivery Unit.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia plans a building project almost as big as the Comcast Center or One Liberty Place - but not so tall - on nine acres it has bought stretching from South Street south along Schuylkill Avenue. Children's Hospital has asked builders to submit proposals for one million square feet of offices and labs at the site of the former John F. Kennedy Vocational Technical School and the neighboring Springfield Beverage site. The school, in a former U.S. Marine Corps tank warehouse, was gutted by developer Sam Switzenbaum for a condo project that was canceled after the real estate market crashed.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health Thursday issued its most complete report to date of hospital infections, finding that a disproportionate number of poor-performing facilities were in Philadelphia. Those with high infection rates included some of the city's most storied hospitals, such as Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Executives at both institutions said they had made progress since 2009, the year the report focused on. And experts cautioned against using the report to compare hospitals, because the methodology to track infections is evolving.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia apologized Wednesday for the way it had communicated with the parents of Amelia Rivera, the 3-year-old disabled girl whose parents want her to have a kidney transplant. In a statement released with the approval of the Riveras, the hospital expressed regret for how it had handled the situation. Joe and Chrissy Rivera gained national attention in January when they said a hospital physician had recommended against such a transplant because of her mental disability.

William L. Van Alen, 95, an architect, tennis champion and philanthropist whose firm designed major public buildings including portions of Philadelphia International Airport, died of heart failure Thursday at his home in North Palm Beach, Fla. He was a longtime resident of Willistown, Chester County, before moving to Florida in 1990. Mr. Van Alen and two partners formed the Carroll Grisdale & Van Alen architecture firm on Rittenhouse Square in 1946. The company was responsible for designing several public buildings, including the Youth Study Center, sections of Philadelphia International Airport, and what is now Wilson Hall, a part of Moore College of Art & Design.

Anger management for Christie It's time for Gov. Christie to stop "bullying" and take an anger management class ("Christie erupts at the Shore," Saturday). His behavior is disrespectful, as he is always blowing up at someone. What gives him that right? Is this behavior he is showing our children acceptable? Maybe he should direct his passionate behavior elsewhere.   Candi Castle Mangel, Philadelphia     New Jersey's biggest bully Two separate articles in the same newspaper caught my eye, "Anti-bullying law off to rocky start in N.J. " and "Christie erupts at the Shore.

Union contracts for workers at hospitals across the city and nearby suburbs are set to expire on June 30, but as the deadline grows closer, there are a couple of rays of hope. A tentative agreement was reached Wednesday night with Temple University Health Systems, said Henry Nicholas, the president of District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees. "Two down, two big hospitals to go," Nicholas said, noting that another tentative agreement had been reached Tuesday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

District 1199C of AFSCME's National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reached a tentative agreement on a new contract covering 1,300 workers, mostly support staff, the union said. The union said it is still in contract negotiations with 12 other area employers, including Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Hahnemann University Hospital, and Temple University Health System. Existing agreements at those facilities expire Sunday and cover about 6,000 additional workers, the union said.

Two toddlers, one in Conshohocken and one in Philadelphia, were hospitalized Wednesday night after falling from second-floor windows minutes apart, authorities said. A 2-year-old fell from the second-floor window of a residence on the 100 block of East Hector Street in Conshohocken about 8:15 p.m., officials said. The toddler was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The child's sex and condition were unavailable Wednesday night. About 8:30 p.m., a 2-year-old boy fell from the window of a second-floor bedroom in the back of a house on the 5800 block of Charles Street in Wissinoming, police said.

Hundreds of unionized hospital workers marched from hospital to hospital Wednesday in Center City in advance of a 5 p.m. rally and strike vote at the Convention Center. The workers' contracts with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Hahnemann University Hospital, Temple University Health Systems, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, as well as other area hospitals and nursing homes in Philadelphia and its suburbs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, expire June 30. The workers, most support staff, are represented by District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees — American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

DALLAS - The maker of Tide Pods will create a double-latch lid to deter children from accessing and eating the brightly colored detergent packets, a company spokesman said Friday. Procter & Gamble spokesman Paul Fox said the Cincinnati-based company plans to create a new lid on tubs of Tide Pods "in the next couple of weeks. " The company continues to study the design of the package, Fox said. Doctors say children sometimes swallow Tide Pods and similar laundry products, around 1-inch packets that are meant to be dropped into a washing machine in place of liquid or powder detergent.

Many years ago, specialists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recognized an obstacle in diagnosing and treating fetal abnormalities and babies born with life-threatening defects.The babies had to be delivered at adult hospitals, then transferred to Children's Hospital. This added medical and logistical challenges for hospitals and the families. Now, the hospital is celebrating a milestone in its solution to the problem: the 1,000th baby was recently born in its Special Delivery Unit.

The death of yet another apparently malnourished child who ultimately succumbed to abuse has Philadelphians once again asking how these tragedies can be avoided. For all the improvements made within the city's Department of Human Resources since 14-year-old Danieal Kelly starved to death six years ago, there are still children who end up dead. The latest is Khalil Wimes, 6, who died last week of blunt-force trauma to the head. He weighed only 29 pounds. Medical examiners said he had suffered tremendously before being taken, unconscious, sunken, and sallow, to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

When doctors at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia laid their eyes on Khalil Wimes on Monday night, they saw a broken and emaciated little boy. He was unconscious, sunken, and sallow, 6 years old but weighing only 29 pounds. His mother, Tina Cuffie, 44, had five other children who were removed from her care. She had taken her son to the hospital, saying he had slipped in the bathroom. She could not explain the sea of scarring along the boy's arms, face, back, and neck. Khalil died within the hour of blunt-force trauma to the head, a medical examiner ruled.