St. Jude Celebrates Next Frontier of Finding Cures With Grand Opening of Chili's Care Center
14 Novembre 2007 - 6:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Chili's Grill & Bar, other partners and donors share in success
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital(R) and Chili's Grill & Bar(R)
celebrated the national grand opening of the Chili's Care Center
during a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting today. The opening
of the Chili's Care Center, which will house the major treatment
and research programs for brain tumor and bone marrow transplant
patients, represents a major milestone in translational research
and patient care capabilities in the fight to save children
battling cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. The
brain tumor program at St. Jude is the largest protocol-based
pediatric brain tumor program in the country. The Chili's Care
Center grand opening speakers included Tennessee Gov. Phil
Bredesen; Tony Thomas, St. Jude Board of Governors and son of Danny
Thomas; John P. Moses, CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude; William E. Evans,
Pharm.D., director and CEO, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital;
Doug Brooks, CEO and President, Brinker International, the parent
company of Chili's Grill & Bar; and Todd Diener, President,
Chili's Grill & Bar. The Chili's Care Center was named in honor
of Chili's close partnership with St. Jude. After holding a local
and then a regional fundraising campaign for St. Jude in 2002 and
2003, Chili's began a national campaign in 2004 to raise funds
through Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer, which occurs
every September to coincide with National Childhood Cancer
Awareness Month. The campaign offers Chili's guests the opportunity
to donate to St. Jude by customizing a signature Chili's pepper
coloring sheet. In addition, Chili's began donating 100 percent of
its profits to St. Jude from Donate Profits Day -- held each year
on the last Monday in September. Over the life of the partnership,
Chili's has donated more than $18.7 million for the hospital, with
an astounding $8.2 million coming from the 2007 campaign alone.
These funds contribute to Chili's 10-year plan to donate $50
million for the construction of the Chili's Care Center. "Through
their dedication, nearly 75,000 Chili's Grill & Bar team
members made the 2007 Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer
campaign a resounding success," said Todd Diener, president,
Chili's Grill & Bar. "This year's campaign once again exceeded
our highest expectations, totaling more than $8.2 million for the
patients of St. Jude, bringing us closer to our goal of raising $50
million and making the Chili's Care Center building we are
dedicating today a reality." "As we stand at the foot of the
Chili's Care Center in celebration today, I want to thank Chili's
Grill & Bar and our other partners who helped make this dream
possible. We are truly overwhelmed by your dedication to help St.
Jude provide unsurpassed patient care and unparalleled scientific
research, and you can know that you have helped bring hope to
thousands of children from around the world," said John P. Moses,
chief executive officer of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of
St. Jude. The Chili's Care Center combines 21st Century imaging and
treatment technology with St. Jude's almost half-century approach
to medical research: put patients and scientists in the same
building to fast-track the translation of new knowledge into better
care for our children. The seven-story, 340,000-square-foot
facility will house major research initiatives in both diagnostic
and therapeutic radiology. The Chili's Care Center possesses
state-of-the-art equipment such as a cyclotron that will provide an
array of new research initiatives in nuclear chemistry and nuclear
medicine by using novel radiolabeled pharmaceuticals to track tumor
extent and response to therapies. Additionally, the department's
Radiation Oncology division will use highly sophisticated 3-D
imaging and linear accelerator technologies to produce highly
conformal treatment plans. In short, better technology means better
research and better medical outcomes. "The Chili's Care Center is a
significant part of our long-term strategy to translate basic
research at St. Jude into the most advanced and effective care of
patients," said William E. Evans, Pharm.D., the director and CEO of
St. Jude. "Integrating patient care and research holds the key to
more rapid advances in science and medicine. This new facility will
help us maintain our leadership role in defining the forefront of
research to advance the treatment of children with cancer and other
catastrophic pediatric diseases." In addition to Chili's plan to
donate $50 million over 10 years for the construction of the
building, other fundraising partners and individual donors are
making major contributions. Delta Delta Delta Fraternity, also
known as Tri Delta, is raising $10 million in 10 years to fund the
patient care floor that provides 18 new inpatient rooms and allows
the hospital to sustain expected growth rates foreseen over the
next five years. Tri Delta is a national women's fraternity that
engages its members for life through timeless values, meaningful
friendships and innovative opportunities for growth. The Wall
Street Committee, which is comprised of individuals from Wall
Street's top institutions, is raising $7.5 million in 3 years to
fund the floor that will house the lab of Robert Webster, Ph.D., a
world renowned expert in animal flu viruses. Dr. Webster has spent
his career tracking the influenza virus, particularly how it jumps
from animals to humans. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is
internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures
and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.
Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis,
Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and
medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for
treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance
are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC,
its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit
http://www.stjude.org/. Chili's Grill & Bar is the flagship
brand of Dallas-based Brinker International (NYSE:EAT), a
recognized leader in casual dining. Chili's offers a fun, energetic
atmosphere and a distinct, fresh mix of grilled American favorites
at more than 1,300 locations in 24 countries. Other Brinker brands
include Romano's Macaroni Grill(R), Maggiano's Little Italy(R) and
On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina(R). For more information,
please visit http://www.chilis.com/. DATASOURCE: St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital CONTACT: Shannon Carter of ALSAC/St.
Jude, +1-901-578-2435, , or Carrie Strehlau of St. Jude,
+1-901-495-2295, ; or Stacey Calbert of Chili's Grill & Bar,
+1-800-775-7290, Web Site: http://www.chilis.com/
http://www.stjude.org/
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