THE GOSSIP - Hope for the Cavs, Nationwide Foundation and Clintonville

NATIONWIDE FOUNDATION PEDIATRIC INNOVATION FUND ACCELERATING LIFESAVING PROGRESS - The Nationwide Foundation announced a new $10 million gift for the Nationwide Foundation Pediatric Innovation Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to help accelerate the most promising research and clinical discoveries at Nationwide Children’s.  The Nationwide Foundation Pediatric Innovation Fund  was established by the Nationwide Foundation in 2014 and has contributed $30 million since its initial gift of $10 million in that same year. The Fund has supported several key clinical and research efforts in heart health, neonatology, injury prevention and most notably genomics.

The Innovation Fund is already having transformational impact; last year, helping make possible the recruitment of world-renowned genomics researchers Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D. and Elaine R. Mardis, Ph.D. to lead the new Institute for Genomic Medicine in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s. Dr. Wilson and Dr. Mardis are among the most cited researchers in modern science whose work has played key roles in many of the most notable federally funded genomics research initiatives, including the Human Genome Project, The Cancer Genome Atlas, the Human Microbiome Project and the 1,000 Genomes Project.

The Institute for Genomic Medicine is one of the first ventures into pediatric personalized genomic medicine at any children’s hospital and focuses on genomics as the root cause of many childhood diseases.

DISCOVER THE NATURE OF CLINTONVILLE'S RAVINES -  A pocket of Columbus has its own smaller pockets, and they’re rich with plants and wildlife.

The next Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program will explore these biodiversity oases and how residents are working to protect them.

“Valuing Landscapes: The Ravines of Clintonville” is from 7:15 to 9:15 a.m. June 8 in the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Admission is open to both EPN members and the public.

OHIO'S CONTROLLED HUNTING APPLICATIONS HERE - Applications will soon be accepted for controlled deer and waterfowl hunts on selected areas during the 2017-2018 season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The application period opened Thursday, June 1, and runs through Monday, July 31.

These special hunts are held on selected areas to provide additional opportunities for Ohio’s hunting enthusiasts. All applicants, youth and adult, must possess a 2017-2018 Ohio hunting license and meet the age requirements in order to apply for a controlled hunt.

Hunters can apply for the controlled hunts by completing the application process online using Ohio’s Wildlife Licensing System at wildohio.gov. There is a non-refundable application fee of $3 per hunt.

THREE-YEAR-OLD BOY FROM BOLIVIA RECEIVED LIFE-SAVING SURGERY AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - Three-year-old Nicolas (Nico) Sempertegui, was born with a complex congenital heart condition. He had multiple ventricular septal defects (VSD), an uncommon type of congenital heart defect, which leaves openings in his septum between the two lower chambers of the heart that can lead to life-limiting damage to the lungs and heart over time.

Unfortunately, Nico’s home country of Bolivia was unable to provide the care he needed. To help, Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization, brought Nicolas to Nationwide Children’s Hospital where a successful operation was performed on May 16 repairing his heart condition back to a normal heart thereby eliminating any damage to his lungs or limitations to his life.

“We fully expect that Nico, like many children who have corrective surgery for their congenital heart disease, will live a normal, healthy life,” said Mark Galantowicz, MD, chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and co-director of The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's.

Samaritan’s Purse’s Children’s Heart Project arranged for Nico, his grandmother and an interpreter to stay with a host family in Galloway. With their help, Nico was able to receive the proper medical attention and is expected to return home on June 12 to Bolivia happy and healthy.

FREE FROG GIGGING WORKSHOP OFFERED - The public is invited to attend a free workshop on June 16, 2017 in Wayne County focusing on the basics of frog gigging according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Topics to be covered by ODNR Division of Wildlife officials include equipment, techniques, regulations, and a cleaning demonstration. At dusk, groups will enter the wetlands on the public wildlife area with ODNR Division of Wildlife staff in order to pursue frogs. Participants are encouraged to wear old clothes and shoes, and to bring waders, hips boots, or a canoe or kayak to better access frogs in the wetlands.

The workshop will begin at 7 p.m. at the Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, located at 1691 Centerville Road, Shreve, OH 44676. Participants should plan to stay well after dark to participate in the field portion of the workshop.