Sarah House Steering Committee Members
February 2006-December 2007
and
Present Committee Chairs
Kim Marcum-Mercier
Kim Marcum-Mercier, Founder and President of the Sarah Zepernick Foundation, and Sarah's mom - Kim is a registered nurse with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and currently works as a clinical coordinator with Home Health Care and StarShine Hospice.
A graduate of the Institute of Medical Technology and Miami University School of Nursing, she has been working in the clinical care setting for over 20 years in Cincinnati.
She has a wealth of knowledge as a prior pediatric private duty nurse, home care field nurse, and hospice nurse at Cincinnati Children's and knows of the need first-hand for a free standing children's respite and hospice facility in the Cincinnati area.
Kim founded The Sarah Zepernick Foundation in 1999, following the loss of her daughter to childhood cancer, and organized an annual sanctioned 5K run & walk called "Run For The Gold." Money raised from the 5K was given to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for continued childhood cancer research. The Foundation's efforts also brought about public awareness for childhood cancer, and Kim led the gold ribbon awareness campaign in the Tri-State area.
Kim has been to Washington, DC on two different occassions during the war against cancer marches, meeting with congressmen to insist on additional government funding for childhood cancer research.
She has been an active steering committee member of the Cincinnati Chapter of The Compassionate Friends for six years, and is currently involved in several committees within Children's Hospital to better child health.
Kim changed the focus and mission of Sarah's Foundation in 2006 as part of her goal to improve the quality of life for all children in desperate need of help. Sarah House will fulfill a gap in the current health care system and provide a very much needed respite and hospice house for children in Cincinnati.
Kim resides in Colerain Township with her husband, Bob, and together they have three grown children - Stacy (23), Justin (26), and Laura (21).
Amy Simpson, Co-Founder and Vice President of the Sarah Zepernick Foundation - Amy is a Chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center currently working in the Fetal Care Center. She is a graduate of Bethel Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. She is also the facilitator for the Cincinnati SIDS support group.
Amy first met Sarah while working as the Director for the Children's Ministry at Groesbeck United Methodist Church. After Sarah's death, Amy partnered with Sarah's mother, Kim Marcum-Mercier in creating The Sarah Zepernick Foundation. With the help of Kim and a team of people, Amy organized the annual 5K run/walk which raised money for childhood cancer research. Through the interaction with Sarah and the encouragement of Sarah's family, Amy pursued chaplaincy through Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Amy's work centers on the psycho-social needs of children and their families. Through this work, Amy has gained an understanding of the holistic needs of children and their families through times of suffering, grief, and loss. Amy is very excited to work in creating Sarah House which will provide a holistic approach in meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of children and their families.
Amy resides in Finneytown with her three children, Jeremy, Alaina & Chris.
Mike Yorio, Marketing/Communications Chair - Mike is President and CEO of Allegra Products, a distributer of advertising specialties which focuses on helping non-profits advertise, promote, and market their organization's vision and mission. Mike brings almost 20 years experience in marketing concepts and ideas in a business environment, as well as client relationship building to the Sarah House team.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and Marketing from Ohio University.
Mike has been actively involved with The Sarah Zepernick Foundation since it's inception in 1999. He has also assisted in many promotional awareness campaigns over the past 15 years with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Family Resource Center, Trauma Services- Injury Prevention Program, and the Diabetes Center to name a few.
While a member of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Business Committee, Mike helped to raise money for pediatric life support kits for EMT squads as well as helped gift a KTP Laser for Cincinnati Children's Hospital surgeries, and has raised money for the newborn intensive care unit.
Mike lives in Anderson Township with his wife Sara and their two daughters, Carly and Kendall.
Dianne Hater, Event Coordinator - Dianne has been an active volunteer for The Sarah Zepernick Foundation since 2004, helping to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer. Dianne currently works at Cincinnati Children's Hospital as a Patient Family Advocate in Radiology. She also has 16 years experience working as a Commercial Interior Designer by trade.
Dianne lovingly spent several years at home to care for her daughter, Danielle who was diagnosed with bone caner at the age of 17. Since losing Danielle at the age of 20 in May of 2002, Dianne has devoted many hours of volunteering her time to help children and families in need. She volunteers as a children's grief group facilitator at Fernside, a center for grieving children. She is active in fundraising efforts and gift donations for the Ronald McDonald House and the American Cancer Society of Cincinnati.
Dianne has a passion for Sarah House and has many wonderful ideas for creating a children's sensory garden within the grounds of Sarah House in Danielle's memory.
Dianne resides in Delhi with her husband, Joe and their youngest daughter, Elizabeth (19).
David E. Schwer, Adminstration CoChair - Dave holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and has twenty-five years of business, manufacturing, and purchasing experience across several different industries, including eighteen years with GE Aviation. Dave has volunteered his time with numerous school and parish boards and committees, and has been involved with Sarah House since December 2006. He resides in Villa Hills with his wife and three children.
Catherine E. Schwer, Administration CoChair - A former business owner and 21 year stay-at-home mother, Cathy now volunteers at CCHMC in the Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care Unit. During the last 21 years, Cathy has offered her time in the Endocrinology Department as a parent resource for children with Congential Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and in 2003 participated on the Endocrine Advance Access Team. Cathy's involvement in Sarah House began in September 2006. She now shares the role of Secretary and Administrative Chair with her husband, Dave. Cathy resides in Villa Hills with her husband and three children, ages 21, 19, and 17. Cathy welcomes the opportunity to be part of the grass roots effort to build Sarah House and looks forward to the day when families can benefit from its services.
Norbert J. Weidner, MD, Medical Advisory Chair- Dr. Weidner is a board-certified pediatrician as well as a board-certified anesthesiologist. He is the Medical Director of StarShine Hospice at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the Medical Director for Daniel's Care Pediatric Hospice Program of Northern Kentucky, and is a member of the Sarah House Medical Advisory Board.
Following training in pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, as well as Dayton Children's Hospital, he pursued a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia/critical care/regional anesthesia in Melbourne, Australia for one year.
Upon completion of his fellowship in 1988, Dr. Weidner joined the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center's Department of Anesthesia. In addition to his staff duties as an anesthesiologist, Dr. Weidner was an attending staff in the pediatric intensive care unit for approximately two years.
To incorporate the fellowship training he received in Australia, Dr. Weidner began the pain management group at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He has participated in the pain management group both in the care of acute post-operative pain as well as chronic pain management.
In 2004, Dr. Weidner received board certification with the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Weidner has been affiliated with the hospice service at Cincinnati Children's Hospital since it's inception and currently serves as StarShine Hospice's Medical Director.
Dr. Weidner is passionate about partnering with families to offer a range of comprehensive, family-centered care to children with chronic, complex or life-threatening conditions. His vision to address the needs of this patient population resulted in the development of the Pediatric Palliative and Comfort Care Team known as (PACT) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Dr. Weidner serves as the director of this consulting service.
Judy Groszek, Grant Writing Committee Chair & Operations Committee (member) - Judy is currently a Nurse Clinician at the Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit of Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her nursing background includes oncology, research, and hospice.
Judy holds a Master's degree in Nursing Administration from Xavier University. She became involved with Sarah House early in 2007. She is extremely excited to be involved with Sarah House, and is committed to helping serve children and their families who need individualized medical, emotional, and spiritual support during life-limiting or end-of-life circumstances. Judy believes that this commitment will help to ease the stress and frustration that many families encounter while trying to make decisions about the care of their children who are often facing life-altering conditions.
Judy lives in West Chester with her husband, Ted. They have three daughters, Katie (27), Jennifer (24), and Jillian (21). A host of pets also reside with the Groszeks.
Karen Pinsky, Community Liaison - Karen has been a registered nurse for 22 years, beginning her career at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Through her work in the emergency department at Children's, and subsequently with her home health experience, she saw the many short-comings our health system offered parents with children requiring 24/7 care due to life-limiting conditions.
Following the death of her oldest son, Eric, who was tragically killed in a car wreck in 1997, Karen became an active speaker for The American Trauma Society's Second Trauma program whose goal was to bring focus not only to the "first" trauma, that being the patient themselves, but also to the "second" trauma, the family. Karen presented to nurses, doctors, and pre-hospital care personnel the importance of bringing compassion as well as medical expertise to the table. Through that, and as past chapter leader and current newsletter editor for The Compassionate Friends, Karen has had the opportunity to meet and talk with hundreds of parents who, through their stories, highlighted the need for a place such as Sarah House.
Karen currently works in an urgent care setting and is a volunteer nursing home resident ombudsman with the state of Ohio. She lives in Deerfield Township with her husband, Mike and "girls", Murphy and Bella. Along with Eric, they have a son, Larry.