A working group hopes to move the Harry Dyer Burn Center closer to reality after the $1.5 million gift by the Fehsenfeld family. The group includes donor Fred Fehsenfeld and his son, Trey Fehsenfeld; former Indiana University School of Medicine dean Craig Brater, MD; former Indianapolis mayors Bart Peterson and, Bob Einterz, MD; Megan Miller of AMPATH Research Network; Kerry Dinneen of the Eskenazi Health Foundation; and Department of Surgery Chair Gary Dunnington, MD.
The group met recently to finalize plans and begin construction of the Memorandum of Understanding between involved parties. The Fehsenfeld family will manage the construction and have identified an architect and a construction firm. It is estimated that the construction will take approximately 18 months. Plans are underway for equipping the facility, and the Department of Surgery has committed to an annual burn camp for five years to provide on-the-ground training for burn center personnel.
Rajiv Sood, MD, and his burn team at the Richard M. Fairbanks Burn Center at Eskenazi Health remain committed to these training requirements and there are plans to engage other academic centers to assist in this mission. The Fehsenfeld family has made a commitment that will leave a legacy of quality care for burn patients in Kenya for years to come.
