Susan Delaney, Audrey Heckaman and Emily Delaney

Mistress of Ceremonies Hollie Strano, meteorologist of WKYC-TV Studios and host of its Good Company show, welcomed a sold-out group of 200 women for the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital fundraising event, Fall Into Fashion. The fashion show and luncheon took place at the Shoreby Club in Bratenahl on September 12.
Since its inception in 2009, the event has raised more than $400,000 for UH Rainbow programs. The funds raised help to further the hospital’s mission of providing the highest quality family-centered care to children and families.
Fashions, from casual to formal wear, were provided by the Chagrin Falls boutique, Toni in Style. Some of UH Rainbow’s nurses modeled fashions in the show. Boutique owner Toni Hadad shared that blazers are back; monochrome colors from head to toe; shades of green; and of

Sandra Treppo, Colleen Abdalian and Faye Bass

course, anything with a “Barbie” look is in this season. The event included boutique shopping, as well as a yellow rose raffle for a sapphire and diamond necklace donated by Alson Jewelers – valued at $3500.
Kerianne Hearns shared her personal story, “A Mother’s Trauma Journey,” about the surgical care her son Brendan received at UH Rainbow in 2022. During an 8th grade game, Brendan’s pancreas was severed by a lacrosse stick.
He was transferred to UH Rainbow because it is the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center in the region. Along with crediting the surgical team, Kearns expressed gratitude to the Child-Life Department, the nursing team on Floor 3, outpatient staff, and the GI team. She said the hospital’s rooftop garden was a sanctuary for the family, and even the

Christine Semarjian, Chair of the UH Rainbow Circle of Friends, and Danielle Weiner, President of the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation

therapy dogs provided comfort during the 8-month trauma journey. Brendan was able to make his eighth grade trip to Washington, DC, and used his personal story to advocate for trauma care and funding. After recovery, Brendan is now back on the field, playing JV lacrosse at Gilmour Academy.
UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is a full-service children’s hospital and pediatric academic medical center with experts in 16 medical divisions and 11 surgical specialties who offer nationally ranked care, including a center dedicated to adolescent and young adult cancer treatment and Northeast Ohio’s only single-site provider of advanced maternal fetal medicine and neonatology services.
An affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, UH Rainbow offers access to novel therapies, advanced technologies, and clinical discoveries. Its pediatric specialists — all of whom also serve on the faculty at the CWRU School of Medicine – are engaged in today’s most advanced clinical research and are widely regarded as the best in the nation — and in some specialties, the best in the world. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREA C. TURNER