April 3-A black tie carnival on April 21st hopefully will make miracles happen at Hurley Medical Center's newly opened Hurley Children's Hospital, as reported in a recent ABC12.com article.

Hurley Medical Center is dedicating its 31st annual benefit ball to the kids

At a kick-off event at Hurley, staff as well as present and past patients explained exactly why Hurley Children's Hospital is so crucial in Mid-Michigan and beyond.

Austin Perez, a 16-year-old asthma patient, says he has relied on the staff at Hurley most of his life. "Here, they take care of you. You are never left by yourself.  They know what they are doing, they are on top of everything. I just can't thank them enough, because if they weren't there, who would be?"

Large staff of pediatric specialists: critical to Hurley's Children's Hospital's success

Mattie Pearson, Hurley's Nurse Manager for Pediatrics and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), said that the availability of as many pediatric specialists as possible is critical to the operation of Hurley Children's Hospital. "It helps me do my job, because I know I have specialists. I have board certified specialists that know my kids, that are treating them. You can't treat kids as adults. They may be smaller, they may have different elements, but I want you to treat them personally as the small people that they are," she said.

Michigan's third busiest pediatric intensive care and trauma units

Dr. Brian Nolan, Director of Clinical Pediatrics and the PICU, was quick to point out that Hurley Children's Hospital also operates the third busiest pediatric intensive care and trauma units in all of Michigan. "We see a lot of sick kids. And I think people want to go to a place where they have a high volume operation, where we're used to taking care of a lot of problems," he said.

The new Children's Emergency Department: puts young patients and their families at ease

Most important to young patients, like 12-year-old April LaGrone who has type I Diabetes, is that Hurley offers top-quality care in a kid-friendly environment. "The regular ER could be very chaotic, very busy, and on top of all that, you're not feeling at your best. The new Children's Emergency Department really makes you feel at ease and as comfortable as possible, because no one wants to be at a hospital, no mom or no dad wants to see their kid going through this. It's comfortable, there is a playroom, and they give you cafeteria tickets," according to April.

Tickets still available to the Hurley Benefit Ball, Sat. April 21!

There are still tickets available to the 31st Annual Hurley Benefit Ball, Saturday, April 21, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. at the Riverfront Banquet Center in Flint. For ticket information, email acunaez1@hurleymc.com or call 810-262-9399.

To watch the ABC12.com news video, click here.