(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — The 10th Annual Radiothon, an on-air fund drive to raise money for education, treatment and equipment for sick and injured children at UC Davis Children's Hospital, will air from Wednesday, March 17 through Friday, March 19, 2010 on Fresh Country 101.9 FM The Wolf, in collaboration with the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).

During the three-day, three-night “Wolf Hunt for a Cure,” the station will periodically break from its usual country-music format to present "some of the most compelling radio you’ll ever hear” — stories of inspiration, health and healing of patients at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

UC Davis Children’s Hospital is the Sacramento region’s Children’s Miracle Network-affiliated hospital. CMN is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals and probably is best known for the ubiquitous yellow-and-red donation balloons sold at retail outlets. All of the funds donated through the network in the region, through the balloon sales, the Radiothon and other fundraising activities, remain in Sacramento to benefit patients at the children’s hospital.

In 2009 the Children’s Miracle Network raised more than $1 million for programs at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

"We are very grateful to Fresh Country 101.9 The Wolf for its support of the Children’s Miracle Network and UC Davis Children’s Hospital,” said Anthony Philipps, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of UC Davis Children’s Hospital. “Their efforts will help provide much-needed resources for our patients and their families.”

Generous donations from the Children’s Miracle Network have been transformed into lifesaving therapeutic interventions for children’s hospital patients, such as equipment for the Extra Corporeal Life Support Program. The program provides heart-lung bypass equipment that allows those organs to rest and heal when damaged by illness, traumatic injury or after surgery.

While the Children’s Miracle Network provides funding for high-tech education, training and lifesaving medical equipment, it also funds “high-touch” services like music and play therapy and the Child Life Program, which helps children cope with the stress of being hospitalized.

A current major focus of Children’s Miracle Network fundraising programs is the construction of a new, state-of-the-art pediatric intensive care unit, said Robert Pretzlaff, chief of the Division of Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics.

"Building a new pediatric intensive care unit is important to our ability to care for critically ill and injured children,” Pretzlaff said. “The growth of our programs, and in particular of our congenital heart disease surgical program, has increased the demand for bed space in the existing pediatric intensive care unit. We must expand our facilities to meet the growing needs of children throughout Northern California.”

Funds raised by the Children’s Miracle Network support a wide variety of activities, including research into treatments for childhood leukemia, probiotic dietary supplementation for infants with intestinal disorders and the care of children with congenital heart disease.

To learn more about the Sacramento region Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon on Fresh Country 101.9 The Wolf  visit www.101.9thewolfhuntforacure.com. To learn more about the Children’s Miracle Network and UC Davis Children’s Hospital, please visit www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/children/giving/cmn.html. To make a donation, contact Jacquelyn Kay-Mills, at (916) 734-9192,  Donations also can be made online at https://secure.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/giving/donations/online.html

UC Davis Children's Hospital is the Sacramento region's only comprehensive hospital for children. From primary care offices to specialty and intensive care clinics, pediatric experts provide compassionate care to more than 100,000 children each year and conduct research on causes and improved treatments for conditions such as autism, asthma, obesity, cancer and birth defects. For more information, visit www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/children.