HOUSTON – (July 9, 2009) – Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief of Texas Children’s Hospital and chair of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, received the Jefferson Award from KPRC 2 for his dedication to treating children affected by HIV/AIDS around the world.

During a trip to Romania in 1996, Kline visited an orphanage where children with AIDS had been abandoned and left to die. He was struck by the tremendous need to extend the HIV therapies that were available in the United States to the children who were desperate for treatment. From that moment on, he vowed to do something to help those underprivileged, sick children. He also saw this as an opportunity to address a critical public health crisis.

	Dr. Mark Kline was honored to be the recent local recipient of the Jefferson Award for his dedication to treating children affected by HIV/AIDS around the world. KPRC-2 anchor, Jerome Gray, came to Texas Children's Hospital to present Kline with his award.

Kline’s efforts led to Texas Children’s Retrovirology Clinic, in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, establishing the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) at Texas Children's Hospital, for the purpose of delivering medication to HIV-positive children in countries where drugs are not readily available. Under his remarkable guidance and leadership, BIPAI is currently treating more than double the number of HIV-infected children in care in every medical center in the United States, Canada and Western Europe combined.

Dr. Kline was selected by an independent community panel of citizens for the award, which honors an individual for “outstanding, unique and heroic” personal acts that have made a positive impact on a community, helping hundreds of others in the spirit of public service.

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About Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is committed to a community of healthy children by providing the finest pediatric patient care, education and research. Renowned worldwide for its expertise and breakthrough developments in clinical care and research, Texas Children’s is ranked in the top ten best children’s hospitals by U.S. News and World Report. Texas Children’s also operates the nation’s largest primary pediatric care network, with over 40 offices throughout the greater Houston community. Texas Children’s has embarked on a $1.5 Billion expansion, Vision 2010, which includes a Neurological Research Institute, a comprehensive obstetrics facility focusing on high risk births, and a community hospital in suburban West Houston. For more information, visit www.texaschildrens.org.