October 2015 – Page 3 – Texas Children's News

October 13, 2015

Dr. Sunjeev Patel from Texas Children’s Pediatrics Lakewood is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star physician. “Being part of Texas Children’s Pediatrics has allowed me to not only see patients in the office, but it also has given me the opportunity to be involved with understanding and improving quality of care,” said Patel. Read more of Patel’s interview below, and find out how you can nominate a Super Star.

Q&A: Dr. Sunjeev Patel, January – June 2015 Physician

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Dr. Sunjeev Patel, pediatrician, Texas Children’s Pediatrics Lakewood. I am the site leader and lab director for the practice. I also am the chair for the Quality Advisory Committee for Texas Children’s Pediatrics. I have worked for Texas Children’s Pediatrics since 2002. I started in the Float Pool and joined Lakewood in 2004.

What month are you Super Star for?
January – June 2015

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
It was announced at our monthly office staff meeting.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
I am very honored to have received this award. I could not do what I do without the support of my office staff and Texas Children’s Pediatrics. Being part of Texas Children’s Pediatrics has allowed me to not only see patients in the office, but it also has given me the opportunity to be involved with understanding and improving quality of care.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
Being a hard worker who is passionate about what they do.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
Doing the best that I can for my patients. Watching the kids grow up and seeing parents become more confident in their ability to care for their children is a great motivator.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Working with two great teams – my office and Texas Children’s Pediatrics Quality.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
A leader is someone who can inspire and motivate others.

Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos and several members of his medical staff helped write and edit the recently published Anesthesia for Congenital Heart Disease, 3rd Edition. The textbook is the leading reference source for the field, and since the first edition was published in 2005, readership has increased significantly around the world.

The new edition contains 32 chapters, more than 800 pages, and for the first time is in full color. The book also comes with full electronic access to the text, which covers the entire field of anesthesia for congenital heart disease. New chapters addressing pulmonary hypertension and anesthetic neurotoxicity have been added and all chapters have been thoroughly updated.

“It was a privilege to be part of the creation of this very important text,” Andropoulos said. “It will be used by many for the betterment of this sector of our field.

Those in the Texas Children’s Anesthesiology Department who contributed to the effort include:

Dr. Dean Andropoulos – Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Stephen Stayer – Editor
Dr. Emad Mossad – Editor
Dr. Wanda Miller-Hance – Editor
Dr. Rahul Baijal
Dr. Ken Brady
Dr. Lisa Caplan
Dr. Blaine Easley
Dr. Pablo Motta
Dr. David Vener
Dr. Erin Gottlieb

October 6, 2015

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Texas Children’s Health Plan has been selected by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission as a health plan in the STAR Kids Program, a managed care program that provides health coverage to children and youth with special health care needs.

Beginning September 1, 2016, the STAR Kids program will be implemented to manage children with special health care needs. This move is expected to bring about 40,000 new members into the Health Plan. In anticipation, more than 400 new employees will be hired to manage these cases. The program will provide benefits such as prescription drugs, hospital care, primary and specialty care, preventive care, personal care services, private duty nursing and durable medical equipment and supplies.

“Texas Children’s Health Plan is very proud to be involved in the STAR Kids program and be able to provide children with special health care needs the care they deserve,” said Christopher Born, president of Texas Children’s Health Plan. “The introduction of STAR Kids speaks to our commitment of providing excellent care to the members of our community.”

Children age 20 or younger who receive Supplemental Security Income Medicaid, are enrolled in the Medically Dependent Children Program or receive services through 1915(c) waiver programs will receive a variety of services through the STAR Kids program. Children, youth and their families will have the choice of STAR Kids health plans and will have the option to pick one that best suits their needs.

“The case managers we are able to hire will help these members through the process and through the system, removing barriers,” said Kristen Cover with the Health Plan. “The families are going to have experienced care managers, who are often nurses, to assist them and be a support system for the whole family. The parents are no longer the only ones managing their children’s cases.”

Born said over the last few years, he has met the Texas Department of Health and Human Services about finding a new way to care for these children.

“It was a letter from Representative John Zerwas to Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace that was really a catalyst for this new way of caring for medically complex kids,” Born said. “Mark was adamant that we needed to be leaders in finding a more coordinated way to care for these kids on disability-related Medicaid and that’s really where the ball started rolling.”

“This is a tremendous tribute to Texas Children’s and our capacity, our ability and our passion to care for all children in Texas,” Wallace said. “Not only does this extend the care to this new patient population with a new and improved paradigm to care for these children, creating a better model of care.”

Texas Children’s Health Plan is currently the largest Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid HMO in the Harris and Jefferson service areas and provides coverage in more than 20 counties in the Houston metropolitan area. By approving Texas Children’s Health Plan to offer coverage in the Health and Human Services Commission Northeast Expansion Area, which includes 34 counties, 64,000 STAR Kids eligible members in the Northeast, Harris and Jefferson service areas will be able to choose Texas Children’s Health Plan as their new health plan starting September 2016.

Take a moment to read the blog post (below) from President and CEO Mark A. Wallace about the journey that helped us reach this milestone and why it’s so important to so many children.

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In just a little more than a year, Dr. Ellis Arjmand has turned Texas Children’s Division of Otolaryngology into the largest pediatric ear, nose and throat program in the country.

Prior to him coming aboard as Chief of Otolaryngology in August of 2014, the program had eight otolaryngologists providing services to the entire city of Houston and its surrounding area. Now, Texas Children’s Otolaryngology has 21 physicians stationed throughout the greater Houston community, including The Woodlands, Cy-Fair, Sugar Land, Clear Lake and West Campus.

“The idea is to be there in the community and to really be available,” Arjmand said. “We can’t expect all families to travel to the Main Campus.”

Having a more robust staff strategically positioned throughout the Houston already has paid off. Otolaryngology’s patient volume has increased more than 40 percent this year and that growth is expected to continue with the addition of even more faculty members.

All things to all people

Arjmand, who came to Texas Children’s from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where he was director of their Ear and Hearing Center as well as their Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, said he wants people to come to Texas Children’s Otolaryngology with both low and high complexity problems. That’s why he said he was very strategic when he was building his team of physicians.

“In the course of providing better access to our program, I wanted to develop our sub-specialty expertise as well,” he said. “I wanted our group of physicians practicing pediatric otolaryngology and to be involved in programs in designated areas.”

Four areas Arjmand said have great potential for growth are: airway reconstruction surgery, sleep medicine, vascular malformations and the treatment of hearing impairment, including cochlear implant surgery.

Arjmand himself is internationally known for his research on pediatric hearing loss. His clinical interests include pediatric ear disease, congenital and acquired hearing loss, airway disorders and health care quality improvement.

Of the division’s new hires, Dr. Deepak Mehta, recruited as the director of the Texas Children’s Aerodigestive Center, is nationally recognized for his expertise in complex airway surgery. Dr. Tara Rosenberg adds expertise in the treatment of vascular anomalies and the treatment of children with cleft lip and palate, and Dr. Danny Chelius, Jr. and Dr. Elton Lambert contribute to the program’s strength in the treatment of head and neck diseases. Dr. Carol Liu extends services at West Campus for children with ear disease and hearing loss, Dr. Tony Hughes will lead the otolaryngology program at The Woodlands and Dr. Shraddha Mukerji will focus on program expansion at West Campus.

Arjmand said his team also works with other areas of the hospital – such as cardiovascular, plastic and fetal surgeries – and that these supportive relationships have room to grow as well.

Improving patient care

To further improve the patient care process and expand the clinical scope of his department, Arjmand has expanded his group of mid-level providers, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners and advanced practice providers. Members of the group provide inpatient care at Main and West campuses as well as respond to requests for inpatient and emergency consults.

“It’s been a huge change but has been very well received and has really improved our response time to consultations,” Arjmand said. “I think it’s working out really well.”

Another focus of Arjmand’s is the standardization of care and the measuring of outcomes. In addition to his role as chief, Arjmand is the surgical director of practice standards and faculty development for the Department of Surgery. In this role, he works with Dr. Charles Macias in the Evidence Based Outcomes Center and Kathy Carberry in the Department of Surgery’s Outcomes and Impact Center to ensure patients receive the same level of care no matter who they see and that their care is the best based on sound medical data.

“Variation in treatment should be based on the patient, not the doctor’s preferences,” Arjmand said. “This allows for better measurement of outcomes, which makes it possible for us to improve how we care for patients.”

Making Texas Children’s Otolaryngology the best in the county is Arjmand’s primary goal, and based on what he’s accomplished since joining Texas Children’s in August 2014, he’s well on his way to achieving success.

For more information about the Texas Children’s Otolaryngology’s new medical staff click on the names below. To learn more about the program as a whole, go to: http://www.texaschildrens.org/ENT/.

Dr. Daniel Chelius, Jr.

With football season in high gear, many of you will be anxiously glued to your electronic devices cheering on our Houston Texans and their new quarterback. But, what does football have to do with Texas Children’s safety coaches?

Well, have you ever had a coach who ignited your passion for a sport, motivated you to push forward to achieve a goal or helped you become a better team player? That’s exactly what Texas Children’s safety coaches are all about. Just like a football team works together to score a touchdown, safety coaches help us reach our organization-wide goal: scoring multiple touchdowns in the “zero patient harm” end zone.

Every Texas Children’s employee – regardless of their job title or position – plays an important role in cultivating a harm-free environment for our patients. While all employees are required to complete error prevention training, Texas Children’s Safety Coach Program takes that training to a whole new level.

Safety coaches consist of clinical and nonclinical frontline staff and providers who are trained to observe employee interactions and provide feedback that reinforces safety behaviors and skills taught in error prevention training. These safety behaviors include how to effectively communicate concerns requiring action, how to support a questioning attitude and how to use three-way communication to achieve greater clarity.

“While all of us have been trained to use error prevention tools, it takes more than a single training session to hardwire these safety behaviors into our culture,” said Texas Children’s Patient Safety Specialist Sharon Jacobson. “Our safety coaches help us integrate proven safety behaviors in our everyday work to ensure error prevention alertness and personal accountability are always top of mind.”

Here’s an example of a safety coach at work:

“A safety coach working in the operating room observes an anesthesiologist express a concern about the volume of medication in a syringe. Because the anesthesiologist voices her concern, the team pauses before giving medication to the patient. They discover the wrong calculation had been used to prepare the medication. An error has been prevented. The safety coach provides the anesthesiologist and the care team with positive feedback for fostering a questioning attitude and preventing a potentially harmful patient safety event.”

So, you might be wondering, “How do I become a safety coach?”

As part of the recruitment process, Texas Children’s Patient Safety Team reaches out to departmental leaders across the organization to determine who on their team would be an ideal candidate based on the responsibilities and attributes outlined in the safety coach application packet. Once the forms are filled out, signed by the applicants and approved by their manager, the Patient Safety Team selects the candidates for the training program.

Safety coaches are required to take a mandatory 3-hour training course that includes an overview of the skills taught in error prevention training, a discussion on the attributes that embody a good safety coach and video scenarios that help safety coaches identify good versus not so good coaching moments. Since the program’s launch in February, Texas Children’s has more than 60 safety coaches across the organization, who all serve on a strictly volunteer basis.

“We’ve completed training sessions at Main Campus and West Campus, and are looking to get our first physician group going this month,” said Texas Children’s Patient Safety Specialist Tiffany Wrenn. “As you can see, our safety coaches play a vital role in helping all of our employees become Safety Super Stars.”

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Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s Making A Mark art exhibition is showing on The Auxiliary Bridge until Friday, October 9. Sponsored by the Periwinkle Foundation, this exhibit showcases art created by children ages 3 to 22 who have been affected by cancer and blood disorders. This exhibit will travel to six other Texas locations.

A panel of judges selected purple ribbon pieces of art they felt most effectively represented Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

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Dr. Andrew Jea, Fellowship Program Director, Director of Educational Programs for the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, and Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, was recently appointed to the college’s Medical School Curriculum Committee.

The committee oversees the medical education program as a whole and has responsibility for the overall design, management, integration, evaluation and enhancement of a coherent and coordinated medical curriculum.

“I am honored to have been selected to serve on such a prestigious committee,” Jea said. “I look forward to playing a role in shaping the medical curriculum at Baylor College of Medicine.”

Jea earned his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed an internship at the school, and completed his residency and spine fellowship there. Before joining Texas Children’s, he finished a second fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children.

Jea’s awards in the field of medical education include three Fulbright & Jaworski Faculty Excellence Awards in Teaching, and Evaluation, Educational Leadership, and Development of Enduring Educational Materials, respectively. He is the recipient of successive annual Baylor College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery teaching awards since 2010, including Teach of the Year honors in 2012. Jea was also named the Texas Children’s Hospital Department of Surgery Faculty Research Mentor Award in 2012. Moreover, he was recently elected a Senator to the inaugural Baylor College of Medicine Faculty Senate.

Jea’s clinical interests center around the surgical treatment of spine and spinal cord disorders, including scoliosis, kyphosis, spondylolisthesis, trauma, and tumors, in the pediatric and young adult age groups. His laboratory interests involve the use of nanotechnology to effect neuronal regeneration in the setting of spinal cord injury. These interests have led to numerous grants, presentations, and publications, as well as a lasting collaborative relationship with nanotechnology scientists at Rice University.

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