December 8, 2015

Each year beginning in the fall for several months, young hopeful physicians in suits will be seen escorted around the hospital on tours. These medical students are part of the nearly 1,500 applicants who have applied for the largest pediatric residency program in the United States, right here at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. The residency hopefuls are competing for just 34 spots within the Department of Pediatrics.

“Our program used to mainly attract students regionally, but that has really changed over the last several years,” said Chief Resident Kim Lehecka who spends a good part of her time each week with these soon to be first-year residents. “We are interviewing medical students from all over the country and around the world.”

The majority of these students are hoping for a spot in the categorical pediatric residency program which includes three years here at Texas Children’s, with rotations at Ben Taub and the Harris Health System sites. An additional 289 applicants have applied for the five spots in the pediatric global health program that adds an extra year to their training, which is spent at one of Texas Children’s’ global sites. Those with an interest in becoming physician-scientists are vying for the three spots which will be chosen from 132 applicants this year. Several other specialized programs are offered including the neuro developmental and disabilities residency, pediatrics-genetics combined residency, internal medicine in pediatrics program as well as other combined programs.

“As a chief resident, I get the privilege of being a part of these future residents’ first introduction to the hospital,” Lehecka said. “I love our residents and I love our program. I want to give back to the program because I have benefitted so much from it myself.”

Lehecka is part of a team of four women who currently serve as chief residents. These top-tier residents are hand-picked by Dr. Mark W. Kline and Dr. Mark Ward and spend an extra year as leaders of the residency program. They stand out amongst their peers and among their duties is to be a part of the decision-making process in picking the new batch of residents.

“I want these residents to know even though we’re the biggest program in the country, it’s always been a family here,” Lehecka said. “The faculty members want to mentor and be involved in your education and career development so you always feel supported.”

As part of the Texas Children’s family, these residents learn to embody the culture of the program that’s given them their first real taste of medicine.

“Residency is like being in the trenches together. You go through hardships, tough times and stressful situations, but you’re always learning and growing and that forges strong friendships,” Lehecka said.

The sound of strumming ukuleles in unison can be heard every Thursday at noon outside of the Kids’ Zone Radio studios. That’s when a group of Texas Children’s employees come together to learn to play the ukulele. The group consists of men and women from various departments who have kindled a friendship over their new musical talents.

“When we started, it was really for the child life department for team building and self care, but people enjoyed coming and it grew,” said Music Therapist Amy Smith. “People who were in the group started inviting other people in the hospital who might want a break in their day, who might want to do some self care while here at work, to learn a new skill and meet new people.”

The group has now grown to 20 employees and continues to see more interest as word gets out about this sort of music therapy for employees. There is a lot of research to support the positive effects group music making can have on individuals. For Nurse Coordinator Amelia Sherinski, it’s a place to get away from the emotional task of working in hematology/oncology patients.

“There is a lot of emotional stress associated with my job,” Sherinski said. “It’s nice to take that mental break, come do something I’m really bad at, but have a good time doing it.”

The members of this team are by no means professional ukulele players. Most had never picked up the instrument before joining this group, but in preparation for Garth Brooks’ visit to dedicate the new Child Life Zone, the group prepared their own rendition of “Deep in the Heart of Texas.”

“Our tag line now is that the ukulele choir at Texas Children’s got to open for Garth Brooks,” Smith said. “That was a neat opportunity where they asked us to write a song and we decided to remake this famous song to instead say ‘deep in the heart of Texas Children’s’.”

But the choir isn’t just practicing for the next big celebrity to join, last year they did caroling on patient floors and they are even available to attend your next Texas Children’s event.

“It was so neat to give back to the children here at Texas Children’s in a different way than most of us are used to,” said child life specialist Laura Linville.

To join the Texas Children’s Ukulele Choir or request their talents for your next Texas Children’s event, contact Amy Smith.

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Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus has been recognized as a Top Children’s Hospital by the Leapfrog Group for the third consecutive year. The Leapfrog Group is an organization that provides the only national, public comparison of hospitals across safety, quality and efficiency dimensions. Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus is honored among an elite group of only 12 children’s hospitals and is the only children’s hospital in Houston to be recognized with this prestigious distinction.

“It is an honor to again be recognized as a top performing children’s hospital,” said Chanda Cashen Chacón, president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. “Our physicians, nurses and employees constantly strive to provide high quality care for our patients while keeping their safety our top priority.”

This year’s list includes 12 Top Children’s Hospitals, 62 Top Urban Hospitals and 24 Top Rural Hospitals. The selection is based on the results of The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey, which measures hospitals’ performance on patient safety and quality, focusing on three critical areas of hospital care: how patients fare, resource use and management structures established to prevent errors. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including survival rates for high-risk procedures and a hospital’s ability to prevent medication errors.

The Leapfrog Group was founded to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind. The Top Hospitals will be honored at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting on December 2 in Washington D.C., which gathers key decision-makers from Leapfrog’s network of purchaser members, industry partners, health care stakeholders and national collaborators. For more information, or to see a complete list of The Leapfrog Group’s 2015 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfronggroup.org/news.

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A nice cozy crib is something you might think every child has in his or her bedroom at home, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Caregivers often encounter patients whose parents cannot afford more than their own beds, forcing families to sleep together, which is not always safe.

Our Spiritual Care Department is trying to minimize these situations and is seeking donations of the following items for our patient families in need of safe-sleeping accommodations:

“Your support is greatly needed to provide assistance to mothers and families who might be sharing a bed with an infant, putting the child at risk of a co-sleeping injury or even death,” said Chaplain James Denham. “Our goal is to provide a better, safer sleeping environment for everyone.”

Texas Children’s Hospital will distribute sets (consisting of one crib, one blanket, educational materials from the Center for Childhood Injury Prevention and a note from the donating organization) to families in need.

For more information or to arrange the drop off and/or pick up of donations, please contact the Spiritual Care Department at Ext. 4-7223.

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Dr. Mary Brandt, pediatric surgeon and director of the Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program and the Anorectal Malformation Clinic at Texas Children’s, has been elected to the Medical Student Education Committee of the American College of Surgeons, which addresses the educational needs in surgery for medical students during all four years of medical school.

Brandt is a dedicated educator and a recipient of numerous teaching awards. She cares for a wide variety of surgical problems in newborns and children. Although the majority of her practice, like all pediatric surgeons, is devoted to common problems such as appendicitis, reflux disease and hernias, she has specific expertise in bariatric surgery for morbidly obese adolescents, newborn surgical anomalies, anorectal malformations, Hirschsprung’s disease, biliary tract disease and thyroid surgery in children.

Brandt is also a professor of Surgery and senior associate dean for Student Affairs at Baylor College of Medicine.

December 7, 2015

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Bench and Bedside is a digest of the previous month’s stories about the clinical and academic activities of our physicians and scientists. We welcome your submissions and feedback.

November 3

West Campus gastroenterology team grows

Three pediatric gastroenterologists recently joined the pediatric gastroenterology team at the West Campus. The additional physicians brings the team to a total of four full-time gastroenterologists at the West Houston hospital. More

November 3

Two neurologists, pharmacist receive AES Young Investigator Award

Texas Children’s neurologists Drs. Sunita Misra and Dana Marafie and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Dr. Mindl Messinger will be presented with the 2015 Young Investigator Award at the upcoming American Epilepsy Society’s Annual Meeting. More

November 10

Texas Children’s participates in largest study on teen weight-loss surgery

The results of research Texas Children’s Hospital participated in were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and show teen weight-loss surgery demonstrates the reversal of type 2 diabetes and significant weight loss. More

November 10

Watcher program improves safety across organization

12815watcherprogram300A new program has significantly decreased codes in acute care areas by heightening the awareness of patients in need of extra attention and improving communication amongst caregivers about those who may quickly decompensate. More

 

 

 

November 17

Preidis receives 2-year NASPGHAN research grant for microbiome nutrition study

Dr. Geoffrey Preidis, a pediatric gastroenterology fellow at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine, received the 2016 Young Investigator Development Award from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Foundation and Nestlé Nutrition Institute. More

November 17

Lam recognized with Baylor Rising Star Award

Dr. Sandi Lam, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Surgery Program, was recognized at a recent Baylor College of Medicine Neurosurgery Grand Rounds with the inaugural Rising Star in Resident Education award. The award is given to a neurosurgery junior faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching. More

November 17

Dr. Huynh-Tran joins Department of Surgery

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Amy Huynh-Tran to the Division of Dental Surgery. Huynh-Tran also has been appointed as an assistant professor in the Dental Department at Baylor College of Medicine. Huynh-Tran will see patients in the Dental Clinic at the main campus of Texas Children’s. More

November 17

Drs. Chandy, Musso awarded Master Teacher Certificates

Otolaryngologists Drs. Binoy Chandy and MaryFrances Musso recently received the Baylor College of Medicine Master Teacher Certificate and presented at the Baylor College of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Educators. The Master Teacher Certificate is awarded by the Master Teachers Fellowship Program at Baylor. More

November 17

Pediatric Anesthesiology promotes two high-level faculty, creates new division

The Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology recently made some significant organizational changes, promoting two faculty members to Associate Anesthesiologist-in-Chief and creating a new division dedicated to non-operating room anesthesia. More

November 17

Passionate confrontations subject of annual McNamara Grand Rounds

12815mcnamara300Speaking to a packed auditorium, visiting physician Dr. Chris Feudtner shared his insight on speaking to parents of critically ill children with compassion during the annual McNamara Grand Rounds. More

 

 

 

 

November 24

Stein elected president of the American Academy of Pediatrics

12815Stein300Dr. Fernando Stein, medical director of the Progressive Care Unit, has been elected President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This is the first time in the AAP’s 85-year history that a Texas pediatrician has been elected to the post. As AAP president, Stein will represent all pediatricians and subspecialists across the U.S. and serve as Texas Children’s voice on national issues impacting the health and safety of the millions of patients and families we serve. More

November 24

Ribbon cutting held for special isolation unit at West Campus

12815SIU300More than 70 people from across the organization, city and state attended the Special Isolation Unit ribbon cutting and open house last week at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. Attendees got a close-up look of the state-of-the-art facility, which allows Texas Children’s to care for children with highly contagious infectious diseases. More

 

 

December 2, 2015

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays at Texas Children’s Hospital. The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony kicked off the season of joy with Santa and Mrs. Clause helping to light The Auxiliary Bridge Christmas tree.

St. John’s choir sang holiday carols as young patients danced along. Executive Vice President and John Nickens helped kick off the lighting ceremony. Within seconds, the lights magically turned on and the “HO HO HO” of Santa could be heard as he walked down the hospital hallways.

There’s plenty of cheer left for patients, families and employees. Be sure to check out one of these holiday gatherings on your clinic floors and get in the holiday spirit.

  • Friday, December 4 – Four Seasons Santa’s workshop
  • Monday, December 7, 8 – Junior League volunteers bring Santa to various Clinical Care Center floors
  • Tuesday, December 15 – FBI members carol the halls
  • Thursday, December 17 – WATCH Santa Day
  • Monday, December 21 – Retired NBA players visit floors
  • Thursday, December 24 – Bennett’s Bears – Brande Nester visit clinic floors