January 30, 2018

Dr. Huda Zoghbi was awarded the National Order of the Cedar, Knight grade by Lebanese President General Michel Aoun at a ceremony held in January at the Presidential Palace in Baabda.

Zoghbi is the founder and director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and holds the Ralph D. Feigin, MD, Endowed Chair in Pediatrics.

This prestigious honor touches close to home as Zoghbi was born and raised in Beruit, Lebanon’s capital and largest city. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from American University Beirut (AUB).

“It is an honor for AUB and indeed for Lebanon that the President of the Republic of Lebanon has conferred on Huda Zoghbi the Order of the Cedar,” said American University Beirut President Fadlo R. Khuri. “Thus, the greatest and most decorated scientist to have completed her undergraduate education at our university over the last several decades, a woman whose work is transforming the science and medicine of some of the world’s most serious neurological diseases, is now recognized by her native country’s highest award.”

Zoghbi’s hard work and dedication to the medical field spans through Texas Children’s and beyond. The National Order of the Cedar is a public service award and Lebanon’s highest honor.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this great honor,” Zoghbi said. “I owe a lot of gratitude to my family who shaped me and to the institutions that educated me: Makassed and the American University of Beirut. I feel fortunate that I grew up and spent my formative years in Lebanon and I hope the culture that inspired me to seek knowledge will continue to inspire and empower the youth of Lebanon.”

Texas Children’s Hospital recently received a $1.9 million grant from The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation to support Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development (CVD), advancing the efforts to develop a vaccine against Chagas disease.

Chagas is a tropical disease caused by a parasite transmitted to people and animals through insects. The most impacted people are in the poorer areas of Latin America, and the Americas, including Texas. Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine are working together to find ways to eliminate this disease.

“Because of its link to poverty, new interventions for Chagas disease are not generally of great interest to the industry, so it falls to organizations like our Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development to take the lead on developing a vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the CVD.

Hotez is a distinguished physician with a passion for tropical medicine. He took on this project alongside CVD Deputy Director Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi to insure that quality research and solid outcomes are developed when it comes to neglected tropical diseases.

“To tackle Chagas disease, the evaluation of novel and innovative technologies is an essential step. The support from the Kleberg Foundation will be transformational and will allow to accelerate the development of important control tools against this devastating disease,” Bottazzi said.

The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation awards grants to institutions that further the vision of the Klebergs, such as improving quality of life through community support, innovation and scientific research.

“We are extremely grateful for our Kleberg Foundation funding, which will allow us to harness the innovative capacity of the Texas Medical Center in order to apply it towards the first vaccine for this devastating condition,” Hotez said.

The first steps have been taken in the vaccine development process, and the CVD hopes to advance the first vaccine candidate to final manufacture and clinical testing within the next few years.

Many of The Department of Surgery’s conglomerate of advanced practice providers (APP) recently attended the department’s first APP Mentorship Program Showcase.

The January 10 event held at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, highlighted work accomplished over the past year by mentors and mentees that have come to build long lasting relationships across the Texas Children’s system.

Supported by Ryan Krasnosky, director of the department’s APP program, and organized and run by APP Project Manager Jordan Rodriguez and APP Clinical Lead Amee Moreno, the goal of the mentorship program is threefold:

1. To promote the benefits of mentoring in the career of APPTo promote the benefits of mentoring in the career of APP
2. Build collaborative relationships throughout the organization
3. Provide a structured mentoring program for surgical APP leaders and future leaders. Provide a structured mentoring program for surgical APP leaders and future leaders.

“We had a great turnout, including support from Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier, Senior Vice President Dr. Angelo Giardino and Chief Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Jed Nuchtern,” Krasnosky said. “Many mentors were present to support the mentees and congratulate them on the enormous success for the year.”

“We would like to thank all of the mentors and mentees who supported the program this year,” Krasnosky added.” “We are looking forward to another successful year of mentorship and building new and lasting relationships in the organization.”

January 23, 2018

Angela Gooden was recently promoted to director of Acute Care Advanced Practice Providers (ACAPP).

In her new role, Angela will provide strategic leadership for the APPs in multiple departments within the Acute Care advanced practice organizational structure at the Medical Center Campus.

Angela brings broad experience and an extensive awareness of the issues affecting advanced practice to the role. She started her nearly 20-year career at Texas Children’s as a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before becoming a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in 2008. While working as an APP for the Cardiology service she attained her Acute Care post-master’s certification and continued to grow the practice of the entire Cardiology APP team. She was promoted to Acute Care APP Clinical Manager in 2014, and under her leadership the Cardiology advanced practice team has grown to one of the largest in the institution.

January 17, 2018

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women has earned the coveted Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care designation for its expertise in the delivery of safe, efficient, high quality care to women and newborns.

As a leader in obstetrics, gynecology and fetal intervention, the Pavilion for Women specializes in high risk pregnancies and provides a continuum of care to women during every stage of their reproductive lives. To become a nationally designated Maternity Specialty Care Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) evaluated the Pavilion for Women on a variety of quality and patient satisfaction measures.

The BCBS noted the Pavilion for Women’s successful implementation of evidence-based breastfeeding practices to ensure our nurses, obstetricians and pediatricians are well trained to teach mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation to give newborns a healthy start.

The Pavilion for Women excelled in maternity quality measures including the rate of episiotomies performed and the administration of antenatal steroids, which are medications given to pregnant patients who are at risk for delivering their babies too early. The hospital has consistently exceeded the national target rate of 90 percent or above for antenatal steroid administration.

The Pavilion for Women received exceptional marks in patient satisfaction. The hospital’s improvement efforts are directly related to the feedback received through the patient satisfaction survey. In September 2017, the Pavilion for Women achieved a patient satisfaction score of 92 percent and a 93 percent score for both pain management and care instructions that are given to patients before their hospital discharge and at the end of their clinic visit.

“We are grateful to our team’s collaboration in helping us achieve this designation,” said Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women Senior Vice President Cris Daskevich. “By reaching this milestone, we ensure that we continue to meet the standard of care and excellence that our patient families have come to expect.”

Click here for more information about the Blue Designation Center for Maternity Care designation.

Long-time Texas Children’s Board of Trustees member and former board president Michael Linn has been appointed chairman of the board. Linn will be responsible for partnering with Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace and our executive leadership team to help ensure the board’s directives, policies and resolutions are carried out, and he will champion the organization and advocate its mission to internal and external stakeholders.

“Mike’s years of dedication and leadership to Texas Children’s Hospital have helped us tremendously, and we are excited about his newly appointed role as chairman of the board,” Wallace said. “Mike and his wife, Carol, actively and tirelessly champion our mission, making personal gifts in support of our priorities, serving as incredible advocates for the hospital, building relationships in the community, and encouraging others to give generously. I look forward to partnering with him in this new role.”

Linn was elected to the Texas Children’s Board of Trustees in 2008, and he served as president of the board from 2016-2017. In addition to his board responsibilities, Linn is currently chairing Promise: The Campaign for Texas Children’s Hospital along with his wife. Under the Linns’ leadership, the Promise campaign has raised millions of dollars for Texas Children’s and its growing need to provide dedicated, specialized pediatric health care in Houston and surrounding communities.

“Texas Children’s Hospital holds a special place in our hearts, and we want to continue to help them any way we can,” Linn said. “My son, Matthew, died at the age of 7 after undergoing surgery in Boston from a congenital heart defect, and Carol and I are dedicated to ensuring that all children receive the care they need.

“We have watched Texas Children’s Hospital care for the sickest kids, and as the new chairman of the board, I want to continue to help the hospital expand on this mission by providing unparalleled access to care for the Houston community and beyond.”

Linn is currently a senior advisor with Quantum Energy Partners and president and CEO of MCL Ventures LLC, an oil/gas/real estate investment firm. He is also the founder and former chairman, CEO and president of LINN Energy, LLC.

In his role of chairman of the board, Linn will guide the hospital as we complete Legacy Tower, our new pediatric tower at the Texas Medical Center campus.

January 9, 2018

The 18th Annual Reba Michels Hill Memorial Grand Rounds were held recently. Awards were given to Neonatology non-physicians who have made a significant contribution to advancing the quality to which Dr. Hill was dedicated: compassionate commitment to education, patient care, research and family.