October 7, 2014

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Research done by Texas Children’s ophthalmologists could put doctors one step closer to understanding why some children go blind.

Dr. Mohamed Hussein, assistant professor of ophthalmology with Baylor College of Medicine, recently collaborated with three of his colleagues at Texas Children’s and three of his colleagues at other institutions to evaluate the association of autonomic drug use to the development and severity of retinopathy of prematurity – one of the leading cause of blindness in developing countries.

The group’s findings were published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and reveal a significant association between the use of autonomic drugs, the development of ROP and the need for ROP treatment.

“What this means,” said Hussein, the lead author of the journal article, “is that we may be closer to having a better understanding of the theory of how ROP happens.”

To date, researchers have not been able to determine the exact cause for the disease that blinded soul musician Stevie Wonder, actor Tom Sullivan and jazz singer Diane Schuur. Most research has focused on an infant’s oxygen levels since ROP primarily affects premature babies who received intensive neonatal care, including oxygen therapy.

“No one had looked at ROP and autonomic drug use,” Hussein said. “Now we have, and now more research can be done to find a cause.”

Until then, Hussein said he is not ready to advocate recommendations regarding the use or the dose of the autonomic nervous system drugs used in neonatal intensive care units.

“These medications are used a lot in the NICU, so I’m not saying don’t use them,” he said. “More studies need to be done.”

Ultimately, Hussein said he hopes his research will lead to the cause of ROP as well as a way to prevent and better treat the disease, which affects between 5 percent and 8 percent of NICU babies in developed countries and up to 30 percent of NICU babies in developing countries.

“ROP is a big problem for pediatric ophthalmologists,” Hussein said, adding that the disease is becoming more prevalent with the increased survival rate of premature babies. “There is a real need for more information.”

October 3, 2014

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On October 4, 1989, a bright and ambitious 36-year-old young man walked through the front doors of Texas Children’s Hospital into a building that was just a few stories tall and envisioned something much bigger.

This was Mark A. Wallace’s first day as President and Chief Executive Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital. Wallace had been the senior vice president of The Methodist Hospital before he joined the 1,000 or so physicians, staff and employees at Texas Children’s Hospital. No one suspected this young man would significantly change the history of the hospital for the next two-and-a-half decades.

That one-building hospital that greeted Wallace when he arrived 25 years ago is now an impressively comprehensive campus spread out among several buildings in the Texas Medical Center, a second campus in West Houston, a third campus under construction in The Woodlands, 49 pediatric primary care practices, health centers, the Neurological Research Institute, The Center for Children and Women and Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. And those 1,000 employees have grown to more than 10,000 in 2014.

“The face of Texas Children’s healthcare has changed tremendously since he’s been here,” said Jackie Ward, assistant vice president of the Cancer Center. “It’s not just bricks and mortar, it’s the programs we’ve implemented for every child, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. We have established a portfolio of healthcare access for all of these children and now women.”

Despite the growth, Wallace still walks the hallways like it’s a small hospital, stopping to talk to everyone who comes in his path. His powerful voice is typically heard before he’s seen. He is the embodiment of passion for the mission, making sure to interact with patient families as well as employees.

The early years

When Wallace began his journey with the organization, the hospital was just 35 years old and still in its infancy. Having just separated from St. Luke’s, it was in need of a leader who would help shape its growth and distinguish it amongst other leading children’s hospitals who had the historical advantage of being a century older. His work began immediately.

With Wallace at the helm, Texas Children’s Hospital completed the renovations of the original building, Abercrombie, and began construction of the Clinical Care Center and West Tower. These two additions made Texas Children’s the largest freestanding pediatric hospital in the U.S.

Senior Vice President of Human Resources Linda Aldred joined the organization just one year before Wallace and has seen the tremendous growth under his leadership.

“He doesn’t just come to work every day,” Aldred said. “He comes with the intent to do something profound every day.”

Throughout the 90s the hospital began to strengthen its position as a leader in children’s health care, taking on milestone cases and establishing Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first pediatric health maintenance organization.

Overcoming challenges

Wallace’s time wasn’t without its difficulties. In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison brought heavy flooding to the region and devastated much of southeast Texas, including Houston, which was hardest hit. The Texas Medical Center saw some of the worst of the storm’s destruction. The dedicated employees at Texas Children’s Hospital were tasked with caring for patients within the hospital and also took on patients from other hospitals that had suffered storm damage.

For Aldred, this difficult time was a shining moment in Wallace’s leadership. After meeting with his leadership team and staff to ensure the situation was under control, Aldred said his next remarks are what stand out to her even now.

“He turned and looked at his leadership team, and, without hesitating, said, ‘Now, let’s take care of the people who were here taking care of our patients. Let’s see what they lost and what we can do for them. And how we help every single one of them,” Aldred said. “Within three days, we had raised more than $200,000. We were a much smaller organization then, but we raised a lot of money, we built a network of caring, we built a network of help.

“People helped people tear their homes down, get rides to work and provided basic life needs for them. I’ll always remember that defining moment when he thought about the hospital, but he never stopped thinking about the people who worked here.”

Positive momentum

The organization’s growth continued with the $1.5 billion Vision 2010 expansion which included the Heal Sick Children campaign which raised $500 million toward supporting the hospital’s priorities. The project involved the expansion of the Feigin Center, the construction of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute. Vision 2010 marked an unprecedented period of growth for the organization, which would continue its exceptional care of children and would expand its care to women.

“Mark is truly a catalyst leader,” said 2014 Catalyst Leader of the Year Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, who is also co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center. “If you look at the word catalyst, it refers to a person or thing that actually transforms the environment or the reaction that it’s involved in. When you look at the transformative effect Mark Wallace has had on Texas Children’s, there is no question he’s a catalyst here.”

Ward saw Wallace as a mentor and an inspiration to many of his leaders and his entire workforce throughout Vision 2010.

“I saw him through the eyes of my mother, who worked here for 36 years, and now I have the privilege of knowing him as my own leader,” Ward said. “To know him is to love him as your leader because of his passion for what he does and his passion for health care.”

On the horizon

With yet another community hospital set to open in The Woodlands in 2017, the organization continues to see great success in providing the right care at the right place. Wallace’s dedication continues to lead the way for better health care for children and women throughout the global community and has kept Texas Children’s amongst the best places to work according to the Houston Business Journal.

“I look forward to being on his team and watching the evolution continue,” said Dr. Charles Hankins, chief medical officer of West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. “Here’s to 25 more years.”

October 2, 2014

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the Ebola diagnosed in the United States.

“An adult patient who traveled recently from Liberia to Dallas became ill and was admitted to a hospital there,” said Texas Children’s Hospital Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark Kline.

“Having this case in Dallas, only 270 miles away, might engender fear, especially among health care workers who come in contact with patients who might have a suspected case of Ebola, but the factors that led to this epidemic in West Africa are not present here in Texas or the United States.”

Kline emphasized the U.S. will never suffer the kind of Ebola epidemic that Africa is experiencing today because of the hygienic conditions here and, in particular, because of the infection control practices in U.S. hospitals. Texas Children’s leaders remain confident about our preparedness plans should we receive a patient with Ebola at one of our sites.

“We’ve concentrated our efforts on the main portals of entry to the hospital and the system – for example, the Emergency Center and our primary care practices across the community,” Kline said. “We’ve gone from passively screening with posted signage to active screening. Every child and family is being asked specifically ‘Have you traveled in the past 21 days? If so, has any of that travel been to West Africa and, specifically, to the countries that have been impacted by Ebola?’ ”

If the answer to those questions is “yes,” Texas Children’s has a plan in every setting for moving the child and the family to an isolated area for further evaluation.

How Texas Children’s has prepared

Texas Children’s leaders in Infection Control, the Emergency Centers, Critical Care, Emergency Management, Texas Children’s Pediatrics and other areas monitor daily Ebola updates and recommendations from the CDC and the World Health Organization. They regularly assess Texas Children’s preparedness as it relates to the most current information, and there is a plan in place in the unlikely event we receive a patient with the disease.

Preparation has included:

  • Simulation exercises and thorough education in areas that may be a point of entry for a patient with Ebola symptoms.
  • Development of specific protocol outlining the steps we will take should we receive a patient with Ebola symptoms, including designated isolation rooms in the Emergency Centers and the PICUs.
  • Securing an inventory of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), including full-coverage protective suits, which have been deployed to Texas Children’s Main and West campuses, Pavilion for Women and transport services (Kangaroo Crew).

“We’re doing everything we can to make certain that if we see a case of Ebola we will not have secondary cases among health care workers or among the other patients and families we serve,” Kline said.

“I’m very, very confident that with all of the policies and procedures and infection control precautions we have in place we will maintain our ability to care for patients and families and to care for one another as well.”

Important facts to remember about Ebola

Most of the population in West Africa doesn’t have Ebola.
As of September 30, there had been about 6,500 cases of Ebola diagnosed in Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. However, more than 20 million people live in these countries. This means fewer than 1 percent (.03 percent) have the virus – 99.97 percent of the residents in these countries do not have Ebola.

Diagnosis occurred in Dallas, but the disease source is still in Liberia.
Tuesday’s news revolves around the first case of Ebola that was diagnosed in the U.S. However, the source of transmission originated in Liberia – not here. Nothing has changed about the epidemiology of this virus in the U.S.

Ebola is not a highly infectious disease.
Ebola is a bloodborne pathogen – it is not transmitted like the flu or other airborne viruses. It is spread only when symptoms are present.

The CDC is the best source of information, not the media.
The best way to allay any concerns is to educate yourself. The most current information about Ebola is available online from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.