September 13, 2016

91416texans640To celebrate their first game of the season against the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans hosted a party Friday for patients and families at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Held in the Child Life Zone on the 16th floor of West Tower, the party was filled with all sorts of fun, including sports-themed arts and crafts, goodie giveaways and visits from Texans cheerleaders Natalie and Taylor, and Texans ambassadors J.J. Moses and Eric Brown.

“This is amazing,” 11-year-old Alejandro Montelongo said as he walked into the room filled with activity. “I’ve never met an actual Texans player before.”

Sandwiched between Brown and Moses, Alejandro grinned for a photographer and proceeded to get the former football players’ autographs before moving on to the arts and crafts table where he made a sports wreath and a paper Texans football helmet.

Justin Mangham meanwhile threw on a pair of Texans socks that were part of the goodies offered at the event and waited patiently to get a photograph with Brown, Moses and the Texans cheerleaders. Mangham got a photo and an autograph from the players, something he hasn’t let out of his sight since.

When asked to describe the season kickoff event, Justin enthusiastically yelled, “Great!”

Texans Cheerleader Natalie said the event was her second on behalf of the team at Texas Children’s Hospital and that she too thought it was great.

“It is so good to be back,” Natalie said in between squeezing babies’ cheeks and doing whatever she can to get a laugh out of them. “I love putting a smile on the faces of these kids.”

The Texans had a reason to smile on Sunday after defeating the Bears 23 to 14. The team’s next game is at noon Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

91416makingamark640Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s Making a Mark art exhibition is showing on The Auxiliary Bridge until Friday, October 7. 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 seven other Texas locations.

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

91416biliaryatresia640Physicians at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have found a way to detect biliary atresia and other neonatal liver diseases in newborns using a simple blood test. Infants with biliary atresia, a life-threatening and hard-to-detect disease of the liver and bile ducts, can now be diagnosed and treated earlier, which has the potential to reduce the number of infants needing liver transplantation.

“Biliary atresia is a particularly devastating disease and is the most common reason why children need a liver transplant,” said Dr. Sanjiv Harpavat, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of pediatrics – gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Baylor. “We know that diagnosing and treating biliary atresia earlier with an operation called the Kasai portoenterostomy could help children delay or even avoid transplant. However, we also know that biliary atresia is very challenging for clinicians to identify early.”

To address the problem of making an early diagnosis, Harpavat and his colleagues, including Dr. Benjamin Shneider, professor of pediatrics and George Peterkin Endowed Chair at Baylor and chief of the gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition service at Texas Children’s, designed a study to test a simple way to screen infants for biliary atresia in the first 2 to 3 weeks of life. Their research appears in the August issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The population-screening study included all infants born in four hospitals around Houston during a 15-month period. The research now has been expanded to 10 hospitals in Houston and South Texas. The screening they developed is based on newborn direct or conjugated bilirubin measurements, a common test available in newborn nurseries. In previous research, Harpavat and colleagues showed that direct or conjugated bilirubin levels are elevated in all newborns with biliary atresia. This finding was somewhat unexpected as many believe the disease starts in the first few weeks of life.

All of the infants in the study were screened, and those identified as having bilirubin concentration exceeding the 95th percentile were rescreened at or before their first well-child visit. A total of 11 infants retested positive at the median age of 14 days.

“This new study presents preliminary data on a novel method for screening for biliary atresia in newborns, and shows that the test is very accurate,” Harpavat said. “If confirmed in larger studies, our screening method might be used to screen every infant born in the United States for biliary atresia, similar to the way newborns are routinely screened for other diseases.”

Biliary atresia accounted for about 60 percent of liver transplants in infants less than one year of age from 2005 to 2014, so developing a screening that can reduce the need for liver transplants in infants is a significant advancement, he said.

Researchers worked closely with primary care pediatricians throughout the city during the study, offering guidance and education when a patient tested positive initially, Harpavat said. Physicians have used the information and incorporated it into their own practice to identify infants with biliary atresia earlier who were not part of the screening protocol. “This was an unanticipated and very welcome benefit of the work. The landscape of biliary atresia in Houston has changed dramatically since these changes were instituted,” Shneider said.

Others who contributed to this work include Texas Children’s neonatologist Dr. Joseph A. Garcia-Prats, who also is a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Research was supported by the Cade R. Alpard Foundation for Pediatric Liver Disease, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Jan Albrecht Clinical and Translational Research Award and Baylor College of Medicine Junior Faculty Seed Award.

91416mattschaefer175Texas Children’s is pleased to announce that effective October 1 Vice President Matt Schaefer will be promoted to president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Joining Texas Children’s in 2009, Schaefer has been part of the West Campus leadership team from its inception. Schaefer’s role during his tenure has progressed from one of strategic and financial planning, to business and support service leadership, to his current role as vice president of the West Campus.

“I have every confidence that Matt will do an outstanding job as president of West Campus, as we continue to grow that location and its significance in our integration of services across the Texas Children’s system,” Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace said.

Schaefer said he is humbled to serve the community in this new role. “As West Campus continues to grow,” he said, “our goal is to expand the services we provide to best meet the needs of the children and families we care for.”

Schaefer’s promotion comes after current West Campus President, Chanda Cashen Chacón, announced that she will be taking on the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Chacón will be working with Marcy Doderer, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Children’s, who was formerly with the CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

A 359-bed facility, Arkansas Children’s is building a new campus in northwest Arkansas, Arkansas Children’s Northwest, with the goal of developing a state-wide clinical network of care for pediatrics.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Chanda, and we wish her well in her new role at Arkansas Children’s,” Wallace said.

91316chroniclephilanthropy250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

Click here to visit the Promise website.

September 7, 2016

These days, it’s hard not to see gold throughout our hospital campus. From gold ribbons to gold T-shirts and gold pins worn by our physicians and staff, to a holiday tree decked out in gold, Texas Children’s Cancer Center is making a gold splash to raise community awareness about childhood cancer throughout the month of September.

“Going gold is a way for us both to honor the courageous journeys of our patients and families who have been touched by pediatric cancer and to create awareness on a national level about the challenges these children face,” said Dr. David Poplack, director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center. “This is also a special time to honor our staff and everyone involved in the care and support of our patients and their families at the Cancer Center.”

To officially kick off September’s cancer awareness activities, two gold ribbon tying ceremonies were held on September 1 and 2 – one on The Auxiliary Bridge at Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus and the other at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Along with remarks from Drs. Poplack, ZoAnn Dreyer, and Chaplain Pat Krinock, patients and their families, and the Cancer Center faculty and staff, were touched with emotion when Christian Spear, a former Texas Children’s patient and 17-year cancer survivor, sang “The Bell Song,” an inspirational song she co-wrote with Anita Kruse, founder and executive director of Purple Songs Can Fly.

“This is a special tribute to all of the children who are battling cancer right now,” Spear said. “The song’s lyrics are a constant reminder that a cure is very close.”

At West Campus, patients, families and staff celebrated Childhood Cancer Awareness Month with a “Go Gold” Parade. The procession of children riding tricycles and wagons decorated with gold ribbons started on the third floor and proceeded outside the entrance of the hospital where the ribbon tying ceremony was held.

West Campus Vice President Matt Schaefer and his sister-in-law, Kerri Schaefer, shared their stories of how a childhood cancer diagnosis impacted their family.

“Malachi’s diagnosis and subsequent battle with childhood cancer changed our family forever, just as it does all families,” Schaefer said. “Although my nephew has been gone more than nine years, we will never forget him or the incredible care that he and our family received at Texas Children’s Hospital.”

Throughout the month of September, the fenced walkway and garden area at West Campus and the gold banner on The Auxiliary Bridge will be adorned with 630 gold ribbons, one for each child diagnosed with pediatric cancer in the past year at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

“It is estimated that more than 15,700 children nationwide will be diagnosed with a form of pediatric cancer by the end of this year,” Poplack said. “While we are curing 80 percent of pediatric cancers, as pediatric oncologists, our job is not over until every child is cured of this disease.”

View a photo gallery below. To learn more about Texas Children’s Cancer Center, click here.

Upcoming cancer awareness activities:

  • Friday, September 9 – Lace Up for Life Walk (1 p.m.), West Tower, eighth floor
  • Saturday, September 10Making a Mark opening reception (2 – 4 p.m.), The Auxiliary Bridge
  • Saturday, September 17 – Sickle Cell Education and Research Day (11 am. to 3 p.m.)
  • Friday, September 23 – Ewing Sarcoma Symposium (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), PFW fourth floor, E and F
  • Tuesday, September 27 – Visit/appearance by Houston Texans Devon Still (11 a.m.)

9716ChronicleCancerAd250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. We will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.