August 1, 2017

As a mother to three young boys, Sarah Yarbrough made sure her babies received the best life-saving gift she could give them – her own breast milk. While breastfeeding has many health benefits for infants, Yarbrough knows the challenges that new mothers often experience during their breastfeeding journey.

“After the birth of my first baby, I had a lot of difficulty with breastfeeding,” said Yarbrough, a lactation consultant at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “Without the help of a very dedicated postpartum nurse and my mother, I would have had a much harder time.”

Besides being a mom, Yarbrough finds her job at the Pavilion for Women very rewarding – educating new mothers on the health benefits of breastfeeding and helping them achieve their breastfeeding goals.

“We assist mothers with positions and techniques for breastfeeding and develop individualized care plans for families when feedings aren’t going as planned,” Yarbrough said. “We also assist families in all areas of the hospital with their unique breastfeeding situation including NICU moms who need help getting their milk supply established so they can feed their pre-term infants at the appropriate time.”

As a designated Baby Friendly Hospital, the Pavilion for Women has implemented several evidence-based breastfeeding practices which include teaching moms to respond to their infant’s early feeding cues rather than schedule feedings, implementing skin-to-skin contact between mom and baby after delivery and encouraging “rooming in” so mothers and infants can stay together 24 hours a day.

The Pavilion for Women provides other breastfeeding support services which include:

  • Baby Bistro provides one-on-one consultation with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Prenatal and postpartum outpatient visits are available by calling 832-826-8881.
  • The Bistro is located inside Bella Luna Boutique on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women. The Bella Luna provides breast pumps for purchase or rental. Employees pay a monthly rental fee, but have the opportunity to get reimbursed through Texas Children’s Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance provider.
  • Employee pumping locations are located at all Texas Children’s Hospital campuses.
  • Mother’s Milk Bank prepares more than 800 syringes or bottles of milk each day for an average of 100 infants in the neonatal intensive care unit based on instructions provided by physician. Mothers who produce a surplus of breast milk can donate their supply to the Mothers’ Milk Bank.
  • Educational classes on breastfeeding are offered at the Pavilion for Women.

“When I began working at the Pavilion for Women, I was amazed at the amount of support given to breastfeeding moms, not only by the lactation team, but the entire Pavilion staff,” Yarbrough said. “To me, this supportive environment is the ideal place to deliver a baby.”

In recognition of World Breastfeeding Week from July 31 to August 4, the Pavilion for Women’s lactation support team has several activities planned including an event on Wednesday, August 2, at The Auxiliary Bridge that will include games, prizes and a photo booth.

Richelle Fleischer will be joining Texas Children’s as our new Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle effective August 14, 2017.

Richelle is a Certified Public Accountant, with a Master’s of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and is a Virginia native. She started her career in public accounting and healthcare consulting. She has held executive leadership roles in both finance and revenue cycle with several multi-billion dollar health systems including the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and, most recently, Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We are thrilled to have Richelle on our team,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Weldon Gage. “She brings a deep level of knowledge and expertise in the revenue cycle and has strong leadership experience with large, multi-hospital systems. She will be a tremendous asset for Texas Children’s as we continue to grow, and as the revenue cycle functions become more complex and demanding.”

The hospital is very fortunate that last October, Bill Hilton agreed to come back to Texas Children’s to serve as Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle on an interim basis. Since then, the Revenue Cycle team has had some outstanding successes. Bill brought his wealth of experience and ensured the team had a steady, seasoned leader during an important period of transition. With Richelle joining the Revenue Cycle in a few short weeks, Texas Children’s wishes Bill and his family all the best as he returns to his retirement, and is grateful for his service to Texas Children’s and the families we care for.

Texas Children’s thanks Bill for his invaluable service, and also congratulates Richelle on her new leadership role at Texas Children’s.

Texas Children’s is proud to announce Dr. James Riviello as associate section head for Epilepsy, Neurophysiology and Neurocritical Care in the section of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience.

Riviello’s clinical interests include seizures, convulsions, medically refractory epilepsy and the evaluation of children for epilepsy surgery and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. He also has a special interest in the evaluation and management of the epileptic encephalopathies, especially Landau-Kleffner Syndrome and electrical status epilepticus of sleep.

Riviello, who also serves as professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Tufts University. He completed his residency in pediatrics and subsequently his fellowship training in Child Neurology at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Riviello also had additional training in anesthesiology at Temple University Hospital.

Riviello is a member of several professional organizations including the Child Neurology Society, American Academy of Neurology, American Clinical Neurophysiology Society and Neurocritical Care Society. He served as chair of the Child Neurology Section of American Academy of Neurology and is a founding member of the Pediatric Status Epilepticus Research Group.

As associate section head, Riviello’s responsibilities will include the administration and development of programs within epilepsy, neurophysiology and neurocritical care.