October 29, 2019

Robin Haidacher, one of 42 Texas Children’s nurses who received the 2019 Excellence in Nursing Award from the Good Samaritan Foundation, shares what this award means to her and how her colleagues inspire her every day. Read more

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
My name is Mark Mazziotti and I’m an Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, and I work in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. I’ve been on staff at Texas Children’s since 2001 and joined the Baylor Faculty in 2006.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I was finishing clinic and the clinic staff told me that Jag Grooms, our office administrator, wanted to talk to me about a new hire in the conference room at the end of the hall. I thought that was strange but didn’t think twice and walked into a surprise. The staff, Jag, and my administrative assistant Vanessa Mose, presented me with the award.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
It is a great honor to even be considered for an award that is based on the core values of Texas Children’s Hospital. I’ve been fortunate to work at one of the best children’s hospitals in the world over the past 18 years. The amazing clinical volume and the ability to attract patients from all over the United States has helped me fulfill my career goals. Although I perform the full complement of procedures of a pediatric surgeon, I focus on correcting chest wall deformities. I’ve had the privilege of treating patients from 4 different countries and ten different states. I also have the opportunity to teach medical students, residents, and fellows and this is incredibly rewarding.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
To me, a Super Star always goes the extra mile and makes sure that they excel at their craft. For me, I want to make the patient experience special. I gladly add patients to my clinical schedule so they don’t have to make a second trip to the hospital. Patients and their families are anxious and need their health care problems addressed and resolved. As a surgeon, I deal with very anxious patients and parents and it’s my job to inform them, care for them, and do my best to get them back to their usual activities.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
I have always had a motivation to excel at everything I do. It is an inherent motivation, but also one instilled by my parents to be the best that I can be, as well as to seek to help others. I think what helps me the most is to put myself in the shoes of those I care for – when that occurs, you almost don’t require motivation.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Without a doubt, I would have to say the people. No matter what their level of experience or their role, it’s clear that we all pull together and have common goals. It’s no wonder that Texas Children’s Hospital is always among the best places to work.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
In my opinion, it means that everyone at Texas Children’s should strive to lead by example. The definition of a leader is someone that motivates and inspires others around them. I believe the best leaders influence the actions of others by demonstrating qualities such as compassion, patience, honesty, integrity, decision-making capabilities, good communication skills and accountability.

Anything else you want to share?
I love art and art history. I have over one hundred published medical illustrations and I enjoy oil painting. I have historically painted a canvas for our graduating fellow, although for the past two years I have created movies.

On October 14, Texas Children’s Hospital Specialty Care – Sugar Land began seeing patients in its newly expanded Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Clinics located on the first floor.

This expansion makes it more convenient for patients to receive care and allows the staff to work in a more spacious area. Originally the clinic operated in two separate areas and today patients can receive x-rays and exams on the same floor. Orthopedic and Sports Medicine providers will move to the first floor, and the second floor will be for additional growth.

“It’s going to be a huge patient satisfier when it comes to our day-to-day flow,” Assistant Director of Ambulatory Services for the West and South Region, Betsy Sanford said. “Patients will no longer have to move from one floor to another to receive care, so we are all really excited for this new space.”

This is the first phase of the opening that includes eight exam rooms, a cast room with three spaces, two x-ray rooms, ultrasound, and a Quest Lab drawing station, for Texas Children’s Patients only.

One of the first patients seen was 17-year-old Marisa Garza who had been experiencing pain in her knees after years of performing difficult stunts on her local dance team.

“Her sophomore and junior years on the team she was required to execute moves that forced her to constantly slam on her knees to the ground, and over the years it has taken a toll on her,” her mother, Jessica Garza said. “As a former Texas Children’s employee and parent of patients over the past several years, I know first-hand the quality of care that is provided.”

Within the hour, Garza was checked in, her vitals were taken, and she was x-rayed and examined. With the additional space, the clinic expects to see more sports medicine patients once staff grows.

Texas Children’s Hospital Specialty Care locations provide many of the same pediatric subspecialty services available at our three hospital locations, just closer to home for patients and their families.

“It’s like having the Mark A. Wallace Tower in the community,” medical manager Allyson Jackson, RN, BSN said. “I really want people to understand how effective the clinic is for those that are in the community. The more we continue to grow, the more effective we can be.”

Phase two of this expansion is expected to open early next year and will include a new Sports Physical Therapy gym.

Click here for more information about the Specialty Care – Sugar Land and Texas Children’s Orthopedics.

In our effort to continue strengthening relationships in the Middle East, Texas Children’s International Services recently hosted “Embassy Night” in Washington, D.C.

Held on September 24 at the Morgan Lewis Building, embassy physicians, staff, and referral partners joined Texas Children’s International Services team members and Texas Children’s leaders in learning more about our services and what we have to offer to both children and women.

Vice President Ivett Shah, International Services Medical Director Dr. Armando Correa, Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier, Radiologist-in-Chief Dr. Thierry Huisman, Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief Dr. Michael Belfort, and Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos all attended and spoke at the event.

“This was a great opportunity to talk to referring physicians from all the Gulf embassies stationed in Washington, D.C.,” Shah said. “We wanted them to hear our physicians speak about the latest medical updates and to keep our organization top of my mind when they send patients to hospitals in the U.S.”

On average, Texas Children’s treats nearly 300 patients a year from the Middle East and – as a top-ranked pediatric hospital and one of the largest international patient programs in the nation – is a preferred partner to the embassies in the Middle East.

The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) – the premier international society dedicated to the research and treatment of spinal deformities – recently honored Texas Children’s Chief of Orthopedics Dr. Brian Smith at the society’s 54th Annual Meeting, held in Montréal, Canada.

Smith received the Russell A. Hibbs Clinical Research Award, presented annually by the SRS for the meeting’s best clinical research paper. The title of the paper was “Using Proximal Humerus Ossification and Cobb Angle to Predict Progression to a Surgical Range in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients.”

The Hibbs Award is one of four main awards given by the SRS for basic and clinical research, and all are named for pioneers in scoliosis surgery. The SRS Program Committee selected nominees from submitted abstracts. Nominees were then invited to submit full manuscripts for review. The winners were selected based on a popular vote by meeting attendees and by committee scoring.

“I am very grateful to receive the 2019 Hibbs Award and to represent Texas Children’s Hospital in front of my peers in the SRS,” said Smith. “I would like to congratulate all my colleagues who did so much to make this happen, and I am looking forward to more research on this topic with my team at Texas Children’s.”

The paper was the result of collaborative research led by Smith and conducted with a team of experts at Yale School of Medicine. The team developed a classification system to assess skeletal maturity by analyzing proximal humerus ossification (the development of the bone of the upper arm) as seen on scoliosis patient X-rays. The study found that not only can skeletal development and maturity be reliably assessed using this system, but also that the system can be used in conjunction with other established methods to predict peak height velocity (the period when a child experiences their maximum upward growth) and the percentage of growth remaining with high accuracy. Coupled with scoliosis curve size, the system could be used as a means of predicting the risk of the patient’s potential curve progression to a surgical range during their remaining growth.

“Current systems that relied on X-ray imaging of the pelvis on scoliosis films to help determine skeletal maturation have not provided an accurate means of assessment for children with scoliosis,” Smith said. “This method has the potential to help us better define a patient’s maturity, which will help guide treatment choices and minimize cost and inconvenience of additional imaging to assess maturity.

Learn more about Texas Children’s Orthopedics Program, ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

October 24, 2019

When Lance McLean was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) a little over a year ago his world as he knew it stopped.

The 18-year-old football fanatic was told he had to quit the sport he loved and that he would never play it again. He also was told he would miss much of his junior year of high school, including homecoming.

“Cancer is terrible,” McLean said. “It’s uniquely hard for teenagers.”

McLean said he’s traded hanging out with friends and playing football for getting chemotherapy and going to doctor appointments. A portion of his time is dedicated to sitting in the waiting room at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, a place that’s packed with entertainment for young children but lacks an area where teenagers can hang out and relax.

“I love seeing kids watch shows like Doc McStuffins, but I’ve kind of grown out of that,” McLean joked. “I would love to have any area where I can sit back, relax and play video games.”

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Astros Foundation announced Wednesday at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers they are working toward making Lance’s wish come true. Combined, the two organizations donated $50,000 to the Cancer and Hematology Centers to fund a teen waiting area in the centers’ clinic on the 14th floor of the Mark A. Wallace Tower.

Melanie LeGrande, vice president of Social Responsibility for MLB, said the organization’s gift of $25,000 was part of the its inaugural “Fall Classic Legacy Initiative,” which provided funding for community enrichment projects to both the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in recognition of each Club advancing to the 2019 World Series. The effort is an extension of the longstanding All-Star Legacy Initiative, which has contributed more than $90 million to enrichment projects in All-Star host communities since 1997.

“MLB is all about supporting youth,” LeGrande said. “We are extremely excited about being here today and about supporting youth at Texas Children’s.”

Reid Ryan, president of business operations for the Houston Astros, said he is confident the $25,000 gift from MLB and the additional $25,000 from the Astros Foundation will go toward creating a wonderful space for patients like Lance.

“Baseball brings community together and that is what is happening here today,” Ryan said. “I’m excited to see the space come together.”

Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Director Dr. Susan Blaney said as one of the largest pediatric Cancer and Hematology Centers in the country, we treat many teenage patients every year from across the country, and that the centers’ staff is dedicated to treating the entire patient, which includes meeting them where they are in their journey.

“By creating this teen waiting area, MLB and the Astros Foundation are helping provide a space where our teen patients can retreat and participate in age-appropriate activities centered on their interests,” Blaney said. “We can’t even begin to tell you how much this will mean to them and their families.”

October 22, 2019

On Saturday, November 2, gamers nationwide will take to their controllers and board games to support Texas Children’s Hospital during Extra Life, an online grassroots movement working to help sick children through the power of play

Extra Life was formed in 2008 to honor Victoria Enmon, a Texas Children’s patient who lost her life to acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The event has become a national fundraiser supporting 170 children’s hospitals across the U.S. and Canada that partner with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Last year more than 1,000 gamers signed up to support Texas Children’s and raised nearly $100,000 by playing games during a 24-hour marathon period.

This year, individuals, groups or teams supporting Texas Children’s can gather in the Human Resources Conference Rooms on the first floor of the Meyer Building from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 2. Bring table top games, video games, all games welcome. Most importantly, go to Extra-Life.org to register. For more information, contact Ryan Massey in the Office of Philanthropy at ext. 4-7868.