August 13, 2018

We just learned that employees’ children are not eligible to participate in the PLAY 60 Kid of the Month. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Texans are two teams with one goal – keeping kids healthy!

PLAY 60 is the National Football League’s campaign to encourage kids to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. We want YOU to join the movement by signing up your child to be a PLAY 60 Kid of the Month.

Those who enter are eligible to win a Texans VIP experience including a special behind the scenes visit to NRG Stadium and other exciting giveaways.

Kids ages 6-12 can participate. All they have to do is fill out the online survey showing us how they PLAY 60.

Learn more here.

Thanks to the more than 10 years of dedication and hard work of neonatologists and neonatal nutrition experts at Texas Children’s, Boston Children’s and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) hospitals, premature babies with liver disease now have better access to a potentially lifesaving drug.

On July 27, the FDA approved Omegaven®, an omega-3 fatty-acid-rich lipid solution made from fish oil for use in babies suffering from Parenteral Nutrition Associated Cholestasis (PNAC). For over a decade, Texas Children’s and Boston Children’s have been giving Omegaven® to NICU babies with this disease under compassionate use protocols.

Nearly 20 percent of babies in the NICU develop intestinal failure and are dependent on artificial nutrition (total parenteral nutrition or TPN). Of these infants 25 percent to 50 percent of them develop PNAC, a dreaded complication resulting in long term damage to the liver. Prior to the use of Omegaven®, nearly 50 percent of these babies with PNAC developed liver failure and died, or needed a liver transplant. However, since the use of Omegaven®, 85 percent of infants with PNAC have survived long term, rarely needing a liver transplant.

Being first-hand witnesses to this remarkably improved outcome, neonatologists at Texas Children’s long advocated for the approval of Omegaven. Extensive patient data demonstrating the beneficial effects of Omegaven® on the babies with PNAC from Texas Children’s, Boston Children’s and UCLA formed a crucial part of the new drug approval application submitted to the FDA. Now that Omegaven® is approved by the FDA for use in babies with PNAC, hospitals across the country will have access to it, saving many lives.

“This is a game changer,” said neonatologist Dr. Muralidhar Premkumar. “I am very confident that Omegaven’s approval by the FDA will tremendously improve the outcomes of infants with intestinal failure.”

Program Director of Neonatal Nutrition Dr. Amy Hair agreed and said the approval is “huge, and will most definitely save babies’ lives.”

Over the past decade, liver transplants have decreased nearly 25 percent nationwide in babies with PNAC, mainly as a result of improved multi-disciplinary care of infants with intestinal failure and the use of safer lipid solutions such as Omegaven®. Texas Children’s Newborn Center sees about 25 to 30 babies with the PNAC a year. None of these babies in the past five years have needed a liver transplant.

Charlie and Henry Fitzpatrick were two of those babies. The now 4-year-old twin boys were born prematurely at Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women and spent six months in the NICU. During their stay, both infants suffered from PNAC and were treated with Omegaven®. Since then, both their liver disease and intestinal failure have resolved. Charlie and Henry are now happy healthy preschoolers.

The twins’ mother, Aly Fitzpatrick, said Omegaven® played a big part in saving her children’s lives and that she is pleased to hear that the FDA approved the drug for use in babies like hers.

“The approval opens up a world of possibilities for these babies,” she said. “Now, more hospitals can embrace this without having to join a research study.”

Because of their experience with the drug, Texas Children’s is uniquely positioned to educate staff at other hospitals about the benefits of Omegaven® and train them on how to use it.

“It gives me great pride and satisfaction that we were part of this successful effort,” Premkumar said. “I would like to thank our dieticians, physicians, NNPs, pharmacists, nurses and of course, the babies and their families who supported us in this endeavor.”

Premkumar added that none of this would have happened if Dr. Steven Abrams and Keli Hawthorne, both former Texas Children’s staff, had not brought this project to the hospital.

Patients had the time of their lives on August 7 when eight Houston Texans cheerleaders paid them a visit and hosted their third Jr. Cheer Mini Camp at Texas Children’s Hospital’s Medical Center Campus.

After walking through a cheer tunnel with applause from on-looking employees, the event held on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women began with a brief introduction to and meet-and-greet with the cheerleaders followed by a small arts and crafts project.

The patients then were divided into groups with the cheerleaders and asked to come up with their own group cheer. After performing the cheer for everyone in the room, the ecstatic children got an opportunity to get each cheerleader’s autograph, along with their own set of pom-poms and a T-shirt. Excitement filled the room as the patients showed spirit for their hometown NFL team.

“This is the best day of my life!” said one of the patients.

Following the autograph and photo session, the cheerleaders visited patients who were unable to leave their hospital rooms. The cheerleaders brought the patients pom-poms and autographed posters.

“It is really important that we provide a normalized environment for the patients and their families,” said Child Life Department Manager Diane Kaulen, who helped organize the event. “The Texans are an integral part of our Houston culture and we want to be able to celebrate along with them for this upcoming football season.”

Texas Children’s teamed up with the Houston Texans four years ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives through camps, programs and events all year long. We are working alongside the Texans through community engagement and education programs to give Houston-area kids the tools necessary to make healthy choices throughout their lives. This week’s Jr. Cheer Mini Camp is just one of many exciting events we’ll take part in throughout the year.

Click here to view the Texans official Cheerleaders hold camp at Texas Children’s video.

On August 8, Texas Children’s Nursing Professional Development and the Shared Governance Interdisciplinary Education Council hosted Professional Day at Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

More than 500 participants attended the conference across the hospital’s three campuses – 360 at Medical Center Campus, 78 at West Campus and 128 at The Woodlands. The conference is designed to promote the enhancement of quality care and patient outcomes through evidence-based practice in the areas of pediatrics and obstetrics. The full day event included a pre-conference session, 80 podium and poster presentations, exhibitors, food and lots of fun and prizes.

“For the first time this year, the annual conference was open to the public,” said Amanda Garey, Nursing Professional Development specialist who was integral to the organization of this event. “Traditionally, Professional Day had been primarily a nursing event, but this year we expanded the event to include clinical staff from multiple disciplines who play a critical role in quality patient care and outcomes.”

Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre presented the keynote address which was shared to the community sites via telehealth platform. All of the conference speakers were acknowledged as subject matter experts in their fields and delivered the content based on latest trends and evidence. In total, 38 exhibitors and professional organizations supported this conference, which provides a platform for colleagues to collaborate, network, share knowledge and make professional connections.

“I really enjoyed the different speakers and learning more about the hospital and the different roles that people have here and the different ways I can learn from them,” said Regem Biyo, a labor and delivery nurse at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.

The event awarded contact hours for CNE/CME/Social Work/Respiratory Therapy. Amanda Garey and Jill Stonesifer were the event leaders at the Medical Center Campus. The event at West Campus and the Woodlands Campus was organized by Lauren Ivanhoe and Deborah Lee respectively.

View a photo gallery below of Professional Day at Texas Children’s.

If you missed this year’s Professional Day, make sure you mark your calendars for the next conference slated for September 19, 2019.

Dr. Ameeben Patel, January – June 2018 Physician

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Amee A Patel, DO, assistant professor of Pediatrics, board certified in general pediatrics, pediatric pulmonary, and sleep medicine – I started out as a sleep medicine fellow in 2014 and then joined as faculty.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I found out about the super star award during our monthly faculty meeting. The section chief and practice administrator announced that I had received this award with several bright shiny balloons.

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?
Being recognized for this honor, is empowering. I feel incredibly grateful to be part of such an institution that encompasses the value of patient care. Texas Children’s Hospital has provided several opportunities for my personal and professional goals including medical education and research. The balance of working with patients, identifying gaps in knowledge/research as well as teaching students, residents, and fellows is quite rewarding and is amazing that I am able to participate in all three areas while working at Texas Children’s.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
At Texas Children’s, everyone is a super star. We are all dedicated to our patients and their families. We strive to deliver the best possible care as a team. Therefore, being recognized for the hard work and dedication to our patients is a team effort and the entire team should be recognized.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
After working as hard as we all do and with the challenges of health care that we face every day, I still have a sense of gratification that I helped several children in a single day – it is this feeling that motivates me to keep pushing through the various barriers and challenges of practicing in health care.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Texas Children’s is recognized nationwide for the specialists as well as the research. It is an honor to be part of such a great organization/team.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
A leader at Texas Children’s is someone that puts the child and their family first and motivates and inspires others to continue to value this practice.

Dr. Nidhy Varghese has been named the new director of our Pulmonary Hypertension Program. Varghese took over for Dr. George Mallory who helped lead the program to national prominence.

“I am honored to be named to this prestigious leadership position,” Varghese said. “We are one of the few pulmonary hypertension programs in the United States dedicated to treating children. I am excited to expand our groundbreaking pulmonary programs and medical advances.”

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas Children’s Pulmonology as the best program in the country for children with lung diseases. Established in 2001, the pulmonary hypertension program is one of only a handful of pediatric hospitals nationally – and the only one in the southwest – to be named an accredited care center by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. The program has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of infants, children and teens with this rare condition.

The Pulmonary Medicine team specializes in the evaluation and treatment of complex, chronic and rare pulmonary disorders and offers services to treat children dealing with a variety of pulmonary issues. As part of its accreditation, Texas Children’s will also contribute to a national patient registry which will track diagnostic and treatment patterns and patient outcomes to help establish best practices in patient care.

Varghese will succeed Mallory in leading Texas Children’s program. During his tenure, Mallory helped the program earn national accreditation. He also served on the editorial Board of Pediatric Pulmonology for over 25 years. Mallory will continue to dedicate his time and expertise to the programs and the Pulmonology Section at Texas Children’s.

Click here to learn more about the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Texas Children’s.

August 7, 2018

On August 4, more than 500 patients and families traveled from all over the country for the 2018 Texas Children’s Newborn Center family reunion. The Texas-themed event celebrated former patients who graduated from the Newborn Center in 2017 after spending 10 days or more in our neonatal intensive care units at Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The reunion was held at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women where parents shared stories of hope and triumph with other neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) families and reconnected with the nurses and doctors who delivered life-saving care to their critically ill babies.

“The NICU reunion is one of the most special days of the year for those of us who work in the NICU,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh. “It is uplifting to see the families bring their children back to the hospital, and share the great progress their babies have made. During the reunion the families were able to visit with the employees, physicians and other families that they spent so much time with while being cared for in our NICU. On this day we also remember and pray for the families who unfortunately were unable to take their babies home. The resilience and the strength the families display during their babies’ NICU course and afterwards is admirable and inspires all of us.”

Highlights from the reunion included remarks from Suresh, Assistant Vice President of Nursing Heather Cherry, Newborn Center Family Advisory Committee (NFAC) member Ane Alfred, and Brian Brantley, the underwriter chairman for Bad Pants, an organization that has raised more than $6 million over the past 20 years to support the Newborn Center through the annual Bad Pants Open golf tournament.

The NICU reunion also offered children’s entertainment including a DJ, games, photo booth, face painting, crafts, airbrush tattoos, appearances from Minnie Mouse, SpongeBob Square Pants and Pikachu, and guests enjoyed a good old-fashioned Texas barbecue.

The Newborn Center team thanked everyone who helped organize this successful event including Texas Children’s NFAC Committee and Bad Pants.