November 14, 2017

As we wrap up our Caught You Caring series on Connect, we share one more inspiring story of a Texas Children’s employee who demonstrates what it means to go above and beyond for her patients and their families.

For nearly eight years, Amanda Riddle has found it her life’s passion to take care of sick children. As a neurology nurse in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, she makes sure her patients have the best possible experience during their hospital stay as many of them are sometimes here for several months on the unit.

“I nominated Amanda for the Caught You Caring award because she truly embodies a caregiver,” said Elizabeth Davis, patient care manager in Neurology. “She lives the values and demonstrates true advocacy and empathy for patients, families and staff. She always greets patients and their families to see if they are having a great experience during their hospital stay, and she is willing to support her colleagues when they need a helping hand.”

Recently, Amanda noticed that one of the floor’s newer nurses was struggling with her current patient load. Amanda rushed in to help by performing blood draws and handling lab work so that her colleague could focus on her other patients with more urgent needs.

Her colleagues on the unit describe Amanda as a coworker who has a “passion for the work that she does which is impossible to miss. Whenever Amanda is on the unit, she will not let you be in the trenches alone.”

Launched in 2015, Texas Children’s Caught You Caring program is a systemwide program that recognizes employees for going above and beyond to provide compassion and kindness in the care of a patient, family or co-worker. Recently, Riddle was among more than a dozen employees who received a pair of tickets to watch the Houston Texans Play 60 game on October 1, after being recognized for his acts of kindness through this program.

Texas Children’s wants to continue to recognize those who take great pride in the work they do and encourages patients, families and employees to catch someone who is making a difference.

To nominate a colleague, Caught You Caring boxes and cards can be found across the Texas Children’s hospital system for patients and families to fill out. Employees can fill out a staff recognition.

For the past four weeks, Connect featured a series of Caught You Caring videos spotlighting several of our employees who have gone above and beyond their role in the care of our patients and their families.

In case you missed it, click on the links below to view the rest of the series.

Heather Eppleheimer
Joyce Enochs
Keith Thomas
Donald Wilkins

The Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers recently held its 2017 Annual Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Education and Team Building Symposium.

The Cancer and Hematology Centers’ APP team consists of 25 APPs on 10 different disease teams.

The annual symposium provides an opportunity for professional development and collaboration across teams.

Presentations included:

  • Dr. Rona Sonabend on “Endocrinopathies in Children with Cancer”
  • Dr. Amanda Berger on “Pain and Pain Management in Children with Cancer”
  • Pat Wills Bagnato on “Mentorship Relationships”

There also was a teleconference call with the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses (APHON®) on their Mentorship Program.

Texas Children’s Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Division was recently awarded an NIH Small Business Innovation Research grant via Biotex Inc. to develop vaginal stents that will help vaginal reconstructive patients heal.

The most common complication after vaginal reconstruction is restenosis and scar tissue formation, which can occur in up to 73 percent of patients. As many as 50,000 girls a year and 213,000 women could benefit from postoperative treatment using newly designed vaginal stents.

There currently are no vaginal stents on the market for the pediatric population, forcing physicians to use makeshift devices fashioned from surgical gloves or other materials. “Therefore, there is a tremendous need to help these patients and their physicians with a simple device that can truly improve their quality of life beyond even the surgery,” said Texas Children’s pediatric and adolescent gynecologist Dr. Julie Hakim.

“In creating the first vaginal stent specifically designed to address the anatomic needs of the pediatric and adolescent populations, we aim to reduce early discontinuation of stent postoperatively and improve postsurgical outcomes,” she said.

Phase I testing is ongoing and submission for a grant for a Phase II clinical trial is anticipated to occur in April.

As part of National Genetic Counselor Awareness Day on November 9, Texas Children’s recognizes the crucial role our genetic counselors play every day for our patients and their families. In fact, genetic counselor was named one of the “25 Amazing Healthcare Support Jobs” and one of the “100 Best Jobs” in 2017 by U.S. News and World Report.

The demand for genetic counselors continues to grow with the increase in our understanding of the genetic contributions to disease. As a liaison between the physician and patient, genetic counselors are an important part of the health care team. Specially trained in the areas of basic science, medical genetics, psychology and epidemiology, genetic counselors work closely with our physicians from various pediatric subspecialties to evaluate a family’s risk of an inherited medical condition, decide what genetic tests to order, and interpret and use the test results to provide guidance to patients and their families. With over 30 genetic counselors at Texas Children’s alone spread across many subspecialties, genetic counselors play a unique role that illustrates the importance of genetics in all areas of medicine.

“Since genetics is a very fast-paced and rapidly evolving field, we have to stay up to date with current genetic research and testing to provide patients with the most accurate information and best care possible,” said Andi Lewis, a Texas Children’s pediatric genetic counselor in the general genetics, neurofibromatosis, and cardiovascular genetics clinics.

Genetic counseling can be a very time-intensive process with a new patient appointment typically ranging from 45 to 60 minutes. Much preparation occurs prior to the appointment, which involves gathering a patient’s medical records and history, drawing the family tree or pedigree, and researching various possible diagnoses and recommendations for genetic testing options for the family.

Whether delivering good or not so good news to patients and their families, empowering them with the knowledge to make an informed decision lies at the heart of genetic counseling.

“With genetics being a growing component of many other subspecialties, there is a huge demand for genetic counselors to work within all areas of medicine so that we can help our patients and families understand the potential impact that genetics can play on their lives while supporting them throughout the process,” said Pilar Magoulas, pediatric genetic counselor at Texas Children’s and chief of the Division of Genetic Counseling at Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics.

Texas is proud to have over 100 genetic counselors with over 30 genetic counselors at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine alone. There are 37 genetic counseling graduate training programs across the United States and Canada. Baylor and the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics along with the School of Allied Health has created the second Genetic Counseling training program in Texas and will enroll its first class in the fall of 2018.

For more information about Texas Children’s genetic counselors, click here. For more information on the genetic counseling profession, click here.

The Inaugural Dr. Barbara J. Anderson lecture was held on October, 27. This lectureship was created to honor Barbara J. Anderson, Ph.D., associate head of the Section of Psychology and professor of Pediatrics, who recently retired after 15 years on faculty at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Anderson’s contributions to the diabetes community and behavioral science over her 40-year career have been invaluable to advancing research and practice in pediatric diabetes and supporting the careers of many scientists and providers in academic medicine. Prior to her time in Houston, she was on faculty at Washington University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan, and Harvard Medical School/Joslin Diabetes Center. Dr. Anderson has had continuous grant support from the National Institutes of Health, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, JDRF, and other funders since 1979.

The honored speaker at the Inaugural Anderson lecture was Randi Streisand, Ph.D., professor of Psychology and Behavioral Health and director of Psychology Research at Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC). Dr. Streisand is an internationally recognized expert in parenting stress and support in families of children with type 1 diabetes. Her lecture, “The Shared Lived Experience: What Parenting Coaching Can Add to a Behavioral Intervention,” recognized Dr. Anderson’s early contributions to the field that acknowledged the importance of supporting parents and families of children with chronic medical conditions including diabetes. Dr. Streisand reviewed literature about peer parent mentoring across pediatric chronic conditions and illustrated the implementation of Peer Coach strategies as part of her program of behavioral intervention research with parents of young children with type 1 diabetes. In addition to her lecture, Dr. Streisand met with collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital and led professional mentoring sessions with behavioral researchers and clinical faculty in the Section of Psychology.

The Barbara J. Anderson lecture will occur annually, highlighting leaders in pediatric, child clinical, and neuropsychology to honor the professional legacy of Dr. Anderson’s widespread contributions to the field.

Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre participated on the CNO panel at the third Annual Houston Regional Shared Governance Conference which was held on November 7 at the Palazzio Reception Venue.

Nurses from the Houston region convened at this conference to discuss building and sustaining a culture of resiliency in health care. The event included Best Practice presentations that addressed resiliency in the clinical practice settings.

Members of Texas Children’s nursing shared governance council (pictured above) also attended this conference.

On November 9, Texas Children’s dedicated the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden during a special ribbon cutting ceremony attended by more than 50 people including Texas Children’s leadership and staff, members of the Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees, The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital, and our external construction and design partners who helped make this vision a reality for our patients and their families.

Located outside the Abercrombie Building, a beautifully hand-painted mural greets visitors as they enter the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden which was meticulously designed to create a comfortable retreat where patients and families could get away from the stress of treatment or caring for a loved one in the hospital.

The play garden features a colorful display of child-friendly play pieces, musical instruments and plenty of shade structures, benches and lush landscape for optimal relaxation. The design of the play space allows patients – whether ambulatory or confined to a wheelchair – to easily access all of the amenities offered in the play garden.

Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony included Texas Children’s Senior Vice President Tabitha Rice, Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre, Donigan family friend Betty Lunsford, and patient family Desiree Bradley, whose daughter, Deonc, had been treated at Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit for seven months.

When Bradley delivered her daughter, she wasn’t sure how long her little girl would survive due to an extremely rare genetic disorder called Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, which affects the spine, ribs and respiratory system. Ten years later, however, Deonc, is a happy, thriving young girl who visits Texas Children’s often where she sees 13 different specialists for her condition. Bradley thanked the staff at Texas Children’s and everyone who was involved in the play garden project which will benefit our patients and their families for many years to come.

“You have done an outstanding job to make this an accessible space for all of the children, all of the patients and their families at Texas Children’s,” Bradley said. “When you enter the play garden, it’s not just about Deonc Bradley. It’s about mom and dad, the siblings, and meeting the needs of the entire family. When I am having a rough day, this is a nice space for me and my children to take a break and relax for a few minutes.”

In addition to feedback from our medical staff, employees and from our patients and families, Texas Children’s Facilities Planning and Development team collaborated with external project partners – W.S. Bellows, RVI Planning + Landscape Architecture, Smith Seckman & Reid, Walter P. Moore and muralist Sebastein Boileau – to bring this project to fruition for our patient families.

The new Abercrombie play garden was named in memory of the late Merle C. Donigan, a long-time Texas Children’s volunteer and Auxiliary member who graciously donated funds which were used to honor her legacy and support this renovation project. While she and her husband never had children of their own, they both delighted in being able to make a child smile.

“As former owners of a sandwich/candy shop in downtown Houston, the Donigans retired from business in the 1950s and thereafter, Merle brought her business acumen and love of children to volunteer at Texas Children’s,” Lunsford said. “This play garden is a symbol of Merle’s love of children and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the legacy she left us.”

To learn more about the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden, click here to watch the video.