August 1, 2017

Texas Children’s Heart Center has partnered with Project ADAM® to help prevent the deaths of children and adolescents due to sudden cardiac arrest.

Started in Wisconsin in 1999 by a family whose son died from the condition, Project ADAM® helps schools nationwide implement programs to make automated external defibrillators (AEDs) readily available by preparing schools for a cardiac emergency through emergency response plans, staff CPR and AED training, student CPR education and sudden cardiac arrest awareness education.

Melody Stephens brought the program to Houston and reached out to Texas Children’s for help after her 18-year-old son, Cody, fell asleep in a recliner at home and never woke up. Doctors determined the teenager, who had recently been awarded an athletic scholarship to play college football, died from sudden cardiac arrest.

“My primary goal is to help schools to be prepared to respond appropriately to a cardiac emergency so that the victim has the best chance of survival,” Stephens said. “Texas Children’s has embraced the concept and has done everything they can to make schools safer for children with heart conditions.”

Two area schools – Bonnie Holland Elementary in the Katy Independent School District and Crosby Kindergarten in the Crosby Independent School District – have been named Heart Safe Schools through Texas Children’s Hospital’s partnership with Project ADAM®. Five more campuses are awaiting the receipt of the designation and four other schools are in the process of becoming Heart Safe.

In order to become a Heart Safe School, teachers learn about the risks of sudden cardiac arrest as well as CPR training. Texas Children’s physicians and Heart Center team members helped provide the school with the training.

“Texas Children’s Hospital believes prevention is just as important as treatment,” said Texas Children’s Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Santiago Valdes, who serves as medical director of the local Project ADAM® initiative. “We are more than happy to lend our expertise to these schools while they check items off of the required checklist needed to become a Heart Safe School.”

For more information about Project ADAM® click here. To read a Texas Children’s blog post by Stephens about her and her son’s experience with sudden cardiac arrest, click here.

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.

July 27, 2017

Susan E. Caudle, associate professor, Psychology Section, Department of Pediatrics died July 21, 2017 at the age of 50.

Dr. Caudle joined Texas Children’s Hospital in 1999 as an intern in Psychology. She received her Ph.D. in August 2000 and went on to complete her fellowship in Neuropsychology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Caudle was hired as a neuropsychologist at Texas Children’s in September 2001 and was appointed to the Baylor College of Medicine faculty in 2005. Dr. Caudle was an outstanding Pediatric Neuropsychologist who developed a rare specialty in the neuropsychology of hearing loss and patients undergoing cochlear implantation. Dr. Caudle also worked closely with medical teams caring for children in need of liver and heart transplants. She was a consummate team player and gifted teacher as well as a good friend and exceptional colleague throughout her career. She will be sorely missed.

Dr. Caudle is survived by her husband, Don Caudle; two daughters, Analise and Sophia; sister, Sarah Bodak; mother, Joan Bodak; and a host of relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Lawrence Bodak.

There will be a memorial/remembrance service from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, July 30, at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center, University of Houston, in Houston, Texas. Memorial gifts in Sue’s memory can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at https://tinyurl.com/SusanCaudleDonation. Donations will be used to advance research, support patients, and create hope for those fighting pancreatic cancer.

July 25, 2017

In support of Patient and Family Services’ Step Up for Patients First initiative, 2,083 enthusiastic Texas Children’s employees participated in the StairWELL Challenge during the month of June. Participating employees made physical activity a priority by committing to take two to eight flights of stairs a day to improve the elevator experience for our patients and their families.

Texas Children’s Patient Experience Team received several comments from family members expressing positive feedback about the challenge.

“Thank you to all of the staff and doctors who we saw taking the stairs,” one grateful family member said. “The elevators are always crowded and wrestling for elevator space is the last thing you want to worry about when taking your child to multiple appointments. Seeing staff walk up or down just a few flights of stairs was a kind gesture to free up space.”

Director of Patient and Family Services Katie Kalenda Daggett said “because of the positive feedback from our patients and families, we learned this simple act of putting patients first when moving about on our public elevators has made a strong and positive statement about our commitment to them.”

Many employees said the challenge was a fun and healthy way to improve the experience for our patients and their families. According to a post-challenge survey:

  • 79 percent increased the number of minutes they were physically active
  • 57 percent improved their fitness level
  • 23 percent made new connections and became more social at work
  • 41 percent amplified unity to serve patients and families first
  • 66 percent expressed they had fun
  • 54 percent shared they now have a high commitment to taking the stairs

Several employees plan to continue the challenge. The Information Services team, for example, started Walk and Talk Tuesdays and Vertical Friday, which includes climbing 20 flight of stairs at the Feigin Center.

Departments across the organization amplified unity during the challenge by leading group stairwell climbs and exercise activities. Take a look at this short video to see challenge participants in action.

“We encourage all Texas Children’s employees to continue to be part of this collaborative process to reduce extended wait times at the elevators,” said Director of Benefits and Well-being Jill Fragoso. “It is important to remember Step Up for Patients First is part of a broader initiative to enhance patient experience across the hospital system.”

Want to achieve a personal fitness goal and help preserve the mission of Texas Children’s Hospital? Runners can enter the sold out 2018 marathon and half marathon races through the Chevron Houston Marathon’s Run for a Reason charity program.

Texas Children’s Hospital is an official charity for the Houston Marathon and Armaco Half Marathon, taking place on Sunday, January 14, 2018. The Run for a Reason program is a way for runners to run the race of their choice with a guaranteed entry – on behalf of a charity.

Running for Texas Children’s Hospital is not just about the race, it’s a promise to our patients. By signing up to run and fundraise on behalf of Texas Children’s Hospital, your donations will directly impact the lives of countless children. Your race will become the race for our patients who are too sick – sometimes too sick even to play outside. Your support will allow us to expand our care to even more children who need our help.

Make your promise and join the Texas Children’s Running Team today! For additional information and ways to get involved, click here.

Questions
Please contact Claire O’Malley at ext. 4-2685 or runforareason@texaschildrens.org.