May 9, 2017

Dr. Jordan Orange has been selected to receive a 2017 Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award, a prestigious honor given annually to Baylor College of Medicine faculty who have made the most significant published scientific contribution to clinical or basic biomedical research during the past three years.

Orange’s peers – Drs. Emily Mace, Lisa Forbes and Tiphanie Vogel – nominated him for the award in honor of his work as a distinguished pediatrician-scientist who has made seminal contributions to the fields of clinical immunology, basic immunology and cell biology.

Specifically, they highlighted three papers that represent the breadth, caliber and recent impact of Orange’s work as chief of the Section of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology and director of the Center for Human Immunobiology. These papers were published in Nature Genetics, the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Journal of Cell Biology and are described in greater detail below.

“Dr. Orange orchestrates a vibrant and successful clinical and basic research program applying cutting-edge cell biology to questions of important clinical relevance,” Mace said. “In addition to being a pioneer in the field of NK cell deficiency and an international authority in the study and treatment of primary immunodeficiency, he is also a world’s expert in the field of highly quantitative imaging, including super-resolution and total internal reflection microscopy.”

Mace added that Orange’s scientific accomplishments are paralleled only by his success as a leader and mentor.

“His scientific vision and innovation are combined with tireless dedication to both teaching and learning,” she said. “We all are honored to count him as a colleague.”

Orange will be presented with the DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Award on May 15. To learn more about the award, click here. To learn more about the scientific research that garnered Orange the DeBakey award, see below.

Nature Genetics – Through collaboration with the Baylor Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics, Orange has become a leader in the discovery of novel monogenic causes of primary immunodeficiency. The discovery of COPA syndrome (Watkin et al., Nature Genetics 2015) was the result of a multi-institute collaboration led by Orange. This rare, autosomal dominant autoimmune syndrome leads to arthritis and interstitial lung disease and was identified through whole exome sequencing of affected patients and their unaffected family members. This genetic discovery was validated in Orange’s laboratory by identifying the mechanism of disease through modeling of the impacted pathway. This work was also recognized with the Lee C. Howley Sr. prize for the most outstanding paper of the year by the Arthritis Foundation in 2015.

Journal of Clinical Investigation – NK cells are innate lymphocytes that eliminate infected or diseased cells. The field of primary NK cell deficiency (NKD) is one in which Orange has been a pioneer; he penned one of the first descriptions of NKD in 2003. While rare, NKD is severe and frequently fatal. To date, four monogenic causes of isolated NKD have been published, two of these from Orange’s group. Most recently, Orange led an international team that discovered biallelic mutations in the transcription factor IRF8 are a novel cause of NKD. This paper, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 2017 (Mace et al.), ended a decade-long quest to solve the original published case of NKD. Again, modeling of patient mutations in the Orange laboratory using cutting-edge cell biology revealed the mechanism of impaired NK cell development in a cohort of patients from unrelated families.

Cell Biology – As NK cells lie at the heart of Orange’s research, it is not surprising that understanding NK cell function has been a cornerstone of his basic science program. He has led the field of NK cell biology by using highly quantitative microscopy and image analysis to deeply probe their function. In the January 2017 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Hsu et al. describe the purpose of NK cell lytic granule convergence, a mechanism by which NK cells direct their potent cytolytic machinery to prevent damage to bystander cells. This finding, which has important clinical implications for the field of immunotherapy, featured the application of novel technology to mimic an NK cell microenvironment. This work was showcased on the cover of the journal and merited an editorial from the well-known cell biologist Dr. Ira Mellman, as well as a feature on the journal’s weekly podcast.

The Department of Emergency Management is presenting its 11th Annual Emergency Management Bridge Event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, on The Auxiliary Bridge.

Representatives from various Texas Children’s departments as well as external partners such as the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management will be onsite to help you prepare for hurricane season by assisting you with registering in the Employee Disaster Roster (EDR), getting your emergency supplies ready, and making sure you know where to go and what to do during a disaster.

Plan to stop by The Auxiliary Bridge to learn safety tips to help you prepare yourself, your family and your patients for the 2017 hurricane season.

May 4, 2017

On April 28, the popular Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jewel toured Texas Children’s newest full-service community hospital – Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The hospital’s chief medical officer Dr. Charles Hankins showed Jewel around the new, state-of-the-art facility and shared early successes of the inpatient hospital, which opened its doors less than a month ago on April 11.

The first stop on the tour was the audiology suite in the Outpatient Building on The Woodlands campus, where the group was treated to a look at the audiology booth which was generously given by Jewel.

Jewel then went room to room on the acute care floor of the inpatient facility talking with patients and families about their experiences, and played board games in the hospital’s playroom. The visit to the hospital brought a refreshing smile to many of the children’s faces.

Later that evening, nearly 600 guests gathered in a lavish tent on the grounds of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands for the hospital’s Grand Opening Gala.

Featuring a big board and live auction, the event co-chaired by Tracey & Sean O’Neal and Johnna & Ryan Edone raised $900,000 for the hospital and was capped off with a performance by Jewel.

The artist shared the inspiration behind her music and her gratitude for the work being done at Texas Children’s.

View a photo gallery below from the tour and from Jewel’s performance at the grand opening gala.

With the help of physicians in interventional radiology, anesthesiology and pathology at Texas Children’s Hospital, children in Vietnam suffering from severe and debilitating vascular anomalies are getting the help they desperately need.

At the beginning of the year, a medical team from Texas Children’s traveled to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to examine and treat patients with vascular anomalies as well as to train medical staff at the University Hospital to perform certain life-altering procedures on their own.

The effort is an extension of the active collaboration between the Vietnam Vascular Anomalies Center (VAC) based in Ho Chi Minh City and the Global Pathology program at Texas Children’s Hospital, launched in 2013 by Dr. Thuy Phung, a pathologist and associate director of Texas Children’s Global Pathology. Global Pathology is based in the Department of Pathology, under the leadership of Texas Children’s Pathologist-in-Chief Dr. James Versalovic.

The Vietnam VAC was established in 2009 by Phung and a team of physicians at Harvard Medical School and Ho Chi Minh City. Its mission is to provide safe and effective humanitarian medical care for underserved Vietnamese children with vascular and pigmented birthmarks, and to promote active collaboration between Vietnamese and U.S. physicians to improve the health of these children.

“We have been thinking about and working on the formation of an interventional radiology team that can work with the Vietnam VAC for some time and feel that our initial efforts have been extremely successful,” Phung said. “The techniques that we are teaching physicians in Vietnam can make a huge difference in the lives of children with vascular anomalies.”

During the team’s week-long visit to Ho Chi Minh City in January, members worked with and trained a local clinical team led by Dr. Tran Quoc Tuan, an interventional neuroradiologist at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital. Together, they evaluated and consulted on 38 adult and pediatric patients, providing recommendations on how to best manage their vascular anomalies. Of those patients, the clinical team selected 13 to treat using techniques such as embolization, which involves the injection of special medications into abnormal blood vessels under ultrasound and X-ray.

These treatments are common across the globe but can only be appropriately performed by highly trained medical professionals and require an experienced support team, such as a pediatric anesthesiologist, interventional radiologist, interventional radiology nurse practitioner and interventional radiology technologist proficient in the procedures. Texas Children’s brought all of the above to the Vietnam VAC, enabling several children, including a young boy whose vascular lesion was impeding his ability to breathe, to get the appropriate treatment and go home with a chance at a drastically improved life.

“This partnership has enabled us to train our clinical colleagues in Ho Chi Minh City to independently handle vascular anomaly patients and act as a referral center for the country,” said Texas Children’s interventional radiologist Dr. Sheena Pimpalwar. “Due to a large population of children in Vietnam who are affected by vascular anomalies and our ability to treat them in a multi-disciplinary fashion, this program has huge potential for growth.”

Texas Children’s pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Helena Karlberg emphasized the importance of having a multi-disciplinary approach available to patients at the Vietnam VAC and described the role of the anesthesiologist as one that includes early planning of airway management in patients undergoing procedures of the head and neck regions, and monitoring for, and treatment of any adverse effects by agents used during vascular anomaly care.

“These rather specialized procedures require a great deal of expertise,” Karlberg said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience assisting and instructing others to develop their own skills in caring for this group of patients.”

To ensure that patients receive the highest quality treatment, the Texas Children’s Hospital medical team plans on traveling to Vietnam each year to treat patients and to continue training the medical staff at the Vietnam VAC. In the meantime, the Texas Children’s team will consult with physicians in Vietnam on patient management via email, telephone and video conference.

Members of the Texas Children’s Hospital medical team that recently traveled to Vietnam include:

  • Dr. Alex Chau, interventional radiologist
  • Heather Cleveland, advanced clinical specialist and interventional radiology technologist
  • Dr. Helena Karlberg, pediatric anesthesiologist
  • Dr. Thuy Phung, associate director of Texas Children’s Global Pathology
  • Dr. Sheena Pimpalwar, interventional radiologist
  • Holly Phan Tran, vascular anomalies nurse practitioner
May 3, 2017

Texas Children’s employees and Houston-area residents came out in full force to participate in the grand opening celebration and inaugural Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Marathon Foundation Family Fun Run at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

On April 29, about 1,500 people of all abilities participated in the non-competitive 1-mile course in celebration of the April 11 grand opening of the new hospital. Following the race, participants enjoyed the H-E-B sponsored Family Fun Zone, which was packed with snacks, entertainment and 20 plus attractions.

Sarah Pepper from The Morning Mix and professional race announcer Mark Purnell kept everyone energized in their role as master of ceremonies cheering on the crowd and announcing any and all special guests, including
Dr. Kristen Ernest and Susan Niles with Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Sports Medicine, who led runners and walkers in some warm-up stretches and exercises, and members of the College Park High School Herald Trumpets, who played the National Anthem.

Prior to the race in a large tent next to the course’s start line, hospital and community leaders gathered for a light breakfast and short presentation about Texas Children’s new full-service community hospital. They then moved to the front of the hospital to cut a celebratory grand opening ribbon.

“Thirty-nine months ago, we had a tent and a shovel, now we have our campus ready to service the needs of children and families in this area,” said Dr. Charles Hankins, chief medical officer at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. “It’s very exciting.”

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands President Michelle Riley-Brown agreed and said the opening of the hospital is a huge milestone for Texas Children’s and reflects the health system’s overall strategy of giving patients and families more access to quality pediatric care.

To get a first-hand look at the fun and to learn more about Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands:

  • View a photo gallery of the event below.
  • Order your race-day photos from Spring Action. You can search by your bib number or last name to find your photos (if any exist). There also are hundreds of unidentified photos to sort through in the Lost & Found section. You can also browse the entire event, if desired.
  • Click here to read more about the opening of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

On May 1, 2017, surveyors from The Joint Commission arrived at Texas Children’s Hospital to conduct an unannounced 5-day survey to ensure that we are meeting the expectations of delivering the safest, high quality care to our patients and their families.

Every three years, Texas Children’s undergoes an accreditation process by the Joint Commission survey team to access the organization’s compliance in patient care areas that contribute to positive outcomes, and to measure and improve performance.

This week, surveyors will visit Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, Pavilion for Women, West Campus, The Woodlands, ambulatory clinics, dialysis, and health centers to evaluate our patient care processes through a variety of measurement tools including on-site observations, staff interviews, and tracer methodology. Just this year, the Joint Commission implemented a new survey methodology called Survey Analysis for Evaluating Risk (SAFER), a matrix that uses a color-coded grid to evaluate the likelihood of harm to patients, staff and visitors based on the number of occurrences.

“Our first day of the survey went very well, with surveyors citing positive feedback in several of our patient care and safety protocols,” said Texas Children’s Quality and Safety Director Elaine Whaley. “Since these accreditation surveys are unannounced, preparing for the Joint Commission survey has been a crucial, on-going and continuous process for our employees and staff.”

Next week, Connect will have an article with an overview of this week’s survey.

The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Approximately 77 percent of the nation’s hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission.

From NASA astronauts to Star Wars characters to the rings of Saturn, Texas Children’s employees and patients experienced a trip to outer space during Patient Experience Week that kicked off on April 24.

This year’s theme, Texas Children’s Patient Experience is Out of this World, describes what our 12,000+ employees and staff do every day to ensure our patient families have the best experience possible.

“We thought the space theme for Patient Experience Week was appropriate because our employees and staff are constantly shooting for the stars to create a positive experience for our patients and their families,” said Patient and Family Services Senior Project Manager Maggie Weimer.

Hundreds of people attended patient and family experience events at Main Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. The events offered up a lot of information and a lot of fun.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • Employee Health and Employee Assistance Program delivered two lectures on how to stay energized and how to bring love and kindness to your lives.
  • NASA astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindren talked about the commonalities between NASA’s preparation for space flight and how hospitals prepare for patient care.
  • Southwest Airlines Ambassador of FUN Tony Brigmon shared how staying positive, having fun, preventing conflict and working better together can create positive results for an organization. He provided a link to a journal to integrate his tips into our daily routines.
  • Space-themed activities for the patients included creating a space galaxy, moon rock throws, Saturn ring tosses, decorating a spaceship, and getting photos taken with their favorite Star Wars characters.

A Caught You Caring Awards ceremony was held to recognize our 2017 recipients:

  • Grace Collins, PCA, West Campus
  • Joyce Enochs, surgery scheduling optimizer, Medical Center
  • Heather Eppelheimer, child life specialist, Pavilion for Women
  • Roderic Johnson, radiology technician, Kingwood Specialty Care
  • Amanda Riddle, staff nurse, Medical Center
  • Sandy Rodriguez, front office specialist, Pavilion for Women
  • Keith Thomas, ASR, Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics
  • Kevin Young, patient transporter, Medical Center

Overall, the Patient Experience events were a success at reminding employees, patients and families that care at Texas Children’s goes beyond the bedside. It has to do with how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call to schedule an appointment with us to the point they leave our care.