July 19, 2016

72016Sager640Craig Sager, recipient of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, or the ESPY Awards, gave an inspiring speech about his journey battling cancer and the comfort he’s found in the model train exhibit at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Many nights I don’t get out of the hospital until after midnight. I always take the same walking path back to the hotel. The sidewalks wind through a maze of buildings, including Texas Children’s Hospital. Many nights I would stop, pause and I’ll go inside. A few feet inside the hallway is this large model train display covered by glass. There are seven buttons on the outside. They activate the trains, the circus, the toys and the trolley. And many nights alone, in the stillness and the solitude of the hospital, I push those buttons and I watch the trains as they disappear through the tunnel and emerge full steam on the other side. I watch the trains as they pass by the town square, the dinosaur canyon, the pirates cove, Santa Land and the ice skating rink. And I sit there and I watch and l listen. I listen to the sounds of the circus, of the kids laughing and of the train chugging along. Now I don’t know why I am so brought to this train set. Perhaps it’s my life coming full circle. Maybe it’s just the kid inside all of us. Or perhaps it’s a few minutes of my life that leukemia can’t take from me.”

Sager’s full speech: http://ow.ly/2PCs302fbkg

72016PaulaMcSwain175Paula McSwain of Texas Children’s Pediatrics Baytown is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star leader. “Working for an organization that values and recognizes employees for their efforts has raised the bar for my professional and personal goals as well,” McSwain said. Read more of McSwain’s interview below and find out how you can nominate a Super Star.

Your name, title and department.
Paula McSwain, Practice Manager, Texas Children’s Pediatrics Baytown

What month are you Super Star for?
Third Quarter (July – September) 2016 for Texas Children’s Hospital

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
A surprise breakfast meeting was planned by my staff/providers; Kay Tittle, president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics; Pat Coleman, director of regional operations; and Claudia Cerrato Day, assistant director of regional operations.

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?
I was honored to receive this award from the organization. Working for an organization that values and recognizes employees for their efforts has raised the bar for my professional and personal goals as well.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?

  • To be Committed to the values of Texas Children’s
  • To be Motivated to come to work every day looking for ways to help others.
  • To be Determined that every decision you make is centered on the patient and their families for a positive outcome.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
I like to know that families are receiving the best possible care for their children as I would want my own children to receive. Texas Children’s is an organization that leads health care around the world, and I take pride every morning when I put my badge on knowing that I am a part of that team.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Being able to help others, be it a patient, staff member or a provider. Also when I meet someone off of the job while in the community and they ask where I am employed, I proudly tell them Texas Children’s!

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your Leadership definition?
I believe that part of being a leader is having the ability to influence others by your actions. I realize that every day my co-workers are watching my actions and are reacting to those actions as well. I also see the same thing going on with other staff members within the clinic daily, so we all can be leaders.

Anything else you want to share?
Over the years I have told my staff and providers that every patient should be treated as we would like our own families to be treated. Customer Service is something that I feel is very important and I strive daily to exceed the expectation of our patients and their families. I love helping people while at work and in the community as well.

93015JohnDormans175Chief of Orthopedics John Dormans, MD, received an honorary professorship in Orthopaedic Surgery from the School of Medicine at the University of Basrah in Basra, Iraq. He was presented with the honor at the university’s spring graduation ceremony by Thamer Hamdan, MD, chancellor of the University of Basrah. Dormans received this honor for his humanitarian work with the international pediatric orthopedic community.

72016WayneFranklin175Wayne Franklin, MD, director and founder of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, was recently selected to participate in The Aspen Institute Fellowship, a two-year fellowship focused on strengthening the leadership of innovators across the U.S. health care ecosystem.

Called the Health Innovators Partnership and in conjunction with South Carolina’s largest non-profit healthcare system, Greenville Health System, the Aspen Institute’s primary objective for the fellowship is to create meaningful change in health care with the help of 21 newly appointed fellows, including Franklin.

Franklin and his associate fellows were selected to innovate change and improve the health and well-being of all Americans. The team – made up of experts in pharmaceuticals, public health, biotechnology, insurance, mental health and government – will collaborate to institute the advancements of America’s health.

Rima Cohen, the managing director of the fellowship, described her excitement about the fellow’s various backgrounds, energy, and expertise as being united to “tackle our nation’s most pressing health care challenges.”

72016jrreporters640A team of nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists from Texas Children’s Hospital’s Main Operating Room recently participated in a medical mission in Antigua, Guatemala.

The mission was coordinated by Faith in Practice, a Houston-based organization dedicated to the medical care of indigent people in Guatemala. The 44-member team that went consisted of medical and surgical staff from hospitals in the Medical Center and out of state. Among the volunteers from Texas Children’s were Drs. Olutoyin Olutoye, Oluyinka Olutoye, Robert Power, David Mann and Stephanie Cruz; certified registered nurse anesthetists Nate Jones and Megan Koudelka; and registered nurses Karen Bustos, Debra Batiste and Juan Sale.

Focusing primarily on pediatric patients, the team performed nearly 140 surgeries in just four days, including inguinal and umbilical hernias, orthopedic surgeries, podiatric cases, and dental extractions conducted in support of the people of Antigua.

“It is always a humbling experience to go on this mission trip,” said Bustos, who has been on the mission five times now. “These people come from villages eight to 10 hours away and come to us full of trust that we will make their children well.”

Sale, a first-time volunteer, said the trip was “an amazing experience, especially when you get to help the children.”

Glass, the group coordinator for Texas Children’s, said she has been participating in similar mission trips since 2002 and has gone to Guatemala 15 times.

“This activity is open to all surgeons, operating room nurses, anesthesia staff, recovery room nurses, and especially bilingual people,” Glass said, adding that financial donations will help support the mission as well as donation of unused OR supplies.

According to the organization’s website, Guatemala is considered extremely impoverished in comparison to other South American countries. Half of Guatemala’s 14 million people live in poverty, which is defined as living on less than $2 per day. In addition, the vast majority of Guatemalans have virtually no access to public health care.

In spite of these deficiencies, The Faith in Practice organization has made a significant impact on the people of Guatemala. In 2015 alone, 1,200 US volunteers travelled to Guatemala to participate in the mission activities coordinated by Faith in Practice. As a result, a total of 2,400 surgical procedures were performed and 25,000 Guatemalan patients were seen by the medical mission teams. Texas Children’s Hospital is extremely proud of this team and their selfless dedication to service.

72016fetalconference640The International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society (IFMSS) led by co-presidents Doctors Oluyinka and Olutoyin Olutoye, will convene for its annual meeting in Kasane, Botswana from August 2 to 7, 2016. This is the second time the meeting has been held on the African continent in the society’s 35-year history.

The IFMSS is an international gathering of fetal medicine practitioners from all over the world,” said Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center. “The annual meeting is the forum where innovations in fetal therapy are discussed even prior to general dissemination.”

Topics that will be discussed at the meeting include updates on the management of fetuses with spina bifida, innovative therapies for congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), advances in the management of complex twin problems, as well as topics on ethics, anesthesia, genetics, cardiology, diagnostics, neonatal care and long-term outcomes amongst others.

Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos is one of the invited keynote speakers. The other keynote speaker is the Executive Director of the BIPAI Center of Excellence in Botswana, Prof. Gabriel Anabwani. Other Texas Children’s physician attendees include Dr. Darrell Cass, co-director of the Fetal Center, who will present the hospital’s experience with the management of CDH, Texas Children’s neurosurgeon Dr. William Whitehead who will deliver a presentation on the fetal management of spina bifida and Texas Children’s maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Alireza Shamshirsaz who will present on fetal intervention for non-immune hydrops.

Other meeting attendees include Drs. Karolina Adam and Joanie Hare of Houston Perinatal Associates, and research fellows Drs. Stephanie Cruz and Patricio Lau who will also present at the meeting and are two of the seven recipients of the young investigator travel award. Kristen Kaiser, PhD, of Texas Children’s Pediatric Surgery Division together with Adam Gibson and Taylor Napier Earle of Texas Children’s Global Health have graciously provided administrative and logistical support for this international meeting.

In addition to the IFMSS meeting in Kasane, Botswana, a pre-meeting symposium will be held in conjunction with the Botswana Pediatric Association and the University of Botswana in the capital city, Gaborone, Botswana from July 31 to August 1. This symposium, also involving international speakers, will address issues in prenatal diagnosis, pediatric anesthesiology, obstetrics, pediatric surgery, cardiology and critical care, and is targeted at Botswana physicians not involved in fetal therapy.

“Serving as co-presidents of an international society is an honor and privilege,” said Dr. Olutoyin Olutoye, director of the Fetal Anesthesia Service at Texas Children’s. “It acknowledges our participation in the society’s activities over the years, reflects our contributions to the field, and places Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine amongst elite institutions whose faculty have led such a prestigious organization.”

The logo for the 35th IFMSS meeting was designed by Beth Sumner of Texas Children’s Department of Surgery, with inspiration from the co-presidents. The elephant acknowledges the region of Botswana where the meeting will be held, which is home to the largest concentration of elephants in the world. The fetus encased in the elephant trunk acknowledges the care of the fetus that is the focus of the meeting.

71316CynthiaGrace175Cynthia Grace, care manager at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, died unexpectedly along with her husband on July 8, 2016. She was 41 years old.

Cynthia joined Texas Children’s Hospital in 2011. She was well-respected, admired by her peers and consistently provided exceptional care to her patients and families. Everyone who worked alongside Cynthia will miss her smile, quick wit and sparkling personality.

Cynthia is survived by her children, Ariel and Alex; her father, Richard; her mother, Lumduan; and her brother, Brandon. To her many extended family and friends, she will be greatly missed.