Mary Kelly – Page 403 – Texas Children's News

August 14, 2015

Texas Children’s Hospital Transplant Services team is hosting the 2015 Pediatric Transplant Symposium at Texas Children’s Hospital.

The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, September 4, at the Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women fourth-floor conference center. Lunch will be provided.

Any health care professional with an interest in the care of transplant patients and those who currently care for transplant patients, are encouraged to attend. The topics discussed at the conference will be great for:

Faculty, fellows, residents and trainees involved in the care of transplant patients
Primary care physicians caring for transplant patients outside the inpatient hospital setting
Nurses and other health care professionals
Transplant multidisciplinary team members (PT/OT, dietitians, social workers, pharmacists, child life, staff nurses, surgical team, ambulatory care)

Attendees will learn more about:

Transplant ethics
Medical issues in transplantation
Cutting edge advancements in thoracic & abdominal transplantation
Transplant regulatory implications/compliance/readiness

Please register for the conference at: http://texaschildrens.org/transplant2015/ and see the website for specific continuing education information and registration details.

Contact Melissa Nugent, clinical educator for Transplant Services, at msnugent@texaschildrens.org with questions.

August 12, 2015

Dear Cameron,

Why fit in when you were born to stand out.

One year ago on July 17, you burst into the world. Your daddy raced us to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, and just 26 minutes later, you were born. After getting over the initial shock of your quick arrival, it sunk in that my life was changed forever. It was during your first bath that our nurse pointed out your dimples. To this day, your dimples remain one of my favorite things about you. Not only are they an adorable and unique facial feature, they are a constant symbol of your happiness. You are the happiest and smiliest baby I have ever known. You flash your smile and wave at anyone that catches your eye. It’s no wonder that people are so naturally drawn to you.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

It seems like just yesterday you needed me for everything from holding your head up, getting your burps out and marathon nursing sessions. In those early days, I marveled at your every move. Watching you grow, learn and reach milestones has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. You’re not walking just yet but have several other skills that you are honing to perfection. Your fierce ball throwing, jumping and speed crawling abilities have given your athletic parents high hopes for a sporty future. Your gravitation towards books warms my heart and I love watching you light up as you explore the words and pictures. “Turn the page” was the first instruction that you consistently followed, but only with your left hand.

Oh, the Places You Will Go

The travel seed has been firmly planted in you. It was on your first out-of-town trip to the Texas Hill Country at 10 weeks of age that we discovered the ridiculous amount of baby gear you require. At four months old, you conquered a 10-hour road trip to Destin, Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. At six months, we rush ordered a passport for you, as sadly your great grandmother in England passed away. On your first flight, the Dreamliner Captain welcomed you into the cockpit and totally dug your Snoopy bomber jacket. Even though the circumstances for the trip were sad, the extended family fawned over you and happily introduced you to mushy peas. At eight months, your daddy wheeled you up and down the hilly San Francisco streets and you experienced life behind bars in an Alcatraz jail cell. Your passion for the outdoors and new experiences has made me giddy for the lifetime of travel we have ahead of us.

Family, like branches on a tree we all grow in a different direction, yet our roots remain as one.

You are blessed to receive so much love from your entire family. Your Grammy and Pops enthusiastically swing you at the park, play endless games of peek-a-boo and chase you around in your red sports car. Your Nanny and Grandad love exposing you to music, culture, travel, and puppies. Even though your Nanny swore she wouldn’t be “that Grandma,” she proudly showcases you all over social media. Your free-spirited nanny Sarah lovingly cares for you day after day and encourages you to become whoever it is that you want to be.

To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.

Cameron, you have taught me to practice patience, to be more selfless and to live in the moment. You have allowed me to trust my Mommy instincts and that it is ok to break “parenting rules.” I am infinitely grateful for the bond you have solidified between your Daddy and me. We are a team and you are our M.V.P. You are generous in your cuddles and sloppy kisses and gentle towards other babies and animals. You are courageous, determined and show resilience when you fail. You delight in your accomplishments and value the praise you receive. I admire these qualities and hope that the baby you are today is an indication of the man you will become.

Your first year felt both long and short and hard and effortless, however the one constant is that my love for you grows at a faster rate than you do. I am so proud to be your mom. As this first chapter in our lives together comes to a close, I will end this letter with the wise words of Dr. Seuss: “Cameron, you’re off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so go get on your way.”

Love, Mommy (Julie Griffith)

Click on this image to watch a video slideshow of Cameron’s first year.

August 10, 2015

Bench and Bedside is a digest of the previous month’s stories about the clinical and academic activities of our physicians and scientists. We welcome your subsmissions and feedback.

July 7

Texas Children’s Hospital launches pediatric Thyroid Tumor Program

Texas Children’s Hospital recently formed a new pediatric Thyroid Tumor Program dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of children and young adults with thyroid tumors, cancer and diseases. Read more

July 7

Radiology expansion promotes environment of collaboration

New and improved office space for the Department of Pediatric Radiology brings together all radiologists in one large reading room and houses the department’s offices in one centralized location. The expansion also provides space for daily morning huddles. These changes help ensure the hospital’s imaging services are available for patients in a timely manner. Read more

July 14

Dr. Susan Blaney elected chair of CPRIT Advisory Committee on childhood cancers

Dr. Susan Blaney, deputy director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, was recently elected to serve as chair of the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Advisory Committee on Childhood Cancers (ACCC). Blaney, who has been a member of the committee for three years, will serve a two-year term. Read more

July 14

Health Center staff prepares for transition to community hospital setting

With the opening of the outpatient and subspecialty building at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands just 15 months away, steps are being taken to ensure the transition for staff, patients and their families is seamless. One such step was taken June 25 and 26 when staff and leaders at the Woodlands Health Center and staff and leaders at the West Campus Outpatient and Subspecialty Building met and discussed what it’s like to go from working at a small community health center to a community hospital. Read more

July 14

Texas Children’s opens first-of-its-kind pediatric Heart Failure Intensive Care Unit

Texas Children’s Heart Center and the section of Critical Care Medicine cut the ribbon July 6 on a new, first-of-its-kind pediatric Heart Failure Intensive Care Unit. This highly-specialized 12-bed unit focuses on the treatment of children with heart failure, as well as those requiring intensive care before and after heart transplant. Read more

July 14

Young investigator given research boost from national grant

Dr. Rikhia Chakraborty is a young scientist with a distinct goal – to find the causes that potentially lead to Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare cancer mainly affecting pediatric patients, and determine the best way to prevent and treat the disease. Chakraborty’s research was recently recognized by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation with a Young Investigator Grant worth $100,000. Read more

July 14

Hour-long documentary on Mata conjoined twins to air on Discovery Life Channel

An hour-long documentary on the formerly conjoined Mata twins aired on the Discovery Life Channel on July 16 . The program spotlighted Texas Children’s Hospital’s efforts leading up to and after the historic surgery that separated Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata. Read more

July 14

Department of Surgery makes great strides 2010-2015

During his annual state of the department meeting, Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr. highlighted the impressive efforts within the Department of Surgery. Read more

July 20

A new community hospital partnership allows patients to deliver at CHI St. Luke’s Health – The Vintage Hospital

Pregnant members of Texas Children’s Health Plan – The Center for Children and Women Greenspoint location recently received some big news. They can now deliver their babies at CHI St. Luke’s Health – The Vintage Hospital located in Northwest Houston. Read more

July 21

Texas Children’s conference empowers HH patients, families

On July 11, Texas Children’s Hospital and Hope for Hypothalamic Hamartomas hosted an educational conference to empower patients and their families affected by a rare and often devastating brain condition. Hypothalamic Hamartoma (HH) is a noncancerous tumor of the hypothalamus that causes uncontrollable seizures, early puberty, hormonal imbalances and cognitive and behavioral problems. Read more

July 21

World renowned epileptologist, colleagues visit Texas Children’s Hospital

World renowned epileptologist Dr. Helen Cross and two of her colleagues visited Texas Children’s July 9 and July 10 to get more information on the Medtronic Visualase system, which uses real-time MRI-guided thermal imaging and laser technology to destroy lesions in the brain that cause epilepsy and uncontrollable seizures. Read more

July 21

Leaders prepare for opening of special isolation unit

Clinicians recently participated in a detailed simulation to prepare for the soon-to-be-open special isolation unit. The state-of-the-art facility will open its doors in October and a Special Response Team will stand ready to receive children suspected of having a highly contagious disease. Read more

July 21

End-of-treatment bell brings hope for cancer patients

Patients at the Texas Children Cancer and Hematology Centers now can ring a bell in both the inpatient and outpatient units at the end of their treatment. Listen to a song Purple Songs Can Fly artist and cancer survivor Christian Spear wrote and dedicated to patients entering a new phase of their lives with the ringing of the end-of-treatment bell. Read more

July 21

ICD-10: Let’s reach 100 percent educational compliance by September 1

On October 1, Texas Children’s and other hospitals around the nation will convert to the federally-mandated ICD-10 coding system to better report patients’ diagnoses and inpatient procedures. To ensure we are ready systemwide for this transition, employees must complete their required online education and training by September 1. You can access your assigned e-learning module here. Read more

July 28

Texas Children’s Auxiliary awards given to Gargollo and Rosenfeld

The Texas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary awarded urologist Dr. Patricio Gargollo the Denton A. Cooley Fellowship in Surgical Innovation Award and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Rosenfeld the Outcomes Fellowship Award for 2015. Each award totals $75,000. This is the fourth year the Department of Surgery has received funding from the Texas Children’s Auxiliary. Read more

July 28

NRI study: Insufficient energy production by mitochondria can lead to neural degeneration

In a fascinating study recently published in PLOS Biology, Dr. Hugo Bellen, Manish Jaiswal and their colleagues at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s found that insufficient energy production by the mitochondria can cause photoreceptor neurons in the retina to degenerate. Read more

July 28

Fraser celebrates 20 years with Texas Children’s Hospital Heart Center

Thanks to the vision of legendary heart surgeon Dr. Denton H. Cooley and the leadership of Texas Children’s Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr ., the Texas Children’s Hospital Heart Center is one of the most active pediatric heart programs in the United States, setting a record with 32 heart transplants in 2014 and consistently treating the most complex heart issues every day. Read more

July 28

Texas Children’s expands crucial care to cancer and hematology patients in developing countries

Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center physicians are crossing the globe to provide care for children suffering from cancer and blood disorders. Watch a video to see how the care they provide continues to reach new populations. Read more

July 28

Zarutskie’s arrival, expertise complements patient care at Family Fertility Center

Dr. Paul Zarutskie recently joined the Family Fertility Center at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. With more than 30 years in the field of reproductive medicine, Zarutskie combines his expertise and compassionate approach to patient care to help infertile couples achieve their dream of starting a family. Read more

August 14

Transplant Services team to host pediatric transplant symposium

Texas Children’s Hospital Transplant Services team is hosting the 2015 Pediatric Transplant Symposium at Texas Children’s Hospital. Learn how to register for this conference. Read more

August 4, 2015

Twenty years ago on August 1, Texas Children’s launched what is now the largest pediatric network in the nation with more than 200 board-certified pediatricians and 50 practices throughout the greater Houston area. Each year, the group sees 400,000 patients and completes more than a million visits.

“Texas Children’s Pediatrics has been one of the best things for Texas Children’s Hospital,” CEO and President Mark A. Wallace said. “More importantly, it’s been one of the best things for the community.”

The physician network was formed in 1995 with the purchase of a practice in west Houston owned and operated by four brothers – Drs. Ben, Morris, Harry and Paul Rosenthal. Because of its success, more and more pediatricians joined the group, making it what it is today.

Harry Rosenthal, who still practices at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Ashford with his brother, Ben Rosenthal, and his brother’s daughter, Dr. Rachel Rosenthal Bray, said his family is happy to be part of such a successful organization.

“It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made,” Rosenthal said. “Texas Children’s Pediatrics has been wonderful for our practice.”

Dr. Kamini Muzumdar of Texas Children’s Pediatrics North Cypress agreed and said joining the group 15 years ago “made sense in every possible way” and has allowed her and her more than 20 other colleagues at the practice to accomplish things they never would have been able to do had they been on their own.

“Being part of Texas Children’s has given us the opportunity to be a part of an organization that has a reputation for providing exceptional care,” Muzumdar said.

In addition to providing its physicians with administrative, financial and management expertise, Texas Children’s Pediatrics offers a link to the entire Texas Children’s system, which includes more than 2,000 medical staff who provide care in more than 40 pediatric subspecialties.

“Texas Children’s Pediatrics is part of the Texas Children’s family,” said Kay Tittle, president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “The organizations support each other and allow everyone to focus on our top priority, which is taking care of patients and their families.”

The close working relationship also helps us grow to meet the ever-changing needs of those we serve.

“We’ve been doing this for 20 years and have been doing a phenomenal job,” Texas Children’s Pediatrics Vice President Lou Fragoso said. “But, the needs of families are changing, the way they need their care delivered is changing and we need to change with them.”

That’s why just this past year, Texas Children’s opened its first two urgent care centers and started a pilot program called Texas Children’s Pediatrics Walk-In-Now (W.I.N.) at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Cy-Fair. Both programs offer additional access to quality pediatric care any time of the day or night. Additional urgent care and W.I.N. locations will be opening soon.

A few months ago, Texas Children’s Pediatrics launched the ParentAdvice Center, a new mobile health management app available for free on iTunes and Google Play that will help families make smart decisions about what level of care is needed for their child and how to provide symptom relief for minor illnesses or injuries at home.

And, for years Texas Children’s Pediatrics Community Cares Program has provided trusted, high-quality pediatric medical services for children who otherwise would seek care from emergency rooms or possibly go without care or treatment due to low family incomes and/or lack of health insurance.

Regardless of the family’s financial situation, the Community Cares Program provides health care to children from birth to age 18 and offers the opportunity to develop a trusting, long-term relationship with a board certified pediatrician. The program also collaborates with community partners to assist families with other needed health care services.

Texas Children’s Pediatrics Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stanley Spinner said as long as the organization continues to come together as a unified group of physicians whose primary focus is the patient then Texas Children’s Pediatrics will continue to be successful.

“It’s exceeded my expectations,” said Spinner, who was one of the first physicians to join Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “And, I’m sure it will continue.”

Making a trip to the hospital can be stressful for both our patients and their families. Most often, they come to us because something is wrong and they want to figure out how to get well. Whatever we can do to make that experience a good one, the better off everyone will be. That’s why the staff at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus strives to make its facility a fun, caring environment.

One program at West Campus that brings smiles to a lot of faces is called That’s How We Roll. Created in honor of the hospital’s first leaders, Michelle Riley-Brown and Dr. Charles Hankins, the program offers rides on colorful toy cars and wagons to incoming patients. Volunteers working the entrances to the hospital manage the program and help the children get into the cars and wagons safely.

“We love it, the patients love it and so do their parents,” Guest Services Representative Karen Collins said. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Julia Tucci, who brings her 2-year-old son Andrew to West Campus three times a week for occupational and speech therapy, said the service is comforting.

“It makes for a nice transition to our therapy sessions,” she said. “It eases the process.”

Sheri Pivonka agreed and said her 5-year-old daughter, Faith, looks forward to riding the wagon to her weekly therapy session.

“She loves riding the wagon,” Pivonka said. “She’s always looking for it when we come in.”

The idea for the That’s How We Roll program was sparked late last year when Riley-Brown, former West Campus president, and Hankins, former West Campus medical officer, announced they were leaving to lead Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

“We wanted to honor the time and effort Michelle and Dr. Hankins spent opening the campus and running it for the first four years,” said Bobbie Jehle, project manager for West Campus and The Woodlands. “So, we started thinking of things we could do around the phrase ‘That’s how we roll’ since that was a common quote from Michelle to the West Campus leadership team.”

After several brainstorming sessions, Jehle said leadership decided to focus the project on patient experience and the idea for the That’s How We Roll program was born. West Campus leaders donated money to purchase the cars and wagons as a gift to Riley-Brown and Hankins. Since then, the program has taken off and happily escorts patients to their appointments every day.

“We use it twice a week and enjoy it each and every time,” said Lajuan Rose, the mother of 1-year-old Demari. “It makes our experience here a little bit easier.”

They’re often referred to as “kissing bugs,” but a bite from a Triatomine can pose a serious health threat. These small insects carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chagas is a parasitic infection caused by a single cell parasite, known as a trypanosome that has the ability to infect the heart often causing severe and debilitating heart disease. Recently, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, received a grant of $1.8 million from the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation. The grant will fund accelerated development of the first therapeutic vaccine for Chagas disease in humans, in a development program under the direction of Drs. Peter Hotez, Texas Children’s Hospital endowed chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and Maria Elena Bottazzi, deputy director of Sabin product development partnership.

“Chagas disease is considered one of the most important neglected tropical diseases affecting Central and South America, but the kissing bugs are also here in Texas, but so far there has been minimal activity toward active surveillance of the disease,” Hotez said. “This grant will help us create a vaccine that is used as an innovative immunotherapy, administered to those infected with trypanosomes to prevent the development of heart disease.”

Bottazzi said this funding is critical to making a real impact toward understanding and treating this neglected tropical disease.

“This is instrumental funding that will not only accelerate the product development but also close the gaps in evaluating parallel vaccine targets which will allow a higher probability of success,” Bottazzi said. “It will allow to transition rapidly into clinical safety evaluations which will bring the vaccine program closer to making a difference in the field and the afflicted populations.”

It’s difficult to determine when an individual has been infected with the parasite because most patients could go decades without symptoms. About a third to a fourth of those infected will eventually progress to severe heart disease, at times even resulting in sudden death. Dr. Kristy Murray, director of the Laboratory of Viral and Zoonotic Diseases, said it’s hard to pinpoint individuals who are infected because there are no real initial symptoms. Most of the patients being monitored at this point are those who have donated blood to a blood bank and tested positive.

“With the current studies being done, we’ll better understand the real at-risk population and formulate screening around that,” Murray said. Chagas disease is one of the most common diseases of people living in poverty in Latin America. One of the real surprises for us is finding evidence of transmission of the disease here in Texas,” said Hotez.

Dr. Murray said in Texas, the affected population also includes people with unique occupational or recreational exposures, for example hunters and campers. She said this isn’t to sound the alarm, but to be aware to take precautions such as staying inside in shelters or a tent to avoid the creatures that feed at night.

Ultimately, the Chagas disease vaccine could benefit up to 10 million people living with Chagas disease in the Western Hemisphere. Hotez hopes with the help of the Kleberg grant, the vaccine will be ready for clinical testing within the next few years.

While August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, educating new mothers about the importance of breastfeeding happens every day at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.

“A natural, life-saving gift mothers can give their newborns is their own breast milk,” said Women’s Support Services Director Nancy Hurst. “Unlike formula, human milk contains powerful antibodies that protect infants against disease and infection, while strengthening the indelible bond between a mother and her baby from the earliest moments of life.”

The Pavilion for Women has implemented numerous breastfeeding practices to ensure our nurses, obstetricians and pediatricians are well trained to teach mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation. Even when separated from their infants, which can occur when premature babies are confined to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for long-term care, mothers are shown how to initiate and maintain lactation. A nursing and medical staff that is educated in evidence-based breastfeeding practices is one of the many requirements to achieve the designation of Baby Friendly Hospital.

On July 22 and 23, surveyors from Baby Friendly USA visited Texas Children’s Hospital to evaluate our adherence to the Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding. These steps – which the Pavilion for Women has successfully implemented – include teaching mothers to respond to their infant’s early feeding cues rather than schedule feedings, avoiding the use of pacifiers and bottles until breastfeeding is well established which normally occurs during the first two weeks, feeding infants only breast milk and providing mothers with resources for lactation support prior to leaving the hospital.

Other breastfeeding efforts initiated at the Pavilion for Women include:

Helping mothers breastfeed within one hour of birth
Encouraging “rooming in” so mothers and infants can stay together 24 hours a day
Implementing immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby following delivery, even after cesarean birth
Standardizing prenatal education to educate women about the benefits of breastfeeding
Providing 20 hours of didactic and skills-based education and instruction to all nursing staff caring for mothers and babies at the Pavilion for Women, including three hours of breastfeeding education to our obstetricians and pediatrics providers
Promoting the Breastfeeding Champions Program to inspire nurses to become role models for other nurses by reminding them why it is important to encourage women to breastfeed

“New mothers often times do not succeed in breastfeeding because there are no systems in place to support them,” said Prenatal Education Program Manager Anne Wright. “Since 88 percent of the mothers who deliver at the Pavilion for Women want to breastfeed, it is important that we implement and sustain practices that ensure their success.”

The Baby Friendly Hospital designation is important to Texas Children’s because it complements our commitment to delivering high-quality care to improve long-term outcomes for our neonatal patients.

Since Texas Children’s Newborn Center implemented the exclusive human milk feeding protocol six years ago, the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis – a devastating intestinal disease that affects premature infants – has dropped by 77 percent in our NICU. This remarkable feat is attributed to the generous mothers, many of whom are Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine employees, who donate their excess breast milk to Texas Children’s Mother’s Milk Bank.

“Every ounce of donor breast milk improves outcomes for our NICU babies,” said Texas Children’s Neonatal Nutrition Director Dr. Amy Hair. “Mothers who donate their excess supply to our milk bank ensures our tiniest, most vulnerable patients receive a constant supply of nourishment and protection to build their developing immune system.”

While achieving the Baby Friendly Hospital designation is a lengthy four-phase process, Hurst says it could take up to 10 weeks to find out if Texas Children’s joins the roster of hospitals that proudly display this coveted distinction.

“Right now, it’s a waiting game for us,” Hurst said. “But, I am confident that we will achieve this designation because we’ve worked so hard to meet the rigorous criteria for implementing successful breastfeeding practices at the Pavilion for Women.”

For more information about Baby Friendly USA, click here. To learn more about Texas Children’s Mother’s Milk Bank, click here.

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