March 25, 2014

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Out West is a story of tremendous growth. Over the past three years, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus has been serving one of the fastest growing pediatric populations and as the population grows, so has the community hospital. To meet the needs of the community, the hospital has expanded its services already and continues to look at the patients to determine what programs, services and initiatives may make the most impact in West Houston.

More than 400,000 patients have taken advantage of the Texas Children’s brand of care provided through West Campus since it opened its doors in 2010. The campus which sits on 55 acres, houses 19 subspecialty outpatient clinics, inpatient hospital services and the only 24/7 dedicated pediatric emergency center in the West Houston area.

Most recently, West Campus opened a new eight-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, allowing the hospital to accommodate patients with higher acuity. Because of the increasing demand for emergency care, the hospital also doubled the number of beds in the emergency center which is staffed by board-certified pediatric emergency medicine physicians. In addition, a 28,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports medicine clinic was built, which houses a 3,000-square foot gym, two x-ray rooms, three casting bay sand 16 exam rooms for seamless, patient-centered service. The new space houses advanced technologies, including robotic dynamometry for isokinetic testing, motion recording and analysis to enhance rehabilitation.

Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus has been successful for many reasons, including the dedicated staff. There are currently more than 500+ passionate, hard-working team members who care for patients each day. The team of nurses, child life specialists, imaging technologists, therapists, renowned physicians, and many others are specially trained to diagnose, treat and care for children.

The success story is in part due to the support of the West Houston community. From the beginning, leaders and staff have cultivated these relationships, ensuring that patient families know about the care that is being provided in their own backyard.

Don’t expect the growth to stop any time soon. As leaders and West Campus employees continue to assess the needs of patients, families and the community, they will determine what programs, services and initiatives are most beneficial in the community setting.

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women opened its doors two years ago and has been exceeding expectations ever since. View the photos below and see if you can guess some of the most memorable moments from the last 24 months.

Then scroll to the bottom of the page for the answers

1. What was the official first day of delivering miracles at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women?

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2. Who was the first baby born at the new facility?

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3. Why was the miracle bridge lit up on the first day of inpatient services?

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4. Who are the famous babies in this picture?

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5. How was the Pavilion involved with the March of Dimes?

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6. What other service is important to the diverse group of patients who visit the Pavilion?

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7. What are some of the in-utero procedures that have been done at the Pavilion?

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8. How many babies were born in year one?

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9. Where is the hospital’s first community ObGyn office?

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10. What did the Hackett family gift fund?

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11. What is the use of the DaVinci robot?

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12. Who is Baby Audrina?

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Answers:

1. Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women leadership broke the ribbon on the brand new hospital on March 23, 2012, the first day of inpatient services was Monday, March 26, 2012.
2. The first baby born at the Pavilion for Women was Brayten Green, born at 8:16 a.m. March 26, 2012.
3. On the first night of delivering miracles, The Miracle Bridge was lit up in blue to celebrate the first baby born at the Pavilion for Women.
4. The “Perkins Pack,” as they came to be known, was the first set of sextuplets born at the Pavilion for Women. They gained national attention with several interviews on network television.
5. As a center dedicated to high risk pregnancies which cares for many premature babies, the Pavilion was the presenting sponsor for March of Dimes March for Babies 2012.
6. The Menopause Clinic is just one of the sought-after features available at the Pavilion that allow us to care for women at every stage of life.
7. Programs for in-utero spina bifida repair, in-utero heart intervention, and in-utero balloon placement for congenital diaphragmatic hernia were all created within the first year.
8. Within the first a year, about 5,000 babies were born at the Pavilion.
9. The first ever ObGyn clinic opened its doors in Pearland bringing the Pavilion’s outpatient services to the Pearland community.
10. The hospital received a $2 million gift to establish the Maureen Hackett Endowed Chair for Reproductive Psychiatry.
11. The new robotics program and the acquisition of the DaVinci robot allows for the use of cutting-edge techniques to help perform complex surgical procedures that are minimally invasive in both the adult and pedi population.
12. Baby Audrina Cardenas was born at the Pavilion with one-third of her heart outside of her chest. A multidisciplinary team of surgeons performed a six hour open-heart surgery where they reconstructed her chest cavity to make space for her heart.

32514OluynkaOlutoye640aDr. Oluyinka Olutoye, Pediatric Surgery, gave the 20th Loren R. Chandler Memorial Lecture in Pediatric Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine on March 25.

His lecture titled, “Fetal Surgery: Getting a Head Start in Life’s Journey,” described the indications for fetal surgery, described the technique, and reviewed cases, including Fetoscopic Tracheal Occlusion (FETO), Sacrococcygeal Teratoma and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH).
 
 
 
Former lecturers include:

  • Dr. Marcelo Martinez Ferro, Fundación Hospitalaria Private Children’s Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Dr. Kathryn Anderson, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
  • Dr. Alan Flake, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

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Dr. Michael Speer, Neonatology faculty (center), congratulates Drs. Athis Arunachalam and Jonathan Davies, third-year fellows, the 18th annual Arnold J. Rudolph Memorial Grand Rounds award recipients. The award recognizes third-year fellows in neonatal-perinatal medicine for outstanding teaching, patient care, scientific inquiry and professional integrity.

March 18, 2014

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A new, on-site ReadyCam© broadcast studio has opened at Texas Children’s which will allow doctors, nurses, scientists, researchers and patient families to appear live on broadcast news programs. Experts from the hospital will be able to report and comment on breaking health care news and stream webcasts directly from Texas Children’s main campus, while reaching news outlets throughout the country.

“We are really excited to have this studio,” said Christy Brunton, director of public relations at Texas Children’s. “It’s going to allow us to give the public direct access to our experts, allowing them to comment on the stories that our patients need to hear and understand.”

The broadcast studio located in the Clinical Care Center will allow the hospital to easily transmit high quality audio and video to any news outlet. The launch of the studio corresponded to a coordinated satellite news feed and press conference featuring Dr. Jennifer Arnold, neonatologist at Texas Children’s Newborn Center and director of Texas Children’s Simulation Center, who discussed her recent cancer diagnosis, unique care and current prognosis. An interview with Arnold was made available via satellite. A number of local and regional news stations utilized the footage to report on Arnold’s story.

Those interested in learning more about the press conference and announcement from Arnold can read about it in the Houston Chronicle article and KHOU television segment.

This successful first use of the ReadyCam© broadcast studio is only one example of ways the studio can be utilized. Brunton anticipates it will be a valuable resource during a health care crisis or emergency, when media outlets will need access to top experts for commentary. It also will be an easy way to share inspirational patient stories.

“For the past several years it has been a key goal of ours to make it easier for the media to access our experts,” said Brunton. “We have some of the best kept secrets right here at our hospital and this gives us the chance to showcase our physicians and nurses.”

In addition to promoting the good work taking place at Texas Children’s, and to allow our experts to be valuable resources to the media, the ReadyCam© may be used to stream live video to conferences, depending on the technical capabilities of the conference. To take a virtual tour of the new broadcast studio, click here.

Anyone who is available to comment on breaking news, has an incredible patient story, or is interested in learning more about using the studio, should contact the PR department by calling Ext. 4-2099 and paging the media person on call.

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We see it all the time on the news. Heartbreaking stories of tragedy when a suspect with a history of mental illness turns an ordinary day into a devastating scene. People are often left wondering what more could have been done to prevent the incident. It’s a widespread issue that’s now being tackled nationally.

Mental Health First Aid is a program that trains community members to spot and assist people who are having mental health issues or facing a mental health crisis. Texas Children’s is offering a free course for anyone interested in taking action!

“We decided to offer the class here because there were an increasing number of encounters with patients or patient families with mental illnesses,” said Brent LoCaste-Wilken, Employee Assistance Program Manager. “It was disrupting patient care or interaction with the staff.”

LoCaste-Wilken said mental health is not just a problem at Texas Children’s but the crises families often face in this setting can accentuate mental health issues. He said the class is not just for clinical staff but it can be useful for everyone.

Course participants will learn to identify mental disorders and rather than be afraid, actually help the person through the crisis and get the appropriate help. Dr. Brett Perkison, medical director of Employee Health and Wellness, said he found the course to be critical in helping recognize signs of mental distress.

“We all encounter friends and colleagues who are in a state of mind where they need help,” said Perkison. “This class helps one recognize those symptoms early. It is also useful to help take the stigma out of mental health and treat it appropriately.”

“It removes the stigma than can prevent people from giving help,” said LoCaste-Wilken.

Similar to a first aid course, the class will help identify dangers and train you in steps that can be done to help in a situation.

“It goes beyond patient care,” said LoCaste-Wilken. “It could help employees in situations with co-workers or even outside of work with friends, neighbors or anyone in the community.”

Each participant who completes the course and passes the competency is certified as a Mental Health First Aider by the National Council for Behavioral Health.

Class information:
Mental Health First Aid – click to register on Connect

1 day course (8 hours)
Friday, April 4 – 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)

2 day course (4 hours each day)
Monday, May 5 – 8 a.m. to noon – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)
Monday, May 12 – 8 a.m. to noon – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)

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Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed changes to food labels, which have remained the same for the past 20 years. In my opinion, this announcement is long overdue. My nutrition colleagues and I have been advocating for these modifications for many years, as we believe they will help the everyday consumer understand exactly what they are putting into their bodies.

If the proposed changes are approved, the new labels will place a larger emphasis on total calories, added sugars and vitamin D and potassium. While I think all of these categories are important, I am hopeful that listing added sugars will help families better determine exactly what they are consuming on a daily basis.

For example, yogurt is a long-time family favorite at the breakfast table. Many popular yogurt brands that add fruit to enhance flavor will benefit from this proposed change. While the fruit may add flavor, the syrup it sits in also adds a good amount sugar. I always recommend buying plain yogurt for your family and adding fresh berries and other fruit to control how much sugar you are actually eating. Almost every item that you see in the grocery store has the potential to contain added sugars. Labels on other common foods that will likely be edited if the proposed changes go into effect include: ketchup, cereals, peanut butter and bread.

You’re not alone if you’ve read about these changes in the news over the past week and aren’t sure what they mean or how to read a label. The current nutrition labels are not very user-friendly. If and when these proposed changes go into effect, I expect them to be much less overwhelming.

This is a positive step in helping consumers take control of their health and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for our nutrition labels.

March is also National Nutrition Month! It’s a great time to celebrate healthy eating, so over the next few weeks you will see some great user-friendly information on the blog for you and your family.