Close to 100 patients and family members attended the most recent session of Adulting with CHD: A parent’s guide to transitioning from pediatric to adult care.
Hosted by Texas Children’s Hospital Cardiology Transition Medicine Team on February 18 at the Pavilion for Women, the more than three-hour event is a way for parents of congenital heart disease patients who are transitioning into adulthood to learn to take a more supportive role, and help their young adults take the primary role to manage their life-long heart condition on their own.
The evening began with dinner between adult congenital heart disease providers, adult CHD survivors and families of CHD participants. Next came comments on the event and the evening from Dr. Keila Lopez, director of the Cardiology Transition Medicine Program, and then participants went straight into breakout sessions led by members and clinical staff involved in the transition program as well as Texas Children’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease program. Topics of the breakout sessions included transition preparation and expectations, and lifelong trajectory and mental health.
The latter part of the evening focused on a question and answer/panel discussion. Panelists included adult congenital heart disease patients, current transition patients, a parent of an adult patient with congenital heart disease, heart failure, cardiac surgery, and maternal fetal medicine specialists, as well as the medical director of the Texas Children’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease program.
For more information about Texas Children’s Hospital Cardiology Transitional Medicine Program, click here.
