April 15, 2014

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Members of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics mourn the passing of Dr. Jennifer Lynn Northrop. Northrop passed away on March 19. She was 51 years old. She was a graduate of Bryn Mawr and received her medical degree and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Northrop received her pediatrics residency training and genetics fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and was a faculty member in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics from 2002 to 2007.

Northrop served as a volunteer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for several years as a speaker, group leader and Lone Star Chapter Clinical Advisory Committee Member. She became a Master Gardener in 2009 and was named an MS entrepreneur, receiving a grant to create an enabling garden in Brazoria County. She left her work as a researcher and pediatric molecular geneticist due to complications of MS. Nevertheless, she continued to share her wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm through tutoring in medical and science related topics.

A celebration of Jennifer’s life will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, in the Blattner Conference Room (D.0360.00) with refreshments to follow. All who knew her are invited to attend.

Taking care of Texas Children’s patients and families begins with taking the very best care of ourselves. That’s why the Employee Health and Wellness Center team is offering a free Hypertension Management Program open to participants on main campus to help you learn about managing your blood pressure. This eight week, confidential program is limited to only 50 participants at the Employee Medical Clinic.

This program might be right for you if you want to:

  • Improve blood pressure control and readings
  • Improve overall nutrition and fitness level
  • Overcome barriers to lifestyle changes and achieve optimal health and wellness

Tell me more about this program!

The Hypertension Management Program is a personalized medical care, educational and lifestyle program to help you manage your blood pressure.

You will receive over four hours of medical care, education and counseling, at no cost, including:

  • An individual medical care appointment
  • Two individual nutrition consultations
  • Two confidential, interactive, and supportive peer group sessions

I’m interested!
If you have been diagnosed with hypertension and are interested in better managing your condition, this program is for you. If you are ready to commit to the five program appointments, please complete this confidential interest survey, and a member of the Employee Health and Wellness team will contact you soon.

Hospital photographers place first and fourth in national competition

Texas Children’s Hospital is excited to host the 2013-2014 Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Photo Exhibit, a biennial competition that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The national exhibit, which will be on display on the fourth floor of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women during the month of April, features photographs by Texas Children’s Hospital photographers Paul Vincent Kuntz and Allen S. Kramer. Visit childrenshospitals.net/photoexhibit to view the images.

Kuntz and Kramer received special recognition as their photos were selected as “top 5” photos, chosen from more than 250 photographs submitted by 56 children’s hospitals across the country and internationally. Kuntz placed first in this competition, the second time he has won this honor, and Kramer placed fourth and fifth. This marks the third competition in a row that Kuntz and Kramer have both placed in the top five. Additionally, there are four other images from the duo in the exhibit.

The CHA Photo Exhibit is comprised of 50 poignant and powerful images that portray the everyday heroes in children’s hospitals – brave patients, supportive families and compassionate health care providers.

Additionally, the exhibit’s presence at the hospital coincides with an international Arts & Health conference hosted by Texas Children’s, the Global Alliance for Arts & Health’s 2014 Annual International Conference, Enhancing Lives Through Arts & Health: 25th Anniversary Conference & Celebration. This exhibit truly embraces the goal of the conference which aims to bring much needed attention to the transformative impact the arts have on the healing process.

The CHA photo exhibition has been traveling around the country since last year and will be on display June 23-24 on Capitol Hill in Washington in conjunction with the Association’s Speak Now For Kids Family Advocacy Day event.

April 8, 2014

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Nine years ago, I was sitting in a meeting with the St. Luke’s CEO when I learned that they were looking to get out of obstetrics and gynecology and maternal fetal medicine. I raised my hand and let them know we were interested to take over. I knew we were about to do something that would change women’s health care in Houston forever. Texas Children’s would assume responsibility for St. Luke’s ob/gyn and MFM services until we were able to build our own facility.

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women opened its doors for inpatient services on March 26, 2012. It was a monumental day for everyone who had been a part of planning and executing this new state-of-the-art hospital. I knew it would make a difference in the lives of countless women. What I didn’t know then was that I would one day have a personal experience at the Pavilion as a family member.

On February 10, 2014 at 6:29 p.m., Clark Wallace was born at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. What a full circle moment. From the day I raised my hand in that meeting with St. Luke’s, to my own grandbaby being born here, it was surreal. This was a very special and exciting experience from a number of different perspectives.

First, it was our son Ben’s first baby. Emily, our daughter, has four sons and one daughter, but they live in Chicago, so this was also our first Texas-born grandbaby. Of course it was also impressive to experience the Pavilion as a grandparent and to be here for such a special moment in my personal life.

My wife, Shannon, and I patiently waited at home to get the news of Clark’s arrival and came to the hospital the following morning to meet the newest grandbaby. To see our Pavilion team in action – from Dr. Belfort to everyone in the delivery suite, the floor nurses, diagnostic and therapeutic services, radiology and pathology, food and nutrition – was incredible. To see it all come together in such a beautiful way and know that it wasn’t just for Clark Wallace but that it’s what all our patients are experiencing was a proud moment for me, both as President and CEO and as a grandfather.

I knew we had the right vision for this new hospital and for the thousands of babies born here every year, including my grandson. I have great pride in knowing that our grandson and daughter-in-law had the very best care. Seeing that care firsthand as member of a patient’s family and knowing it’s the same care every mother and baby receives here was truly an incredible feeling.

Now it might be hard to believe, but I promise I saw Clark smile as soon as he saw me and I might have even heard him say “TCH.” He looked exactly like Ben did when he was born, a really good looking fella with a big head and fat cheeks.

Watching the team at work from a patient family perspective and seeing the quality of care and service – from valet to the delivery room and room service – made me swell with pride for what we’ve created at the Pavilion for Women. It’s one of a kind, and there’s nothing like it in Texas, the U.S. or the world.

Dear Texas Children’s Family:

Each year, we have the special opportunity to thank our truly remarkable volunteers for their dedication to Texas Children’s during National Volunteer Week – Sunday, April 6 through Saturday, April 12.

Our people define Texas Children’s. Our patients and families measure their experience by the clinical care we provide, the extra moments we take to care for their needs beyond the bedside, and the special attention we provide that assures them that their child is our child.

Each and every day, our volunteers honor Texas Children’s Hospital and our patients and families with the gift of their time. It has been often said that someone who gives you their time, gives you part of their life. In this way, our volunteers share their time, talent, and love to improve the lives and experiences of patients, families, and staff of Texas Children’s in ways only they can.

The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital, an organization founded even before the hospital opened its doors on February 1, 1954, has chronicled the history of our institution. Over the past year, 1,668 Auxiliary volunteers, equivalent to more than 45 full-time employees, focused solely and directly on the needs of our patients, families and staff.

Texas Children’s is also extremely proud to be the home of community-wide service organizations such as Ronald McDonald House, The Junior League of Houston, and The Blue Bird Circle, among many others. Collectively, these groups accounted for an additional 703 volunteers at Texas Children’s in 2013. We are indebted to these and all organizations that enhance our mission through their generosity and kindness.

A smile found, a hand held, a craft created, a need attended, a song sung, a heart guided – these are the differences of the 2,400 active volunteers across Texas Children’s system. These are the differences that can only be made by our amazing and beloved volunteers.

This remarkable asset and these partnerships are to be cherished, supported, and cultivated. Please join us in thanking our volunteers this week and every week, as they selflessly act in support of Texas Children’s mission every day.

Sincerely,

Michael T. Walsh, Jr.
Director, Texas Children’s Volunteer Services

April 1, 2014

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Dr. Mark Kline sits in his office checking his watch. At one minute before 1 p.m. on March 20th he’s feeling anxious. At exactly 1 p.m. is the moment he will find out the group of residents matched to Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine’s residency programs. It’s that moment when the leader of each program across the country is able to log in to a website where their matches are revealed. The residency programs affiliated with Texas Children’s include a categorical pediatric residency program, a pediatric global health program, the surgery residency as well as the residency in obstetrics and gynecology. For Dr. Kline and the other leaders involved, this is the culmination of months of interviewing.

“I meet with every hopeful resident who visits us to tell them about our organization and what it means to be here,” said Kline. “What I’m looking for is people who are not just smart but nice. I don’t need them to be nice to me, everyone is nice to me, I want them to be nice to people who have no power over their position here.”

Kline calls it “accessible brilliance.” A phrase he uses often when referring to recruitment at all levels. Whether it’s residents or chiefs of service, it’s a quality that exemplifies the Texas Children’s brand. Today, it’s the residents who have matched to the institution and will be bringing that accessible brilliance to an organization which touches about 8,500 patients daily.

When he’s finally given the list, Kline and his chief residents compare the matches to the list of top candidates who were interviewed. Each year, Texas Children’s interviews hundreds of hopeful residents, when the interviews are over, the organization is given a chance to pick candidates and rank them on a list. The residents are given the same opportunity to pick their top programs ranked similarly. Each student is then matched to the institution that is highest on the list and has ranked them on the top of theirs. It’s highly competitive between the top children’s hospitals across the nation.

What attracts residents here is not just the breath and depth of cases they will be able to see, it’s the leaders who become their mentors throughout their years here.

On March 21st, less than 24 hours after residency program directors have been informed of their residents, it’s the medical students’ turn to count down to their own matches. Baylor College of Medicine hosted a Match Day 2014 brunch for the students and their families as they celebrated this momentous day in their journeys to becoming doctors. Residents gathered in the Baylor courtyard anxiously pacing about as they waited for 11 a.m. A 10 second countdown led to the class president ripping open a paper-covered board where each student found an envelope with their names; inside, a letter congratulating them on their match with the name of the program where they will be spending the next few years as residents.

Loud cheers, some tears of joy and lots of hugging and the residents were finally able to celebrate their accomplishments. A day they’ve awaited for years. A day where they could find out they have been matched to programs like those at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine.

“The better talent that we can attract at this level right out of medical school, the better we will be 5 years, 10 years, 15 years down the line,” said Kline.

March 25, 2014

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