June 23, 2015

62415tcpapp640Managing health care decisions and accessing provider relationships just got easier for thousands of patients and families in the greater Houston area thanks to a new mobile application introduced by Texas Children’s Pediatrics.

The ParentAdvice Center, available for free on iTunes and Google Play, 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. The new app also includes answers to common behavior and wellness questions, medication dosage tables, links to each Texas Children’s Pediatrics practice web page and maps to our urgent care locations.

“As the world moves in a more digital direction, we feel it is important to meet patient families exactly where they are, providing the information they need in the way they want to receive it,” said Dr. Stanley Spinner, chief medical officer and vice president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “The clinical advice, validated by TCP leadership, is the same evidence-based, high-quality advice we already give patients, only now it will be available in a digital format around the clock.”

Produced by StayWell, a leading provider of health education and engagement solutions, the app will help families better understand their children’s health symptoms. The app will give parents the support and information they need to make timely decisions about the appropriate level of care for their child – whether that means providing care for minor illnesses at home or finding a Texas Children’s facility. The mobile app also will give parents access to their child’s health records via the MyChart patient portal.

Some of the app’s valuable features include:

  • Online symptom checker with access to 129 care guides, first-aid illustrations, parent message boards and over-the-counter medication guides.
  • Access to MyChart patient portal for personal medical information and to manage relationships with Texas Children’s hospitals and clinics.
  • Ability to find a practice or care facility within the Texas Children’s Pediatrics, from individual pediatricians, urgent care centers or emergency rooms.
  • Tips on how to prepare for an appointment and connections to popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

“This is an important step in meeting the needs of our families where it’s convenient for them – on their smart phones,” said Lou Fragoso, vice president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “Now, patient families can have easy and quick access to helpful medical information and links to our pediatric practices, urgent care facilities and emergency rooms.”

Download the app and tell patients, friends and family about it today. Anyone who has children or spends time with children can benefit from Texas Children’s Pediatric ParentAdvice Center. For more information about the app, click here.

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June 16, 2015

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Dr. Peter Hotez works with several leaders in his current position, and he’s recently added the leader of the free world to that list. Hotez, who heads the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, is also dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He recently took on the role of U.S. Science Envoy appointed by the White House and State Department.

The U.S. science envoy program began in 2009 when President Obama expressed the need to reach out and engage with other countries beyond military activities. The program was created through the state department and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The U.S. Science Envoy program selects renowned and distinguished American scientists to promote the United States’ commitment to science, technology and innovation as tools of diplomacy and economic growth.

“President Obama recognized that our greatest resource here in the U.S. is our research universities and institutes as well as our hospitals,” Hotez said. “Yet we don’t really portray that to the world. This is our chance to change that.”

Currently the program officially employs three science envoys for a one year term. Hotez’s fellow envoys are involved in climate change and environmental initiatives while Hotez is taking on the task of vaccine diplomacy, creating a framework for foreign institutions to build their own infrastructure and develop vaccines needed in their region. Hotez’s initial targets for this work are Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Located in Northern Africa and the Middle East, the two countries are situated in areas with almost no ability to make vaccines.

“When diseases of regional importance strike, they are generally not of interest to the major multi-national pharmaceutical companies so vaccines don’t get made,” Hotez said. “As we saw with Ebola, once a substantial outbreak happens, it will likely not stay in that region.”

For Hotez, the envoy was both a great opportunity and a great responsibility. He said working for the first true global children’s hospital with the greatest global outreach of any pediatric institution, made the task an easier one to achieve. Texas Children’s already shares intellectual capital and manpower with countries in the developing world through the Baylor International Pediatric Aids Initiative, global surgery work, heart center outreach, the Cancer Center’s international initiatives as well as several other physicians who continue to expand the reach of their programs across the world. Hotez said it’s important to share intellectual capital and help these countries build their own infrastructure in order to have a lasting impact and succeed in this humanitarian goal.

“Citizen Diplomacy, our so-called ‘soft power,’ is one of the great underachievers in US foreign policy at this point,” Hotez said. “The idea that scientists would put aside their nation’s ideology to work together on a lifesaving product is what this is all about.”

While implementing science diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa, may be a tough task, it’s a role with global impact.

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Maddie’s Mission, a Katy-based organization dedicated to educating people about a common virus that can cause a serious infection in your unborn baby, recently donated more than $40,000 to the CMV Research Fund to benefit congenital CMV research conducted at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital.

Hundreds of children with a diagnosis of congenital CMV, or cytomegalovirus, are part of the program led by pediatric infectious diseases specialist Dr. Gail Demmler-Harrison, an international expert who has spent more than 30 years caring for children affected by the condition.

CMV infections can be prevented during pregnancy, a vulnerable time to catch CMV, through “an ounce of CMV awareness and three simple precautions that include not sharing food or drink with a young child, avoiding kissing young children near the lips or cheek but rather kiss them on top of the head and giving them a big hug, and washing hands carefully after changing diapers or wiping runny noses,” Demmler-Harrison said, adding that Maddie’s Mission promotes “knowledge is key to no more CMV.”

Awareness of the potentially deadly virus is the goal of Maddie’s Mission, which was started by Farah and Patrick Armstrong last year after they lost their 12-day-old daughter, Maddie, to complications caused by CMV. Since then, the Armstrongs have thrown themselves into educating people about CMV and supporting groups devoted to finding out more about the virus, how to treat it, and possibly how to prevent CMV in pregnant women.

Physicians at Texas Children’s Hospital have treated many children affected by congenital CMV. One such child, who is shown in the adjoining photo, is Malcolm Alaimo. Malcolm travels from South Carolina for special treatments and is doing well. Another child Texas Children’s physicians have treated for CMV is Lillian Grace Salerno. Lillian has gotten antiviral treatment, hemispherectomy brain surgery, and other therapies for her congenital CMV infection at Texas Children’s Hospital, and has done well ever since.

“CMV is the most common virus most people have never heard of,” Dr. Demmler-Harrison said. “It does not often make the headlines or the evening news.”

Demmler-Harrison added that she is extremely appreciative to Maddie’s Mission for its donation and that it will be put to good use.

June 9, 2015

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Dr. Jennifer Arnold, neonatologist and medical director of Texas Children’s Simulation Center, is serving as the face of a grassroots advocacy effort called Speak Now for Kids through Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). Arnold has been involved in promoting children’s hospital initiatives to legislators after visiting the hill with her husband and their children to speak about children’s hospitals last year.

Representatives from Texas Children’s Hospital are joining children’s hospitals from across the nation in Washington, D.C. next week for the annual Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Family Advocacy Day. The hospitals along with patient families speak with members of Congress to advocate for issues impacting children’s health. CHA continues to promote Speak Now for Kids, a grassroots initiative to get patient families and health care providers to promote issues that matter to pediatric patients by reaching out to their legislators.

Texas children’s patients representing the hospital in D.C. this year with their families include Audrina Cardenas. Born with her heart outside her chest, Audrina was delivered at Texas Children’s and underwent a strenuous surgery before being cared for at the hospital over several months. Lauryn Audrict’s family traveled to Houston from their home in Louisiana for Lauryn to receive her care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Lauryn underwent a frontal and temporal lobectomy in August 2013. Dr. Angus Wilfong, medical director of the comprehensive epilepsy program, will accompany the patients on the trip and make visits to key representatives and senators.

The team is once again promoting important legislation that would create pediatric centers of excellence at children’s hospitals to care for the most vulnerable patients: medically complex children on Medicaid. The legislation – titled “Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act” (or ACE Kids Act) – will ensure that children are able to receive the care they need from a center equipped to provide comprehensive care, even if the hospital is in another state.

The families speaking in Washington, D.C., this week represent the voices of the thousands of children being treated at centers of excellence like Texas Children’s Hospital every day. As a Texas Children’s employee, you can help spread the message about why children’s hospitals are the best place for kids with complex medical conditions.

5 ways you can Speak Now for Kids:

  1. #Speaknowforkids. Use this hashtag and saturate social media with your stories about why children’s hospitals matter.
  2. Get social with your policymakers. Find the social media pages for your representatives and senators and post messages on their pages about why you want them to Speak Now for Kids.
  3. Call, write, and reach out. Lawmakers are elected by you to stand up for you. Make your voice heard. Contact their offices and let them know why you care about Medicaid reform for medically complex children. Click here to find out who represents you.
  4. Share a story. Encourage patient families to share their stories here.
  5. Vote. Elected officials are elected by you to represent you. Register to vote and practice your right to do so. The best way to ensure your legislators listen is to vote for them.

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Have you ever thought about becoming a runner, one of those people who laces up their brightly colored shoes and takes off rain or shine just to get some exercise? Or, maybe you already are an avid runner and simply enjoy logging in the miles. If you are either of these people, or are somewhere in between, now is the time to hit the pavement.

Texas Children’s Hospital recently was chosen to be an official charity for the January 17, 2016 Houston Marathon and Half Marathon, which means you can run for a reason. You can be on the Texas Children’s Running Team and fundraise on behalf of Texas Children’s Hospital, knowing your donations will directly impact the lives of countless sick children. The team is led by Kelli Calderwood, an employee of Texas Children’s and a sponsored distance runner. Read her blog post about the run here.

61015runforreasoninside200Signing up for the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon as a Texas Children’s Runner guarantees your entry into the race distance of your choice and all of the money you raise will go directly to the Promise Campaign, which focuses on five key initiatives:

  • CareFirst, for the expansion of our Critical Care services, ORs/PACU and Emergency Center at the Main Camp
  • Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, our new 548,000-square-foot dedicated pediatric hospital serving the growing communities north of Houston
  • Endowed Chairs, which are a powerful tool in recruiting and retaining world-class physicians and scientists
  • Divisions and Centers of Excellence to provide ongoing support for specialty care programs and projects
  • Charity Care and hospital priorities, to help alleviate the financial burdens families take on with complex medical care and to provide flexible funds to address the hospital’s most pressing needs at any given time.

There is no better excuse to try something new or hone what you already know. Make your promise today and join the Texas Children’s Running Team. Here’s how:

Fundraise to Run

A fundraising entry is a way for runners to secure a guaranteed entry to the race of their choice, while fundraising for Texas Children’s Hospital. The minimum fundraising milestone to receive the guaranteed entry is $1,500 ($500 for Texas Children’s employees). Please complete this form and email it to Kelli Calderwood at kkcalder@texaschildrens.org to sign up and secure your registration. Donations can be received from May 2015 – February 2016. These donations can come from friends, family and employer matching programs. Some of the perks of being on the team:

  • Custom Texas Children’s race jersey
  • Prizes for fundraising milestones
  • Organized team runs
  • Access to a trained and experienced marathoner
  • Calls with a Development Manager to assist you in your fundraising efforts
  • A sponsored pre-race pasta dinner
  • A post-race party
  • A wild cheering station to cheer you to the finish
  • A personal tour of Texas Children’s Hospital – to show how your hard work will pay off
  • And much more!

Fundraising Milestone Prizes

  • $350 – A set of notecards designed by a Texas Children’s patient
  • $500 – Texas Children’s tumbler
  • $1,000 – Texas Children’s tee shirt
  • $1,500 – Texas Children’s hat
  • $2,000 – Texas Children’s sports bag
  • $5,000 – Framed artwork, painted by a Texas Children’s patient
  • $10,000 – A 2016 Ambassadors Membership

Support the Team

To support the Texas Children’s running team with a donation, please visit our fundraising page.

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Since implementing error prevention training almost a year ago, more than half of Texas Children’s employees – 8,075 clinical and nonclinical staff – have completed their required training. While these numbers are impressive, our goal is to achieve 100 percent compliance by Tuesday, June 30.

In July 2014, Texas Children’s launched error prevention training to ensure all employees and medical staff across the organization are equipped with the necessary tools to keep patients safe. This training initiative is a critical component of our CareFirst promise – to focus on what’s right for our employees and medical staff, and most importantly, what’s right for our patients, their families and their care.

Error prevention training is based on the notion that every Texas Children’s employee – regardless of job title or position – plays an important role in preventing and eliminating preventable harm to patients.

“Every day, we provide care to the sickest of the sick at Texas Children’s, and when you’re taking care of that many severely ill children and women, it’s a great challenge,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace. “Everyone recognizes that creating a safe environment – focusing on safety and error omission – is job one. Doing no harm to our patients is first and foremost.”

That’s where error prevention training comes into play. Texas Children’s Chief Safety Officer Dr. Joan Shook says delivering clear, concise and complete communication is paramount to ensuring the safest possible patient care.

“Once training is completed, employees know how to effectively communicate concerns requiring action, how to support a questioning attitude, and how to employ three-way communication to achieve greater clarity,” Shook said. “When everyone speaks a common language and shares the same expectations, we can eliminate preventable harm to patients.”

As part of our commitment to patient safety, Texas Children’s has pledged that every member of our workforce and medical staff receive this critical training. Frontline staff are required to take three hours of classroom training and non-clinical employees can complete their training online.

June 30 is the deadline to compete error prevention training. Click here to log in to the E-learning module.

“Error prevention training will propel us to the next level of safety at Texas Children’s and encourage employees to speak up when something doesn’t seem quite right,” Shook said. “We have a moral obligation. If we can prevent harm to patients, let’s prevent it.”

Click here to watch a CareFirst video highlighting how each of us can make patient care safer at Texas Children’s by advancing error prevention initiatives.

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Texas Children’s pediatric pulmonologist Dr. Julie Katkin has been an active, engaged member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for several years.

Katkin has been involved with the AAP Section on Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine (SOPPSM) not only as a member, but also as a past section program chairperson, where she continues to improve the health and quality of care for infants, children and adolescents.

Katkin has been a working member of the SOPPSM Executive Committee for 10 years and is currently in her second term as chairperson for SOPPSM. Katkin also has served on the Project Advisory Committee for the Medical Homes Chapter Champions for Asthma project and currently serves in that capacity for the revamped Medical Homes Chapter Champions for Asthma and Anaphylaxis project.

Contributions from members such as Katkin are critical as the AAP works hard to respond to the needs of subspecialists. If you see Katkin, please shake her hand and ask her how she got involved with AAP. The AAP is very grateful for the hard work she’s done and we hope you’ll join her as Texas Children’s and the AAP work together to help kids. Learn more about TCH Group Members in Action.

Click here to find out how Texas Children’s partnership with the AAP helps physicians advocate for their patients.