February 10, 2015

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The first Cutting Edge of Pediatrics conference sponsored by the Department of Surgery was held January 24, providing 138 Houston-area pediatricians, family practice physicians and advanced practice providers an opportunity to learn about common pediatric surgical conditions from Texas Children’s surgeons.

From the first speaker to the last, the surgeons and pediatric providers engaged in lively discussions of the topics, which included anesthesia, ethics, adolescent gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pediatric general surgery, plastic surgery and urology.

Following a welcome from Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., presenters included Dr. Dean Andropoulos, Dr. Jennifer Bercaw-Pratt, Dr. David Coats, Dr. Nicolette Janzen, Dr. Edward Lee, Dr. Mark Mazziotti, Dr. Julina Ongkasuwan, Dr. Scott Rosenfeld and Dr. Veeral Shah.

The conference’s planning committee included representatives from the Department of Surgery, Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Kelsey-Seybold. Committee members included Dr. Allen Milewicz (Chair), Dr. Ellis Arjmand, Dr. Carol Green, Dr. Anita Jimenez-Belinoski, Ryan Krasnosky, Dr. Megan May, Dr. David Roth and Dr. Stanley Spinner.

February 3, 2015

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Texas Children’s Hospital International Colloquium, now in its 25th year, is an annual educational forum targeting the learning needs of clinical providers and specialists in the areas of pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and related fields.

During the past two and a half decades, the colloquium has developed into a convening body for stakeholders in global health from across Texas Children’s network of in-country programs and partners in more than 20 countries.

In honor of its 25th anniversary, this year’s Texas Children’s Hospital International Colloquium – to be held Monday, March 9 through Wednesday, March 11 – is slated to be the most impressive to date with simultaneous tracks, simulations and workshops from speakers across pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and hospital-based services.

The dynamic, multi-disciplinary content of the forum was developed by the 2015 Curriculum Committee, which is comprised of Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Oluyinka Olutoye, Dr. Susan Raine, Dr. Gordon Schutze and Dr. Jesus Vallejo. The course curriculum for 2015 is also CME accredited for the first time.

A long-time partner of Texas Children’s Global Health Initiative and a former Texas Children’s fellow, Dr. Rodolfo Treviño, of Tecnologico de Monterrey, has participated in nearly every colloquium since its inception and recently said the event has been the primary platform for transferring medical knowledge and best practices across different disciplines for many countries.

“Each year you can see the genuine interest of Texas Children’s Hospital and the curriculum committee to develop strategies to improve the care of children,” Treviño said. “Through relationships created at the Texas Children’s Hospital’s International Colloquium, many opportunities have arisen for our team.”

Some of those opportunities have helped reduce the mortality rate from cardiovascular surgery, Treviño said, while others have prompted the implementation of quality improvement practices in neonatology to specifically reduce nosocomial catheter-associated infections in neonatal intensive care patients.

The 2015 Texas Children’s Hospital’s International Colloquium will be held at the BioScience Research Collaborative – Rice University at 6500 Main St. To learn more and to register, click here.

February 2, 2015

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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 submissions and feedback.

 

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Renal Center reaches milestone in delivery of high-volume patient care

In January, Texas Children’s Renal Center delivered more than 100 acute therapies in less than 10 days – a remarkable milestone that demonstrates the value of teamwork and our hospital’s commitment to putting patients’ needs first.

“This is an incredible accomplishment,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Renal Services Dr. Michael Braun. “As the demand for our services continues to grow, so has our collaborative spirit to ensure critically ill patients receive efficient, high quality care every time they walk through our doors.” Read more

 

January 21

Leung advances research and care for cystic fibrosis patients

Dr. Daniel Leung, medical director of the Viral Hepatitis Clinic at Texas Children’s, has devoted much of his research to improving the outcomes of children with cystic fibrosis and cystic fibrosis-associated liver diseases. To accelerate CF research and patient care at Texas Children’s, Leung received a $100,000 Developing Innovative Gastroenterology Specialty Training (DIGEST) grant last spring from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This three-year grant is awarded to physicians across the country who demonstrate promise in changing the field of gastrointestinal care and research for CF patients. Read more

 

January 20

Call-to-action: Encourage your patients to sign up for MyChart

MyChart, the online patient portal that allows patients or their parents to access health information from Epic, recently underwent significant changes. The increased use of MyChart by Texas Children’s patient families will help providers stay connected to their patients, improve patient care and save time. Here’s how:

  • MyChart is an effective tool for patient engagement, leading to better outcomes. The more patient families are involved in their care, the better their outcomes.
  • MyChart allows easy login – whether on a computer or a smart phone – so patient families can see their health information and review comments from their physicians.
  • MyChart enhances how physicians communicate directly with their patients by allowing conversations to occur online and at times that are convenient for the physician and the patient. This direct communication helps patient families feel connected to their care providers.
  • MyChart improves the patient experience by allowing easier access to their health information, such as after-visit summaries, immunization histories and more.
  • MyChart promotes efficiency by decreasing the need for printing, mailing and faxing patient information.
  • Read more or Watch the video

 

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Positioning team designs, builds swing to help conjoined twins sit up

Taking care of conjoined twins, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata, is hard, even for the highly-trained medical staff charged with looking after the two 9-month-old girls. Diaper changes, baths, feedings, even moving the girls from one place to the other takes a lot of effort, thought and hands. So, when the team of surgeons assigned to the twins asked the girls’ primary nurses and physical therapist to figure out a way to help the twins sit up, Frank McCormick, Jennifer Pitlik and Jennifer McGinnis were stumped. Read more or Watch the video

 

January 20

2014 a record-breaking year for pediatric residency applicants

About 350 applicants visit the hospital campus between November and January. These students are hopeful they will be part of the elite group of 43 accepted to the highly competitive pediatric residency program. This academic year, the Department of Pediatrics had more than 990 residency applicants – the highest number of applicants in the program’s history. It’s about 100 more than last year, and it’s double the number of residents who applied just five years ago. “Recruiting residents is one of the most important things we do,” said Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline. “We’re ensuring the health of Houston’s children 10, 15, 20 years down the road.” Read more or Watch the video

 

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In memoriam: Lifelong teacher Dr. Edward B. Singleton passes away leaving rich legacy

A vase of flowers rests outside the office of Dr. Edward B. Singleton with the note, “we’ll miss you.” It’s a feeling shared by all who knew Singleton, Chief Emeritus of the Edward B. Singleton Department of Pediatric Radiology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Singleton passed away on January 10 at the age of 94. Read more or watch the video

 

January 13

Tissue engineering expert to speak at Cooley Lectureship

Renowned tissue engineering expert and Harvard Medical School John Homans Professor of Surgery Dr. Joseph Vacanti will be the featured speaker at this year’s Denton A. Cooley Lectureship in Surgical Innovation Tuesday, February 10. Beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the fourth-floor Conference Center at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, Vacanti will discuss “Tissue Engineering and the Care of Children,” a burgeoning area of research that has untapped potential for people who need new organs. Read more

 

January 13

Shneider named new chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Texas Children’s recently announced the arrival of Dr. Benjamin Shneider, our new chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Shneider was also appointed professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Shneider obtained his undergraduate education at Stanford University and earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago. He completed pediatric residency training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, as well as a subspecialty fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at Yale University. Read more

 

January 13

Dietary intervention study underway to improve outcomes in IBS patients

Texas Children’s researchers have embarked on a five-year crossover dietary intervention study that could determine why certain children with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) develop symptoms when eating wheat. In collaboration with researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Texas Children’s Gastroenterologist Dr. Bruno Chumpitazi and his team are conducting a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to examine the effects of fructans – a natural sugar found in wheat – in 80 children with IBS. Read more

 

January 6

Texas Children’s welcomes new cardiovascular surgeon

Texas Children’s Heart Center recently welcomed Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. Lauren Kane. Kane is also an assistant professor of surgery and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Kane join our growing team as she brings with her a great array of clinical and research experience,” said Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr. “Not only will her addition to the team allow for more convenient access for children in need of cardiac surgery, but we’re confident her research will continue to advance the national prominence of our cardiovascular team.” Kane’s clinical and research interests include the full spectrum of congenital heart surgery, with a particular interest in neonatal palliation and outcomes-based research. Read more

 

January 6

Pilot program makes scheduling surgery from remote locations easier

Historically, it has been difficult to schedule surgery from Texas Children’s Hospital locations outside Main Campus. A pilot project launched a few months ago in Otolaryngology has overcome this challenge and made scheduling surgery from remote locations easier. Surgeons now can add an order in Epic at the time of a patient visit. Previously, when otolaryngologists traveled to see patients, they faxed or transported paper forms to Main Campus or called to schedule surgery. “Those methods of scheduling surgery from offsite locations were less efficient and rife with opportunities for missed communications,” said Dr. Carla Giannoni, the Texas Children’s otolaryngologist who spearheaded the project. Read more

 

Submissions for Bench and Bedside

Bench and Bedside is produced monthly by Texas Children’s Corporate Communications team to spotlight recent news about Texas Children’s physicians and scientists. The team welcomes submissions related to speaking engagements, staff awards/recognition, research, clinical work and academic activities. Send your questions or submissions to connectnews@texaschildrens.org.

January 27, 2015

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This month, Texas Children’s Renal Center delivered more than 100 acute therapies in less than 10 days – a remarkable milestone that demonstrates the value of teamwork and our hospital’s commitment to putting patients’ needs first.

“This is an incredible accomplishment,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Renal Services Dr. Michael Braun. “As the demand for our services continues to grow, so has our collaborative spirit to ensure critically-ill patients receive efficient, high quality care every time they walk through our doors.”

During the past three years, our Renal Center – ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 4 nationally by U.S. News and World Report – has seen a 20 percent annual increase in the volume of acute therapies delivered to patients during their hospital stay.

Unlike chronic kidney disease – which is incurable and tends to worsen over time prompting the need for dialysis or kidney transplant – acute kidney disease develops suddenly due to injury or underlying health problems. In many cases, the kidneys regain full function once the cause is addressed.

The Renal Center at Texas Children’s delivers two types of acute therapies – dialysis for the treatment of kidney failure, and apheresis, which separates unwanted cells or components from a patient’s blood and returns the desired components to patients with a wide range of illnesses.

Last year, 2,400 acute therapies were delivered to patients, averaging six treatments per day. To achieve this month’s milestone – 124 acute therapies in less than 10 days – the renal staff collaborated with numerous multidisciplinary teams across the organization to deliver results.

“Our success is contingent upon the support we received from fellows, nurses, blood bank, transplant services, supply chain, the intensive care units, as well as the critical care physicians, surgeons and radiologists who placed dialysis catheters into our patients prior to treatment,” Braun said.

The Renal Center’s exceptionally dedicated dialysis team worked tirelessly to ensure our acute and chronic kidney disease patients received life-saving treatments.

“Nurses and clinical hemodialysis technicians voluntarily worked extra hours and shifts to meet the increasing demand for renal services,” said Valesca Adams, assistant director of Nursing for Texas Children’s Renal Center. “It was a lot of work, but at the end of the day, our primary focus was – and still is – fulfilling our patients’ needs.”

“I am proud and humbled that our teams pulled together to achieve a performance record of this kind,” Braun said. “It is great to celebrate this milestone but even more importantly that we meet the standard of excellence that our patients have come to expect.”

Besides treating kidney disease, the Renal Center provides services to transplant patients, critically-ill ICU patients, as well as patients who have undergone cardiovascular surgery. The renal team delivers extracorporeal therapy to liver patients to help reduce the disease burden as they await a transplant.

To learn more about Texas Children’s Renal Center, click here.

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One in five Americans has a mental illness and many are reluctant to seek help or might not know where to turn for care. On top of that, the symptoms of mental illness can be difficult to detect. Even when friends and family of someone who appears to be developing a mental illness can tell that something is amiss, they might not know how to intervene or direct the person to proper treatment, which means that all too often, those in need of mental health services do not get them until it is too late.

Here at Texas Children’s we are working to build a community that is highly educated about mental illness and extremely compassionate toward those who might be experiencing it. One of the main ways we are going about creating this community is by offering a world-renowned course that helps people identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. Called Mental Health First Aid, the 8-hour course teaches people how to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.

The course introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health concerns, builds understanding of their impact, and overviews common treatments. It uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a mental health crisis, select interventions and provide initial help. It also helps connect people to professional, peer and social supports as well as self-help resources.

Jill Fragoso, director of employee health and wellness, took the Mental Health First Aid course a year ago, and said it was invaluable to her professionally and personally.

“It provided me with a toolkit and an action plan that I can use if I ever find myself in a situation where I am dealing with a person with a mental disorder,” said Fragoso, who is also a registered nurse. “It also helped educate me on what is and what isn’t a mental disorder so that I can better determine how to help someone.”

Terese Walsh, senior organizational development consultant, said the course cleared up some misconceptions she had about what to say and do to support someone with a mental illness.

“I encourage everyone to take it,” she said of the course. “It was well done and provided me with valuable information.”

Mental Health First Aid was created in 2001 by Betty Kitchener, a nurse specializing in health education, and Anthony Jorm, a mental health literacy professor. Kitchener and Jorm run Mental Health First Aid™ Australia, a national non-profit health promotion charity focused on training and research. The United States is just one of the many countries that have adapted the program.

Texas Children’s Employee Assistance Program started offering the program to its employees free of charge in 2014. So far, feedback to the program “has been fantastic,” said Brent LoCaste-Wilken, program manager of the Employee Assistance Program. “Our goal is to get as many people trained as possible,” he added.

This year there will be three opportunities to take the course, the first being from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 17, in the Pavilion for Women fourth-floor conference center. The second course will be broken up into two four-hour sessions. The first session of the second course will be from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 13. Both sessions will be held in the Pavilion for Women fourth-floor conference center. The last course will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 4, in the Pavilion for Women fourth-floor conference center.

To sign up for one of the Mental Health First Aid courses, go to the Learning Academy on Connect or contact the Employee Assistance Program at Ext. 4-3327 or eap@texaschildrens.org.

January 21, 2015

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Dr. Daniel Leung, medical director of the Viral Hepatitis Clinic at Texas Children’s, has devoted much of his research to improving the outcomes of children with cystic fibrosis and cystic fibrosis-associated liver diseases.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening illness that causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that blocks the airways in the lungs, digestive tract and other parts of the body, including the liver.

“CF is caused by a mutation in the CFTR gene that affects the liver’s bile composition,” said Leung. “When thick bile cannot flow from the liver to the small intestine to digest fats, the buildup of bile rapidly scars the liver leading to cirrhosis, which may require a liver transplant.”

To accelerate CF research and patient care at Texas Children’s, Leung received a $100,000 Developing Innovative Gastroenterology Specialty Training (DIGEST) grant last spring from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This 3-year grant is awarded to physicians across the country who demonstrate promise in changing the field of gastrointestinal (GI) care and research for CF patients.

“We’re paired up with nationally recognized physician mentors throughout the country,” said Leung. “The intent is to enhance CF care and research emerging in each of the institutions where there’s an awardee.”

Through the DIGEST grant, Leung will be working closely with interim CF Center Director Dr. Fadel Ruiz and Pulmonary Division Chief Peter Hiatt to incorporate more pediatric gastroenterology into a multidisciplinary CF clinic for Texas Children’s most challenging patients, as well as develop CF and gastroenterology learning programs and lectures for future trainees and faculty.

Leung, who fosters a special interest in nutritional deficiencies and liver disease in children with CF, is active in on-going multi-center studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, respectively
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For the last four years, Leung has served as co-lead principal investgator of the CFF-funded Baby Observational and Nutrition Study (BONUS) that examines how diet and nutritional supplements impact growth in CF patients during the first year of life. Specimen samples – stool, urine, DNA and serum – are collected to identify potential markers that may interfere with an infant’s growth.

Leung also serves as site PI for the NIH’s Cystic Fibrosis Liver Disease Network study called PUSH which is an observational study that tests whether certain abdominal ultrasound patterns determine CF patients’ risk for developing cirrhosis.

“Up to 10 percent of children with cystic fibrosis will develop biliary cirrhosis by the first decade of life prompting the need for a liver transplant,” said Leung. “Through our research, we want to improve these odds to help CF children at Texas Children’s and around the world get off to a healthy start.”

Leung and his research colleagues are working on the first manuscripts for both studies and hope to publish their findings this spring.

January 20, 2015

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MyChart, the online patient portal that allows patients or their parents to access health information from Epic, recently underwent significant improvements and enhancements.

Now, patient families can:

  • Sign up for MyChart in their doctors’ offices and receive access the same day (with a few exceptions
  • Request, confirm and cancel appointments online
  • Review appointment history, chronic illnesses, medical and surgical history, allergies, medications and after-visit summaries
  • Email non-urgent medical questions to providers
  • Request prescription renewals online
  • Complete medical questionnaires prior to appointments

The increased use of MyChart by Texas Children’s patient families will help providers stay connected to their patients, improve patient care and save time.
Here’s how:

  • MyChart is an effective tool for patient engagement, leading to better outcomes. The more patient families are involved in their care, the better their outcomes.
  • MyChart allows easy login – whether on a computer or a smart phone – so patient families can see their health information and review comments from their physicians.
  • MyChart enhances how physicians communicate directly with their patients, by allowing conversations to occur online and at times that are convenient for the physician and the patient. This direct communication helps patient families feel connected to their care providers.
  • MyChart improves the patient experience by allowing easier access to their health information, such as after visit summaries, immunization histories and more.
  • MyChart promotes efficiency by decreasing the need for printing, mailing and faxing patient information.

“We are excited about the changes that have been made to MyChart during the last six months,” said Dr. Joan Shook, Texas Children’s chief clinical information officer. “Now it’s time for us to enlist all the Texas Children’s medical staff and employees to help us encourage our patient families to sign up and use MyChart.”

If you want to watch the MyChart video outside of the organization on our YouTube channel, click here.

For more information about MyChart, visit the links below:
My Chart Overview
Clinical MyChart Workflows
Workflow and Instructions for Responding to Patient Emails
Details about Outpatient After Visit Summary (AVS)
Results Release

Results Release Tip Sheet
eLearning Results Release Tutorial
PowerPoint Results Release Tutorial

Details about Blocked Lab Results and Sharing Letters

Details about History Questionnaires

Functionality for the Teen Patient and Teen Proxy