December 19, 2017

Sky High, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating pediatric cancer, made a generous donation of $725,000 to Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers during a Christmas Carnival the organization hosted on the 14th floor of Wallace Tower for cancer and hematology patients and their families.

“Days like today keep us doing what we do,” said Brittany Hebert, the founder and chief executive officer of Sky High, which raises funds by hosting a variety of events including concerts, golf tournaments and sporting clay tournaments. “We are happy to here and be able to help.”

Dr. ZoAnne Dreyer, an oncologist with the Cancer Center, said the money donated by Sky High will go toward developing a tumor biology lab and will undoubtedly play a significant role is helping research and treat childhood cancer.

“We are so appreciative of your generosity,” Dreyer told Hebert and her team of elves who helped secure the donation and who made the Christmas Carnival a hit with patients and families. “We are privileged to have a relationship with such a great organization.”

Texas Children’s Physician-In-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline echoed Dreyer’s comments and said that he too is proud to be a part of Sky High, an organization dedicated to such a noble cause.

To learn more about Sky High, click here.

Each year, about 50,000 people across the United States make donations ranging from a few dollars to $10,000 or more through the Office of Philanthropy’s Direct Mail program. Often, donors send heartfelt notes wishing our patients, clinical staff, and other team members well, or they mention fond thoughts of their own children or grandchildren.

To help capture that spirit during the holidays, which can be a tough time for those not able to spend it at home, the program offered its donors the opportunity to sign and return paper origami cranes as a way of sending good wishes and hope to our patients and their families.

Japanese legend has it that mystical cranes can live for 1,000 years, and because cranes represent good health, people often work together to create 1,000 paper cranes – called senbazuru – to promote the health of someone special to them.

In honor of our patients and families, a Tree of Hope decorated with 1,000 cranes will remain in the lobby of the Mark A. Wallace Tower throughout the holidays. Patients and families are welcome to take a crane as a gift from our donors, each of whom stopped during a busy time of year to think about Texas Children’s and our mission.

Representatives from the Otolaryngology, Pulmonology, Audiology, and Speech, Language and Learning groups at Texas Children’s Hospital presented and attended the 2017 SENTAC (Society for ENT Advances in Children) Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Otolaryngologist Dr. Carol Liu, former fellow Dr. Annabelle Tay Sok Yan, resident Dr. Tanner Fullmer, Sr. Audiologist Barbara Novak, and medical student Mark Michael gave presentations during the conference.

Dr. Rodrigo Silva and Dr. Tony Hughes from Otolaryngology served as session moderators and Dr. Shailendra Das from Pulmonary was a panelist.

Barbara Novak received the 2017 SENTAC Quality Care Award for the highest scoring abstract at the conference.

At the conclusion of the conference, Texas Children’s Dr. Deepak Mehta received the SENTAC President’s Bell to ring as he assumed the SENTAC presidency for 2018.

The Texas Children’s contingent also attended an event at the Hockey Hall of Fame and had a group photo taken with the Stanley Cup. The 2018 Annual Meeting will be held in Houston with Texas Children’s as the host site.

December 13, 2017

Dr. Carla Davis has been appointed the new head of the Section of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology and Chief of the Allergy/Immunology Service in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Jordan Orange, who currently holds this position, will be leaving Texas Children’s to become the new Chair of Columbia University’s Department of Pediatrics. Until his departure in the Spring 2018, Orange will work closely with Davis to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.

Davis earned an M.D. degree from Duke University Medical School in 1997. She completed pediatric residency training at Baylor and Texas Children’s, followed by postdoctoral fellowships in Allergy and Immunology (2001-2003) and HIV/AIDS Clinical Research (2000-2001 and 2003-2004). She joined the Baylor faculty as an assistant professor in 2005 and was promoted to associate professor in 2015. Davis is certified by both the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. She is an internationally recognized authority and investigator in the field of food allergies.

“Under Dr. Davis’ leadership, I have no doubt that our outstanding programs in Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology will continue to flourish,” said Texas Children’s Physician-in-Chief Mark W. Kline. “Please join me in thanking Dr. Davis for her willingness to take on this important leadership role.”

From January 22 to 24, Magnet appraisers will conduct a site visit at Texas Children’s, which represents a huge milestone in the hospital’s journey towards achieving Magnet redesignation, the gold standard for nursing excellence. A staff notice has been posted on Connect for details on what to expect during the visit. Click above for visit details.

December 12, 2017

Dr. Paul Sirbaugh, chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine since 2012, has been named chief medical officer for Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, effective January 2, 2018. Sirbaugh will succeed Dr. Charles Hankins, who will be joining CHRISTUS as system senior vice-president of pediatrics and president and chief medical officer of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

Sirbaugh brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this leadership role. In addition to a medical degree and board certification in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine, Sirbaugh earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Rice University. He has served as the pediatric medical director for the City of Houston Emergency Medical Service for the past 22 years and is an extremely broad-based clinician, medical educator and clinical investigator. He currently serves as associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a proven leader of Dr. Sirbaugh’s impeccable character and abilities step into this important role,” said Texas Children’s Physician-In-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline. “We thank all of you, but especially our Woodlands-based faculty and staff, for joining us in congratulating Dr. Sirbaugh and welcoming him to The Woodlands community.”

On February 10 at Third Coast on Bertner Avenue in Houston, Texas Children’s Chief of Otolaryngology Dr. Ellis Arjmand and Dr. Oded Netzer, professor of business at Columbia Business School in New York City, will lead an interactive workshop focused on the psychology of decision making in medicine.

During the 8-hour course, attendees will learn about the psychology of decision making and how to make smarter decisions in the presence of uncertainty.

Building on the landmark research from two trailblazing psychologists, Drs. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, attendees will learn how to recognize cognitive bias and systematic errors in decision making. Topics discussed include:

  • Cognitive Bias and Decision Making
  • Systematic Forms of Error: Understanding Our Biases
  • System I and System II: Thinking Fast and Slow
  • Interrogating the Data
  • Understanding Error in Medical Decision Making
  • Syntheses vs. Summary
  • Reducing Bias in Medical Decision Making

To register for the Continuing Medical Education course or for more information about the event, click here.