Leadership – Page 82 – Texas Children's News

December 7, 2015

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.

November 3

West Campus gastroenterology team grows

Three pediatric gastroenterologists recently joined the pediatric gastroenterology team at the West Campus. The additional physicians brings the team to a total of four full-time gastroenterologists at the West Houston hospital. More

November 3

Two neurologists, pharmacist receive AES Young Investigator Award

Texas Children’s neurologists Drs. Sunita Misra and Dana Marafie and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Dr. Mindl Messinger will be presented with the 2015 Young Investigator Award at the upcoming American Epilepsy Society’s Annual Meeting. More

November 10

Texas Children’s participates in largest study on teen weight-loss surgery

The results of research Texas Children’s Hospital participated in were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and show teen weight-loss surgery demonstrates the reversal of type 2 diabetes and significant weight loss. More

November 10

Watcher program improves safety across organization

A new program has significantly decreased codes in acute care areas by heightening the awareness of patients in need of extra attention and improving communication amongst caregivers about those who may quickly decompensate. More

November 17

Preidis receives 2-year NASPGHAN research grant for microbiome nutrition study

Dr. Geoffrey Preidis, a pediatric gastroenterology fellow at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine, received the 2016 Young Investigator Development Award from the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Foundation and Nestlé Nutrition Institute. More

November 17

Lam recognized with Baylor Rising Star Award

Dr. Sandi Lam, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Craniofacial Surgery Program, was recognized at a recent Baylor College of Medicine Neurosurgery Grand Rounds with the inaugural Rising Star in Resident Education award. The award is given to a neurosurgery junior faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching. More

November 17

Dr. Huynh-Tran joins Department of Surgery

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Amy Huynh-Tran to the Division of Dental Surgery. Huynh-Tran also has been appointed as an assistant professor in the Dental Department at Baylor College of Medicine. Huynh-Tran will see patients in the Dental Clinic at the main campus of Texas Children’s. More

November 17

Drs. Chandy, Musso awarded Master Teacher Certificates

Otolaryngologists Drs. Binoy Chandy and MaryFrances Musso recently received the Baylor College of Medicine Master Teacher Certificate and presented at the Baylor College of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Educators. The Master Teacher Certificate is awarded by the Master Teachers Fellowship Program at Baylor. More

November 17

Pediatric Anesthesiology promotes two high-level faculty, creates new division

The Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology recently made some significant organizational changes, promoting two faculty members to Associate Anesthesiologist-in-Chief and creating a new division dedicated to non-operating room anesthesia. More

November 17

Passionate confrontations subject of annual McNamara Grand Rounds

Speaking to a packed auditorium, visiting physician Dr. Chris Feudtner shared his insight on speaking to parents of critically ill children with compassion during the annual McNamara Grand Rounds. More

November 24

Stein elected president of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Dr. Fernando Stein, medical director of the Progressive Care Unit, has been elected President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This is the first time in the AAP’s 85-year history that a Texas pediatrician has been elected to the post. As AAP president, Stein will represent all pediatricians and subspecialists across the U.S. and serve as Texas Children’s voice on national issues impacting the health and safety of the millions of patients and families we serve. More

November 24

Ribbon cutting held for special isolation unit at West Campus

More than 70 people from across the organization, city and state attended the Special Isolation Unit ribbon cutting and open house last week at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. Attendees got a close-up look of the state-of-the-art facility, which allows Texas Children’s to care for children with highly contagious infectious diseases. More

December 1, 2015

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Hundreds of Texas Children’s supporters turned out last week to The Forum Luncheon in The Woodlands. Hosted by The Development Department, the event focused on the imminent opening of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands and its growing leadership and clinical teams.

Michelle Riley-Brown, who was named president of the new community hospital at last year’s forum in The Woodlands, unveiled her administrative leadership team:

Julie Barrett, director of Outpatient and Clinical Support Services
Hillary Griffin, senior project manager
Bobbie Jehle, senior project manager
Trent Johnson, director of Business Operations and Support Services
Cathy Pierantozzi, director of Human Resources
Ketrese White, director of Patient Care Services

“These are some of Texas Children’s strongest, most dedicated employees,” Riley-Brown said. “They undoubtedly will make Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands a success for patients, families and the community as a whole.”

Dr. Charles Hankins, chief medical officer at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, took the podium next and told the audience that his clinical team is growing by the day and that his newest recruit was for the position of Chief Surgical Officer.

Dr. Jeffrey Shilt of Idaho State University and formerly of St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise was named Chief Surgical Officer this month. Shilt is an orthopedic surgeon who has practiced and been on the academic staff at universities in North Carolina, Idaho and Louisiana. He earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine and did postdoctoral training at institutions in Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina.

“Dr. Shilt is a perfect fit for this position,” Hankins said. “We are glad he decided to join us and look forward to bringing the people of The Woodlands the best pediatric care the nation has to offer.”

The remainder of the luncheon was dedicated to the introduction of an additional three new physicians who will be working in The Woodlands:

Dr. Kristin Ernest, sports medicine
Dr. Michael Gleason, hematology/oncology
Dr. Charles Hughes, otolaryngology

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands will open its doors to outpatient care in the fall of 2016 and inpatient services the following year. Once completed, the facility will be a 560,000-square-foot complex and will offer inpatient and outpatient specialty pediatric care. Facilities will include 18 emergency center rooms, 85 outpatient rooms, five radiology rooms, four operating rooms and 32 acute-care and 12 PICU beds with future expansion plans for up to 200 beds.

Along with serving families throughout The Woodlands Area, Texas Children’s anticipates serving families in counties throughout Greater North Houston, including Montgomery, Walker, Grimes, Liberty, Harris, Polk, San Jacinto and Hardin.

Hundreds gathered Wednesday at the Forum Luncheon in The Woodlands to show their support for Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, which, when complete in 2017, will be Texas Children’s second community hospital.

November 10, 2015

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Flu season is here with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting cases being seen sporadically across the United States, including Texas. To protect yourself and others against the serious, potentially deadly, infection, the CDC and the Executive Director of Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research Dr. Carol J. Baker urges everyone – especially health care workers – to get vaccinated.

“We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our patients to get vaccinated against the flu,” Baker said. “As long as the season is going on, and you are not protected, you can get influenza.”

For those who are still debating on whether to get the free flu shot offered to all Texas Children’s employees, Baker, a pediatric infectious disease specialist well known for her work in both immunization research and education, addresses some of the top concerns about the vaccine and the flu in the video below.

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As of Friday, November 6, 63 percent of Texas Children’s employees had gotten a flu shot, according to statistics provided by Jill Fragoso, director of Employee Health and Wellness. Last year, Texas Children’s achieved a 90 percent vaccination rate. We want to reach or exceed that rate this year. As a reminder, employees should be in compliance by Tuesday, December 1. Leaders can run reports for their area(s) via the Health and Wellness portal. Individuals who would like to view and/or print their immunization records can click here for instructions on how to access that portal.

How to get vaccinated
Free flu shots are being offered to all Texas Children’s employees, Baylor College of Medicine employees working in Texas Children’s facilities, Texas Children’s medical staff and volunteers at various events across the organization and at the Employee Health Clinic. Click here to view the dates and locations for your vaccination. If you are unable to make one of these dates, please make an appointment at the Employee Health clinic, located on the fifth floor of the Abercrombie Building near the yellow elevators, after October 1. If you have questions, please call Employee Health at Ext. 4-2150. West Campus Employee Health is located on the campus’ second floor and can be reached at Ext. 7-1365.

Visitation restrictions
Based on the increasing incidence of respiratory illness, Texas Children’s Hospital has instituted new visitation restrictions for the inpatient units and critical care areas. To read more about these restrictions please click here.

November 9, 2015

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.

October 6

Transient hypoglycemia in newborns may affect school-age academic outcomes

A new study led by Texas Children’s neonatologist Dr. Jeffrey Kaiser found that a brief drop in blood sugar at birth, commonly referred to as transient hypoglycemia, may be linked to lower literacy and math achievement test scores in fourth grade. More

October 6

Jae named to Baylor College of Medicine curriculum committee

Dr. Andrew Jea, Fellowship Program Director, Director of Educational Programs for the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, and Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, was recently appointed to the college’s Medical School Curriculum Committee. More

October 6

Four neurologists will receive prestigious honors from the Child Neurology Society

The Neurology division at Texas Children’s was recognized not once, but four times at the 44th Annual Child Neurology Society Meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 9. More

October 6

Division of Otolaryngology experiences tremendous growth under Arjmand

In just a little more than a year, Dr. Ellis Arjmand has turned Texas Children’s Division of Otolaryngology into the largest pediatric ear, nose and throat program in the country. Prior to his coming aboard as chief of Otolaryngology in August 2014, the program had eight otolaryngologists providing services to the entire city of Houston and its surrounding area. Now, Texas Children’s Otolaryngology has 21 physicians stationed throughout Greater Houston. More

October 13

Texas Children’s anesthesiologists contribute to leading textbook in field

Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos and several members of his medical staff helped write and edit the recently published Anesthesia for Congenital Heart Disease, 3rd Edition. More

October 13

Clinical Care Center surgery patients now receiving post-surgery prescriptions at discharge

A pilot project was launched on October 13 in the Clinical Care Center that will allow the opportunity for surgery patients to have prescriptions filled prior to discharge. More

October 13

Super Star Physician: Dr. Sunjeev Patel

Dr. Sunjeev Patel of Texas Children’s Pediatrics Lakewood is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star physician. “Being part of Texas Children’s Pediatrics has allowed me to not only see patients in the office, but it also has given me the opportunity to be involved with understanding and improving quality of care,” Patel said. Read more of Patel’s interview and find out how you can nominate a Super Star. More

October 13

Finishing touches being put on Special Isolation Unit in preparation of opening

Pastel paint, shiny floors and spacious rooms equipped with the latest scientific and technological approaches to biocontainment are just a few of the features of the soon-to-be-finished Special Isolation Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. The 8-bed unit designed for children with highly contagious infectious diseases is set to open later in October. More

October 20

Vasudevan receives grant for liver cancer research

The Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation has awarded pediatric surgeon Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan a $75,000 grant for research into a form of pediatric liver cancer called hepatoblastoma, which is a disease that usually affects children under the age of five. More

October 20

Texas Children’s Transition Medicine team holds victory celebration dinner

Nearly 90 percent of children born with chronic or disabling conditions are surviving into adulthood, prompting the need for health care providers to develop appropriate and timely transitions of care. Texas Children’s is ensuring patients here experience a smooth transition to adult care. More

October 20

Lee Woodruff inspires packed auditorium at Department of Pediatrics grand rounds

When ABC News Anchor Bob Woodruff was injured by a roadside bomb while reporting in Iraq, his wife, Lee, became his caretaker. Recently, she visited Texas Children’s to share her inspiring patient-family story with the Department of Pediatrics at Grand Rounds. More

October 27

NRI study: Deep brain stimulation restores learning, memory in Rett syndrome mice

In a recent study led by Drs. Huda Zoghbi and Jianrong Tang, and published in the journal Nature, researchers from the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine, demonstrated that deep brain stimulation of a specific area of the brain reverts learning and memory deficits in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, a leading cause of intellectual disability in girls. More

October 27

NRI researcher receives the Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award

Dr. Mingshan Xue, a Carolina DeLuca scholar and researcher at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s, has been awarded the Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award. More

October 27

2016 Catalyst Leadership Award receipients named at luncheon

Five outstanding Texas Children’s employees who exemplify leadership while upholding Texas Children’s mission and core values were honored October 23 at a luncheon naming the 2016 Catalyst Leadership Award recipients and the Catalyst Leader of the Year. The award was created six years ago by members of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees in honor of Mark Wallace’s 20th anniversary as president and CEO. More

October 27, 2015

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Six years ago, members of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees made personal donations to an endowed fund that led to the establishment of the Mark A. Wallace Catalyst Leadership Award in honor of Mark A. Wallace’s 20th anniversary as president and CEO. Nominations for the award are thoughtfully reviewed by the selection committee, which includes representatives from the organization’s senior executive team, Human Resources, Texas Children’s Board of Trustees, and Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Wallace.

“It was an impressive group of individuals nominated this year making the decision process extremely difficult,” Wallace said. “Please join me in congratulating these deserving individuals for their proven ability to lead by example both in their professional and personal lives.”

The 2016 Catalyst Leaders are:

Jamie Choi, Manager, Pharmacy
Preanka Desai, Administrative Supervisor, Radiology
Shannon Holland, Assistant Clinical Director, Nursing
Melissa Murrah, Director, Risk Management

The 2016 Catalyst Leader of the Year is Texas Children’s Pediatrics Humble/Atascocita Pediatrician Dr. Mark Farrior.

Farrior delivers the ultimate patient experience, both with his excellence in clinical practice, as well as his dedication to assist our physicians and staff to better care for all of our patients. “Leading tirelessly” is only the beginning of Farrior’s leadership style. He is one of the driving forces behind the usage of electronic medical records at Texas Children’s Pediatrics. He demonstrates excellent clinical judgment and serves as chairman for the TCP Practice Management Advisory Council, ensuring we provide the highest level of care for our patients and families.

“Dr. Farrior is an amazing person and physician,” said Dr. Stanley Spinner, chief medical officer and vice president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “Whenever we want to make something happen, Farrior is our go-to person. He’s always willing to go the extra mile.”

Farrior said being part of Texas Children’s is what keeps him going every day because the mission and guiding principles of the organization encourage him to focus on the quality of care he gives his patients. As for leadership, he said his best advice is to get involved and be engaged.

“Get on a committee, get to know the doctor’s in your group and help each other move forward,” he said. “We all are in this together.”

Throughout the coming year, Farrior and the other Catalyst recipients will receive a number of honors and participate in a variety of rewarding learning experiences. Additionally, as the Catalyst Leader of the Year, Farrior will further develop his talents by completing advanced training at a renowned organization.

To learn more about this year’s Catalyst leaders click here.

Five outstanding Texas Children’s employees were honored October 23 at a luncheon naming the 2016 Catalyst Leadership Award recipients and the Catalyst Leader of the Year.

October 20, 2015

Texas Children’s Transition Medicine Team hosted its third annual dinner event with the evening’s theme – Transition is a Victory. The celebration was held at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women in conjunction with the 16th Annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference. More than 100 people attended the dinner to learn about the progress Texas Children’s has made developing transition solutions.

Nearly 90 percent of children born with chronic or disabling conditions are surviving into adulthood. People with sickle cell disease are living into their sixties and the number of adults with cystic fibrosis now outnumbers the children. This victory has left providers and hospitals nationwide with the challenge of defining and constructing appropriate and timely transitions of care.

Transition Medicine describes the planned process of educating, coordinating and transferring patient care from the pediatric to the adult health care system in a way that optimizes a patient’s health and ability to function. Texas Children’s is dedicated to helping patients transfer care smoothly without a decline or break in their treatment.

Many young adults between the ages of 18 to 21 transition their care to adult providers when they leave for college or enter the workforce. But for those with complex chronic pediatric diseases, transitioning is a struggle filled with barriers and challenges that include patient maturity, psychosocial and family needs, coordination and reimbursement issues, and identification of adult providers able to care for unique patient populations.

At the conference and the dinner, Texas Children’s patients, family and staff shared their inspirational stories and spoke to the importance of a solid transition program. The conference featured discussions on legal issues and quality improvement strategies involved in health care transition, as well as opportunities to meet and talk with faculty, exchange ideas among participants, and share knowledge and information about how best to plan for a successful transition from pediatric to adult care.

Physician speakers from Texas Children’s delivered presentations including conference founder and chair Dr. Albert Hergenroeder and Drs. Heidi Schwarzwald, Carla Tapia and Connie Wiemann.

Administration leaders John Nickens, Diane Scardino, and Daniel DiPrisco along with Drs. Marcia Katz, Angelo Giardino and Albert Hergenroeder spoke about educational efforts, innovative quality and process improvement strategies and recognized supporters of transition medicine. They were joined by family advisor, Jeb Ligums who awarded the 2015 Benjamin B. Ligums Scholar to Dr. Rebecca Laster from Texas Children’s Pediatrics Gulfton location. The scholar program allows a provider in the community to receive training on the adult special needs population and project management assistance in setting up a referral process between providers.

The dinner also included a presentation from Texas Children’s congenital heart patient Kristin Edwards who shared her touching story of transition from pediatric to an adult care at Texas Children’s. The evening wrapped up with Dr. Ahmet Uluer, director of the Weitzman Family BRIDGES Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, who spoke in support of a collaborative nationwide approach to Transition Medicine.

Click here to watch a video about Texas Children’s Transition Medicine Program. For questions or additional information, contact Kris Barton at Ext. 4-1265 or email her at krbarton@texaschildrens.org

Her husband went from telling the evening news to being the news and Lee Woodruff took on a role no one could have predicted. When ABC News Anchor Bob Woodruff was injured by a roadside bomb while reporting in Iraq, Lee immediately took on the role of a lifetime, caretaker to a loved one with a traumatic brain injury.

With four children waiting for their dad to come home, Lee was determined to walk out of those hospital doors with her husband, but there was a long road to that day.

Woodruff was invited to Texas Children’s by Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline who asked her to speak at the Department of Pediatrics grand rounds expressing her patient perspective.

“You probably don’t hear this from us as patient families enough, but thank you,” Woodruff said to the group. “As you do your job, I hope you remember that families heal together so include them in the equation.”

Woodruff asked the auditorium full of physicians to remember to care for the entire family. She recalled a turning point during her husband’s hospital stay when someone asked how she was doing. A moment she won’t forget, patient-and-family centered care at its core.

For Woodruff, whose husband endured a difficult path to recovery, there is one message she finds most important. While being sensitive to not give false promises, she asked providers to think before the difficult discussions.

“Just think, ‘how can we have this conversation differently?’” Woodruff said. “How can you leave room for hope?”

For Woodruff and her family, it was the nurses who provided that hope by sharing stories of success and survival of other patients who had brain injuries similar to that of her husband. Woodruff held on to that hope and eventually did see her husband wake up, regain his strength and recover from his brain injury. She said those few months in the hospital changed her perspective and left her forever grateful to the work of those dedicated to healing the sick.

Bob Woodruff did eventually walk out of that hospital room with his wife and continues to report at ABC News. Now a CBS news contributor and New York Times best-selling author, Lee has partnered up with her husband to use their experiences in inspiring groups like the physicians at Texas Children’s and help wounded veterans.

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