Optimization – Page 28 – Texas Children's News

June 23, 2015

Chief Safety Officer Dr. Joan Shook knows firsthand just how stressful it can be to work in a health care environment as demanding and complex as ours.

For the past 20 plus years, she has tended to patients with various types of health conditions in the Emergency Center. Some of those patients got well and went on to live productive lives. Others weren’t so lucky.

The impact of the negative events often leads to stress, fatigue and sometimes depression and blame for all involved in the situation, Shook said. The most profound example of such emotions happened years ago when Shook was a section head in the EC and a therapist came to talk to her group about workplace stress.

“Everyone broke down in tears at that meeting,” she said. “I had no idea the burden my people were carrying.”

To help employees cope with adverse patient events such as errors, unanticipated outcomes or even death, Texas Children’s recently launched a peer-to-peer support team that can be tapped 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Texas Children’s Tandem Support Team provides access to more than 100 trained peer volunteers who are willing and ready to provide reassurance, guidance and overall support.

Director of Employee Health & Wellness Jill Fragoso said the team is comprised of clinical and nonclinical employees from across the entire Texas Children’s system and that all members have been trained by the leading experts in the field of workplace stress in a health care setting.

“Adverse patient events can have a significant impact on the health care professional, colleagues and subsequent patients,” Fragoso said. “That’s why we want to ensure Texas Children’s is doing all we can to guide our employees through such events so they don’t burn out and/or have long lasting emotional effects.”

Staff Chaplain Kristen Springmeyer is one of the 100 trained members of the Tandem Support Team and said she volunteered because she’s seen the need for such a program and believes it will be transformative.

She said the team will give our health care workers the chance to decompress with someone they can trust and with someone who understands where they are coming from. In addition, the team will be able to point employees in need to resources such as the Employee Assistance Program, which provides confidential, professional services such as counseling, stress management and grief support.

“My job is to listen and refer when needed,” Springmeyer said. “It’s that simple, yet so important.”

All employees, managers, supervisors and peers are encouraged to contact the Tandem Support Team after any patient event that causes distress. You can do so one of three ways:

Page: 832-824-2099 and ask for the “Tandem Support Team.”
Go to: Connect Sites and Services > Centers, Clinics, Departments > Tandem Support Team
Find a team member at your location by looking for their special badge slip or lanyard.

Managing 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.

June 10, 2015

Formerly conjoined twin Adeline Faith Mata joined her family June 9 after being discharged from Texas Children’s Hospital. Her sister, Knatalye Hope, went home May 8, less than three months after she and Adeline underwent a successful separation surgery.

Dressed in matching striped pastel sundresses and accompanied by their 5-year-old brother, Azariah, the girls sat on their parents’ laps and smiled for cameras capturing the memorable event.

“We are so pleased with the progress of both Adeline and Knatalye following their first-of-its-kind separation surgery earlier this year,” said Dr. Darrell Cass, pediatric surgeon, co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center and associate professor of surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine. “They will both require additional therapies as they continue to grow, but we are thrilled with their outcomes and are optimistic they will continue to do very well.”

The Mata family will reside in Houston temporarily for follow-up appointments at the hospital before returning to their hometown of Lubbock.

“The past year has been such a whirlwind for our family and we are so thankful we can finally have both girls home with us,” said Elysse Mata, mother of the twins. “In addition to the great care our girls received, the thoughts, prayers and outpouring of love from the community really helped get us through the last year and we are grateful for everyone’s continued support.”

Knatalye and Adeline were born on April 11 at 3:41 a.m. at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, estimated to weigh 3 pounds, 7 ounces each. Delivered via Caesarean-section at 31 weeks gestation, Knatalye and Adeline were welcomed by their parents, Elysse and John Eric Mata, and their older brother, Azariah.

The family learned during a routine ultrasound on Jan. 13, 2014 that Elysse was carrying twins and they were conjoined. Subsequently, the family was referred to Texas Children’s Fetal Center where they underwent extensive prenatal imaging, multidisciplinary consultation and development of plans to achieve a safe delivery and postnatal care.

The girls spent the first 10 months of their lives in the Level IV neonatal intensive care unit at Texas Children’s. In December 2014, they underwent chest and abdomen area. The tissue expanders helped to stretch their skin in preparation for the separation surgery.

During their historic separation surgery in February, a team of more than 26 clinicians including 12 surgeons, six anesthesiologists and eight surgical nurses, among others, worked together to separate the girls who shared a chest wall, lungs, pericardial sac (the lining of the heart), diaphragm, liver, intestines, colon and pelvis. During the complex surgery, the team worked for approximately 23 hours on Knatalye and 26 hours on Adeline with the official separation occurring approximately 18 hours into the surgery. Among the surgical subspecialties involved were pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, urology, liver transplant surgery, orthopedic surgery and pediatric gynecology.

Following their separation surgery, the girls were cared for by a multidisciplinary team in the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit before moving to lower-acuity units prior to discharge. Both girls also underwent additional surgeries including the removal of rods from their pelvises and the placement of a gastrostomy button in each girl. Adeline also underwent a tracheostomy surgery in April to aid in her breathing and lung development and was discharged on a ventilator to provide additional breathing support. Knatalye and Adeline continue to receive physical and occupational therapy after recovering from surgery and will be carefully followed by pediatric subspecialty experts.

“When I first met the Mata family and learned of the diagnosis, I was optimistic we would have a positive outcome,” Cass said. “It is with great joy to watch them leave the hospital and I look forward to the day Elysse shares with me pictures of them walking into kindergarten together.”

June 9, 2015

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Fetal Center nurse Laura Mollett finally is getting the smile of her dreams, thanks to Texas Children’s discounted orthodontia services for employees.

Mollett, a nurse in the Fetal Center, had braces when she was young but they weren’t maintained properly and her teeth shifted. As an adult, she often thought about getting her teeth corrected but knew she didn’t have the time to make the regular appointments.

That changed when she learned Texas Children’s offers discounted orthodontia services in house to its employees. Mollett said she saw a flier about the services at a bridge event and called immediately. She got an appointment shortly afterward and is well on her way to having straight teeth again.

“It’s a wonderful program,” Mollett said. “In addition to the cost savings, it’s convenient. They get you in and out really fast because they know how important it is to get you back to work.”

Beginning in January, Texas Children’s began offering traditional braces and Invisalign at a discounted price to all employees, regardless of whether they are enrolled in the organization’s dental coverage. The services cannot be claimed under the dental plan or any other insurance plan, however eligible out-of-pocket expenses can be reimbursed through the Healthcare FSA.

Total out-of-pocket costs for these discounted services are:

Traditional braces: $3,000
Invisalign: $3,500

Dr. John Wirthlin, a craniofacial orthodontist on Texas Children’s cleft lip and palate team, leads the orthodontia program and said an added bonus to the discount is the convenience on-site orthodontia services offers to the patient.

“You would have to take a half a day off a month if you received services off campus,” Wirthlin said. “If you get your services here, all you have to do is walk over to the Clinical Care Center.”

The Orthodontic Clinic is located on the eighth floor of the Clinical Care Center.

For more information on this program, please call Ext. 2-3920 or email orthodonticptline@texaschildrens.org.

June 2, 2015

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On Saturday, May 16, Texas Children’s hosted and participated in the Greater Houston-Galveston Society for Clinical Research Associates (SoCRA) educational seminar, which drew an impressive turnout.

Organized by Neurology Senior Regulatory Affairs Coordinator and SoCRA Chapter Chair Aryn Knight, more than 150 clinical research professionals from several Texas Medical Center institutions attended the conference, which included six hour-long presentations by leaders in the field.

Topics included risk-based trial monitoring, research documentation, study feasibility metrics, ethics of informed consent, emergency versus compassionate use investigational new drug applications and developing clinical research careers.

Neurology Project Manager Christina Talley presented an innovative tool for predicting clinical trial costs and evaluating study feasibility. Neurology Senior Research Coordinator Mariam Pontifes participated in a discussion panel with Knight, Talley and others.

Demand for this conference was incredible, reflective of the fast growth and constant change occurring in the field. As host of this successful conference, Texas Children’s delivered a valuable educational service and reinforced its standing as a leader in clinical research.

June 1, 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.

May 27

New machine helps opthalmologists detect early signs of vision loss or problems

Texas Children’s has a new machine, called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which allows pediatric opthalmologists to evaluate for retinal diseases, uvetis and optic nerve disorders. The OCT is an imaging tool that is similar to ultrasound but uses light waves instead of sound waves to create high resolution images of the retina and optic nerve. The Ophthalmology Division at Texas Children’s Hospital is one of the premier pediatric opthalmology surgery programs in the nation with exceptional expertise depth and quality of services and patient volumes. Read more

May 21

Texas Children’s hosts 25th Annual ECMO Conference

More than 125 people recently attended the 25th Annual Specialist Education in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Conference organized, in part, by Texas Children’s Hospital. Neonatologists, critical care physicians, surgeons, nurse and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) specialists gathered for three days in the Texas Medical Center to exchange information and ideas about the technique that can provide both cardiac and respiratory support to patients whose hearts and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of blood flow and oxygen to sustain life. Read more

May 21

Society of Pediatric Radiology honors imaging researchers with prestigious award

Imaging Researchers at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine won the prestigious Pilot Award at the national meeting of the Society of Pediatric Radiology in Seattle where the Texas Children’s team presented 10 posters and 24 scientific abstracts. The team’s abstracts represented almost 20 percent of all those podium presentations accepted from departments around the globe. It is the largest number of scientific abstracts accepted for oral presentations from a single institution at the national meeting. Read more

May 19

Texas Children’s Surgical Team honored at the Texas Capitol

The Texas Children’s surgical team that facilitated the separation surgery of the conjoined Mata twins was honored at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Dr. Darrell Cass, Dr. Larry Hollier and Head OR Nurse Audra Rushing were all recognized on the floor of the State House and the State Senate for their outstanding leadership in preparing for, and successfully executing, the historic separation surgery that occurred for the first time in the Houston area in nearly 20 years. Read more

May 15

Sixth annual Edmond T. Gonzales Surgical Research Day highlights advancements in field of pediatiric surgery

Almost 300 clinicians in the Department of Surgery attended the sixth annual Edmond T. Gonzales Jr. Surgical Research Day at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women on May 8. The event provided a forum for researchers to unveil their work highlighting remarkable advancements in the field of pediatric surgery. The program featured seven oral presentations and 96 poster presentations spotlighting the academic efforts of the surgical faculty, post graduate fellows, nurses and advanced practice providers. Read more

May 14

Professional organization names award after Texas Children’s otolaryngologist

The American Broncho-Esophagological Association (ABEA) recently honored Dr. Ellen Friedman by renaming its Presidential Citation for Excellence in Foreign Body Management to the Ellen M. Friedman Award for Excellence in Foreign Body Management. Read more

May 14

Dr. Shaine Morris awarded prestigious K23 grant from the National Institutes of Health

Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Shaine Morris was recently honored with a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The goal of the award is to bring recipients to the point where they are able to conduct their research independently and are competitive for major grant support through career development. Read more

May 13

Two NRI researchers among 2015 Debakey Research Award honorees

Two researchers from the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s, Dr. Benjamin Doneen and Dr. Olivier Lichtarge, were among the five Baylor College of Medicine faculty members honored with the 2015 Michael E. Debakey, M.D. Excellence in Research Award. Read more

May 13

Texas Children’s Hospital honors Distinguished Surgeon Award recipients

Three surgeons from the Department of Surgery recently received the Distinguished Surgeon Award. This year’s recipients are Dr. O.H. “Bud” Frazier, Dr. Edmond T. Gonzales, Jr. and Dr. David E. Wesson. Read more

May 12

Formerly conjoined twin discharged from hospital

Less than three months after being separated from her twin sister in a 26-hour operation at Texas Children’s Hospital Knatalye Hope Mata was released to the care of her family, just in time for Mother’s Day. Read more

May 8

Dr. John Dormans joins Texas Children’s as chief of Orthopedics

Dr. John Dormans is the new chief of Orthopedics. He also will serve as a professor of orthopedic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He has been a clinician and leader at CHOP, serving as the hospital’s chief of orthopedic surgery from 1996 to 2014 and as president of the medical staff and president of Children’s Surgical Associates for four three-year terms. He focused his clinical work on pediatric spinal deformity and musculoskeletal tumors. Read more

May 11, 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 subsmissions and feedback.

April 28

Countdown to ICD-10: Deadline to meet educational requirements is September 1

On October 1, Texas Children’s and hospitals across the nation will switch from ICD-9 to the ICD-10 coding system to report patients’ diagnoses and procedures. The ICD-10 codes will allow greater specificity and accuracy in describing a patient’s diagnosis and classifying inpatient procedures. Texas Children’s education teams have developed helpful tools to ensure all employees are prepared for this mandatory conversion.

“We believe that communicating the change clearly and consistently will help ensure a smooth transition,” said Texas Children’s Chief Safety Officer Dr. Joan Shook. Read more

April 28

Super Star Physician: Dr. Stephanie Marton

Dr. Stephanie Marton from the Center for Children and Women – Greenspoint is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star physician. “Every day I see patients coming in to the Center, and I directly see the impact that Texas Children’s Hospital is making in this community.” Read more

April 28

Giardino to serve on ABMQ Board of Directors

Texas Children’s Chief Quality Officer and Senior Vice President Dr. Angelo Giardino was recently unanimously confirmed to serve on the American Board of Medical Quality (ABMQ) Board of Directors. The organization is closely associated with the American College of Medical Quality of which Giardino is a distinguished fellow. Read more

April 28

Patel receives distinguished fellowship award

Dr. Akash Patel will be presented with the 2015-2016 Christopher R. Getch Fellowship Award from the Congress of Neuroligical Surgeons Fellowships Committee during its annual meeting in September. This prestigious award provides $100,000 for advanced training and is given to a neurosurgeon or fellow engaged in clinical research that promises to significantly impact the field of neurosurgery. Read more

April 28

Dr. George Bisset receives prestigious award

Radiologist-in-Chief Dr. George Bisset will be honored for his contribution to pediatric radiology at the 45th annual Sociedade Paulista de Radiologia (SPR) meeting held in Brazil. The conference is the biggest diagnostic imaging meeting in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world. Bisset will be the first non-Brazilian to receive honorary membership in this organization. Read more

April 21

New Cain Labs website promotes groundbreaking epilepsy research

Texas Children’s has launched a new website dedicated to innovative epilepsy research conducted at the Cain Foundation Laboratories in the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute and other test centers around the world. The website also includes a repository of helpful information about epilepsy treatment programs for patients and their families, including a link to Texas Children’s Level IV Epilepsy Center. Read more

April 21

Surgeon-in-chief speaks at Texas Surgical Society meeting

Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr. spoke at a Texas Surgical Society meeting on April 11 in Galveston. Fraser, who is the son-in-law of Dr. Denton A. Cooley, talked about the hospital’s 60-year history of pediatric heart surgery and the roles played by Cooley and himself. More

April 20

Texas Children’s Hospital helps determine standard of care for children with cleft lip and palate

Representatives from Texas Children’s Hospital: Dr. Laura Monson, pediatric plastic surgeon; Christy Hernandez, director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Outcomes and Impact Service; and Dr. John Wirthlin, craniofacial orthodontist, joined an international group of medical professionals, patients and parents to determine a standard set of outcome measures for children born with cleft lip and palate. These guidelines will help all institutions develp a standard treatment of care of this population of patients and will be available for implementation starting in February. Read more

April 14

Lee recognized for his contribution to fetal imaging advancements

Dr. Wesley Lee, co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center and section chief for women’s and fetal imaging at Baylor College of Medicine, recently received the William J. Fry Memorial Lecture Award from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). Read more

April 14

New PAPRs help provide full complement of PPE

Texas Children’s recently acquired 30 powered air purifying respirators (or PAPRs) to protect emergency responders from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents. This addition to our PPE inventory helps ensure the safety of our health care professionals when they are treating patients with highly contagious infectious diseases. Read more

April 14

Texas Children’s, AAP partnership helps physicians advocate for their patients

Texas Children’s and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) signed a first-of-its-kind partnership agreement whereby every eligible faculty member of the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics is a member in the AAP and the Texas Pediatric Society (TPS). Since this partnership began a year and a half ago, the following Texas Children’s faculty have been actively involved with the AAP and TPS to champion the health, safety and well-being of children: Dr. Robert Voigt, Dr. Robert Ricketts, Dr. Mark Gilger, Dr. Fernando Stein, Dr. Carol Tapia, Dr. Mark Ward, Dr. Krithka Lingappan and Dr. Bruno Chumpitazi. Read more

April 14

Texas Children’s Hospital receives Healthcare Informatics Magazine’s 2015 Innovator Award

Texas Children’s Hospital has earned second place in Healthcare Informatics Magazine’s fourteenth annual Innovator Awards. The award was given to Texas Children’s for its quality improvement work to identify, deploy and measure new best practices and improve outcomes for children with appendicitis.

“We felt there was an urgent need in the health care industry to accelerate the identification and deployment of shared guidelines of care,” said Dr. Charles Macias, Texas Children’s Chief Clinical Systems Integration Officer and Evidence Based Outcomes Center director. Read more

April 14

New pediatric urologist joins Department of Surgery

Dr. Duong Dai Tu has joined Texas Children’s as a new pediatric urologist. Tu, who started April 1, has been appointed assistant professor of urology and attending surgeon in urology at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Dr. Tu is bringing an exciting vision to the surgery team that will help us continue to develop a preeminent program, enabling us to better serve our patients and their families,” chief of Urology, Dr. David Roth said. Read more

April 7

Texas Children’s welcomes new surgeon and researcher, Dr. Sundeep Keswani

Dr. Sundeep Keswani joined Texas Children’s as a pediatric and fetal surgeon and an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He also is the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded laboratory. Read more

April 7

Transplant team perform 95 organ transplants in 2014

Transplant teams with Texas Children’s Hospital performed 95 solid organ transplants in 2014, continuing to serve as one of the largest, most active and successful pediatric transplant programs in the nation. The heart and the lung transplant programs were the largest in the country last year with 32 heart transplants and 16 lung transplants.

“Texas Children’s Transplant Services continues to earn its reputation as one of the best pediatric transplant programs in the country,” said Dr. John Goss, medical director of Transplant Services. Read more

April 7

CRC presents resarch award to Dr. Srivaths

The Clinical Research Center presented the Clinical Research Award for First Quarter 2015 to Dr. Poyyapakkam Srivaths, Department of Pediatrics – Renal, Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Srivaths’s research activities in the CRC focus on investigating cardiovascular morbidity associated with end stage renal disease (ESRD) in children. Read more

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