September 4, 2018

On August 23, an excited group of Walmart and Sam’s Club employees visited Texas Children’s for a special presentation and ribbon cutting for the Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Room on the 20th floor of Legacy Tower and part of the new Texas Children’s Heart Center®. They were welcomed by Chief of Pediatric Cardiology Dr. Daniel Penny, Vice President Judy Swanson and Texas Children’s Executive Vice President Mark Mullarkey, who spoke about Texas Children’s special partnership with Walmart and Sam’s Club through the Children’s Miracle Network.

“We couldn’t be more appreciative of the support we’ve had from Walmart and Sam’s Club over the years,” Mullarkey said. “Your generosity has made it possible for us to provide families with critically ill children the space they need to be together and to be comfortable.”

Even with a crowd of more than 30 attendees, there was plenty of room to move in the expansive new waiting area, which was specially designed as a haven for families with children who are dealing with some of the most complex medical issues – children like 11-year-old Jhett Skaggs, a Texas Children’s patient from Oklahoma, who with his dad, Brian, attended the event. Brian shared their story.

Jhett was born with cardiomyopathy, a rare heart disease. Doctors told Brian and his wife, Audra, that Jhett needed a life-saving heart transplant. They began researching options for treatment and decided Texas Children’s was the best choice. Experts from Texas Children’s flew to Oklahoma to transport Jhett to Houston, where he received a heart transplant at just 10 months old. For years, everything seemed to be okay, until at age 5 Jhett developed coronary artery disease. He would require another transplant. In 2012, Brian and Jhett moved to Houston to be closer to Texas Children’s. And though they had to wait nearly six years, Jhett finally received his second heart this past July.

“Everything worked out perfectly,” Skaggs said. “I wouldn’t change one single thing about our decision to come to Texas Children’s.”

After Brian’s moving story, Mullarkey turned the floor over to Trina Greer, Walmart Regional Vice President of Human Resources, who presented Texas Children’s with a check for nearly $1 million.

“It’s always my pleasure to watch our employees get excited about raising money for children who need our help,” Greer said. “I’m proud of the work we do and the funds we raise in the Greater Houston area to help Texas Children’s.”

Since 2005, Walmart and Sam’s Club have contributed more than $9.2 million. Last year, in addition to the funds raised in Houston area stores, the Walmart Foundation also gave Texas Children’s a gift of $500,000 for Hurricane Harvey Relief. In appreciation of this generosity, Texas Children’s leadership decided to dedicate the Heart Center’s new waiting area in honor of Walmart and Sam’s Club.

The new Heart Center – set to open on September 25 – will occupy eight floors and will feature four cardiac catheterization labs including integrated MRI scanner, four cardiovascular operating rooms, three cardiovascular ICU floors with 48 private rooms, two cardiac acute care floors with 42 private patient rooms, and a dedicated space for families.

August 27, 2018
Members from the August 7 (top) and August 16 (bottom) rescues are recognized.

When people tell stories about the care Texas Children’s provides, they often use the same word: miraculous. With the heroic actions of our Kangaroo Crew in two recent cases, it’s easy to see why.

The first story took place on August 7. The team in Texas Children’s Mission Control received a frantic call from a surgery center north of Houston.

“There was a very panicked voice on the other end,” said ETM dispatcher Amber Lieberman. “She said, ‘We need your team, we need blood and we need you now.’”

A 6-year-old patient had suffered a lacerated carotid artery during a routine outpatient procedure. The surgical team had applied pressure to stop the bleeding, but the patient had lost too much blood and there was no emergency blood on hand. Without immediate assistance, the child might die.

Mission Control immediately sprang into action. A Kangaroo Crew team at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands was dispatched to the patient. On the scene, the team swiftly assessed the situation and began preparing the patient for transport, taking special care to keep the patient as secure as possible since the team at the community surgery center was still applying pressure on the artery. One wrong move could mean disaster.

Meanwhile, Mission Control also dispatched the Kangaroo Crew from Texas Children’s medical center campus to take the emergency release blood to The Woodlands team. In a stunning display of coordination, Mission Control and the two teams orchestrated a hand-off of the blood just off Interstate 45 between The Woodlands and Houston. They planned down to the exact moment when each vehicle would arrive and also on which side of the highway they would meet. In the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant, the two teams connected almost simultaneously and the blood was handed off.

Once the patient was stable, the medical center campus Kangaroo Crew followed The Woodlands Kangaroo Crew to the Texas Medical Center in case support was needed during the drive. Mission Control constantly tracked the movements of each vehicle and coordinated our teams in the emergency center (EC) and operating room and interventional radiology (IR), providing constant updates on the patient’s condition and ETA.

When they arrived at the EC, Kangaroo Crew team members assisted the emergency staff until the patient was taken to IR. This is a story that could have had a much different ending.

“Because of the seamless coordination with Mission Control, it’s amazing what we can accomplish,” said Kangaroo Crew transport nurse Roma Frier. “It wouldn’t have happened like it did without the transfer center and the way it operates.”

Just over a week later, on August 16, the Kangaroo Crew was transporting a patient from another hospital in the Texas Medical Center to Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). As they passed the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Michael Johnson, the EMT on the team, saw something startling at a nearby bus stop.

“There was an individual giving chest compressions to a man,” Johnson said. “I turned and yelled to the back, ‘We need to stop, I don’t think this guy’s breathing.’”

The Kangaroo Crew immediately stopped to assist. Members of the team sprinted to help and began CPR while another crew member stayed with the stabilized patient on board and contacted Mission Control, who alerted paramedics. Less than three minutes later, the Houston Fire Department (HFD) arrived on the scene and a unified command was initiated. HFD, assisted by the Kangaroo Crew, began administering advanced cardiac life support.

Within moments, the patient was revived.

As HFD and EMS prepared the cardiac arrest patient for transport to an adult hospital, the Kangaroo Crew proceeded to Texas Children’s NICU with our patient, who had been stabilized and monitored throughout the rescue.

This is another story that could have ended in tragedy. However, both the NICU patient and the gentleman are alive today, and the prognoses are excellent.

“This is a story that deserves celebration,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace. “The heroes in the Kangaroo Crew and Mission Control are such a big part of this one amazing team. They are always running toward the problem, and they make such a huge difference here at Texas Children’s.”

Also awed by the heroic actions of the Kangaroo Crew that day was Craig Moreau, HFD captain and paramedic from Fire Station 33.

“I am convinced that the early decisive actions of the members of the Kangaroo Crew gave this patient the best possible chance for survival,” Moreau said. “If in the unfortunate event something drastic is to occur to me or any members of my family, I hope the Kangaroo Crew is nearby to assist. Their efforts went above and beyond the call of duty.”

The heroes on August 7 were:

Mission Control
Mona McPherson, Pediatric Medical Control
Amber Lieberman, Dispatch
Gloria White, Charge Nurse

Kangaroo Crew Transport Team 991 from The Woodlands
Adrian Gonzales, EMT
Shawnaka Holland, RN
Ryan Seaholm, RRT
Jacob Willits Martinez, Orientee

Kangaroo Crew Transport Team 992 from Main Campus
Ray Estlinbaum, RRT
Roma Frier, RN
Kim Karn, RN and Orientee
Michael Johnson, EMT

The heroes on August 16 were:

Kangaroo Crew Transport Team
Ashley Griffin, Orientee
Michael Johnson, EMT
Kristine Knight, RRT
Jennifer Rinaldo, RN

Click here to learn more about the Kangaroo Crew.

Click here to learn more about Mission Control.

Five years ago Texas Children’s Health Plan celebrated the grand opening of The Center for Children and Women, a patient and family-centered medical home for Health Plan members. Now with two locations, one 50,000 square-foot facility located in the Greenspoint area of Houston, and another in the Southwest area, the center has flourished and continues to provide high quality community based primary health care.

“It is actually unbelievable, frankly. Going from a concept to what we have today, and being able to serve so many patients and members and families of Texas Children’s Health Plan,” said Assistant Vice President Tangula Taylor. “It is humbling, quite honestly, just to think about the impact that we’ve been able to make on the lives of so many.”

The Center for Children and Women is designed to ensure that all patients have access to proper care by providing extended hours to accommodate the families’ busy schedules. The Center’s health care model provides comprehensive care for the well-being of the whole patient. This is done with the help of many medical professionals on site every day such as pediatricians, advance nurse practitioners, OB/GYNs, certified nurse midwives, optometry, imaging, a laboratory and an onsite pharmacy, and behavioral health specialists. The medical home provides a means to address the shortage of primary medical care for families enrolled in government health care programs.

“The idea was really to create a comprehensive one stop shop for health care,” Taylor said. “We know that families that we serve have precious time, and when they come in seeking healthcare, we wanted to be able to maximize the time we have with them and bring forth a holistic approach to address all of their care needs in that moment.”

On August 17, the Center celebrated its anniversary with a party open to the community. The event included ice cream and cake, face painting, information booths and goody bags. During the celebration employees gathered along with a patient who was brought into this world by Center providers and has been a patient at the Center for the last five years. The group sang a special birthday song as she and her sister blew out candles.

“It’s like the Center has become part of our family. We come here for everything,” said Ivonne Solis, mother of the patients. “There are days when I feel like I spend the whole day here because one has a dentist appointment, the other is seeing the eye doctor and the other has a general checkup. And I know if she gets sick at school, for example, they see us quickly.”

Across the room enjoying the celebration with her children was Yesenia Cervantes, a former patient of the Center. For Cervantes, the phrase “you will like it so much you will not want to leave” can’t be more accurate. Today, she works as a patient access specialist at the Greenspoint location.

“The first time that I had my appointment I really loved my care, so then I said, I have to be part of this, of the Center,” said Cervantes. “I would love to work with the people here and I would like to be part of this organization.”

Cervantes is just one of the many patients who has experienced first-rate care at the Center. Over the course of five years the Center’s membership has gained over 35,000 distinct patients and nearly 400,000 total visits.

“It was our intention when we opened to grow the Centers to a point where they were completely sustainable, and we have been able to do that,” said Medical Director for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Lisa Hollier. “And in the process, we are delivering on better outcomes for women and children.”

The Center has received several awards and recognitions since it opened such as; The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Level III Recognition four years in a row. The Center is NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and Patient Centered Specialty Practice (PCSP) recognized. The Center for Children and Women was the first OB/GYN practice in Texas to receive PCSP designation. In addition, the Center is COLA Certified for clinical laboratory compliance and received COLA’s Laboratory Excellence Award and acknowledged by Centering Healthcare Institute as an accredited Centering Pregnancy site, to name a few.

“I see this center continuing to grow and serve the Greenspoint and Southwest communities, but I of course see a third center, a fourth and fifth and a six,” said Chief Medical Officer for Pediatrics, Dr. Heidi Schwarzwald. “Not just in the Houston area, but across our state, serving the needs of Medicaid families.”

With 11 total service lines, the Center for Children and Women has exceeded initial expectations and continues to serve patients with the highest quality care possible with a focus on healthy mothers, healthy babies and children, and healthy communities.

“We are very proud of what we have accomplished in the past five years, and the support we have received at The Center for Children and Women from the community has been energizing,” Lou Fragoso, president of Texas Children’s Health Plan, said. “We know the incredible impact The Center has on helping families stay healthy—it is a privilege to serve our plan members in the Greenspoint and Southwest Houston areas. As we cross this milestone, we are committed to continuing to expand access to the highest quality primary care possible for our plan members.”

View a photo gallery of pictures from the event below.

For more information about Texas Children’s Health Plan The Center for Children and Women visit www.JoinTheCenter.org.

 

August 13, 2018

Thanks to the more than 10 years of dedication and hard work of neonatologists and neonatal nutrition experts at Texas Children’s, Boston Children’s and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) hospitals, premature babies with liver disease now have better access to a potentially lifesaving drug.

On July 27, the FDA approved Omegaven®, an omega-3 fatty-acid-rich lipid solution made from fish oil for use in babies suffering from Parenteral Nutrition Associated Cholestasis (PNAC). For over a decade, Texas Children’s and Boston Children’s have been giving Omegaven® to NICU babies with this disease under compassionate use protocols.

Nearly 20 percent of babies in the NICU develop intestinal failure and are dependent on artificial nutrition (total parenteral nutrition or TPN). Of these infants 25 percent to 50 percent of them develop PNAC, a dreaded complication resulting in long term damage to the liver. Prior to the use of Omegaven®, nearly 50 percent of these babies with PNAC developed liver failure and died, or needed a liver transplant. However, since the use of Omegaven®, 85 percent of infants with PNAC have survived long term, rarely needing a liver transplant.

Being first-hand witnesses to this remarkably improved outcome, neonatologists at Texas Children’s long advocated for the approval of Omegaven. Extensive patient data demonstrating the beneficial effects of Omegaven® on the babies with PNAC from Texas Children’s, Boston Children’s and UCLA formed a crucial part of the new drug approval application submitted to the FDA. Now that Omegaven® is approved by the FDA for use in babies with PNAC, hospitals across the country will have access to it, saving many lives.

“This is a game changer,” said neonatologist Dr. Muralidhar Premkumar. “I am very confident that Omegaven’s approval by the FDA will tremendously improve the outcomes of infants with intestinal failure.”

Program Director of Neonatal Nutrition Dr. Amy Hair agreed and said the approval is “huge, and will most definitely save babies’ lives.”

Over the past decade, liver transplants have decreased nearly 25 percent nationwide in babies with PNAC, mainly as a result of improved multi-disciplinary care of infants with intestinal failure and the use of safer lipid solutions such as Omegaven®. Texas Children’s Newborn Center sees about 25 to 30 babies with the PNAC a year. None of these babies in the past five years have needed a liver transplant.

Charlie and Henry Fitzpatrick were two of those babies. The now 4-year-old twin boys were born prematurely at Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women and spent six months in the NICU. During their stay, both infants suffered from PNAC and were treated with Omegaven®. Since then, both their liver disease and intestinal failure have resolved. Charlie and Henry are now happy healthy preschoolers.

The twins’ mother, Aly Fitzpatrick, said Omegaven® played a big part in saving her children’s lives and that she is pleased to hear that the FDA approved the drug for use in babies like hers.

“The approval opens up a world of possibilities for these babies,” she said. “Now, more hospitals can embrace this without having to join a research study.”

Because of their experience with the drug, Texas Children’s is uniquely positioned to educate staff at other hospitals about the benefits of Omegaven® and train them on how to use it.

“It gives me great pride and satisfaction that we were part of this successful effort,” Premkumar said. “I would like to thank our dieticians, physicians, NNPs, pharmacists, nurses and of course, the babies and their families who supported us in this endeavor.”

Premkumar added that none of this would have happened if Dr. Steven Abrams and Keli Hawthorne, both former Texas Children’s staff, had not brought this project to the hospital.

July 24, 2018

It’s been two months since Texas Children’s Legacy Tower opened its doors for the first time to care for our most critically ill patients. Since May 22, 2018, our critical care, surgical and radiology teams have been extremely busy.

“We’ve seen over 300 ICU patients since we moved into Legacy Tower so the space is being well used,” said Shannon Holland, director of Nursing for critical care services. “We’re excited that our patients are getting the care they need in the place they need it with a lot of family amenities that they didn’t have in West Tower.”

Besides caring for patients in the pediatric intensive care and transitional care units, our surgical teams have been hard at work. Between May and June, the hospital’s surgical volumes have tripled. Approximately 330 surgeries have been performed since Legacy Tower opened, which equates to about 1,400 surgical hours.

“The first two days, we had a few rooms open, but since then, every room is full almost all day,” said Janet Winebar, assistant vice president of Perioperative Services. “We’ve seen a real change in the intraoperative MRI cases since the MRI is located completely adjacent to the operating room, resulting in more efficient delivery of care. Prior to this, we had to transport patients down to the MRI suite on a different floor and then back to the operating room.”

While being in the intensive care unit can be tough on patients and their families, many of them are giving the design of Legacy Tower a thumbs up. Patient families have expressed how comfortable they are in their new, much larger spaces, and how warm and inviting the new amenities and environment offer them.

“To have an ICU that has a comfortable bed and you never have to leave your kid’s side is really important,” said Clare Bensh. “For a baby who sadly has never been outside, it’s at least the next best thing to turn her around in the bed and she can have a lot of natural light. I think it’s a better environment for her to thrive in.”

Dr. Frank Gerow, an orthopedic surgeon and one of the leaders for the Legacy Tower project, credits our team’s steadfast dedication to the success of the phase one opening of Legacy Tower.

“The reason this whole process has come off as flawlessly as it has is because of the expertise and the experience that the directors, the executives and that the staff to this hospital bring,” Gerow said. “They’re the reason this has worked as well as it has.”

Meanwhile, excitement is building once again. In less than 60 days, the second phase of Legacy Tower will open.

On September 25, Texas Children’s Heart Center®, ranked No. 1 in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery, will move into Legacy Tower. The Heart Center will occupy eight floors and will feature four cardiac catheterization labs including integrated MRI scanner, four cardiovascular operating rooms, three cardiovascular ICU floors with 48 private rooms, two cardiac acute care floors with 42 private patient rooms, and a dedicated space for families.

“The Heart Center staff is very excited,” Winebar said. “They are collaborating together across disciplines from the CVOR to the CVICU and cardiology, to ensure we make this space work to benefit our patients and their families.”

July 17, 2018

On July 9, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Angelman Syndrome Foundation celebrated the official opening of the Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Texas Children’s, one of only seven Angelman syndrome-specific clinics in the United States – and the first in Texas.

Several patient families gathered on the 16th floor of Wallace Tower to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony. Debbie Sukin, the daughter of the late Dr. Ralph Feigin, delivered the opening remarks and shared how this new clinic will benefit her 16-year-old son Jacob and so many other children diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome.

“The hardest part of advocating and managing a child with Angelman Syndrome is trying to understand what might be wrong when they aren’t feeling right, looking right or acting right,” Sukin said. “We’re confident that this multidisciplinary clinic here at Texas Children’s will provide all children the expertise and best chance at meeting their maximum potential and provide guidance to ensure the best outcome.”

Occurring in one in 15,000 live births, Angelman syndrome is a neurogenetic disorder often misdiagnosed as autism or cerebral palsy that causes severe neurological impairment. Often times, these patients experience developmental delays, lack of speech, seizures, and walking and balancing disorders.

With the creation of this new clinic established through the generosity of donors and in partnership with the ASF, patients and their families now can access multiple specialists – experts in Angelman syndrome, clinical geneticists, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech language pathologist, genetic counselors and social work – in one setting rather than visiting multiple locations across the nation to manage and treat this disease.

“Thanks to the help of the ASF, we are proud to further our mission of providing very specialized care for patients with Angelman syndrome,” said Chief of Neurology Dr. Gary Clark. “Given the science that’s being developed at the NRI at Texas Children’s in genetics and neurology, we are making great strides in helping these patients.”

The ribbon cutting event also included remarks from Dr. Carlos Bacino, chief of the Angelman Syndrome Clinic, Carrie Rys, assistant vice president, and Eileen Braun, executive director of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, whose organization donated $50,000 to advance Angelman syndrome research at Texas Children’s.

“Opening this clinic brings us one step closer to our commitment to establish a network of clinics across the country,” Braun said. “We could not be more proud to support Texas Children’s and their remarkable team of professionals in bringing this clinic to life. We look forward to impacting the lives of so many more families.”

Click here to learn more about our Angelman Syndrome Clinic at Texas Children’s.

When Kristine Hartin’s son was born almost a year ago, she was not prepared for the emergency cesarean section and almost four-week stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

Unbeknownst to the first-time mom, her son, Reid, had pituitary stalk interruption syndrome, a congenital abnormality that can cause jaundice, congenital abnormalities and low blood sugar levels. Reid’s diagnosis, in addition to his complicated delivery and low birthweight, prompted doctors at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston where Kristine delivered, to transfer him to Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, which is close to their Montgomery County home.

During his stay, Reid received expert pediatric care from physicians in a variety of specialties including pulmonology, nutrition and occupational therapy. Slowly but surely he began to gain weight and progress in other areas. At 4 weeks old, Reid’s doctors told his parents their infant was ready to head home.

“I was excited but I was also scared,” Kristine said. “All I could think about was how I was going to manage his care.”

“Transition from the NICU to home is a very exciting time for infants and families, but it can be an incredibly stressful time as well,” said Dr. Candice Allen, medical director of the High-Risk Neonatal Follow Up Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, also known as the SOAR Program. “Parents typically experience a significant amount of anxiety regarding how best to care for and nurture their newborn following discharge from the NICU.”

“Families have to shift their mindset from helping their infant survive to considering the myriad of supports and services that may be needed to help their infant thrive,” Allen said. “The vision of the SOAR Program is to help make this transition easier by providing infants and families with the support they need to help these precious little ones grow, learn, and develop to maximize their ultimate potential.”

The SOAR program is geared toward meeting the needs of families with high-risk-infants throughout the child’s first three years of life. The SOAR team consists of multiple medical and non-medical providers, including three pediatricians who have particular expertise in caring for high-risk infants following their discharge from the NICU. These pediatricians work closely with Allen, who is a developmental behavioral pediatrician, to track each infant’s growth and development to ensure that any developmental concerns are detected and addressed as early as possible. Should developmental concerns arise, our team of SOAR Occupational, Physical and Speech therapists are ready and able to provide any therapy services that are needed.

The SOAR team also includes several other providers that families might have met during their infant’s NICU stay, including a pulmonologist, clinical nutritionist, lactation specialist, and social worker, all of whom allow for continuity of care. There also is a psychologist on the team, who provides behavioral therapy and parent training to help address any social-emotional or behavioral concerns that an infant may develop.

In addition, parental stress/anxiety and depression screens are routinely given at follow up visits to make sure any necessary parental supports are in place and to facilitate access to community resources that may be necessary to meet any needs that are identified.

Kristine said Reid sees various members of the team about once a month. All of the visits are scheduled on one day for convenience and collaboration. So far, Kristine said, Reid is doing great. He’s gaining weight, hitting all of his developmental milestones and is happy.

“I don’t know how we would do it without our SOAR team,” she said. “They help so much and make us feel like we are a part of the medical team. We are extremely thankful for their support.”

Allen said she is glad to hear comments like Hartin’s, and that from her perspective, the SOAR program is doing a good job of providing a seamless transition of care for their enrolled high-risk infants, and their families, following discharge from the NICU. In addition, she said it is providing families with a more robust way of tracking their child’s development and that this facilitates early detection and intervention to help address, and hopefully overcome, these developmental concerns.

“Families in the NICU have gone through so much,” Allen said. “Our desire is to support you and your little one in any way we can. Our SOAR Team is ready to help your little one rise to new heights, spread his/her little wings, and SOAR!”