March 29, 2017

“The Bump Watch blog was such a great sense of community for new moms and a great forum to come together to share ideas and experiences,” said Texas Children’s employee Emily Klein, who delivered her daughter, Audrey, two days after Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women opened five years ago.

Launched by the Corporate Communications team in March 2012, the Bump Watch blog was designed to educate employees about the wonderful Ob/GYN services, programs and amenities offered at the Pavilion for Women while generating excitement for the opening of the new hospital dedicated to the care of women and babies.

As we celebrate Bump Watch and the Pavilion for Women turning five on March 26, we revisited three of our Bump Watch families – the Clarks, the McDades and the Kleins – to see just how big their babies have grown since we first met them.

“I think the best thing about participating in the Bump Watch blog was the documentation of my first pregnancy,” said Erin McDade, whose son Aiden is now 5 years old and a big brother to his sister who was born at the Pavilion for Women two years ago. “To have photos of my pregnancy and the video of the ultrasound, these memories were unique and very special.”

Besides promoting the services at the Pavilion for Women, the Bump Watch blog was also a great employee engagement tool across the organization. Readers, commenters and bloggers embraced the blog as a place to share their baby’s first milestones, first birthdays and surprise announcements including their experiences delivering their newborns at the Pavilion for Women. Employees shared their pregnancy challenges and offered advice for new and expectant parents.

In the blog’s first three months, Bump Watch generated more than 100,000 views and over 560,000 views until its bittersweet farewell in September 2015.

Dr. Huda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine, is being honored by the Gairdner Foundation with the 2017 Canada Gairdner International Award for seminal discoveries and contributions to biomedical science. This award recognizes some of the most significant medical discoveries from around the world.

Zoghbi, who also is professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Baylor, is one of five individuals given this award. She is being recognized for her work surrounding the discovery of the gene responsible for Rett syndrome.

After years of treating patients, Zoghbi began to focus on finding the genetic causes of the disease, which strikes after a year of normal development and presents with developmental regression, social withdrawal, loss of hand use and compulsive wringing of the hands, seizures and a variety of neurobehavioral symptoms.

Zoghbi identified that mutations in MECP2 are the cause of Rett syndrome, revealing the importance of MeCP2 for the function of various neuronal subtypes. Her work showed just how sensitive the brain is to the levels of MeCP2 and that doubling MeCP2 levels causes progressive neurological deficits. This disorder is now recognized as MECP2 Duplication Syndrome in humans.

Her recent work showed the symptoms of adult mice modeling the duplication disorder can be reversed using antisense oligonucleotides that normalize MeCP2 levels.

The discovery of the Rett syndrome gene provided a straightforward diagnostic genetic test, allowing early and accurate diagnosis of the syndrome. It also revealed that mutations in MECP2 also can cause a host of other neuropsychiatric features ranging from autism to juvenile onset schizophrenia. Further, it provided evidence that an autism spectrum disorder or an intellectual disability disorder can be genetic even if it is not inherited.

Her discovery opened up a new area of research on the role of epigenetics in neuropsychiatric phenotypes. Her use of an antisense oligonucleotide to lower MECP2 levels provides a potential therapeutic strategy for the MECP2 duplication syndrome and inspires similar studies for other duplication disorders.

Zoghbi will be presented her award at a gala in Toronto on Thursday, October 26. Each award carries an honorarium of $100,000 to support continued research.

On March 26, 2017, Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women reached an incredible milestone – five years of delivering high quality and comprehensive care to women and newborns.

Since opening the hospital’s 1.3-million square foot facility, it’s amazing how much we have accomplished in just five short years. The thought and careful preparation that went into creating the Pavilion for Women has led to unprecedented access and a full range of services for women and newborns, all in one location.

As a premier destination for women and babies across the country, the Pavilion for Women continues to deliver miracles and is recognized as a leader in obstetrics, gynecology and fetal intervention.

To commemorate this five-year milestone, the Corporate Communications team developed this animated timeline video spotlighting some of the Pavilion for Women’s greatest accomplishments over the last five years which would not have been possible without the dedication from our employees, staff and leaders.

Over the last five years, the Pavilion for Women has reached many notable milestones:

  • 27,000 births and counting (exceeded 6,000 deliveries in 2016)
  • 902 sets of multiples delivered
  • 6,700+ babies have received NICU care
  • Performed groundbreaking two-port fetoscopic repair to treat spina bifida in the womb
  • Received Baby Friendly Hospital designation
  • First women’s hospital to become CNOR strong internationally
  • Launched one-of-a-kind Neurosonology Ultrasound Specialty Program

“We really have evolved and have become a much more comprehensive Pavilion for Women,” said Pavilion for Women’s Senior Vice President Cris Daskevich. “The future is bright for our hospital and we are excited about the next five years, the next 10 years and what that can hold.”

March 26, 2017

Five years ago today on March 26, 2012, Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women opened its 1.3 million square foot facility dedicated to the delivery of high quality care for women and newborns.

Since our opening, the Pavilion for Women has delivered many miracles and has proven itself as a leader in obstetrics, gynecology and fetal intervention, and is a premier destination for women and babies.

This week on Connect, we will look back at some of the Pavilion for Women’s greatest accomplishments over the past five years and celebrate our employees and staff who made these milestones possible.

  • Monday, March 27 – Pavilion for Women 5-year milestone timeline video
  • Tuesday, March 28 – A look back at the Bump Watch blog
  • Wednesday, March 29 – In the Voice of Nursing blog, Dawn Miranda reflects on the hospital’s opening as a nurse and what it means to her today
  • Thursday, March 30 – New website dedicated to the Pavilion for Women’s 5-year anniversary
  • Friday, March 31 – In his blog, CEO Mark A. Wallace shares his reflections on the Pavilion for Women and our trajectory for the future

To commemorate this remarkable milestone, a special celebration will be held in the Pavilion for Women fourth-floor Conference Center from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 27.

And, don’t forget to share your memories and congratulatory comments on the Pavilion For Women’s Facebook Page.

March 21, 2017

On March 17, the 500th liver transplant was performed in the Main ORs at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. John Goss, medical director of Transplant Services and surgical director of the Liver Transplant Program at Texas Children’s, led the team who transplanted a donor liver into a 5-year-old boy. This volume has only been accomplished by a handful of pediatric programs in the U.S., and Texas Children’s is now among this distinguished group.

The multidisciplinary team involved in the milestone included: surgeons Drs. John Goss, Christine O’Mahony, Thao Nguyen and Abbas Rana; anesthesiologists Drs. Paul Hopkins and Ann Ng; physician assistant, Marielle Faraone, and nursing circulator Jana Brunet, with surgical techs Susan Burnicle and Danielle Govea. Transplant coordinator, Ashton Bramlett, organized the transplant, ensuring all were informed and kept the parents updated.

The extended liver transplant team includes: anesthesiologists Drs. Rahul Baijil, Carlos Campos, Nicholas Carling, Yang Liu, David Mann, Nihar Patel, Steven Stayer, William Waldrop and Kenneth Wayman. Perioperative Services staff on the liver transplant team includes: nurses Theresa Bagley, Jana Brunet, Anita Hadley, Lindsay Meade, Audra Rushing and Wendy Sison, with surgical techs Megan Izaquirre and Marlon Wilkins.

“I would like to congratulate everyone at Texas Children’s who has contributed to the development of our Liver Transplant Program,” said Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children’s. “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of the incredible teamwork and dedication of those who care for our transplant patients each day.”

The institution’s first liver transplant was completed on September 14, 1988. In 2013, the program performed 43 liver transplants, the largest number completed in one year at Texas Children’s.

February 28, 2017

Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Program recently earned national accreditation from the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA). Texas Children’s is among only six pediatric programs nationwide, and the only one in the southwest, to be awarded this high level of distinction.

“This accreditation is a recognition of the care that our program provides for children who suffer from PH,” said Texas Children’s pulmonologist Dr. Nidhy Varghese. “It is an honor to collaborate with other PH specialists across the country to advance the understanding and treatment of this lung condition that can affect heart function.”

The PHA designation means a lot for patient families like Jessica Johnson, whose 11-year-old daughter Kayleigh, was diagnosed with PH two and a half years ago.

Prior to her daughter’s diagnosis, Kayleigh experienced multiple fainting episodes with exercise. After seeing several pediatric cardiologists in their home state of Louisiana, Kayleigh finally received a diagnosis of PH, but her condition was so far advanced that she was in severe right heart failure. Since their local hospital did not have the resources to treat her condition, the family came to Texas Children’s Hospital for treatment.

“To know that my child is receiving state-of-the-art treatment reassures our decision in choosing the PH team at Texas Children’s as Kayleigh’s care facility,” Johnson said. “My husband and I are extremely happy to hear that Texas Children’s received accreditation from PHA.”

In order to be designated an accredited PH Care Center, a program must demonstrate dedication to making a proper diagnosis and have the capacity to appropriately and comprehensively manage PH patients through a set of criteria established by the PHA’s Scientific Leadership Council and PHCC Oversight Committee.

“PH is a rare disease which requires care from highly trained specialists,” said Dr. George Mallory, director of the PH Program and medical director of the Lung Transplant Program at Texas Children’s. “PHA-designated comprehensive care centers are committed to providing state-of-the-art care and therefore achieving the best possible outcomes.”

Since Kayleigh’s treatment at Texas Children’s through the PH Program, Johnson says her daughter has made great progress.

“She runs, plays, rides her bike and has gone back to taking dance lessons,” Johnson said. “Kayleigh has not had another episode since her diagnosis and she is doing many of the things she enjoyed prior to her diagnosis. I truly believe the doctors and staff at Texas Children’s saved my daughter’s life. For that, I am forever grateful.”

Texas Children’s Pulmonary Medicine is ranked No. 1 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. For more information on the PH Program, click here.

February 14, 2017

On February 9, Texas Children’s and W.S. Bellows Construction celebrated the topping out of Texas Children’s new Pediatric Tower in the Texas Medical Center.

Under a large tent across the street from the tower’s 400-foot-tall structure, nearly 700 guests cheered as Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, Texas Children’s Board of Trustees Chair Ann Lents, and W.S. Bellows Construction President Laura Bellows, led the countdown.

“Five, four, three, two, one, hoist that tree!”

As the guests eagerly watched from below, a 7-foot-tall Loblolly pine tree was hoisted to the top of the hospital’s Pediatric Tower commemorating the successful completion of the building’s external structure.

Chase Fondren, whose daughter Ella was treated for biliary atresia as an infant, shared his family’s experience at Texas Children’s and how the vertical expansion of the Pediatric Tower will benefit other patients and families.

“We experienced first-hand the issues of not having enough bed choices, of the small PICU rooms, and having to fit in the hospital’s current capacity,” Fondren said. “I am extremely excited that this building behind us is going to triple the size of the PICU. That’s been a much needed expansion and will be a huge asset for patient families.”

During the topping out ceremony, Wallace recognized everyone for their contributions and support of Texas Children’s Pediatric Tower expansion. He applauded the phenomenal leadership of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees, our project partners, FKP Architects and W.S. Bellows Construction, as well as Texas Children’s executive leadership team, the Pediatric Tower leadership team and all of our donors who have so generously contributed to the Promise Campaign, which will partially support facility developments for the hospital’s new tower.

“All of you who are here today helped us achieve this construction milestone of our pediatric tower which will provide the opportunity for us to serve even more patients and their families,” Wallace said. “No longer will we have to say no to a child who needs to be transferred into an ICU. No longer will we have to cancel surgery or reschedule surgery because we don’t have a CVICU bed or critical care bed. That building right there is the solution to these issues.”

Slated to be completed in 2018, the 25-floor Pediatric Tower will house 126 beds for pediatric and cardiovascular intensive care, six new operating rooms (ORs) with the latest technology to complement the hospital’s existing 19 ORs, and will be the new home of Texas Children’s Heart Center, including the outpatient clinic, four cardiovascular ORs and four catheterization labs. This expansion includes reinvesting in the programs needed by the hospital’s most critically ill patients.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about the building,” said Lents as she addressed the crowd. “It’s all about the patients and being sure that today, in five years and in 20 years, we can help the children who need the care and the treatment that only Texas Children’s Hospital can give them.”

Following the tree topping ceremony, guests enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch and some event goers got a tour of the construction site led by Texas Children’s Pediatric Tower leadership team and crew members from W.S. Bellows Construction, who is overseeing the vertical expansion project.

View photo gallery of the Pediatric Tower Topping Out event below.