March 18, 2014

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We see it all the time on the news. Heartbreaking stories of tragedy when a suspect with a history of mental illness turns an ordinary day into a devastating scene. People are often left wondering what more could have been done to prevent the incident. It’s a widespread issue that’s now being tackled nationally.

Mental Health First Aid is a program that trains community members to spot and assist people who are having mental health issues or facing a mental health crisis. Texas Children’s is offering a free course for anyone interested in taking action!

“We decided to offer the class here because there were an increasing number of encounters with patients or patient families with mental illnesses,” said Brent LoCaste-Wilken, Employee Assistance Program Manager. “It was disrupting patient care or interaction with the staff.”

LoCaste-Wilken said mental health is not just a problem at Texas Children’s but the crises families often face in this setting can accentuate mental health issues. He said the class is not just for clinical staff but it can be useful for everyone.

Course participants will learn to identify mental disorders and rather than be afraid, actually help the person through the crisis and get the appropriate help. Dr. Brett Perkison, medical director of Employee Health and Wellness, said he found the course to be critical in helping recognize signs of mental distress.

“We all encounter friends and colleagues who are in a state of mind where they need help,” said Perkison. “This class helps one recognize those symptoms early. It is also useful to help take the stigma out of mental health and treat it appropriately.”

“It removes the stigma than can prevent people from giving help,” said LoCaste-Wilken.

Similar to a first aid course, the class will help identify dangers and train you in steps that can be done to help in a situation.

“It goes beyond patient care,” said LoCaste-Wilken. “It could help employees in situations with co-workers or even outside of work with friends, neighbors or anyone in the community.”

Each participant who completes the course and passes the competency is certified as a Mental Health First Aider by the National Council for Behavioral Health.

Class information:
Mental Health First Aid – click to register on Connect

1 day course (8 hours)
Friday, April 4 – 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)

2 day course (4 hours each day)
Monday, May 5 – 8 a.m. to noon – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)
Monday, May 12 – 8 a.m. to noon – Pavilion Conference Center fourth floor, Room B (F.0475.50)

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Texas Children’s Hospital has established a new, first-of-its-kind Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship program. The inaugural class of four physician assistants – Lesley Davies, Jackie Guarino, Caitlin Justus and Cassie Mueller – officially started their fellowship on January 20.

The fellowship is a 12-month didactic and clinical program designed to extensively train physician assistants to become leaders in all areas of pediatric surgery.

The fellows’ two-week orientation period has featured training sessions, discussions about patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, research and child abuse awareness and special meetings with Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO, Charles D. Fraser, surgeon-in-chief, and the surgical faculty, among others.

On February 3, the fellows started their month-long rotations through each of the full spectrum of pediatric surgical subspecialties including: cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, general surgery, urology, otolaryngology, plastic and craniofacial surgery, as well as trauma services. After completing nine rotations, the fellows will have the opportunity to select the one area they want to focus on and will receive two additional months of training in that field.

In addition, the fellows will complete one month of research and participate in multiple community outreach projects, including career fairs at schools, wellness fairs and community service programs, such as Habitat for Humanity.

Leading the program is Dr. Larry Hollier, chief of plastic surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital and medical director of the fellowship program, Ryan Krasnosky, program director, and Brenda J. Davis, fellowship coordinator.

Lesley Warriner Davies, MPAS, PA-C:
Lesley is excited to be team leader of the first class of Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship program. She received her B.F.A in Ballet Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma in 2006 and danced professionally in Dallas and Austin. She then obtained her Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 2013. Lesley is from the Houston area and currently lives in Dickinson with her husband where they enjoy cycling and spending time with family and friends. She is a member of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

Jackie Guarino, MPAS, PA-C:
Jackie is a fourth generation Houstonian and a 2009 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Houston. She completed her B.S. in Allied Health in three years and obtained her Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in 2013. During her clinical years at BCM, Jackie rotated through Texas Children’s Hospital in General Surgery and GI/Liver service and is excited to be back as a member of the first class of the Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship program. Jackie currently resides in Houston and enjoys spending time with her large family and friends and her chocolate and yellow lab dogs, cooking, Crossfit and volunteering.

Caitlin Justus, MPAS, PA-C:
Caitlin graduated from Texas A&M University at College Station in 2011 with a B.S. in Allied Health, graduating cum laude. She received her Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 2013. She is a member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants. Caitlin currently resides in West Houston with her husband and enjoys activities with her church, exercising, reading and serving others. She is a proud member of the first class of the Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship program and looks forward to an exciting year ahead.

Cassandra Mueller, MPAS, PA-C:
Cassie is originally from Andover, Minnesota, and received her B.A. in physiology from the University of Minnesota in 2010. Cassie graduated from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program of Fort Sam Houston in 2013 (the U.S. Military’s Physician Assistant Program). She continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard as a physician assistant and enjoys running marathons. She is excited about the opportunity to be in the first Pediatric Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship program and looks forward to becoming a Texan.

February 25, 2014

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Finding herself awake in the middle of the night, Jenni Stearman, a NICU nurse at Texas Children’s Newborn Center, began scrolling through posts on Facebook before stopping at one that struck a chord in her heart.

It was a touching update from a NICU parent expressing appreciation for everything the NICU nurses do, and it inspired Stearman to return the compliment by conveying her appreciation and empathy for NICU parents.

“I guess I was just a little bit emotional and I read the post and it was just really inspiring. It was too late to call anyone and talk about my feelings, so I typed,” said Stearman.

Although she was home, off-duty, and had a lot going on in her personal life with an upcoming move, wedding and honeymoon, Stearman took some time to reflect on the rewarding experience of getting to know so many loving families in the NICU at Texas Children’s. In her late-night Facebook post, Stearman recounted the journey and struggle of a NICU parent.

“You are in a situation that you didn’t plan on being in and everything that you did plan is now unobtainable. You feel completely out of control of the situation around you. You are dependent on others to do what you so dearly long to be able to do for your own child. Everything that you would normally do to comfort and care for your baby has been taken away from you. I’m here to tell you, I understand your pain and I appreciate you,” she wrote.

She continued by sympathizing with them and expressing gratitude for all that they do to make her job and life even better.

“You trust me with your most valued possession. You learn to trust my instincts and I yours. We become a team with one common goal in mind and that is to get your child home with you as quickly as possible and as healthy as possible. Thank you for that trust. You become my “friends” while we spend 36hrs/week together. After months of this, we have shared more conversation than I have with some of closest friends. We have shared times of pain and times of joy. We have cried together and we have shared laughter. In some cases we share bonds that will extend far beyond the NICU. Thank you for being my friend.”

And finally, she thanked them for staying in touch and giving her hope during tough times.

“The NICU can be a depressing place (as you know). Your updates help us keep faith that all we do is for a very good reason,” she wrote.

Stearman tagged some of the NICU parents she knew in the post, and by morning, many people had forwarded it on and reached out to tell her how much it meant. The post gained so much momentum that the Huffington Post decided to publish it as an op-ed health piece on their national site, highlighting how much our NICU nurses care about the patients and families at Texas Children’s. The post has generated thousands of social media “likes” and shares.

“I wrote it for the NICU moms so I was happy to hear they were sharing it,” said Stearman. I’m really, really happy that people loved it and felt inspired by it.”

21914BrunoChumitazi150The Clinical Research Center presented the Clinical Research Award for fourth quarter 2013 to Dr. Bruno Chumpitazi, assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics-Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Baylor College of Medicine.

The award was established by the Clinical Research Center in collaboration with the Research Resources Office to recognize and honor individual contributions to protecting the best interest of the research subjects and compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

Dr. Chumpitazi’s research activities in the CRC focus in treatment and outcome evaluation of techniques to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal motility disorders in children.

Congratulations to Dr. Chumpitazi.

February 18, 2014

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Dr. Daniel Penny, chief of Cardiology and section head and professor of Pediatrics-Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine, will present the 12th Annual William J. Rashkind Memorial Lecture in Pediatric Cardiology at Cardiology 2014, the 17th Annual Update on Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Disease. The conference, hosted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, will take place in Lake Buena Vista, Florida February 19 through 23.

“I am honored to be delivering the keynote address at this year’s Cardiology conference,” says Penny. “This is a great opportunity to showcase the cutting edge techniques and thought leadership we practice at Texas Children’s Heart Center.”

Cardiology 2014 is a comprehensive post-graduate course for pediatric cardiologists, neonatologists, surgeons, nurses, intensivists, anesthesiologists, sonographers, perfusionists and all those involved in the care of neonates, children and young adults with cardiovascular disease. This year’s theme is “Innovations: What We Know. What We Need to Learn. Where We Need to Be.” Penny’s speech, The Quest for the Ultimate Team, will discuss the importance of assembling a comprehensive team of specialists and experts to deliver the best possible care to pediatric cardiology patients.

In addition to the keynote address, Penny also will serve as a panelist during a discussion about the management of aortic valve disease and represent Team Houston during a quiz bowl which will test his knowledge against experts in the field from around the United States. Other Texas Children’s Heart Center experts who will be giving presentations or attending the conference include:

  • Dr. Carrie Altman, medical director of Pediatric Cardiology at Texas Children’s and associate professor of Pediatrics at Baylor.
  • Dr. Paul Checchia, medical director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Texas Children’s and professor of Critical Care Medicine at Baylor, will present: Maximizing Success in the Coming Age of Values-driven Healthcare: Turning Things Upside Down to Get Them Right Side Up and will also represent Team Houston during the quiz bowl.
  • Dr. Silvana Lawrence, medical director, community and program development at Texas Children’s and associate professor of Pediatrics-Cardiology at Baylor.
  • Dr. Keila Lopez, pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of Pediatrics at Baylor.
  • Dr. Kristen Sexson Tejtel, pediatric cardiologist, Center for Preventive Cardiology at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of Pediatrics-Cardiology at Baylor.

Visit the conference’s website for more information on Cardiology 2014.

February 11, 2014

 

21214arnoldcollage640As director of Texas Children’s Simulation Center and a neonatologist at Texas Children’s Newborn Center, Dr. Jennifer Arnold is a respected health care professional. But she’s no stranger to the patient side of health care, having dealt with complications from dwarfism throughout her life.

Last year, Arnold became pregnant, and the pregnancy turned into a rare but aggressive type of cancer of the uterus. In September, Arnold was diagnosed with stage 3 choriocarcinoma. The diagnosis suddenly sent her back into the world of receiving care, rather than giving it.

“I have a unique perspective in that I’ve been a patient so many times before,” Arnold said. “But having cancer leads to a little more trepidation and uncertainty. I was in that rare position of being vulnerable and knowing all the things that can go wrong.”

Due to her short stature, Arnold’s case made it somewhat challenging for doctors to determine the correct chemotherapy dosage. Her small airway meant further complications, all of which may have been tough for an adult hospital to manage. Because of her special circumstances, Texas Children’s Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline decided that although Arnold is an adult, Texas Children’s should take her case.

Dr. Diaz-Arrastia of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and Dr. Chintagumpala from Texas Children’s Cancer Center teamed up to develop a plan that included chemotherapy and removing the primary tumor. They researched intensely to find the proper dosage and ensured there was always someone on-call who could manage Arnold’s airway. Texas Children’s Drs. Nancy Glass, Jodi Muscal, David Poplack and Kim-Phuong Thi Nguyen also played key roles in her care.

“I felt so much better than I would have at an adult hospital, because I’m a different circumstance,” Arnold said. “If I wasn’t at Texas Children’s I would have been 10 times more scared. But I know the doctors and nurses here, and I know how much they care. They were so on top of things, and I’m very appreciative of how everyone came together to help.”

The perk of being surrounded not only by family and friends, but by her work family, too, delighted Arnold. Colleagues came to visit her during treatment, dropping by to show support, and even had meetings during Arnold’s hospitalization to keep her updated on projects in the Simulation and Newborn Centers.

“I’m so blessed to have a lot of friends and colleagues at the hospital,” Arnold said. “It made me feel more connected to my life.”

Arnold also notes that it was the support of her husband, Bill, two adopted children, Will, and Zoey, and her parents, who helped keep her smiling and energized during her treatment. With six rounds of chemotherapy and the surgery behind her, Arnold is rejoicing in the news that her cancer has gone into remission. She is beginning to regain her stamina and looking forward to coming back to work in early March.

“Taking care of babies is the most physically exhausting part of my job, and I can’t wait until I’m ready for that again in a few weeks,” she said. “There are so many exciting projects that we were in the middle of when I got the diagnosis, and I’m really eager to pick up where I left off. Overall though, I’m just definitely looking forward to getting back to normal life.”