April 15, 2019

An experience Charlene James had at Texas Children’s Hospital years ago made a lasting impression, prompting the now veteran volunteer to give back to a place she has come to love.

Decades ago, James’ daughter spent a month at Texas Children’s Hospital due to a case of viral meningitis. During her stay, Texas Children’s doctors, nurses and other staff and clinical personnel cared for her child just as she had hoped – with tender loving care, and for that, James is forever grateful.

“I said then that when I retired, I would give back to the place that took such good care of my daughter,” James said. “I have, and I love it.”

For the past 10 years, James has given her time and much of her heart to Texas Children’s Hospital, primarily holding babies in the Newborn Center and also taking on positions on The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s board, including president and currently financial officer.

James’ service and the contributions of so many like her were celebrated last week during Volunteer Appreciation Week. Filled with various activities, the five-day affair included a social mixer, lunch, and special presentation from Joel Cowley, President and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

In his role, Cowley is responsible for the efforts of more than 34,000 volunteers and 120 full-time staff in conducting a 23-day event that draws nearly 34,000 livestock show entries and an annual attendance of more than 2.4 million.

During his presentation, Cowley said he has a great appreciation for volunteers and the value they have to an organization. He said the number of volunteers working the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has doubled in the past 15 years, and that without such a dedicated volunteer force, the event wouldn’t be such a huge success.

“The impact our volunteers have on the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is immense,” Cowley said. “The fact you are at Texas Children’s providing support and care to patients, families and caregivers is an incredible value as well.”

Director of Volunteer Services Paige Schulz said the more than 1,000 Texas Children’s volunteers who support patients, families and hospital staff through a number of assignments throughout the Texas Children’s system are the heart and soul of the organization and that each and every one of them are deeply appreciated.

“We are so thankful for the time and talent our volunteers dedicate to Texas Children’s,” she said. “Our organization wouldn’t be the same without them.”

According to many volunteers, they wouldn’t be the same without Texas Children’s.

Volunteer Herb LeDee said the two days a week he spends volunteering at the front desk of the Outpatient Building in The Woodlands are some of his best.

“Every day is a fun day,” he said. “When I leave, I feel complete.”

LeDee was named Volunteer of the Year during last week’s festivities. He was one of the first volunteers in The Woodlands and has the most service hours and Caught You Caring awards of any volunteer in that area.

If you are anyone you know is interested in volunteering at Texas Children’s, click here for more information.

Drs. Muralidhar Premkumar (from left) and Melissa Carbajal, Neonatology faculty, congratulate third-year fellow Dr. Charles Roitsch (center), as the 24th annual Arnold J. Rudolph Memorial Grand Rounds award recipient. The award recognizes third-year fellows in neonatal-perinatal medicine for outstanding teaching, patient care, scientific inquiry and professional integrity. Dr. Patrick McNamara, a staff neonatologist and director of the Division of Neonatology at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, was this year’s invited speaker at the recent grand rounds. Dr. McNamara also is the current chair of the PanAmerican Hemodynamic Collaborative and Paediatric Academic Society Neonatal Hemodynamics Advisory.

The Arnold J. Rudolph Memorial Grand Rounds was established in 1996 by the Section of Neonatology, in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, in memory of its late Section Chief, Dr. Arnold J. Rudolph, who died in 1995. Dr. Rudolph was a well-respected clinician and educator, recognized internationally as a leader of neonatology.

April 2, 2019

More than a dozen Texas Children’s clinicians, who are also in academic roles at Baylor College of Medicine, were recently honored with the college’s Women of Excellence Award.

The award is one of the highest educational honors made by the college, highlighting individuals who demonstrate extraordinary dedication to issues that affect women at Baylor College of Medicine, or in their larger community.

The award also recognizes meritorious academic accomplishments, commitment to the mission and vision of Baylor, as well as direct teaching and evaluation, educational leadership, development of enduring educational materials and educational research.

“Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishment and we wish you many years of continued success,” said Dr. Toi Blakely, Associate Provost of Institutional Diversity, Inclusion and Equity & Student Services, and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics and Family and Community. ”Baylor College of Medicine is truly fortunate to have such outstanding role models dedicated to addressing issues affecting women at Baylor and the larger community through our mission and core values. Thank you for all you do.”

The following Texas Children’s clinicians received the Women of Excellence Award at a March 28 ceremony featuring remarks by Dr. Hannah Valentine, the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity at the National Institutes of Health. For a complete list of award winners, click here.

  • Dr. Nishath Ali, Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Dr. Susan Blaney, Cancer and Hematology Centers
  • Dr. Catherine Eppes, Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Dr. Elaine Fielder, Emergency Medicine
  • Dr. Karin Fox, Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Dr. Erica Giwa, Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Dr. Charleta Guillory, Neonatology
  • Dr. Jill Ann Jarrell, Palliative Care
  • Dr. Karen Johnson, Neonatology
  • Dr. Lakshmi Katakam, Neonatal Intensive Care
  • Dr. Katherine Leaming-Van Zandt, Emergency Medicine
  • Dr. Krithika Lingappan, Neonatal Intensive Care
  • Dr. Jenelle Little, Neonatology
  • Dr. Shreya Sheth, Cardiology
  • Dr. Sara Kristen Sexson Tejtel, Department of Pediatrics
  • Dr. Sandhya Sara Thomas, Nephrology
March 26, 2019

Myra Davis, senior vice president of Information Services at Texas Children’s Hospital, received the 2019 Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Year ORBIE Awards from the Houston CIO Leadership Association.

The CIO of the Year ORBIE Awards is the premier technology executive recognition program in the United States that is based upon a nominee’s leadership and management effectiveness, technology innovation, size and scope of responsibilities and engagement in industry and community endeavors.

“I am very grateful to receive this honor,” Davis said. “Information Technology, particularly in health care, has the opportunity to enhance, in many ways, how we deliver care to our patients and families. I love what my team and I are able to do and the boundless opportunities IT presents at Texas Children’s.”

Since joining Texas Children’s 15 years ago, Davis has helped Texas Children’s consistently stand out amongst our peers, and it is her visionary leadership and passion for the hospital’s mission that keep Texas Children’s on the leading edge of technology, and perpetually surfing the innovation curve.

While her leadership philosophy centers on cultivating strong partnerships that drive the successful delivery of improved quality, safety and patient outcomes at Texas Children’s, Davis enthusiastically credits her team of more than 400 employees for helping to lead the organization through some major technological transformations, including spearheading the recent integration of Texas Children’s Health Plan systems into the hospital’s electronic medical record.

Davis and her team have been instrumental in other systemwide initiatives including implementing new MyChart enhancements that have significantly improved patient experience and access to care; building the technology infrastructure to support daily operations at our new Texas Children’s Lester and Sue Legacy Tower; upgrading the patient transport system used to document incoming and outgoing transfers; and implementing a stringent cyber security protocol throughout Texas Children’s that employs a layered defense to prevent unauthorized access to organizational assets and patient information.

“Our IS department is truly the village that makes everything happen on a daily basis,” Davis said. “I am grateful to work with such a dedicated and talented team, and look forward to what we can accomplish together to better serve our patients and their families, and our employees and staff at Texas Children’s.”

Beyond her leadership responsibilities at Texas Children’s, Myra also devotes much of her free time serving the community. She has developed a collaboration between local universities (Rice, UT Austin and University of Houston) and Texas Children’s, where students are able see how technology is used in health care and explore the possibility of wanting to work in healthcare technology post-graduation.

In addition to the CIO of the Year ORBIE Award, Davis has been the recipient of the 2017 Houston Business Journal CIO of the Year in addition to Association for Women in Computing Award for Leadership in Technology that recognizes women who are making a difference in their professions, companies and communities through hard work and innovative leadership.

March 25, 2019

In this month’s episode of Medically Speaking, you’ll hear from Texas Children’s urologist, Dr. Ming-Hsien Wang. In her talk, Wang discusses best practices in the treatment of pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs) and also shares the differing views between American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines and findings from a recent double-blind study on the use of prophylactic antibiotics to treat UTIs.

Learn more about the services provided and conditions treated by Texas Children’s Division of Urology.

Medically Speaking features some of the brightest minds from several Texas Children’s specialty and subspecialty areas. The series is meant to be a helpful educational resource for parents and a convenient way for physicians and other caregivers to stay up-to-date on the latest in pediatric medicine. Viewers can watch talks on a variety of interesting topics, including advancements in surgery, breakthroughs in research, new clinical trials, and novel and back-practice treatments for specific conditions.

Be on the lookout for more Medically Speaking episodes here on Connect, or view additional episodes now.

PLEASE NOTE:
This presentation is not intended to present medical advice or individual treatment recommendations, and does not supplant the practitioner’s independent clinical judgment. Practitioners are advised to consider the management of each patient in view of the clinical information. All content is shared for informational purposes only, and reflects the thoughts and opinions of the original author. No physician-patient relationship is being created by the use of this presentation. The presentation sets out recommendations based upon similar circumstances and is provided as an educational tool. The presenters are not attorneys, and to the extent this presentation provides commentary on current laws and regulations affecting health care activities, it is not intended as legal advice.

When Texas Children’s Cancer Center opened its doors in 1954, only one in every 10 children with cancer survived. Today, more than 80 percent of children who are diagnosed with cancer will successfully fight the battle and be cured. However, the war with cancer will not be over until there is a cure for each and every child who is impacted by this disease.

The good news is, tremendous progress has been made. With powerful new weapons in our arsenal and incredible breakthroughs in technology and genetics, every day we uncover more information about what causes cancer and how to beat it, because losing even one child to cancer is still one too many.

To learn more about the history of Texas Children’s Cancer Center, our treatments, programs, staff and research, read “And So We Fight,” a publication dedicated to the mission of the Cancer Center and those it serves. The publication is now online. Click here to view.

March 18, 2019

On March 9, twelve finalist startup companies vied for awards and valuable grant funding at the fifth annual Impact Pediatric Health, a one-of-a-kind pitch competition held at SXSW that showcases the best in pediatric health care innovations. Out of 50 national and international startup applicants, the judges selected four companies to receive $25,000 grants in the Medical Devices category, provided by Southwest National Pediatric Device Consortium (SWPDC).

The four grant recipients were:

  • Bardy Diagnostics (Seattle, Washington): Develops digital health and cardiac monitoring technology
  • Prapela (Boston, Massachusetts): Uses random vibration stimulation to help newborns breathe, relax and sleep
  • PolyVascular (Houston, Texas): Designs and develops polymer-based heart valves for children that accommodate growth and reduce need for repeat surgeries
  • Smileyscope (Cambridge, Massachusetts): Transforms pediatric care delivery using virtual reality

“We were blown away by the level of talent and incredible innovation showcased at this year’s Impact Pediatric Health pitch competition,” said Dr. Chester Koh, Executive Director of SWPDC and pediatric urologist at Texas Children’s Hospital. “At Impact Pediatric Health and SWPDC, we are always looking for the next cutting-edge breakthrough in the world of medical devices, and we are excited to stand beside these four companies, and to help accelerate the next generation of medical device companies impacting our youngest of patients.”

In addition to the Medical Devices category, tech startup applicants also competed in the pediatric Digital Health and Health Disparities and Equity categories. Sound Scouts of Sydney, Australia, won top honors in Digital Health for its work developing app-based hearing assessments for school-aged children. And PolyVascular – co-founded by Dr. Henri Justino, interventional cardiologist and director of the Charles E. Mullins Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Texas Children’s Hospital – also received the Health Disparities and Equity award.

Winners across each category and all participants benefited from valuable feedback from a host of industry experts serving as judges at the event, including representatives from the sponsoring children’s hospitals. The panel included:

  • Molly McCarthy MBA, RN-BC, National Director of US Provider Industry and Chief Nursing Officer at Microsoft
  • Bonnie Clipper, VP, Practice and Innovation at the American Nurses Association
  • Peggy Maguire, President of Cambia Health Foundation
  • Andrew El Bardissi, Principal of Deerfield Management
  • Stacy Feld, Vice President, Consumer Venture Investments & External Innovation at Johnson & Johnson.

This year’s event was hosted by emcee, Lisa Suennen, Managing Director of Manatt Health

The Impact Pediatric Health Startup Pitch Competition was created as an opportunity for up-and-coming digital health and medical device startups to pitch their innovations to a panel of children’s hospital executives and investors during SXSW in Austin, Texas. The event is co-sponsored by Texas Children’s Hospital and six other leading U.S. children’s hospitals – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Boston Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital of Stanford Children’s Health.

About SWPDC

The Southwest National Pediatric Device Consortium (SWPDC) – anchored at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine – is a multi-institutional consortium that includes clinical, scientific, business, financial, regulatory, reimbursement, engineering, intellectual property and academic partners in the Houston / Southwest U.S. region. The consortium received a five-year, $6.75 million FDA P50 Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) grant to support innovation, mentoring and collaborations amongst pediatric clinicians and surgeons, engineers, industry, and other partners for pediatric device development.