December 20, 2016

122116trainexhibit640The Texas Children’s Choo-Choo Hut nestled into a wall at the entrance of the Abercrombie Building is decked in holiday cheer for all little boys, girls and grownups to see and hear.

The 28-foot-long display features various trains running through multiple scenes, all of which are decorated for the holidays.

Some trains are packed with presents while others are loaded down with doughnuts, cupcakes and candy. Santa can be seen waving to passersby and a snowman gripping a candy cane stands atop a hill looking down at the festive scene below.

You also can see a small sign next to another snowman that says: R.I.P. Craig Sager. The longtime Turner Sports broadcaster died Thursday after a more than two-year battle with cancer, leaving a legacy of sideline reporting and a special place in his heart for Texas Children’s Hospital.

Known as much for his outrageous wardrobe as his relationships with the NBA’s elite, Sager mentioned Texas Children’s Hospital this summer during his acceptance speech for the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards.

During his speech, Sager talked about his journey battling cancer and the comfort he found in the model train exhibit at Texas Children’s Hospital, better known as the Texas Children’s Choo-Choo Hut.

Come see the intricate model train exhibit for yourself this holiday season. The exhibit can be viewed any time and the trains run from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Click here to read more about the history of the Choo-Choo Hut and here to read a personal account of the train’s impact on patients from one of its six original builders.

 

122116pathologyvietnaminsideSince 2005, the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor and the Department of Pathology at Texas Children’s Hospital have played an important role in global health initiatives, first in Africa and later extending their outreach to Southeast Asia.

The Global Pathology Program at Texas Children’s launched a collaboration with the Vietnam Vascular Anomalies Center in Ho Chi Minh City in 2013, focusing on improving medical care for people in Vietnam through diagnostic pathology.

“One of our major goals is to improve medical care for the people in Vietnam by raising the standard of practice of pathologists who provide diagnostic workup for patients,” said Dr. Thuy Phung, associate director of Global Pathology at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of pathology & immunology at Baylor College of Medicine. “This includes improving physician training and pathology laboratory practice.”

Participants of the Global Pathology Program and the Vietnam Vascular Anomalies Center returned to Vietnam earlier this year for their sixth annual trip, accompanied by a team of more than 30 physicians, medical residents and students from the United States, South Korea and Thailand. Together they held a three-day CME conference in dermatology and skin and gynecologic pathology to train more than 90 pathologists on developing more accurate diagnosis.

Using the new technology of telepathology, participants were able to view digitalized images of stained tissue sections on their own computer monitor as if they were viewing through a microscope. Telepathology gives pathologists from anywhere in the world the opportunity to connect with one another through the internet to show and share pathology cases for diagnostic consultation, teaching and training. The consultation can take the form of a live videoconference, webcast or one-on-one discussion.

“Logistically, how this works is when pathologists in Vietnam have difficult skin biopsies, and they want my input as an experienced skin pathologist, they scan the tissue glass slides and send me the digital files,” Phung said. “With the digital files, I am able to view the slide image and move the virtual slide around to see different areas of the tissue. This imaging technology allows me to digitally view tissue in any way I want so that I can make the correct histologic diagnosis for the patient.”

Through telepathology, Phung has been able to provide expert consultation to pathologists in Vietnam in real time with high accuracy. She holds weekly live videoconferencing with Vietnamese pathologists to view the cases together.

“We view the digital images together and discuss the cases, and I share my opinion of each case,” she said. “Each week, we do this for about one hour, and usually look at 10 to 12 tissue biopsies that pose diagnostic dilemmas for the Vietnamese pathologists.”

Phung and her team have been holding weekly video meetings for a year and have broadened their training with pathologists in Ho Chi Minh City to include pathologists in other major cities in Vietnam such as Hanoi, Hue and Danang. “By conducting live telepathology, we not only provide correct tissue diagnosis in real time for patients in Vietnam, but equally important, we can use this approach to enhance the training of Vietnamese pathologists in diagnostic skin pathology,” she said.

“My hope is that they will become experts themselves in the future and be able to help even more patients than I can do myself here in the U.S.” said Phung.

There are now six Vietnamese pathologists who regularly participate in telepathology with Phung, and she believes their efforts will provide them the knowledge base to be experts in skin pathology in their own right.

“I like to think of this as innovation in global medical education involving virtual and interactive learning that has been enabled by today’s state-of-the-art technology in telemedicine and digital pathology,” she said. “This is a way to practically apply advanced technology and medical expertise that we have here at Baylor and Texas Children’s to help improve medical diagnosis and medical education in other countries, no matter where in the world.”

Currently, the Global Pathology team and the Vietnam Vascular Anomalies Center are working on expanding their work to Can Tho and Da Nang, two major provinces in Vietnam.

December 13, 2016

When Desiree Bradley delivered her daughter, she wasn’t sure how long the little girl would survive due to an extremely rare genetic disorder called Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, which affects the spine, ribs and respiratory system. Nine years later, however, Deonc Bradley is a sassy, joyful girl who can periodically be seen bouncing down the halls of Texas Children’s Hospital, where she sees 13 different specialists for her condition.

“If Deonc was cared for anywhere else but Texas Children’s Hospital, I truly believe she would not be here,” Desiree said. “So anything I can do to help Texas Children’s be the best place it can be, I’m willing to come out here and do.”

The Bradley family was one of several patient families that participated in the 2016 Texas Children’s Radiothon. Hosted by Cox Media Group Houston, the two-day event was held December 1 and 2 on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women near the Bistro Café.

Throughout the 48-hour period, people opened their hearts and their wallets donating $655,039 to the radiothon while listening to radio personalities from The Eagle (106.9 & 107.5), Country Legends (97.1) and The New 93Q (92.9) interview patients, their families and many of our clinical experts.

Texas Children’s employees gave $4,000 to the cause. Executive leadership matched those donations and added their own bringing the total amount given by Texas Children’s employees to $7,000. The Snowdrop Foundation – which was started by Kevin Kline with The Q Morning Zoo on The New 93Q, made a donation of $150,000. The foundation is dedicated to assisting patients and families at Texas Children’s Cancer Center through funding for continued research to eliminate childhood cancer and scholarships for college bound pediatric cancer patients and survivors.

“This event makes a huge difference, and it tells our story,” said Jennifer Smart, a manager in the Office of Development and the program director for the hospital’s Children’s Miracle Network Program. “We couldn’t do it without them, so of course, we’re very appreciative of that.”

View a photo gallery from the event below.

Every dollar donated to the radiothon will help Texas Children’s continue to fulfill its mission to create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community by leading in patient care, education and research. More specifically, the money will benefit Texas Children’s Cancer Center, the Pediatric Tower expansion and the new campus Texas Children’s is building in The Woodlands.

Christi Brooks with the New 93Q and Country Legends 97.1 has participated in the radiothon since its inception and said she’s met so many families over the years who have been touched by the “miracles” that happen every day at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Thank God we have a facility like Texas Children’s Hospital here in our back yard,” she said. “This really is truly an amazing place of miracles.”

Desiree agreed and said Texas Children’s is her and Deonc’s home away from home.

“It’s a very special place, and until you step in these walls, you don’t understand just how special this place really is.”

121416mainstreet640If you want to have fun this holiday season while supporting a good cause then Main Street America’s annual holiday event in Spring is just what you are looking for.

Called Lights of Hope, the event provides nine Houston-area charitable organizations one of the 12 Main Street America designer showcase homes to create a thematic outdoor lighting display.

Texas Children’s home was decorated by staff in The Woodlands and is themed “Presents Under the Tree.”

Mike Feigin, owner of Main Street America and son of the late Dr. Ralph Feigin, developed the charity idea three years ago with his wife Barbara after hosting the Christmas on Main Street event for five years. The couple believes it is important to support the organizations and hope the event raises awareness for them and the wonderful things they do for Houston and its surrounding areas.

The decorated homes are open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Saturday through December 17 at 18750 Interstate 45 N. in Spring, off Exit 66B. The community is invited to tour the homes and cast a vote with a $1 donation. All donations are given directly to each of the participating charities. Last year, the event raised $88,000 for 11 participating organizations.

In addition to being able to keep the donations, the charity with the most votes will receive a $10,000 check for the best outdoor light display, with the Lights of Hope award presented December 17 to the home with the most popular votes.

This year’s nine participating Montgomery County and Houston-area charities include: My Person Foundation, The Breast Center, New Danville, Bridgewood Farms, JDRF, Interfaith of The Woodlands, HOPE, American Heart Association and Texas Children’s Hospital.

If Texas Children’s wins, the $10,000 will be given to the Texas Children’s Hospital Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) to support childhood neurological research.

For more information about the Main Street America event and for an exclusive $5-off coupon, click here. If you can’t make it to the event but want to vote for the house decorated by Texas Children’s employees, click here. For every dollar donated, the Texas Children’s house will get a vote.

Thanks for your support!

November 15, 2016

Growing up, it took awhile for Michelle Roy to warm up to other children in her neighborhood and school classrooms. A bilateral cleft lip and palate caused her to be shy, introverted and at times feel a little isolated.

“I didn’t have anyone to share my experiences and feelings with,” she said. “I didn’t have access to a network of kids in similar situations.”

Fortunately, that’s not the case for the many children Roy now works with as a physician assistant to pediatric plastic surgeon Dr. Laura Monson. Monson helped start Camp Keep Smiling in 2014, a camp for children with cleft lip and palate.

The camp recently wrapped up with a record-setting number of campers and incredible experiences for the patients and staff members alike. Camp Keep Smiling provides a safe, fun environment for patients between the ages of 10 and 16 to engage in meaningful social interaction and gain self-confidence. The camp, hosted by nonprofit Camp for All, offers activities like canoeing, fishing, archery, ropes courses, basketball and arts and crafts. Admission is free of charge for patients as it is supported directly by donations.

This year, 61 campers attended Camp Keep Smiling versus the 30 who attended in 2014. Monson leads the camp with other team members from the plastic surgery division. Physicians, nurses, OR staff and child life specialists serve as counselors who notice tremendous strides in the campers towards the end of the session. Oftentimes, campers have never met another child with cleft lip and palate and this gives them the opportunity to form friendships with those who are just like them.

“Children with cleft lip and palate often will have four or more surgeries throughout their lifetime to address not only appearance issues but speech and dental issues as well,” Monson said, adding that cleft lip and palate affects one out of every 700 births. “Camp Keep Smiling was created to help these children better understand their condition, meet people who are going through the same thing and help them deal with some of the difficult social interactions they might have growing up.”

Christy Hernandez, a registered nurse with Texas Children’s Outcomes and Impact Service, has been helping organize the camp since its inception and said it is amazing to watch the campers open up to one another over the weekend while participating in super fun activities.

“It’s life changing for many of them,” she said. “It’s a time when they can forget about their medical condition and just be kids.”

Roy participated in the camp for the first time this year as its counselor coordinator and saw firsthand what a great opportunity it is for children with cleft lips and palates to gain confidence in themselves, and meet and build relationships with people who look and often feel the same way they do.

“Camp Keep Smiling is a very valuable experience for these children to have,” she said. “I feel blessed to be a part of it and to let them know there’s a bright future ahead of them.”

Click here to watch ABC-13’s story about Camp Keep Smiling.

111616playgarden640The playground adjacent to the Abercrombie Building will be closed for several months as it undergoes major renovations to create a new outdoor environment for our patients, families and staff.

Scheduled to be completed in spring 2017, this area will be entirely renovated to create a new “play garden” that includes multiple seating areas with shade structures, play equipment and new furnishings. The first three to four weeks will be the most disruptive with removal of existing structures and concrete. Facilities Project Management will need your team’s assistance to inform patients, families and staff about the noise that they will hear during this time.

The schedule below identifies the key activities that will occur during the next several weeks.

November 14 to Monday, December 12: Bellows will take over the construction site and block the “thru lane” on the Concourse drive.

  • Demo will include removal of concrete which may result in loud noise in this area for approximately three to four weeks. Complimentary ear plugs will be available for Valet staff and patients / visitors who will be in the area. This work will occur during normal business hours.
  • Lane closure has been coordinated with Valet and additional Valet staff will be in place to ensure vehicles are removed quickly from the concourse.
  • Signs have already been installed to direct pedestrian traffic.

December 12 plus four months: Bellows will begin to build back the area. Lane closures will be coordinated on an as-needed basis to allow for key deliveries and concrete pours.

The entire renovation project could take up to four months to complete.

For questions or concerns about this project, please contact Rene Hoelker at Ext. 4-2370.

November 1, 2016

Halloween was definitely not lost on the many sick children at Texas Children’s who had to miss school parties and trick or treating events due to doctor’s visits or hospital stays. Throughout the day and across the Texas Children’s system, there was a load of Halloween fun for patients and their families. Watch the video to get a glimpse of the fun everyone had at these unforgettable events.

At West Campus, the festivities began on October 28 when members of Texas Window Cleaning Co., Inc. dressed up as super heroes and cleaned the hospital’s windows while waving to children inside. The company has been cleaning the windows at Main Campus since 1957 and at West Campus since 2011.

“This is the third year the superheroes have brought their superpowers to West Campus, and we are grateful to them for doing so,” said Matt Schaefer, president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. “Things like this are small and simple, but they can have a profound impact on our patients, families and visitors. After all, what better way to live out our vision than to look for ways to brighten the days of the patients who seek care on our campus.”

Festivities at West Campus and beyond continued on Monday with the West Campus Fall Festival and the Annual Halloween Spooktacular Patient’s Party on The Auxiliary Bridge in the Medical Center. Dressed in their Halloween best, employees handed out goodies to patients during the multi-hour long parties sponsored by Child Life at West Campus and the Patient Activity Team at Main Campus.

Ghosts, goblins and ghouls also were out in full force at other areas across the organization, including the new Outpatient Facility in The Woodlands, various Health Centers across the Houston area and many departments at Main Campus.