May 15, 2018

One week before Texas Children’s Legacy Tower opens on Tuesday, May 22, employees and patient families will notice several new changes to our food services at Texas Children’s Medical Center campus. Additional enhancements are underway at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands to provide more meal options for our employees, staff, patients, and their families as well.

“After receiving constructive feedback from our employees, we wanted to take a proactive approach to improve the food service and dining experience for them as well as our visitors and patient families,” said Senior Vice President Tabitha Rice. “We are very excited to offer these new lunch and dinner options across our three hospital campuses to better serve the needs of our employees and patient families.”

Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus

Starting on May 14, The Fresh Bistro at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women will extend its hours of operation. Instead of closing at 4 p.m., the Bistro will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Working late or just too exhausted to cook dinner? The Bistro now offers take-home meal kits available in the On the Go cooler Monday through Thursday. The meal kits offer a protein, starch, and a vegetable for two for $14 plus tax. The items are fully cooked and all you need to do is pop it in the microwave.

The Coffee Corner across from The Fresh Bistro is another convenient place to grab a quick bite to eat. Opened Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to midnight and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the Coffee Corner serves fresh coffee, pastries, paninis, soups, salads and On the Go meals.

If you enjoy good old fashioned barbecue, Liberty Street BBQ will be coming to the food court at Mark Wallace Tower beginning in July. Liberty Street BBQ will serve smoked in-house meats, fresh sides, and of course, delicious desserts like banana pudding. The concept will change each month to offer our families and staff a larger variety of food choices.

West Campus and The Woodlands Campus

West Campus and The Woodlands Campus are offering more meal options to enhance the food service experience for our employees, patients and their families.

A Kids’ Corner will provide kid-friendly snack options including fruit and cheese snacks, animal cookies, squeezable apple sauce, string cheese, milk, bottled water and fruit juices.

From barbecue picnics to Louisiana cuisine to South American treats like papusas, the Monthly Chef specials will provide a variety of meals from different parts of the U.S. and around the world.

Meyer Market

Earlier this month, the Meyer Market on the first floor of the Meyer Building, began offering more lunch options for employees. Freshly prepared meals are now available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A calendar menu is posted in Meyer Market and in the first floor lobby of the Meyer Building.

The hot meal options were added to the current point of sale system. Employees can pay by credit card or use their current Meyer Market account. The Fresh Bistro at the Pavilion for Women provides the meals.

For questions related to this article, please contact Michelle Roane at maroane@texaschildrens.org.

September 8, 2017

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands had an excellent turnout of families at its first celebration of Kids Eat Right Month.

Working together, Food and Nutrition, and Clinical Nutrition Services encouraged children and their families to create and enjoy their own food art. Children learned how to make their own snails, butterflies, or banana race boats using healthy foods.

Chef Luis also prepared an edible rainbow of colors to remind children the importance of eating various types of foods. Even the pickiest eaters couldn’t resist!

Educational material and hands-on learning opportunities also were available to help teach kids how to build a healthy plate.

April 26, 2017

In March, employees across Texas Children’s participated in National Nutrition Month events sponsored by the Food and Nutrition Services department, in partnership with Employee Health and Well-Being. As a result, many participants were inspired to make small changes toward living a more healthy lifestyle.

Hear from a few of these employees and view a photo gallery of the various festivities held throughout the month, themed “Put Your Best Fork Forward.”

Clinical Dietitian Brittney Day – “I enjoyed participating in the Chef Challenges and even wrote a blog about how to choose a variety of low-fat or fat-free dairy products as part of meals and snacks.” Click here to view the blog.

Account Representative Alysha Grant – “I started my weight loss journey three years ago in March and to date I have lost 92 lbs. It takes a conscious decision and effort to make changes which can improve your life. Celebrate your success along the way and recognize the small steps of progress you make! I always push forward and remember I am better than I was yesterday.”

Registered Nurse Norma Terrazas – “As health care workers, we truly have to take care of ourselves first in order to take better care of others, our patients and our own families. We are the only ones who can put our best foot and fork forward. Whether you decide to dine in or eat out, every bite counts. I believe that is the spirit of National Nutrition Month.”

Did you know?

Texas Children’s offers a Health Coaching and Nutrition Consulting program at no cost to employees. Visit the Well-Being site on Connect to learn more.

January 17, 2017

11817drhair175Dr. Amy Hair, neonatologist and director of the neonatal nutrition program at Texas Children’s Hospital, was selected by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) to receive the 2017 Samuel J. Fomon Young Physician Award.

This award is given to a physician within 10 years of completion of medical postdoctoral training for outstanding work in the general area of pediatric nutrition, infant growth or body composition.

Hair will be presented with the award at the ASN’s awards ceremony on April 23 in Chicago. Hair is nationally known for her leadership in advocating for human milk feeding for very low birth weight infants and has published numerous studies related to human milk feeding.

August 9, 2016

81016weightinside250Who doesn’t love indulging on pizza, French fries, buttery popcorn and chocolate cake every once in awhile?

In a world where food – especially the unhealthy and highly processed kind – is so readily available, developing healthy eating habits can be challenging but certainly attainable with positive behavioral and mindset changes.

In her new e-book, Lose it Now: Tips for Permanent Weight Loss, Texas Children’s Dr. Carmen Mikhail shares clinically proven strategies to help families gradually adopt a healthier lifestyle and keep the excess pounds at bay.

“Since everyone’s weight loss journey is different, these tips are presented in an easy-to-follow format enabling individuals to move through each step at their own pace,” said Mikhail, the director of Texas Children’s A Weigh of Life program and associate professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral science at Baylor College of Medicine.

Based on her extensive clinical experience and research in cognitive-behavioral treatment of obesity in children, Mikhail outlines practical tips for successful weight loss including:

  • Journaling to become more aware of food and beverage intake
  • Listening to your body to determine when you are truly physically hungry
  • Rearranging your surroundings to help you eat less and exercise more
  • Setting and reaching realistic goals and staying on track with your weight loss
  • Surrounding yourself with people who encourage you to get healthy
  • Maintaining a positive mindset

“I’ve seen so many patient successes throughout the years and felt it was time to put together a synopsis of the techniques that worked,” Mikhail said. “I also wanted to share information obtained from weight loss literature in a simple form that non-academicians could understand.”

These weight loss strategies highlighted in Mikhail’s book are also taught to patients and families enrolled in Texas Children’s A Weigh of Life program, a 15-week lifestyle change program covering cognitive and behavioral change, and dietary and exercise intervention. The program targets the entire family since studies have demonstrated more effective results when family members change their habits together with their children.

As a faculty member in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Texas Children’s, Mikhail says maintaining a healthy body weight is an important first step in reducing the risk of medical conditions including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, sleep apnea and orthopedic problems. Being overweight and obese have also been linked to depression and poor self-esteem and body image.

“Early intervention in childhood obesity is extremely important since the risk of adult obesity increases for each additional year a child remains obese,” Mikhail said. “My hope is that this book will help parents attain a healthier lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise that will positively impact their child. When parents encourage these positive behaviors, their children are more likely to make healthier eating choices that become second nature.”

Mikhail’s e-book is available on Amazon. For more information on Texas Children’s A Weigh of Life program, click here.

72716Drchumpatazi175Dr. Bruno Chumpitazi, an assistant professor of pediatric gastroenterology at Baylor College of Medicine and clinical director of Texas Children’s Neurogastroenterology and Motility Program, recently received the Baylor College of Medicine Rising Star Clinician Award.

This annual award recognizes outstanding up and coming clinicians for their exemplary contributions to clinical excellence and expertise, consistent high level of patient care, commendable leadership skills and continuous exemplary service to the Baylor community.

Chumpitazi’s contributions to the field of pediatric gastroenterology, particularly in the area of gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders, have received numerous accolades from his Texas Children’s and Baylor colleagues.

“As director of a cutting edge, productive, and nationally recognized clinical program, Dr. Chumpitazi has truly been a rising star within our department and within the College,” said Dr. Mark W. Kline, Texas Children’s physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor. “He successfully introduced procedures such as anorectal manometry, colonic manometry, antroduodental manometry and esophageal manometry at Texas Children’s. He also introduced pH/impedance testing, the current gold standard of gastric esophageal reflux testing.”

Texas Children’s Neurogastroenterology and Motility Program is on the cutting edge of clinical care and research for children with gastrointestinal functional and motility disorders. Individuals within the program work with others throughout Baylor and Texas Children’s to offer several multidisciplinary programs (including an esophageal achalasia program, neurostimulation program, and rumination program); gastrointestinal motility evaluations (including wireless capsule manometry); and therapies (including guided imagery).

Chumpitazi has worked with child life specialists and multi-sensory distraction devices to make procedures as pediatric friendly as possible. In addition to the previously mentioned efforts, Chumpitazi has created a multidisciplinary program with our physical therapy colleagues for children with defecation disorders amenable to therapy. Each of these programs are highly specialized, were created to address a pressing clinical need, and are not available in the vast majority of pediatric gastroenterology programs throughout the country.

The Motility program’s success can be measured in part by the high volume of national, regional and local consultation requests for the program’s clinical expertise and the high volume of specialized procedures completed.

“I’m extremely humbled by this award and want to emphasize that I’m just one individual within a fantastic team environment,” Chumpitazi said. “It’s been a pleasure working with other like-minded individuals throughout Baylor and Texas Children’s to improve the health of the children that we see.”

“Dr. Chumpitazi is an excellent example of a rising star clinician,” said Dr. Benjamin Shneider, chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Texas Children’s. “He is a true triple threat, with tremendous skills as a clinician, educator and investigator. I am certain he will continue to represent Baylor and Texas Children’s as a national leader within his field and I am grateful he is part of our team.”

Click here for more information about the Neurogastroenterology and Motility Program.

91015drhairaward640Dr. Amy Hair, a neonatologist and program director of the Neonatal Nutrition Program at Texas Children’s Hospital, was recently awarded a $350,000 research grant from the Gerber Foundation.

This generous grant will support the Targeted Fortification Project, a neonatal nutrition study led by Hair that will evaluate the short-term effects of a high versus standard protein diet on growth outcomes and body composition in the smallest preterm infants weighing between 500 to 1,000 grams.

“While an exclusive human milk diet is associated with improved outcomes in our highest risk neonates, it is important to evaluate the benefits of a high protein exclusive human milk diet and the possible positive changes in body composition, specifically lean mass, in these infants,” Hair said.

Using a randomized study design, infants in the control group will receive a standard protein diet that consists of mother’s own milk or donor human milk with donor human milk derived fortifier. Based on the amount of protein in the human milk, fortification of feeds will be adjusted to reach an average of 3.5 to 3.8 grams per kilogram per day of protein. Data will be recorded for milk analysis, nutrition and infant growth.

The intervention group will receive the same standard feeding regimen with the addition of extra human milk fortification to give a high protein diet. Based on the amount of protein in the human milk, fortification of feeds will be adjusted to reach an average of 4.2 to 4.5 grams per kilogram per day of protein.

Both diets will be continued until approximately 35 to 36 weeks postmenstrual age (an infant’s gestational age at birth plus postnatal age) and a bone mineral density and body composition scan will be performed.

“We hypothesize that infants who receive a high protein diet will have more lean mass and a 15 percent improvement in length velocity at 36 weeks postmenstrual age compared to infants who received only a standard protein diet,” Hair said.

Much of Hair’s research has been dedicated to improving the long-term outcomes of premature and critically ill infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Her work in neonatal nutrition has led to significant changes in clinical practice in the NICU at Texas Children’s and other pediatric hospitals.

In her study published in Breastfeeding Medicine, Hair found that premature infants weighting less than 1,250 grams at birth improved their growth outcomes in the NICU after being fed an exclusive human milk-based diet. In a separate study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, Hair found that adding a human milk-based cream in the exclusive human milk diets of premature infants resulted in better growth outcomes in terms of weight and length than infants who received just the exclusive human milk diet.

As a result of Hair’s extensive research in neonatal nutrition, Texas Children’s Newborn Center implemented an exclusive human milk feeding protocol in 2009, which has led to a 77 percent decrease in the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis, a devastating intestinal disease that affects premature infants.

“I am grateful to the Gerber Foundation for providing Texas Children’s with this research grant,” said Hair, who is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. “This will help advance neonatal nutrition research to continue to improve the outcomes of premature and critically ill infants.”