May 12, 2021

Since its launch in 2001, Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) service is the medical home for children, teens and young adults with pulmonary hypertension, a rare condition characterized by high blood pressure in the lungs.

Now, the nationally recognized program has earned a designation that reflects its incredible growth and success in providing truly comprehensive, multidisciplinary and life-changing care: the Texas Children’s Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Center.

Like other centers at Texas Children’s, the PH program submitted an intensive application to the Board of Trustees and executive leaders to demonstrate that it deserved this distinction. The packet included letters of support from partners in Fetal Surgery, Lung Transplant Services, the Specialty Pharmacy, the Vascular Anomalies Center and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. There was also a letter from a grateful parent about how profoundly the program and providers have impacted her daughter, who was diagnosed with PH at just 8 years old.

“There was a time I wasn’t sure [she] would start high school, but here we are in her freshman year. She plays clarinet, an instrument she has to use her lungs to work. … I now feel as though I can let myself dream of her future,” Jessica Johnson wrote. “The support we have received from the Pulmonary Hypertension team at Texas Children’s Hospital has been immeasurable. I’ll never be able to thank them for what they have given us.”

Committed to comprehensive care

After winning approval to become a center in December 2020, the PH team commemorated the milestone at a special, COVID-friendly ceremony in March.

“This is more than a renaming; it’s a recognition from the hospital of the work that we’re doing and the investments they’ve made into this program,” said Dr. Nidhy Varghese, who joined the PH team in 2011 and serves as director. “To be counted among our other recognized centers and to be among that illustrious group is an honor. It’s unbelievably inspiring, and we are grateful.”

One of the first and most significant investments came in 2015, when Texas Children’s approved the hiring of a nurse coordinator position that made it possible for the PH center to manage every aspect of our patients’ care. Any situation or need a child or family encountered on their journey could be assessed and addressed from the PH clinic on an inpatient or outpatient basis – whether it was a specialty drug, personalized diet or exercise routine, mental health support or financial resource.

A multi-talented team of experts

Today, the PH team includes two nurse coordinators, as well as pulmonologists, critical care intensivists, a cardiologist and nurse practitioner, social workers, exercise specialists, a dietitian and clinical pharmacy specialists. Each member brings an expertise and perspective that helps the program reach further and do more every day, Varghese said.

The team has mastered telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to see PH patients and families who travel from across Texas, along the Gulf Coast and around the country to receive trusted care. Dedicated research projects are also scaling new heights.

“We didn’t do this work for the promise of today,” Varghese said, reflecting on how the PH program has steadily expanded into a recognized center and destination for so many patients and families seeking help for the complex condition.

“We did this work because Texas Children’s needed us,” she said. “Our patients needed us. And so we did the work and we are going to continue fulfilling that need. We’re going to continue to provide the best care possible for our patients. That’s the oath that we’ve taken as medical providers. And it’s the promise we’ve made to the PH community.”

September 29, 2020

This installment of the “Take Five” series provided by The Psychology Section’s Collaborative on Racial Equity and Inclusion (REI) for Black Youth acknowledges that the month of September is not only Disease Literacy Awareness Month, but also the Awareness Month for Sickle Cell, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Childhood Cancer, Childhood Obesity, and Blood Cancer. Access to high quality health care and other health resources are essential to ensure optimal health for children with these conditions. Yet, African American and Black children with any of these diseases have lower access to health resources and as a consequence experience worse health outcomes.

We encourage you to “TAKE FIVE” and learn about the FIVE diseases and what action steps you can take to increase and promote equitable health care access and services, such as by getting involved in organizations or advocacy, or making a donation:

  1. Sickle Cell Awareness Month: https://www.sicklecelldisease.org/get-involved/events/national-sickle-cell-awareness-month/
  2. Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation: https://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/
  3. American Childhood Cancer Organization: https://www.acco.org/childhood-cancer-awareness-month/
  4. Childhood Obesity Facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
  5. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: https://www.lls.org/blood-cancer-awareness
September 4, 2018

In 2002, Dr. George Mallory helped establish Texas Children’s Lung Transplant Program and has built it into one of the world’s preeminent pediatric programs, with a reputation for collaborative, patient-centered care. This year, Mallory is passing the torch of medical leadership to Dr. Tina Melicoff, who will lead the program in partnership with surgical director Dr. Jeffrey Heinle.

“We all share Texas Children’s vision of taking care of children with complex lung conditions,” said Melicoff. “Cases that would be too complex to treat elsewhere are common at Texas Children’s. With our amazing team, and our focus on clinical and basic research, we can continue to build on Dr. Mallory’s incredible legacy of compassionate care and clinical excellence.”

Under Mallory’s distinguished leadership, the program has reached some extraordinary milestones. It is one of the largest lung transplant programs in the world – and the most active, with the highest clinical volume of any program over the past five years. Experts at Texas Children’s have performed more than 200 lung transplants, completing more in the past five years than any other pediatric program. Over the past ten years, the program has been one of only three that consistently performs transplants in infants and young children. It is also one of only two programs performing 10 or more pediatric transplants per year. And even with high volume, the program has a pristine record of below-average wait list times, with a median wait time of less than four months, shorter than most other programs.

Mallory, who is transitioning to the role of Medical Director Emeritus, attributes the program’s success to the collaborative and comprehensive approach to care, which includes surgery, pulmonary medicine and immunology services, infectious disease expertise, social work, nutrition, psychological care, basic and clinical research, and more.

“One of the things I’m most proud of that we’ve achieved is a fabulous multidisciplinary team,” he said. “That’s common language in modern medicine, but we really have a great team”

As the program moves forward under new leadership, that team will continue to work together for the same shared goals: improving outcomes, delaying chronic rejection and keeping children where they should be – with their families.

“Easily, the single best thing is to have engaged honestly and deeply with patients and families and see the majority of them capture years of quality of life,” Mallory said. “What we do here is much more than a dry scientific pursuit; it’s an amazing opportunity to see miracles happen.”

To learn more, watch the video.

August 13, 2018

Dr. Ameeben Patel, January – June 2018 Physician

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Amee A Patel, DO, assistant professor of Pediatrics, board certified in general pediatrics, pediatric pulmonary, and sleep medicine – I started out as a sleep medicine fellow in 2014 and then joined as faculty.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I found out about the super star award during our monthly faculty meeting. The section chief and practice administrator announced that I had received this award with several bright shiny balloons.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
Being recognized for this honor, is empowering. I feel incredibly grateful to be part of such an institution that encompasses the value of patient care. Texas Children’s Hospital has provided several opportunities for my personal and professional goals including medical education and research. The balance of working with patients, identifying gaps in knowledge/research as well as teaching students, residents, and fellows is quite rewarding and is amazing that I am able to participate in all three areas while working at Texas Children’s.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
At Texas Children’s, everyone is a super star. We are all dedicated to our patients and their families. We strive to deliver the best possible care as a team. Therefore, being recognized for the hard work and dedication to our patients is a team effort and the entire team should be recognized.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
After working as hard as we all do and with the challenges of health care that we face every day, I still have a sense of gratification that I helped several children in a single day – it is this feeling that motivates me to keep pushing through the various barriers and challenges of practicing in health care.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Texas Children’s is recognized nationwide for the specialists as well as the research. It is an honor to be part of such a great organization/team.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
A leader at Texas Children’s is someone that puts the child and their family first and motivates and inspires others to continue to value this practice.

Dr. Nidhy Varghese has been named the new director of our Pulmonary Hypertension Program. Varghese took over for Dr. George Mallory who helped lead the program to national prominence.

“I am honored to be named to this prestigious leadership position,” Varghese said. “We are one of the few pulmonary hypertension programs in the United States dedicated to treating children. I am excited to expand our groundbreaking pulmonary programs and medical advances.”

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas Children’s Pulmonology as the best program in the country for children with lung diseases. Established in 2001, the pulmonary hypertension program is one of only a handful of pediatric hospitals nationally – and the only one in the southwest – to be named an accredited care center by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. The program has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of infants, children and teens with this rare condition.

The Pulmonary Medicine team specializes in the evaluation and treatment of complex, chronic and rare pulmonary disorders and offers services to treat children dealing with a variety of pulmonary issues. As part of its accreditation, Texas Children’s will also contribute to a national patient registry which will track diagnostic and treatment patterns and patient outcomes to help establish best practices in patient care.

Varghese will succeed Mallory in leading Texas Children’s program. During his tenure, Mallory helped the program earn national accreditation. He also served on the editorial Board of Pediatric Pulmonology for over 25 years. Mallory will continue to dedicate his time and expertise to the programs and the Pulmonology Section at Texas Children’s.

Click here to learn more about the Pulmonary Hypertension Program 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.

December 6, 2016

12716transplantinside350Seventeen-year-old Shelby Standridge came down with common colds early in her childhood, but nothing out of the ordinary. A severe nose bleed at age 9, however, landed her in the hospital and prompted questions from her parents about the cause of her unexpected illness.

Doctors in her hometown in Alabama thankfully ruled out leukemia, but did a test for cystic fibrosis, which came back positive. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys and intestine.

At the time doctors tested Shelby for the disease, they determined her liver was already fully involved, almost to the point of end-stage liver failure. She wasn’t yet a candidate for transplant, however, so she continued battling the disease over the next five years. Throughout the past couple of years, though, Shelby’s parents and older sister noticed her lung function was declining.

“Her life had become narrow,” Shelby’s mom, Teresa Standridge, recalled.

As a result, Shelby and her family were referred to Texas Children’s, home to one of the largest pediatric transplantation programs in the nation. The team performed 86 solid organ transplants in 2015, making the program the most active pediatric transplant program in the U.S. last year.

Shelby, her mom, and older sister, Olivia, moved to Houston in October so she could be listed for a double lung and a liver transplant. A grueling wait that was expected to last six to eight months, was a mere week as Shelby underwent a 14-hour lung-liver transplant on November 8.

A multidisciplinary team of surgeons performed the procedure which is deemed so uncommon that Texas Children’s has done, including Shelby, only six of these cases since the inception of the transplant program.

“Shelby’s case is quite unusual,” said the teenager’s pulmonologist Dr. Ernestina Melicoff-Portillo. “There are only a small number of cystic fibrosis patients who have both lungs and the liver affected.”

Now, two weeks post-transplant, Shelby is feeling “ten times better” than she did and “can enjoy more in everyday life.” Her dad, Brian Standridge, noted that he hasn’t seen her grin so wide in years.

Dr. John Goss, medical director of Transplant Services, said the expertise of and the collaboration with the clinical staff and the two different surgical teams are what made Shelby’s outcome a success.

“This type of procedure only could happen at a place like Texas Children’s where our transplant program continues to earn its reputation as one of the best pediatric transplant programs in the country,” he said.

Click here to watch KHOU 11 News’ story about Shelby’s dual-organ transplant.