October 18, 2016

101816chronsurgeryad250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. We will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

101916medstobedsinside640A case study of the “Meds to Beds” pilot project at Texas Children’s Hospital was featured online in the NEJM Catalyst, a health care management and strategy website from the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Meds to Beds” is a program led by the departments of Surgery and Pharmacy whereby post-surgical medications are delivered to a patient’s bedside by a pediatric pharmacist following ambulatory surgery. The pharmacist then counsels the family on the medication and answers questions the family might have.

“While we knew this program was needed and would enhance surgical outcomes for our patients, we didn’t realize the overall benefits in terms of patient experience and financial bottom line to the hospital,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, associate surgeon-in-chief for clinical affairs and surgical director of patient experience.

Ultimately, “Meds to Beds” resulted in positive patient satisfaction scores. One hundred percent of those surveyed were very satisfied with medication bedside delivery and 99 percent were very satisfied with for pharmacy education. In comparison, outside pharmacies received very satisfied scores in the 20 percent range for these questions.

“We are very proud of the service we are able to provide to our patients and families,” said Jeffrey Wagner, director of pharmacy services at Texas Children’s. “Our ability to improve patient care and experience is exciting, particularly as we look to expand our services and medication delivery program to other areas of the hospital.”

To read the case study, click here.

October 11, 2016

101216wesson640Texas Children’s is pleased to announce that Dr. David Wesson joined The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio family October 1 to serve as interim Surgeon-in-Chief. Wesson will continue his duties at Texas Children’s Hospital in addition to the responsibilities of his new interim role at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

Wesson has been at Texas Children’s Hospital for the past 20 years, beginning as the Chief of Pediatric Surgery and most recently as the Associate Surgeon-In-Chief. Wesson also serves as the Texas Children’s Chief of the Department of Surgery and is a tenured professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

Since his arrival at Texas Children’s Hospital, Wesson has built a preeminent division of pediatric surgery through surgical sub-specialization – trauma, acute care, gastroenterology, fetal, and oncology – while also guiding Texas Children’s to American College of Surgeons Level I designations for Trauma and Children’s Surgery.

“I am extremely excited about having the opportunity to be part of the incredible growth and development at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio,” Wesson said. “It is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and to bring some of the special qualities of our Department of Surgery to that historic center of surgery for children.”

Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio joined forces in 2013 to help ensure children of San Antonio and South Texas have access to world-class pediatric care. Since then, Baylor College of Medicine has recruited, employed, and overseen physicians at the hospital while Texas Children’s has provided consulting and clinical expertise.

That expertise helped CHRISTUS Health System, which owns the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, transform its downtown San Antonio campus to create the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, a world-class, freestanding hospital anchored by a broad, integrated network of community-based services and partners. Wesson’s new role at the hospital will deepen the relationship between Texas Children’s and Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and allow the South Texas hospital to continue to grow and prosper.

“His wealth of leadership experience, desire to serve as a mentor and experiences in developing departmental infrastructure will be invaluable during his time with us,” said The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio President Elias Neujahr. “We are deeply appreciative for his leadership, dedication, and his willingness to serve.”

September 27, 2016

92816fallforum640Community members attending the recent Forum Luncheon on September 21 got to meet the top surgical leaders at Texas Children’s Hospital and learn about the incredible ways they are making history in pediatric surgery and about their vision for the future of the hospital’s surgical enterprise.

Following lunch and remarks from President and CEO Mark A. Wallace about the steady and rapid growth of Texas Children’s – including the Department of Surgery – Senior Vice President Mallory Caldwell moderated a panel discussion between: Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., Chief of Otolaryngology Dr. Ellis Arjmand, Chief of Plastic Surgery Dr. Larry Hollier and Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Howard Weiner.

Caldwell focused on questions that highlighted why Texas Children’s Department of Surgery is bigger, better, faster and stronger than any in the nation and how the core mission of the department is to have the depth and breadth of expertise to deliver a surgical solution for every child in need of one.

Topics discussed include: the importance of outcomes measurement and how we have approached this work at Texas Children’s; the fact that Texas Children’s expertise is in treating common illnesses as well as complex, rare conditions; the strength and unique value in the department’s many multi-disciplinary teams; and our ability to recruit the best and brightest as we continue to grow and strengthen our team.

“When I came down here and learned about what is going on at Texas Children’s and the future trajectory of the organization, I knew I had to be here,” said Weiner, who recently joined Texas Children’s from New York University where he led a world-renowned neurosurgery program. “The leadership, the can-do attitude and the drive to grow as a world class institution providing high quality, attentive care to all children is very exciting.”

When Texas Children’s Hospital opened its doors in 1954, it did so with the one and only pediatric surgeon in the city of Houston. Today, Texas Children’s Hospital, now more than 90 surgeons strong, is one of the first two hospitals in the U.S. to be verified as a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons.

Our surgeons have performed more than 350 heart transplants, making the heart transplant program one of the most experienced and active programs in the nation. We launched the first of its kind MRI-guided laser ablation surgery for epilepsy treatment, and we recently separated one of the most complicated cases of conjoined twins.

“Every time we have expanded it has been successful because we’ve done it for the right reasons,” Fraser said. “We are filling a specific need.”

The need for quality pediatric surgical care continues to grow and is a factor that convinced hospital leadership and its board of directors to add 19 floors to Pediatric Tower E near the Pavilion for Women. Much of the added space will house our expanded intensive care units and surgical facilities.

When Pediatric Tower E is complete, it will have 640,000 additional square feet of space, 130 beds for pediatric and cardiovascular intensive care, new operating rooms with the latest technology and a new and expanded Heart Center, including the outpatient clinic, cardiovascular operating rooms and catheterization labs.

Ultimately, Wallace said, the expansion will allow Texas Children’s Hospital to continue to provide the best possible family-centered care and best outcomes for the nation’s sickest children who come to us for help.

September 20, 2016

It’s been more than a year and a half since a team of Texas Children’s surgeons and medical staff separated conjoined twins Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith Mata in an historic, more than 24-hour-long procedure. Since then, the girls – now 2 years old and living at home near Lubbock – have worked hard with various types of therapists, medical experts and on their own to recover from the monumental surgery.

During a recent visit to Texas Children’s Hospital, physicians and medical personnel got an up-close look at just how far the girls have come. When a nurse in pulmonologist Dr. Fadel Ruiz’s office weighed the girls, they walked up to the scale and hopped on. When the nurse bent over to take their blood pressure, they sat on the exam table and reached for her stethoscope like it was a toy. And, while the girls were waiting for Dr. Ruiz to enter the room, they, like most toddlers, ran around, chattered and begged for snacks.

“They are growing and reaching milestones every day,” the twins’ mother Elysse Mata said. “It’s non-stop around our house. We aren’t getting much sleep but that’s OK.”

The girls’ father, Eric Mata, said watching his girls grow and get stronger every day feels good and that he sometimes has to stop and think just how far they have come. “It’s amazing really,” he said. “I never imagined our lives would be like they are today.”

Dr. Darrell Cass, one of the lead surgeons in the separation case and co-director of Texas Children’s Fetal Center, said Knatalye and Adeline are doing “awesome!” He said Adeline is slowly being weaned off of her ventilator and G-tube, devices she only uses occasionally versus all the time after the separation. The toddler’s pelvis is healing well and her lungs are continuing to grow and become stronger, progress Cass said will help her walk, talk and eat even better than she is now.

Knatalye’s breathing is so good Cass said cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Dean McKenzie recently removed a metal plate from her chest and closed her sternum, a procedure they were waiting to do following sufficient lung strength and growth. Like her sister, Knatalye is being weaned from the G-tube and is learning to eat on her own. She is walking well, Cass said, but her pelvis is still a bit separated, something she might have to get more work done on in the future.

“I’ve always said the girls will walk into kindergarten one day together and I definitely think that will still be true,” Cass said.

View a series of photos from the Mata’s visit below.

Before Dr. Howard Weiner accepted his new position as chief of neurosurgery, he knew that Texas Children’s Hospital was the place he wanted to be.

“When I visited Texas Children’s, I was literally blown away by this place,” said Weiner, who also serves as professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. “Speaking with the people here, hearing about the vision, the leadership, the direction, it was very infectious. This was where I needed to be for the next 15, 20 years of my career to do the things that I wanted to accomplish in pediatric neurosurgery for our patients.”

Prior to joining Texas Children’s neurosurgery team, Weiner received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. During his residency, he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at New York University. Following residency, Weiner was awarded the Van Wagenen Fellowship by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons to study brain development in Paris. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at New York University Langone Medical Center, where his career continued for a total of nearly 27 years altogether.

With nearly three decades of experience in the field, Weiner shares his enthusiasm for the future of Texas Children’s neurosurgery program and the opportunity to work alongside a neurosurgery team that he describes as an “incredible team of innovators.”

“If you take every one on the faculty in neurosurgery here at Texas Children’s, everyone is driving their individual sub-specialty area,” Weiner said. “We are using minimally invasive approaches, like laser ablation, to treat epileptic brain lesions and brain tumors. Our teams are developing new techniques in fetal surgery to treat hydrocephalus and we are leading the way in defining neurosurgical clinical outcomes and best practices that are essential to growing a successful craniofacial surgery program to serve our patients and their families at Texas Children’s for many years to come.”

Weiner’s plan is to continue transforming Texas Children’s into the premier pediatric neurosurgical program in the country by providing innovative, high-quality patient care and focusing on multidisciplinary collaboration and teamwork. While overseeing the growth of Texas Children’s neurosurgery program, he is cultivating a rich environment for faculty members to develop their subspecialty interest and propel their clinical and scientific discoveries to the next level.

“We are well on our way as a division of neurosurgery and as an institution to be the destination for high-quality, world-class innovative and especially attentive care for children,” Weiner said. “That is really my vision for neurosurgery. We will be the leaders in training the next generation of leaders in our field.”

Ranked No. 2 nationally in neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report, Texas Children’s neurosurgery program is among the largest and most experienced pediatric neurosurgery units in the U.S., performing more than 950 surgeries annually for a broad range of pediatric neurosurgical disorders.

For more information about Texas Children’s neurosurgery program, click here.

92116westcampusorexpansion640With scissors in hand, leaders at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus proudly cut a red ribbon draped across the entrance to the hospital’s newly expanded perioperative suite.

The September 15 ribbon cutting unveiled four new operating rooms, a new procedure room, three new call rooms as well as a new doctor’s lounge, kitchen and break area. The expansion brings the total number of operating rooms at West Campus to eight and doubles the total number of procedure rooms – places where minor outpatient procedures occur.

The call rooms, doctor’s lounge, and enlarged staff kitchen and break area didn’t exist before the expansion and, according to Chief Surgical Officer at the West Campus Dr. Allen Milewicz, will help set the stage for expanded perioperative capabilities at West Campus.

“This expansion will allow us to do longer, more complex surgeries,” Milewicz said. “It also will help us increase the scope of services we offer.”

Two growth areas of interest are orthopedics and dental, Milewicz added. The demand for such procedures is increasing in the West Houston area because families and area providers are eager to take advantage of the broad range of pediatric expertise that only a dedicated children’s hospital can provide. West Campus wants to be able to continue to accommodate that demand and grow with it.

Trauma is another area of potential growth, Milewicz said. Currently, West Campus does not see a large amount of trauma cases but wants to develop this service in the future. Having a fully equipped perioperative suite will allow the West Campus surgical team to treat such patients in the best manner possible.

“The scope of what community hospitals are being asked to do is growing,” Milewicz said. “We want to accommodate that growth and meet the demands of our patients and their families.”

West Campus Vice President Matt Schaefer agreed and said the expansion of the perioperative suite is not about new rooms or space but about West Campus’ ability to improve lives.

“A little more than five years ago, we stood in this same place with our first surgical patient and cut the ribbon to our perioperative suite,” Schaefer said. “Since then, we have met the surgical needs of more than 20,000 children. The expansion increases our ability to reach more children.”

Schaefer added that the recent expansion of the Perioperative Suite is part of a $50 million capital improvement effort that will help expand West Campus’ capacity and capability. To date the following projects have been completed:

  • Additional office and administrative support space for dedicated physicians and providers
  • An 18-bed expansion of the hospital’s acute care capacity, including an eight-bed special isolation unit designed for children with highly contagious infectious diseases.
  • Conversion of offices within ambulatory clinics into additional exam rooms to increase outpatient subspecialty access
  • A dedicated suite for Interventional Radiology services

The following projects are still in the works:

  • A new 14 exam room clinic for Neurology, Renal & Dermatology
  • Build-out of the final inpatient shell floor to accommodate 22 PICU beds