The Bulletin: February 2007

The Bulletin is a monthly newsletter for Children's and community providers.

Children's Performs First Intestine Transplant in Northwest

Children’s Hospital’s transplant team successfully performed the first small intestine transplant in the Pacific Northwest. The 8-year-old transplant patient was born with intestinal pseudo-obstruction, a condition that impeded his body from processing food properly. Before the operation, he was fed through an intravenous line every night. After having this surgery, he should eventually be able to eat regular food.

Dr. Jorge Reyes, director, Transplant Services, and Dr. Simon Horslen, hepatologist and small bowel transplant medical expert, are the leaders of the intestinal transplant team. Dr. Patrick Healey, division chief, Transplantation, and Reyes worked with eight other team members to perform the eight-hour transplant surgery.

According to the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), only 141 intestinal transplants were performed in adults and children in the United States in 2006. This intestinal transplant at Children’s was the first in the UNOS region that includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho and Montana.

“Intestinal transplantation is an important part of our effort to provide superior care and comprehensive transplant services to the children in our community and the nation,” said Reyes. “It is our expectation that the combined strengths of our clinical programs and research will allow us to continue to expand and innovate in this field.”

Children's Expands Emergency Department

The Children’s Emergency Department (ED) opened seven new rooms in January. These extra rooms and expanded staffing for the winter months will ensure more efficient care. This expansion of ED capacity is part of Children’s ongoing efforts to reduce wait times and improve the experience of patients and families; the hospital’s next major project is a new ED building, which is currently being designed.

Expanded Ophthalmology Services

Dr. Francine Baran joined the Ophthalmology Division in January, allowing Children’s to offer expanded services. Ophthalmology services are now available four days a week on the main campus in Seattle and every Tuesday at Children’s Bellevue. Baran sees patients at both locations and Dr. Avery Weiss, the division chief, continues to see patients on the main campus.

Children’s provides care to patients with a full range of eye and vision problems at both sites, except specialty visual testing, which is performed only in the visual sensory and ocular motor laboratories on the main campus.

Children’s is one of few centers in the country that offers specialty testing for eye movement disorders and vestibular testing for children with balance and gaze-holding difficulties. James Phillips, PhD, provides this testing.

Children’s does not see patients with simple vision problems needing correction alone. Consult and referral guidelines are available on the Medical Staff Web site. To refer a patient, please call (206) 987-2080 or send a fax to (206) 985-3121.

New Pharmacy Opens

On Feb. 5, a new pharmacy will open on the 4th floor of the Ambulatory Care Building. The facility will make filling prescriptions easier for Children’s families because of its longer operating hours — 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends and holidays. It is conveniently located between the outpatient clinics and the Whale parking garage, and it will be known as the Whale Pharmacy. The existing pharmacy will be known as the Rocket Pharmacy and will continue to provide medications for inpatients, and for Emergency Services patients when the Whale Pharmacy is closed.

Walker to Lead Adolescent Medicine

Children’s welcomes Dr. Leslie Walker as the new chief of the Adolescent Medicine Division. Walker joins Children’s from the Department of Pediatrics of the Georgetown University Children’s Medical Center, where she was the director of the Adolescent Medicine Section for 10 years. She was also an associate professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Dr. Leslie Walker

“Dr. Walker is a rising star in the field of adolescent medicine,” says Dr. Bruder Stapleton, senior vice president and chief academic officer at Children’s. “Her interests in community alliances and the transition of adolescent patients into the adult health-care system will complement our current outstanding faculty expertise. Our thanks to Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, who provided excellent interim leadership.”

Dr. Walker has expertise in the development of substance abuse programs. She is also interested in policy development and advocacy for high-risk youth.

Walker comes at a time when Adolescent Medicine is expanding its services and research. Dr. Henry Berman, who came to Children’s in July 2006, is now treating patients for behavior problems, school avoidance and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). His practice complements that of the other division faculty, including Drs. Breuner, Ann Giesel, Laura Richardson and Taraneh Shafii, as well as Joanne Tilton, ARNP. Dr. Rachel Katzenellenbogen, a new faculty member, is doing research on human papillomavirus (HPV).

Patients are seen in the Adolescent Medicine Division for eating disorders, chronic headaches and other pain, reflex neurovascular dystrophy (RND), stress management and gynecologic problems. Services are available at Children’s in Seattle and Children’s Federal Way.

Children's Receives Grant to Improve Interpreter Services

Children’s was selected as one of 10 hospitals in the nation to participate in Speaking Together: National Language Services Network, a program to improve the quality of the experience of patients who speak limited English. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding this 16-month collaborative project.

Researchers from Children’s and the other nine institutions will measure factors such as the length of time they spend waiting for an interpreter. They will determine how to manage language services programs to ensure effective and timely communication with patients. The Speaking Together initiative will then share best practices with health professionals around the country.

“We are focusing on interpreted care in our Cardiology and Emergency Departments because they are the point of care for many families with limited English proficiency,” says Dr. Beth Ebel, principal investigator at Children’s. “The results from this collaboration will help improve Children’s services to better meet the needs of our patients and reduce health disparities.”

Reminder for Families Visiting Children's

It’s the season for influenza and respiratory illness, and Children’s wants to protect hospitalized patients and others with fragile immune systems. When you refer a patient to Children’s, please remind families that friends and family members should not visit the hospital when they are sick. Visitors with colds, fevers, coughs, diarrhea, the flu or any infectious diseases put patients and caregivers at risk of infection.

Clinical Guidelines for Acute Gastroenteritis

Clinical guidelines and pathways for hospital management of acute gastroenteritis are now available in the Clinical Resources section of both the secure area of the Medical Staff Web site and Children’s intranet, CHILD.

Clinical guidelines are intended to be a starting point in planning the care of any patient with a specific diagnosis. Providers tailor the guidelines to meet the specific needs of each patient.

You can also find clinical guidelines for bronchiolitis, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, Kawasaki disease, urinary tract infection and suspected occult infection in young infants on the Medical Staff Web site and CHILD.

Docfeedback E-mail Address

If you have a comment, question or concern about your experience working with Children’s to provide care to your patients and families, you can send an e-mail to the Children’s medical staff and hospital leadership at Docfeedback@seattlechildrens.org.

E-mails sent to Docfeedback go directly to Margot Kravette, physician relations manager, Pat Hagan, president and chief operating officer, and Dr. Mike Dudas, president of Children’s medical staff. You can expect a quick response to your e-mail.

Your comments help Children’s improve service to you and your patients and families. Children’s has made many positive changes as a result of Docfeedback, including the “Physician Operator,” the designated phone line for physicians.

QuickLinks E-mail Toolkit for Health-Care Professionals

Physicians and other health-care providers can subscribe to Children’s QuickLinks e-mail toolkit, which features patient education, health promotion and continuing education opportunities. Subscribers receive QuickLinks six times each year. Recent issues have featured articles on gastroenterology, emergency preparedness and diabetes. The next issue will focus on orthopedics. You can view the Fall 2006 toolkit or subscribe online.

New Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals

Children’s welcomes these new medical staff members and allied health professionals:

S. Paul Herndon, MD, Cardiology, Children’s outreach clinics in central Washington
YeaJean Kim, MD, Infectious Disease, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Catherine Kuniyoshi, MD, Child Psychiatry, Children’s
Yuk Law, MD, Cardiology, Children’s
Stephen Pearson, MD, Central Washington Family Medicine
Jennifer Pelton, PhD, Child Psychiatry, Children’s
Andrew Pittaway, BM, Anesthesia, Children’s
Ronald Spiegel, MD, Snoqualmie Ridge Family Medicine
Warren Toews, MD, Cardiology, Children’s outreach clinics in central Washington
Jennifer Mussman, ARNP, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
Natalie Riotto, PA-C, Hematology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Pathways Lecture Series for Parents

Children’s and ParentMap are sponsoring the Pathways lecture series for parents again this year.

Feb. 28 - The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John Gottman, PhD

March 6 - Hello, Baby! Does Not Mean Goodbye, Intimacy, Pamela Jordan, PhD, RN

March 13 - How to Behave So Your Children Will Too, Sal Severe, PhD

Save the Date: "Dwarfs in Perspective" Seminar

The Little People of America (LPA) National Conference will hold a seminar called “Dwarfs in Perspective” on Sunday, July 1.

This seminar will feature LPA Medical Board members, other medical experts and members of LPA. It will focus on health and well-being, integrating the perspectives of geneticists, primary care physicians, medical and surgical specialists and those who have a dwarfing condition.

This three-hour seminar is open to all LPA conference attendees, and local providers may also register. For more information, see the conference Web site or contact Dr. Michael Goldberg at (206) 987-3755.

Upcoming CME Courses

View information on upcoming seminars: Practical Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine for Primary Care Providers.

CME: Practical Pediatrics
Feb. 3, 2007

This course is designed to enhance your clinical practice by providing practical diagnostic and management updates on common health problems encountered in the primary care of children and families.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine for Primary Care Providers
March 3, 2007

Participants will engage in hands-on workshops that will allow them to apply practical diagnostic and treatment/management tools for pediatric emergencies related to the genitourinary tract, syncope, infectious diseases, abdominal pain and trauma, among others.

Grand Rounds

View the schedule of upcoming Grand Rounds.

Grand Rounds Online

View online versions of recent Grand Rounds.

On-Call Schedule

The on-call schedule for inpatient services can be found in the secure area of the Medical Staff Web site. It is updated on a daily basis.