The Bulletin: August 2007

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

Dermatology Access Update

Children’s currently has a shortage of dermatology specialists and is only able to accept referrals of patients with vascular anomalies, congenital genodermatoses, birthmarks and congenital nevi, and any skin lesion that requires a biopsy. Children’s is actively recruiting pediatric dermatologists.

Children's to Help Develop Craniofacial Center in Ghana

Children’s Craniofacial Center and the international charity The Smile Train are organizing an outreach program that will foster the formation of a craniofacial center of excellence in Ghana.

The center will be run by African specialists and serve as a self-sustaining resource for medical teams across sub-Saharan Africa.

“The outreach program and the craniofacial center in Ghana will bring together local, national and international efforts to ensure a meaningful impact on the health outcomes for African children with cleft palate and other craniofacial differences,” says Dr. Michael Cunningham, medical director of Children’s Craniofacial Center.

Children’s craniofacial specialists will work with African doctors to develop a culturally sensitive model for delivering cleft and craniofacial care. The program will focus on provider exchanges that will strengthen local capacity to provide care and ensure quality follow-up care.

“Members of our interdisciplinary team will visit doctors in Ghana to understand the challenges they face and then invite them to Children’s to observe our techniques,” says Dr. Richard Hopper, surgical director of Children’s Craniofacial Center. “Through this reciprocal understanding, we can work together to create novel approaches to craniofacial care that will help African children now and well into the future.”

This initiative is part of the newly established international health program at Children’s that will initially focus on developing craniofacial, urology and orthopedics programs.

Survey on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Children’s faculty members will be receiving an invitation to participate in a 24-question survey, “Attitudes of Health Care Providers towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) at a Pediatric Tertiary Care Hospital in Washington State,” sponsored by Dr. Anjana Kundu from the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.

The purpose of the survey is to understand:

Provider awareness of CAM therapies currently available at Children’s
CAM therapies that providers are likely to recommend or not recommend
Motivating factors or concerns behind these recommendations
How providers manage the care of patients that are using CAM therapies

This information is expected to help improve patient care and guide educational efforts about CAM therapies at Children’s. You will receive the survey via e-mail, and Dr. Kundu would appreciate your participation.

Avellino to Lead Neurosurgery

Dr. Tony Avellino was named division chief of Neurosurgery, replacing Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, who served in that role for nine years and continues as chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Dr. Tony Avellino

Avellino completed his residency in neurological surgery at the UW School of Medicine and a pediatric neurosurgical fellowship at Children’s.

He was an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Hospital for two years before joining Children’s medical staff in 2003. He has been an elected medical staff advisor on the Medical Executive Committee since 2006.

Avellino also serves as an associate professor of neurological surgery at the UW School of Medicine and is the residency program director of the Department of Neurological Surgery. He has been listed as a top doctor and surgeon in local and national publications.

“We are exceptionally fortunate to recruit Dr. Avellino to this position,” says Ellenbogen. “He brings a unique skill set that includes both surgical and nonsurgical skills, management and educational experience. He has developed advanced expertise in congenital complex spine disorders, hydrocephalus, endoscopic neurosurgery, residency training issues and best business practices in medicine.”

Flynn Named Medical Director of Dialysis

Dr. Joseph Flynn was named medical director of dialysis and clinical director of outpatient nephrology services.

Dr. Joseph Flynn

Flynn joined Children’s medical staff and became a professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine in July.

Previously, he was at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, New York for seven years, where he served as clinical director of Pediatric Nephrology and director of the Pediatric Hypertension Program. He was also a professor of clinical pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Flynn has joined our nephrology team” says Dr. Allison Eddy, division chief of Nephrology at Children’s. “He brings expertise in many areas of clinical nephrology - pediatric hypertension in particular.”

Dr. Jordan Symons, Children’s former medical director of dialysis, will continue to be closely involved with the dialysis program, especially with providing acute renal replacement therapies. Dr. Ruth McDonald will serve as the clinical director of nephrology inpatient and outreach services in addition to her role as medical director of solid organ transplantation.

Children's to Run Special Downtown Shuttle During I-5 Construction

During the I-5 construction from August 10 to 29 between Spokane Street (West Seattle Bridge) and the I-90 interchange, Children’s recommends exploring alternative commute options. Children’s will operate a special shuttle from downtown to the main hospital campus, picking up alternative commuters who use southern Metro bus routes, the Sounder train and the West Seattle water taxi. The shuttle will make one stop on Alaskan Way and one stop near 5th and Jackson. Shuttle schedules and more information about commute options are available on the Transportation site on CHILD. (You must be logged in to the Children’s network to use this link.)

Children's Leaders Study Toyota Improvement Methods in Japan

In July, Children’s sent 22 hospital leaders to visit the Toyota Motor Corporation and four other companies in Japan that use Toyota’s approach to improving quality and service, commonly called “lean” methodology.

Children’s is one of the first pediatric hospitals in the country to apply Toyota methods to improve the quality of care for patients, and has been using the approach for more than three years.

On this trip, Children’s executives and physician and nurse leaders representing the laboratory, inpatient general medicine, and clinic referrals and scheduling observed the improvement efforts of the Japanese companies and refined their plans for improving their respective areas at Children’s.

“We saw how the different factories work to eliminate what Toyota calls ‘waste’ — all the extra steps and errors that get in the way of giving customers the very best product and service,” says Sarah Thomas, Children’s director of Reception and Scheduling Services. “We’re applying this concept to prevent errors in our referral processes. Early next year, we’ll be implementing Web referrals that will make the process simpler and more efficient.”

Helping Prepare for Surgery

Congratulations to the Anesthesia team for their outstanding efforts to help children prepare for surgery and overcome their fears. The parents of a patient recently submitted positive feedback about their experience with Dr. Corrie Anderson, director of Children’s Pain Service, and Loris Valeros, ARNP.

“Children’s did an outstanding job in meeting our son’s presurgery needs,” they said. “Dr. Anderson and Loris worked together to address our son’s intense fears around surgery and ‘going to sleep.’ They were great and their efforts are greatly appreciated.”

AAP Changes Disaster Preparedness Policy

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its disaster preparedness policy earlier this year. The new policy includes recommendations for involvement in community disaster planning and for preparation for liability issues during the acute and recovery phases of a disaster. You can see the new policy on the Medical Staff Web site. For more information on disaster preparedness, come to the Grand Rounds lecture on Sept. 27 titled “Disaster Preparedness: Pediatricians’ Roles in Hospital, Office and the Community.”

Children's Opens Safety Center

The new Safety Center at Children’s gift shop in the Whale zone offers low-cost safety products and information about child safety and injury prevention.

It is open to patients and their families and the community. Visitors will find many useful safety items, including outlet covers, safety gates, and locks for cabinets, doors and toilets. There will be special sales throughout the year of seasonal safety items, such as bike helmets and life jackets.

Proceeds are used to purchase more safety items for the center, which is open Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

New Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals

Children’s welcomes these new medical staff members:

Susan Hale, ARNP, Metabolic/Biochemical Genetics, Children’s
Maia Kelley, ARNP, Hematology/Oncology, Children’s
Delia Nickolaus, ARNP, Neurology, Children’s
Edith Cheng, MD, Prenatal Diagnostic and Treatment Center, UW
Michael Gravett, MD, Prenatal Diagnostic and Treatment Center, UW
Marc Matsui, PA-C, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Susan Paeth, ARNP, MSN, Virginia Mason Sand Point Pediatrics
Susan Silva, PA-C, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Grand Rounds Broadcast Live on Web

If you aren’t able to attend the weekly Grand Rounds in Wright Auditorium, you can now watch a live Webcast every Thursday from 8 to 9 a.m. You can use a link marked “Streaming Grand Rounds” in the “Tools and Resources” section of the front page of the Medical Staff Web site Archived Webcasts are available on the Grand Rounds site.

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.