| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Children's National News - Fall 2011
Kurt Newman, MD, Children’s National’s New President and Chief Executive Officer
The Board of Directors at Children’s National Medical Center selected Kurt Newman, MD, as the new President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Newman began his role on September 1. Dr. Newman has been at Children’s National for more than 25 years where he started as a fellow under the guidance of Judson Randolph, MD, a pioneer in pediatric surgery. He has served as the Senior Vice President of the Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Center for Surgical Care since 2004. Dr. Newman was central in the creation of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, and led a period of tremendous growth and innovation, in both facilities and strategic partnerships.
“Children’s National is a great place, and I want to make it even better. To succeed and lead, we will think bigger and think differently, develop big ideas, and apply innovation in everything we do – and always put children at the core of everything we do. We will connect with people and organizations in new and creative ways. We will emphasize research and integrate it into our care as quickly and effectively as possible. And we will constantly ask how we can improve our care and service for every child and family who enters our doors.”
Learn more about Dr. Newman’s vision for Children’s National
Back to Top
Children’s National opens new state of the art research facility
Researchers, biomedical engineers, and clinicians from the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation have moved into a new state-of-the-art collaborative research space at Children’s National Medical Center.
The new 22,000-square-foot institute is located on the top floor of Children’s National, at the Sheikh Zayed Campus for Advanced Children’s Medicine. The new space, which has been dubbed an “Institute without Walls,” has an open concept floor plan that breaks down traditional research silos by creating modular areas that can adapt to changing priorities and allow research teams to easily connect with their neighbors. Key features include easy pass-throughs from traditional wet labs to bioengineering spaces, research offices, and meeting rooms, walls of glass instead of plaster, and curved whiteboard Innovation Walls at key gathering places to foster the sharing of ideas.
   |
  
Click on a thumbnail above to view a larger version of the image. |
The translational research space houses basic science laboratories, bioengineering facilities, technology equipped conference rooms, and office space for business development and education experts, all in close proximity to the clinical facilities of Children’s National. The new research area incorporates the ideas and needs of the Institute’s faculty and is designed based on a synthesis of national and international best practices in team science and advanced technology laboratory models. Sustainable and energy efficient design principles were applied throughout the space, which has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council currently pending.
The Sheikh Zayed Institute, which aims to make surgery more precise, less invasive, and pain free for children, was made possible by a $150 million gift from the Government of Abu Dhabi on behalf of the people of Abu Dhabi.
Learn more about the Sheikh Zayed Institute
Get the latest news and research in pediatric surgical innovation from the blog of the Sheikh Zayed Institute: www.SurgeryInnovation.org.
Back to Top
Children’s National Medical Center Opens Seven New Operating Rooms
Children’s National Medical Center’s seven new operating rooms (OR) are equipped with cutting edge technology to perform complex surgical procedures. The ORs will also create additional training and education opportunities for faculty and staff.
The ORs range in size depending on usage, with the largest OR topping 1,000 square feet. The new ORs are part of a complete renovation of the OR suites. The final phase, expected to be complete next year, will bring the total number of operating rooms to 17, plus two procedure rooms for GI.
The ORs have several unique features to facilitate the innovative surgical procedures. One OR is designed to accommodate robotic surgery for urological and other types of surgeries. A hybrid operating room allows radiologists and surgeons to act as a team and perform minimally invasive surgical procedures. Another room will utilize intra-operative MRI imaging that shows real-time images of targeted tissue areas during a procedure.
The audio-visual integration of the new ORs will expand visual-streaming and teaching to the Nulsen Family Media Room on the main campus and to other sites across the world, so that families will know exactly what it is happening. This technology supports the teaching and training efforts of future generations of medical care providers around the world.
Back to Top
Pulse Oximetry Testing in Newborns Endorsed by Secretary Sebelius
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has adopted the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children’s recommendation to add screening for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) to the Uniform Screening Panel. The endorsement recognizes the ongoing effort by pediatric cardiologists, nurses, and child health advocates, including Gerard Martin, MD, senior vice president of the Center for Heart, Lung and Kidney Disease and co-director of the Children’s National Heart Institute at Children’s National Medical Center.
In 2009, physicians and staff at Children’s National and Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring initiated a research study examining implementation of pulse oximetry screening for CCHD in a community nursery. Findings from this work led to the development of an educational toolkit, which Dr. Martin and his team are using to help other hospitals locally, nationally, and internationally implement screening in their nurseries.
In addition, staff from Children’s National also collaborated with the Maryland General Assembly to enact legislation that will help implement congenital heart disease screening for all newborns in the state. Approximately 3 of every 1,000 babies are born with critical congenital heart disease.
Dr. Martin spearheaded the implementation research, which was funded by the Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Family Foundation. He and nursing coordinator, Elizabeth Bradshaw, MSN, RN, CPN, also sat on a federal advisory panel that developed implementation recommendations in January of this year. A white paper outlining outcomes from this meeting was endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association, and is now available online. The endorsed white paper will appear in the November 2011 issue of Pediatrics.
“We are extremely excited to receive word of Secretary Sebelius’s support of pulse ox testing,” said Dr. Martin. “We have learned that this screening can be easily implemented into nurseries and will improve the detection of critical congenital heart disease. This painless and inexpensive test serves as an additional tool for health care providers to detect low oxygen levels that may not be detected by the human eye. The announcement from Secretary Sebelius will save lives.”
To request a Pulse Oximetry tool kit or become a member of the program please email Elizabeth Bradshaw at EBradsha@childrensnational.org or PulseOx@childrensnational.org
Back to Top
Children’s National researcher leads study on risk factors in pediatric blood and marrow transplant
David A. Jacobsohn, MD, Chief of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Division at Children’s National Medical Center, is the lead author of the first large-scale retrospective study that clarifies risk factors specific to pediatric patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and have developed chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
Published in Blood, the peer reviewed journal of the American Society of Hematology, this is the largest study specific to pediatric patients to analyze multiple demographic and clinical factors associated with non-relapse mortality (NRM) after diagnosis of chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD), the most frequent complication after HSCT.
“Understanding which variables more likely influence outcomes in pediatric patients will help us counsel families and determine the most effective therapeutic approaches,” said Dr. Jacobsohn. “This large study addresses the significant lack of information specific to pediatric patients being treated with blood and/or marrow transplantation for diseases such as leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. The results will help us define future clinical trials, and we will be more capable of risk-stratifying patients at diagnosis of cGVHD.”
Blood and marrow transplants are commonly used now to treat a variety of cancers not responding to conventional chemotherapy, as well as a number of non-cancer diagnoses, such as sickle cell disease.
This study involved 1,117 patients with a median age of 12 years. The most common diagnosis among these patients was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (49%), followed by acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (27%). Thirteen percent of patients had been transplanted when they were in advanced stages of disease and most patients (97%) had received a myeloablative (complete destruction of marrow function with chemotherapy and/or radiation) pre-treatment regimen. Bone marrow was the most common graft source (71%), followed by peripheral blood (20%), and umbilical cord blood (9%). Dr. Jacobsohn and his team identified that certain risk factors, such as low platelets (among others) at diagnosis of cGVHD led to a significantly worse long-term outcome.
“Parents and even teenagers seek us for transplantation because they have tried all other avenues to treat severe disease,” continued Jacobsohn. “At Children’s National, we have excellent outcomes for pediatric patients with diseases like leukemia and sickle cell disease. This study will help us refine our practices as we continuously search for cures.”
The complete study is available through the journal Blood.
To make a referral to Children’s Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, email Dr. Jacobsohn directly at DAJacobs@ChildrensNational.org.
Back to Top
Children’s National Alumni Reception at AAP
Join Children’s National Alumni at a reception at the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Renaissance Boston Waterfront, Pacific Grand Ballroom
Boston, MA
RSVP by Friday, October 7
For more information, visit www.ChildrensNational.org/AAP
Back to Top
Publications
N-carbamylglutamate enhancement of ureagenesis leads to discovery of a novel deleterious mutation in a newly defined enhancer of the NAGS gene and to effective therapy.
Heibel SK, Ah Mew N, Caldovic L, Daikhin Y, Yudkoff M, Tuchman M.
Hum Mutat. 2011 Oct;32(10):1153-60. doi: 10.1002/humu.21553. Epub 2011 Sep 9.
PMID: 21681857 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Parenting behavior, child functioning, and health behaviors in preadolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Armstrong B, Mackey ER, Streisand R.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2011 Oct;36(9):1052-61. Epub 2011 Aug 9.
PMID: 21828111 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Parental Preferences in the Management of Vesicoureteral Reflux.
Krill AJ, Pohl HG, Belman AB, Skoog SJ, Snodgrass WT, Rushton HG.
J Urol. 2011 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21944107 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Mechanism of Action of Vitamin D in the Asthmatic Lung.
Iqbal SF, Freishtat RJ.
J Investig Med. 2011 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21941209 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
The rising incidence of intentional ingestion of ethanol-containing hand sanitizers.
Gormley NJ, Bronstein AC, Rasimas JJ, Pao M, Wratney AT, Sun J, Austin HA, Suffredini AF.
Crit Care Med. 2011 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21926580 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
Swaddling: Will It Get Babies Onto Their Backs for Sleep?
Oden RP, Powell C, Sims A, Weisman J, Joyner BL, Moon RY.
Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2011 Sep 7. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21903621 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
Low bone mineral density and nutritional vitamin D deficiency in pediatric renal transplant recipients: Assessment of risk factors and response to oral vitamin D therapy.
Sgambat K, Tuchman S, Ryan L, Wood R, Moudgil A.
Pediatr Transplant. 2011 Sep 5. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3046.2011.01571.x. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21895903 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
Amygdala Regulation of Fear and Emotionality in Fragile X Syndrome.
Olmos-Serrano JL, Corbin JG.
Dev Neurosci. 2011 Sep 1. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21893939 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
Epilepsy imaging study guideline criteria: Commentary on diagnostic testing study guidelines and practice parameters.
Gaillard WD, Cross JH, Duncan JS, Stefan H, Theodore WH; Task Force on Practice Parameter Imaging Guidelines for the International League Against Epilepsy, Commission for Diagnostics.
Epilepsia. 2011 Sep;52(9):1750-1756. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03155.x. Epub 2011 Jul 8.
PMID: 21740417 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Related citations
Using observed structured teaching exercises (OSTE) to enhance hospitalist teaching during family centered rounds.
Ottolini M, Wohlberg R, Lewis K, Greenberg L.
J Hosp Med. 2011 Sep;6(7):423-7. doi: 10.1002/jhm.879.
PMID: 21916006 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Fetal chest ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging: recent advances and current clinical applications.
Bulas D, Egloff AM.
Radiol Clin North Am. 2011 Sep;49(5):805-23.
PMID: 21889010 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Bone quality: educational tools for patients, physicians, and educators.
Shams J, Spitzer AB, Kennelly AM, Tosi LL.
Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Aug;469(8):2248-59.
PMID: 21400004 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
West nile virus neuroinvasive disease.
Debiasi RL.
Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2011 Aug;13(4):350-9.
PMID: 21544522 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Energy prediction equations are inadequate for obese Hispanic youth.
Klein CJ, Villavicencio SA, Schweitzer A, Bethepu JS, Hoffman HJ, Mirza NM.
J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Aug;111(8):1204-10.
PMID: 21802568 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Related citations
African-American parents' perceptions of partnership with their child's primary care provider.
Horn IB, Mitchell SJ, Joseph JG, Wissow LS.
J Pediatr. 2011 Aug;159(2):262-7. Epub 2011 Mar 22.
PMID: 21429513 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Management of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria.
Menvielle E, Gomez-Lobo V.
J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2011 Aug;24(4):183-8. Epub 2011 May 20. No abstract available.
PMID: 21600803 [PubMed - in process]
Related citations
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
