The Bulletin: February 2006

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

New Medical Staff

Tina Albertson, MD, Hematology-Oncology, UW
Michael Bamshad, MD, Genetics/Developmental Medicine
Nuhad Dinno, MD, CHDD, UW
Hossein Elgafy, MD, Orthopedics, UW
Michele Frame, ARNP, Neonatology, Providence-Everett
Denise Hanson, ARNP, Neonatology
Theresa Harris, ARNP, Rheumatology
Jenn-Yih “Simon” Lin, DDS, Dental Medicine, UW
Robert Newman, MD, Endocrinology, Children’s Olympia
Suzinne Pak-Gorstein, MD, Children’s Clinic South Snohomish County
Anh “Tuan” Phan, PA-C, Radiology
Teresa Piacentini, PhD, Child Psychiatry
Laura Schulz, MD, Hematology-Oncology, Providence-Alaska
Ednea Simon, MD, Neurology
Joan Warner, ARNP, Endocrinology

Congratulations to our "Top Dentists"

Congratulations to the following members of Children’s medical staff for being listed as one of Seattle Magazine’s “Top Dentists” in the January 2006 issue. They have been selected by their peers for their expertise and dedication to quality health care.

Children’s

Chris Delecki, DDS
Barbara Sheller, DDS

Community

Dave Atherton, DDS
Franco Audia, DDS
Patrick Fleege, DDS
John Liu, DDS
Sally Sue Lombardi, DDS
Larry Mast, DDS
Steven Smutka, DDS
Christine Tweedy, DDS
Roger A. West, DMD

New Forms on Medical Staff Web Site

The Radiology Exam Request Form and the HIV Consent and Counseling Checklist are now both located on the se-cure area of the Medical Staff Web site. The radiology form is also available in the Accessing Our Services section of the main Medical Staff site.

We Want to Hear From You

What do you do when you have a concern, question, request, suggestion or compliment about Children’s?

Docfeed-back@seattlechildrens.org is a way to facilitate communication between you and the hospital and medical staff leader-ship.

Your comments are important to us; they help us make improvements in our systems and provide better service to you. Let us know how we’re doing.

New Hepatology Clinic

Children’s is proud to announce its new Hepatology Clinic. The clinic is directed by hepatologist and gastroenterologist Dr. Karen Murray, and is also staffed by Dr. Simon Horslen, who brings special expertise in liver transplantation and infantile metabolic liver disease.

The Hepatology Clinic provides diagnosis and treatment of both acute and chronic liver disease, and also offers education and support to patients and families.

The clinic collaborates closely with Children’s liver transplantation program and also facilitates the care of patients with end stage liver disease.

The Hepatology Clinic meets weekly in Seattle and at Children’s Bellevue and Everett. Please refer patients to the clinic through regular process, by phone at (206) 987-2080 or fax at (206) 985-3121.

Questions about the Hepatology Clinic may be directed to Dr. Karen Murray or (206) 987-2587.

New No-Show and Late Policies

As of March, Children’s will begin enforcing new policies regarding missed appointments and late arrivals.

If a patient is more than 20 minutes late to an appointment, clinic staff may ask families to reschedule the appointment in order to honor commitments to other patients.

After three clinic no-shows, patients will be returned to the care of their PCP. This will be enforced at the discretion of the Children’s specialist who will communicate with the PCP prior to notifying the patient’s family.

Repeat last-minute cancellations (notice of less than 24 hours) may qualify as no shows.

Internal Referrals

As a result of a process improvement workshop in January, Children’s has standardized the way Children’s physicians refer patients to other Children’s physicians.

The process includes notification of the child’s PCP at the time the referral is processed.

The PCP will receive a faxed copy of the “Internal Consult Request,” which includes the reason for the referral, the referring specialist, the clinic to which the patient is being referred and the time frame.

If an insurance referral or additional clinical information is required, this will be communicated directly to the PCP. Questions or concerns about a referral can be directed to the referring specialist directly through the physician operator at (206) 987-7777.

Lake City Psychiatry Moves to Laurelhurst Campus

In mid-March, Lake City Psychiatry will move its services from its Lake City site and join with main campus psychiatry colleagues to form one integrated outpatient clinic in the new Ambulatory Care Building. We will contact patients directly about new contact and location information.

Ambulatory Care Building Opens in March

Outpatient Clinics Move into New Building

In March, Children’s will open a brand-new Ambulatory Care Building (ACB), consolidating nearly all of our specialty outpatient services into one state-of-the-art building.

Located at the top of the hill on the hospital’s Laurelhurst campus, the ACB will provide 168,000 square feet of new space, with an additional 75,000 adjacent square feet to be renovated over the next few months. Clinics will be moving into the new building March 8-24.

“With over 130 exam and treatment rooms on three floors, and close proximity to our diagnostic services, the ACB will allow us not only to meet the growing needs of our region, but also to improve access and service to patients and their families,” says Cindy Evans, administrator for Ambulatory and Regional Services.

There will be an opportunity to view the new ACB at the community celebration May 6, 2006. More information about events and process changes related to the ACB will be mailed to you in the upcoming months.

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.