The Bulletin: June 2007

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

New Medically Complex Child Service

Children’s has created a new service to coordinate inpatient care for children with multiple needs, including medical, educational, developmental and psychosocial. The Medically Complex Child (MCC) service will provide active management of care for children who receive services from different disciplines and whose care is not being coordinated by a subspecialty service.

The team includes an MCC attending physician, a resident, a midlevel practitioner, a care coordinator and representatives of other support services, such as social work and palliative care, as appropriate.

The primary care providers of children receiving care from the MCC team are invited to participate in care planning and will receive regular communication from the team. They may also participate in person or by phone in multidisciplinary care conferences and in the discharge conference.

Children’s has already contacted families of current patients who are frequently admitted to the General Medicine service and could benefit from the MCC service. The MCC team will also identify other potential patients by rounding in the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units. The service can serve up to 12 inpatients at a time. Contact Dr. Ronald Dick, medical director of the MCC team at ronald.dick@seattlechildrens.org if you feel that one of your patients should be considered.

Property Purchase Completes Research Expansion Goal

Children’s has announced the purchase of a downtown city block next to its two existing research buildings to allow for further expansion of the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute. An additional research facility will be built on this property after improvements are made to the other two buildings, which were purchased last October.

“The purchase will allow us to accomplish our goal of ultimately assembling a million square feet of research space in a single campus-like environment,” said Dr. Thomas Hansen, Children’s CEO. “In this facility, we will develop new cures and technology that will ensure that our outcomes and the quality of our care are among the best in the nation.”

“At the same time,” Hansen added, “we are undertaking a number of other initiatives within our strategic plan to ensure that patients, families and physicians experience outstanding access and service. Each new discovery, every passionate researcher, all of our physicians, nurses and dedicated staff from all disciplines are focused on serving the children who come through our doors.”

When completed, the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute will fill nearly two blocks in the heart of Seattle’s growing research community near its partners, the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. For more information, see the press release.

Handouts for Families Referred to Children's

Children’s offers pads of handouts with information on making appointments and frequently used scheduling phone numbers that you can give to families when referring them to Children’s ambulatory clinics. The information is in English and Spanish. To order these pads, use the materials request form, which you can access on the front page of the Medical Staff Web site, or send an e-mail to physician.relations@seattlechildrens.org.

Pediatric Bioethics Conference

The third annual bioethics conference, “Navigating Conflicts When Parents and Providers Disagree About Medical Care,” will take place on Friday and Saturday, July 13 and 14, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle. To register, visit the Pediatric Bioethics Web site.

A Compliment for a Cardiologist

Dr. Troy Johnston received a much deserved compliment through Docfeedback for his work with a patient seen in the cardiology clinic prior to admission. The provider said Johnston did “an outstanding job of communicating and coordinating with the primary care provider.” If you have feedback about an experience at Children’s or a Children’s provider, send an e-mail to the docfeedback@seattlechildrens.org.

Fellows Honored at Research Day

Congratulations to the following fellows, who received awards for their posters or oral presentations at Fellows’ Research Day on April 25:

Kym Ahrens, MD, General Pediatrics
Marissa Braff, PhD, Infectious Disease
Marta Bull, PhD, Infectious Disease
H. Mollie Greves, MD, General Pediatrics
Marcella Mascher-Denen, MD, Neonatology
Heather Mefford, MD, PhD, Medical Genetics
Almut Meyer-Bahlburg, MD, Immunology
Miguel Moreno-Garcia, PhD, Immunology
Monica Thakar, MD, Hematology-Oncology
Thor Wagner, MD, Infectious Disease

New Medical Staff

Children’s welcomes these new medical staff members:

Cynthia T. Kertesz Fierstein, MD, Roosevelt Pediatrics
Richard S. Munsen, Jr, MD, Ophthalmology, UW
Phat P. Pham, MD, Cardiology, Swedish Pediatric Specialty Care
Sandeep S. Vaidya, MB BS, Interventional Radiology, UW
Ofer Yanay, MD, Critical Care, Children’s

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.