The Bulletin: August 2008

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

Jeffries Named Medical Director, Continuous Performance Improvement

Children’s has adopted Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) as the standard approach for ensuring that providers have the resources they need and the most direct ways to provide excellent and efficient clinical care. To increase physician involvement with these improvement methods, Dr. Howard Jeffries has been named medical director of CPI.

Dr. Howard Jeffries

Jeffries is a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) and has been on the faculty at Children’s, practicing in the cardiac intensive care unit, since 2004. He has also served as the director of quality improvement for the pediatric and cardiac intensive care units. He will continue as an attending in the cardiac intensive care unit and serve as a clinical expert on the CPI team for projects that relate to physician practice.

“I am excited to take on this new role. I look forward to partnering with physicians and all Children’s staff to help improve the care we provide for our patients,” says Jeffries.

“An enormous number of physicians have participated in CPI activities,” says Dr. David Fisher, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Children’s. “Their involvement is directly responsible for many of the improvements in their clinical programs. Howard will bring great leadership experience and support for our physicians in these efforts,” he says.

Currently, Children’s physicians are involved in a number of CPI efforts, including improving inpatient flow to provide more clinical capacity, appointment scheduling, clinical hand-offs and the design of the new Children’s Bellevue facility.

Child Mental Health Consultations Available by Phone

Children’s Hospital Psychiatry Department offers a child mental health consultation program called the Partnership Access Line (PAL) for the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

PAL provides:

Quick telephone access to child psychiatrists
Rapid patient consultation appointments with psychiatric specialists
Behavioral health education opportunities, free practical care guides and patient handouts
Assistance finding psychiatric resources

Providers are not required to enroll in any program; simply call (866) 599-7257, toll-free, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, to speak with a PAL psychiatrist about any type of child mental health question. Providers can be reimbursed for their phone time with PAL involving a DSHS client.

PAL is currently available in the following southwest Washington counties:
Clark, Clallam, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum.

As of August 2008, the program will expand to cover Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Spokane and Whitman counties in northeast Washington.

Find more information on the PAL Web site.

Jackson Appointed New Chief of Center for Diversity and Health Equity

Dr. Douglass L. Jackson joined Children’s as chief of the Center for Diversity and Health Equity.

Dr. Douglass Jackson

Prior to joining Children’s, Jackson was the associate dean of the Office of Educational Partnerships and Diversity at the University of Washington (UW) School of Dentistry. Jackson is also director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded grant “Pipeline Profession and Practice,” and is co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded grant “Summer Medical/Dental Education Program” in partnership with the UW School of Medicine.

An established researcher in pain and anesthesia, Dr. Jackson’s skills and background will strengthen Children’s efforts to measure and improve care. He is one of only 33 individuals in the United States to be selected for the Disparities Leadership Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. This program, designed for health-care leaders who are seeking to develop practical strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities, is the first of its kind in the nation.

“Doug is a pleasure to work with and will be a collaborative partner for staff and providers across Children’s and in the community,” says Pat Hagan, Children’s chief operating officer.

Formerly the Center for Diversity, the Center for Diversity and Health Equity changed its name to reflect a data-driven approach to understanding where disparities in care exist and how to ensure equitable care for all patients.

2008 Physician Directories Mailed

The print version of the 2008 Physicians Directory was mailed to providers and practices throughout the WAMI region on July 18. If your office has not received one, or if you need additional copies, please contact Emily Rice at emily.rice@seattlechildrens.org. You can also use the Health Provider Materials Request form on the front page of the Medical Staff Web site.

Joint Commission Surveyors Impressed with Children's

During the week of July 14, Children’s hosted a team of five surveyors from the Joint Commission. In addition to thoroughly touring the hospital, surveyors visited Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, Children’s Bellevue, Children’s Everett, Children’s Federal Way, the Dental Clinic at the Hartmann Building and Home Care Services in Bothell.

“Our staff welcomed the opportunity to share their expertise with the surveyors and handled any issues promptly and skillfully,” says Cara Bailey, vice president for Continuous Performance Improvement and leader of Children’s survey readiness efforts. “Once again, the surveyors were impressed with the obvious commitment of our staff to providing safe, high-quality care.”

Physician surveyor Dr. James Cernalia and nurse surveyor Sharon Benedict shared their results with staff on July 18 and emphasized that they had identified only isolated issues at Children’s, but nothing to indicate that any of the hospital’s processes are faulty. “What we found were scattered incidences, but no broken systems,” said Cernalia.

A full report of findings from the site visit and a reaccreditation certificate are expected in September.

CIS Login Made Easier

Beginning at 5 a.m. on Aug. 12, you will be able to access the Clinical Information System (CIS) with the same login and password you use to access the Children’s network.

Your CIS password will update automatically every 90 days when you update your network/system password. This is another step toward a “single sign-on” system that will require only one login to access all Children’s applications.

Jansen Receives Young Investigator Award

The Awards Committee of the Child Neurology Society (CNS) selected Dr. Laura Jansen of Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute as the 2008 winner of the Philip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award.

Dr. Laura Jansen

“It is a marvelous achievement for Laura to receive this recognition,” says Dr. Sidney Gospe, interim director of the Center for Neurosciences at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and head of the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Children’s and the University of Washington. “We are all excited about her work and look forward to the continued maturation of her research program.”

Jansen will deliver a presentation at the CNS meeting held Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif.

CME Program Called "Exemplary"

Children’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) program received an “exemplary” six-year reaccreditation from Washington State Medical Association CME Accreditation Committee site surveyors. This is the highest commendation possible. The Children’s program accredits many of the pediatric CME programs throughout Washington state.

Massagli and Team Recognized by Parent

Dr. Teresa Massagli, interim Rehabilitation Department Director, was commended by a family for her outstanding compassion and expert care. “We had total and complete trust with our attending, Dr. Massagli,” writes the parent. “She was incredibly efficient and compassionate. We could never thank the entire rehab team enough for giving our son back his quality of life.”

Okamura and Staff Complimented

Dr. Daryl Okamura of Children’s Nephrology Division was recently thanked for his outstanding commitment to family-centered care by the parent of a patient who said, “We absolutely love Dr. Okamura and his clinic staff. They are the best and we couldn’t feel more comfortable anywhere else. He and his staff should be commended for the excellent level of care and education they willingly provide to our son.”

Joyner Recognized by Parent

Dr. Byron Joyner of Children’s Urology Department received praise from a family who writes, “Dr. Byron Joyner is an outstanding physician. We’ve seen him for years with multiple children. We have complete confidence in his care and consider him to be a trusted friend.”

Duncan Seminar Available Online

Selections from this year’s Duncan Seminar on the management of cerebral palsy are now available in the video library on the Medical Staff Web site. Because of the tremendous response from the community, registration ended early and many were unable to attend.

Online presentations include the keynote speaker Diane L. Damiano, PhD, PT, two of the most popular lectures on physical activity measurement and transitioning from pediatric to adult care, and a family panel on ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs).

"Raising the Resilient Child"

Several faculty members from Children’s will address the topic of “Raising the Resilient Child” at the 177th Scientific Conference of the North Pacific Pediatric Society at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Wash., Aug. 21 to 24.

Half-day morning meeting programs include perspectives on the effects of trauma and neglect on the developing brain, the impact of media and disabilities, protective factors in childhood, skills for managing teens, challenging emergencies in pediatrics and emerging antibiotic resistance.

Speakers from Children’s include Drs. Ron Kaplan and Suzan Mazor from the Emergency Department, Jane Burns from Infectious Disease and Dr. Bruder Stapleton, Children’s chief academic officer and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

For more information and to register, visit the society’s Web site.

New Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals

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

Philip Morgan, MD, Anesthesia, Children’s
Karen Boudour, ARNP, Surgery, Children’s
Kristine Lavin, ARNP, Emergency Medicine, Children’s
Nestor Cohenca, DDS, Dental Medicine, University of Washington
Jane Hitti, MD, MPH, Obstetrics, University of Washington

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.