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Pediatrics Flyer

The official newsletter of the Department of Pediatrics
December 2019 | Issue 4
FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR
As we approach the holiday season and end of the year, it’s clear that 2019 has been an amazing year for the Department of Pediatrics. In short, everyone has pretty much worked at maximum capacity to move us forward in a positive direction. Our faculty and staff continue to improve our patients’ access to necessary care and treatment; train large numbers of medical, nursing, and other related health care discipline trainees; push the discovery of new knowledge; and, where possible, advocate for policy change meant to help children and families thrive and live their lives to the fullest.

This newsletter, the famous Pediatrics Flyer , is a great example of our team’s “can do” attitude. Last year, Dr. Pavia suggested a departmental newsletter; a team formed and went about planning all the many behind-the-scenes steps that have to come together for a high-quality product, and voilà, we have a monthly newsletter! (Thank you, Brandy, Leigh, Ashly, Melanie, Colby, Amy, and Pamela). Other big operational improvements include the formation of the divisional affinity groups, whereby clusters of divisions that are likely to have similar issues and challenges can meet and share experiences; the further development of the division manager role, with each division getting some portion of this enhanced management support; the roll-out of the Staff Grand Rounds series so that our administrative teams can stay informed about important strategic and tactical plans; and, thanks to our hardworking HR team under the leadership of Debbie Gabaldon and Nick Snow, our “Employer of Choice” initiative was more formally defined with a career ladder structure for our schedulers and referral team. Soon our medical assistants will have a similar career ladder to that in the U’s Hospital and Clinics. This all means that we are working harder and smarter, and recognizing more clearly that our team is working harder and smarter!

Additionally, over the past few weeks, the divisions have been presenting divisional spotlights to departmental leadership, outlining their vision and direction for the future in anticipation of the standard March budget presentation, which we hope gives the divisions more time to frame out what they’ll need to do in order to achieve their goals and objectives.

On a personal note, 2019 was a fantastic year, and all of you have been so gracious in welcoming me into the department during my first year. My wife Eileen and I finally sold our house in Houston, and Eileen moved here permanently in February '19. I completed a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs in May '19 from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) (my last degree!! 😊 ); and this Fall '19 I was appointed by our Dean/SVP Dr. Michael Good to the Health System’s Finance Committee, the University Medical Group’s (UUMG) Finance Committee, and the School of Medicine’s Executive Committee (SOMEC).

Looking to the future, we in the Department of Pediatrics have adopted the three priorities that Dustin Lipson, our Primary Children’s Hospital Administrator, defined as PCH’s 2020 priorities, namely, 1) Caregiver Engagement, 2) Harm Reduction, and 3) Patient Experience. To these, we’ve added, and Dustin has adopted, our shared fourth priority, 4) Enhancing our Academic Effort. So, I’ve started calling these four shared Department of Pediatrics and Primary Children’s priorities our DNA—short for Dustin n’ Angelo’s (DNA) priorities!

In 2020, you’ll be hearing and reading a lot in the Pediatrics Flyer about the Academic Catalyst effort being led by our phenomenal vice chair, Dr. Karen Buchi, where we’ll be designing and implementing a robust process to help faculty understand the road map that is most relevant to their career plan and the supports needed to actually get the work on this road map done! You’ll also be hearing and reading more about our planned move of the University Pediatric Clinic’s resident and faculty practices into the Department of Health building on Mario Capecchi Drive, the move of our 419 Wakara team into the 250 South Second Street office building, and the design and roll-out of a comprehensive program to serve children and families dealing with autism spectrum under the leadership of Dr. Paul Carbone and his colleagues in the University Developmental Assessment Clinics. We are busy planning with Drs. Meghan O’Conner and Bruce Herman for our Education Retreat this January for faculty who want to make education scholarship a centerpiece of their career. We continue to have our Thriving in Pediatrics breakfasts and lunches along with the related division efforts being led by their wellness champions. And we’ll be searching this Winter and Spring ’20 for two new division chiefs in the Divisions of Critical Care and Hematology/Oncology. The Heme/Onc position is being hired in partnership with Dr. Mary Beckerle, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Katy Welkie, CEO of Primary Children’s and VP of Intermountain Children’s Health… that is a lot of “intertwining and collaborating” planned for 2020, so buckle your seat belts for another exciting, busy, and worthwhile academic ride!
DEPARTMENT CHAIR'S SUGGESTION BOX
Dr. Giardino wants to hear from you!
 
If you have any ideas or concerns you'd like to share with Dr. Giardino, please submit your comments to his suggestion box. The link can be found on the department intranet home page, or click the box below. 
Suggestion Box Updates

Suggestion received: "I wish we could have reusable dishes & cutlery instead of going through mountains of throwaway paper plates and plastic silverware every year. It could save the department quite a bit of money, I imagine, as well as show a commitment to reducing waste. I've worked in other places that even had dishwashers in the breakroom so employees could fill up the dishwasher throughout the day and it would get run at the end of the day. Logistics would have to be worked out on who starts & unloads the dishwasher every day, but it could be done on a rotation like how the fridges are managed."

Response: We're pleased to hear that members of the department are interested in waste reduction and efficient use of resources! Having a dishwasher is a great idea, but because we lease the space we occupy, we are not permitted to install them in our buildings. However, all employees are expected to bring their own dishes and utensils, and we provide dish soap and sponges for cleaning dishware. Primary Children's does supply a limited amount of disposable items to the 4th floor of the Eccles Building, but these are meant for the convenience of visitors attending meetings there, and should not to be used on a regular basis by employees housed at Eccles.

Suggestion Received: I would love to see a Peds department-sponsored Wellness activity for WellU! I think we are a great department for a program like this.
 
Response: New in 2020, departments can coordinate Well U programs or activities on their own. If anyone has an idea for a departmental Well U program, Dr. Joan Sheetz, our department Wellness Champion, is happy to help complete the application and navigate logistics. Contact Dr. Sheetz at joan.sheetz@hsc.utah.edu . The application deadline is July 1, 2020. 
WELCOME TO THE TEAM!
To see the new faculty and staff who joined us in November, click here .
NEW RESPONSIBILITIES
John Brumett – Transitioned from a Data Warehouse Analyst Sr. to a Software Design Engineer Sr. with Critical Care

Julianne Ehlers – Transitioned from a Business Data Analyst to a Clinical Research Manager with Critical Care

Alisa Corey – Transitioned from a Study Coordinator to a Clinical Research Coordinator with CTO

Richard Drake – Transitioned from a Program Assistant to a Clinical Research Coordinator with CTO
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
GRUCH Program Awarded GLAD Grant
The Global, Rural and Underserved Child Health (GRUCH) program in the Education Enterprise was recently awarded the Global Learning Across the Disciplines (GLAD) Grant from the U of U Office of Global Engagement. The GRUCH team was awarded $10,000 for their proposal titled Integrating Global Learning to Enhance Global Health Curricula in Graduate Medical Education, which focuses on infusing global health education across the pediatric residency program. Congrats to Dr. Reena Tam, Dr. Liz Keating, and Pamela Carpenter for their work on this grant!

Pediatrics Now an MA Externship Site
With the continued work by Edly Mendez, Clinical Programs Manager for the Department of Pediatrics, we are now accepting MA student externship candidates. This is extremely exciting news particularly as there is ongoing work in increasing the candidate pool for MAs. Many kudos to Edly and the team for getting this up and running!

Fall 2019 U of U Staff Council Scholarship Winner
Congratulations to Ruby Roller from Pediatrics Administration for being awarded a University of Utah Staff Council scholarship this fall. Ruby is featured with the other Fall 2019 awardees on the Staff Council website--read how Ruby plans to use her scholarship here .

Trial Innovation Center Receives NIH HEAL Grant
Investigators at the University of Utah's Trial Innovation Center (TIC ) were recently awarded $5.5 million for the first year of a planned four-year cooperative agreement from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health to provide data management infrastructure as part of the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) initiative. The HEAL initiative was put together by the NIH to address the national opioid public health crisis through finding scientific solutions to improve treatments for chronic pain, reducing the rates of opioid use disorder and overdose, and finally addressing increased opioid addiction across the nation. This award was given to support the Pain Effectiveness Research Network that will conduct clinical trials of existing therapies and approaches for prevention and management of pain, thus avoiding opioid addiction.
 
J. Michael Dean, MD, MBA , professor and Vice Chairman for Research of the Department of Pediatrics, is the principal investigator for this grant with Katherine Sward, PhD, RN , Associate Professor in the College of Nursing as a Co-Investigator. Jeri Burr, MS, RN-BC, CCRC, FACRP, the Trial Innovation Center's Executive Director, will work closely with the newly appointed network director, Nael Abdelsamad, MD, MBA.
 
The Utah Trial Innovation Center, serving as the Data Coordinating Center, will be collaborating with each of the other three centers that form the Trial Innovation Network, working cohesively together as one coordinating center:
  • TIC at Duke University Clinical Research Institute and Vanderbilt University (Principal Investigators: Danny Benjamin, MD, PhD, MPH and Gordon Bernard, MD) will serve as the Clinical Coordinating Center.
  • TIC at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Tufts University (Principal Investigators: Daniel Hanley, MD and Harry Selker, MD, MSPH) will serve as the Biostatistical Core.
  • Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC) at Vanderbilt University (Principal Investigators: Paul Harris, PhD, FACMI, FIAHSI, and Consuela Wilkins, MD, MSCI) will provide expertise in recruitment and retention of participants.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Staff Scholarships
The University of Utah Staff Council (UUSC) is now accepting scholarship applications for Winter 2020. Any staff employee at at least .75FTE who has been employed for two years or more is eligible to apply. There are two types of scholarship available:
  • General UUSC Scholarship (up to $500) - this is a broad reimbursement scholarship that can be applied to a variety of professional development opportunities, including internal and external tuition, professional trainings, workshops, conferences, etc.
  • Loveridge UUSC Scholarship (up to $1250) - this is a dedicated scholarship in honor of Tom Loveridge, a fierce advocate for University staff, that can only be used for University tuition.

These scholarships are only available to University staff and are currently the only peer-to-peer (funded by staff for staff) scholarship program in the state. Go Utes!
 
Application deadline for spring scholarships is January 15th .
Child Neuro Chat
Carey Wilson, MD, in the Division of Pediatric Neurology, started a podcast called "Child Neuro Chat." This podcast was created as a way to engage and educate parents. You can find the podcast here .
Campus Directory Phone Number Corrections
If your work phone number is listed incorrectly in the campus directory , please email alberta.elstein@hsc.utah.edu to have it fixed.
 
Email addresses in the campus directory can be updated by each individual in CIS. Once you have logged into CIS , click on the tile that shows your name and "Change Bio/Demo Info." Under the "Email Addresses" section, click on the "Change Email Addresses" yellow button. Enter your email address and make sure that the "preferred" check mark is selected next to it. Then click "Save."
Opioid Prescriber Education Course
 University of Utah faculty across multiple departments developed an online opioid training course that satisfies the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) education mandate for opioid prescribers. The 2019-2020 course content has been updated and provides a broad scope of education, including opioids' effects on women and children.
 
Click here  for an informational flyer.
Click here  to register.
 
Contact Dr. Camille Fung with questions: 801-585-6287 or  email .
Food Drive for the Utah Food Bank
We are still collecting donations for our annual food drive in collaboration with the Utah Food Bank. There will be drop-off barrels for unexpired goods and non-perishables at these locations until December 20 :
  • Eccles Outpatient Services Building 4th Floor
  • Williams Building Lobby
  • 419 Wakara Suite 107
 
Reach Out & Read Program
Again this year, we are pleased to accept new or gently used children's books, either in English or Spanish, for the Reach Out & Read program. You may bring books to the Department holiday party or drop them off at the Williams Building lobby or the Eccles Outpatient Building 4th floor reception area during the month of December.

The program began at the South Main Clinic in 1998. Since that time, pediatric residents have given a brand new book and guidance about the importance of reading to children at their well-child visits. Children receive 10 books between the ages of six months and five years. Over the past 20 years, pediatricians have given over 40,000 books to their patients! Children of all ages can learn to love to read and have their very own books at home. In tight times, we know that our families will choose to buy food rather than a book, so the chance to give a child a book is appreciated. Thank you for your generous contributions to this worthwhile program! 
Holiday Party
We can't wait to see everyone at the Pediatric Holiday Party!
NEW ENDOWED CHAIR HOLDERS
Robert Bolte, MD Endowed Chair
Holder: Jeff Robison, MD
The Robert Bolte, MD endowed chair was established to honor Dr. Bolte who, along with his colleague, Howard Corneli, established the Pediatric Emergency Medicine program at the University of Utah in 1983. He was one of the first physicians in the Department of Pediatrics to establish a health care presence in Central America, and the intent of this chair is to award an individual with a clinical and educational focus on global and rural health. Dr. Jeff Robison is the Director of the Global, Rural, and Underserved Child Health (GRUCH) program in the Department of Pediatrics. As such, he has developed and oversees the administration of global health programs and partnerships, including collaborative agreements with the Navajo Area Indian Health Service (NAIHS) and the University of Rwanda Teaching Hospital. He instituted residency certificate programs in global health and established the GRUCH fellowship, both of which were designed to ensure that there are clinicians trained with the skills necessary to provide excellent evidence-based care to children in resource-limited settings. Dr. Robison's development of the infrastructure required to sustain the GRUCH program has led to broader discussions about replication of this model across other departments in the School of Medicine. His expertise will lead to continued growth and success of global health at the University of Utah.
Howard Corneli, MD Endowed Chair
Holder: Maija Holsti, MD, MPH
The Howard Corneli, MD endowed chair was established to honor Dr. Corneli who established the Pediatric Emergency Medicine program at the University of Utah along with Robert Bolte, MD. The intent of this endowed chair is to award an individual focused on supporting education and research at all levels in pediatric care. Dr. Holsti is Director of the Pediatric Research Education Office and manages several programs that provide research and science education at multiple levels, from K-12 students to junior faculty. Two innovative programs Dr. Holsti developed are the Native American Summer Research Internship (NARI) and the Academic Associate (AcA) Program, both of which are aimed at undergraduate students. The NARI program, which supports the academic, career, and personal development of Native American students interested in health science careers, received the University of Utah's Equity and Diversity Award and Beacons of Excellence Award. Students in the AcA program participate in clinical research by enrolling patients at Primary Children's Hospital in research studies and receive training in the areas of professionalism in the clinical setting, study design, ethics, and other aspects of pediatric clinical research. This program has won awards from the university and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Building on these AcA courses, Dr. Holsti created a minor in Pediatric Clinical Research at the University of Utah.
Jack L. Dolcourt, MD Endowed Chair
Holder: Mariana Baserga, MD
This chair was established in 2019 to honor Dr. Jack Dolcourt, who was a member of the Division of Neonatology for nearly 40 years. During this time, Dr. Dolcourt's dedication to the department was demonstrated through his service as an exceptional clinician, educator, and leader within the Division of Neonatology. Since joining Pediatrics in 2004, Dr. Baserga has established herself as a faculty member who is committed to the department's missions and is an excellent candidate to honor Dr. Dolcourt's legacy. Dr. Baserga is a respected clinician in neonatal intensive medicine and provides care to patients in the neonatal units at the University of Utah Hospital, Primary Children's Hospital, and lntermountain Medical Center. She serves as medical director for the University of Utah Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and for the Air Med Neonatal Transport Service. Additionally, she is a member of the lntermountain NICU Development Team, which develops care process models to improve the care delivered in lntermountain NICUs. Dr. Baserga is also productive investigator. She is Pl or Co-Pl on 10 active grants and has published 13 peer-reviewed articles, four book chapters, and two case reports, and she serves as an Executive Council Member of the Western Society of Pediatric Research. She also developed and leads Neonatology's Scholarly Activity Meetings, which were established to allow participants to discuss new research ideas, ongoing grants and quality improvement projects, and to recognize the productivity of the members of the division. Finally, Dr. Baserga demonstrates dedication to the educational mission of the department by mentoring students, residents, and fellows and regularly lecturing at neonatal Grand Rounds and resident noon conferences. She is also a member of the division's Fellow Selection Committee. 
Gary M. Chan, MD Endowed Chair
Holder: Sabrina Malone-Jenkins, MD
This chair was established in 2019 to honor Dr. Gary Chan who was a member of the Division of Neonatology for nearly 40 years. He was a nationally recognized expert in the area of neonatal nutrition, active in clinical and basic research, and a remarkable mentor. Dr. Chan was Dr. Malone-Jenkins' primary research mentor. Dr. Malone-Jenkins joined the department as a fellow in the Division of Neonatology in 2014, and upon completion of her fellowship in 2017, she became a faculty member. She has proven herself to be an outstanding addition to the department. Her primary research interests are neonatal nutrition and bone density in preterm infants, and she provides care to critically ill infants in the Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at Primary Children's Hospital, U of U Hospital, and lntermountain Medical Center. Her clinical interests include improving neonatal nutrition and genetic testing in the NICU. As such, she is collaborating with the pediatric Division of Medical Genetics and ARUP Laboratories to provide early and rapid genetic diagnoses in the NICU through next generation genetic testing. Dr. Malone-Jenkins is not only committed to the research and clinical missions of the department, but is also actively involved in the education of residents, fellows, and other trainees through various educational presentations. Additionally, she is the membership chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics District VIII Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Council. Within the university, she dedicates her time as a moderator for the University Advanced Communication Training course.
Recognize Someone for a Job Well Done!
The department has a new online tool you can use to show appreciation for other members of Pediatrics and recognize them for exemplifying the PROMISE behavior standards: People Centered, Respect, Ownership, Making a Difference, Innovation, Safety, and Excellence.

Recognitions will be published in an upcoming issue of the newsletter. Please note: if a submitter's name is not given, we will not publish the comment.  However, the submitter's name will remain anonymous in the newsletter.
 
The link to the recognition form can be found on the department intranet home page, or click the box below.
This Month's Recognition

Omar Sawyer - Clinical Enterprise
Recognized for Excellence
"Omar has been incredible to work with during ID's transition ot the clinical enterprise triage team. He's been very attentive and willing to answer any and all questions. We are excited to be working with such a great group. Thank you, Omar!"

Deon Bettilyon - Division of Cardiology
Recognized for Making a Difference
"Deon has gone above and beyond in her duties to assist members of the department. New to Primary's and the U, Deon went out of her way to help coordinate multiple appointments to ease my transition. She has excellent follow up. Furthermore, she maintains a positive attitude and makes working here a pleasure."

Cristina Bahena - Clinical Enterprise
Recognized for People Centered
"Cristina Bahena went above and beyond by helping the Prior Authorization team relay the appointment date for a GI procedure to a Spanish speaking family. We really appreciated her extra effort."

Warren Worsley - Pediatrics IT
Recognized for Making a Difference
"Warren goes above and beyond when over at Eccles. He has a positive attitude and always finds answers to the complex problems that arise in Information Systems. We are lucky to have him!"

Ashly Medlyn - Division of Pulmonology & Clinical Enterprise
Recognized for Excellence
"Ashly Medlyn has taken on several responsibilities since starting in her role as Administrative Assistant. Most recently, she was asked to temporarily support the Division of Cardiology in addition to everything else she is doing. She has a "can-do" attitude and is always willing to help in any way she can. Thank you, Ashly, for being such a rock star!
IN THE NEWS
Hilary Hewes, MD , in the division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, is the site PI for a new NIH study to test the drug tranexamic acid (TXA) in children, the first study of its kind. The goal is to see how well TXA helps prevent bleeding in children, if it can help prevent the need for blood transfusion, if it can reduce deaths in injured pediatric patients, and to find the correct dosage for children.

Antoinette Laskey, MD, MPH, MBA , Division Chief of Safe and Healthy Families and a Professor of Pediatrics, discusses how failing to make a "distasteful diagnosis" with pediatric patients could mean further injury, death, or trauma. (If unable to open Medpage Today from the title, read the pdf version here .)

Primary Children's Hospital, the Department of Pediatrics, and Intermountain Precision Genomics are launching the Primary Children's Center for Personalized Medicine to deliver precision medicine to pediatric patients. The goal of the center is to respond to the critical need for treatment through research, discovery, and innovation. By accessing a wealth of clinical, genetic, and familial data, researchers will combine these resources to make new connections between genetics and human disease to benefit children around the world.
WELLNESS
Laughter really is medicine. Instead of typing LOL, just go ahead and do it!

Dr. Michael Miller's book Heal Your Heart focuses on the power of positive emotions to not only improve mood, but to improve health as well. The article " How to Laugh Off Holiday Drama" contains and excerpt from Dr. Miller's book on the mind-body benefits of laughter. According to the article, the average 5-year old laughs around 300 times per day, whereas the average adult only laughs four times per day. Adding more laughter to our lives can lower blood pressure, improve sleep and memory function, and help us control our weight, among other things.

You really can laugh your way to health and well-being! This holiday season, try and take joy in the simple things like friends, family, and fun. Be silly, and find humor anywhere you can. Get working on your laughter prescription today!
PROMISE STANDARD OF THE MONTH
In order to advance our goal of being recognized as a world-class institution, University of Utah Health has developed behavior standards for employees to use to guide their actions and measure their performance. The behaviors that exemplify each of the standards directly relate to U of U Health's core values of compassion, trust, collaboration, responsibility, diversity, integrity, and quality. We highlight a standard each month to remind us of our individual responsibility to meet and uphold these benchmarks.
O is for Ownership

An important characteristic of ownership is the ability to not only accept constructive feedback, but to use it to improve. These two resources help explain how to do that:

Sheila Heen, co-author of the book Difficult Conversations and faculty member at Harvard Law School, discusses how receiving feedback is a skill that can be honed. Heen describes the internal triggers we need to be aware of when receiving feedback and how to elicit helpful feedback from others.

Negative feedback is an opportunity to show your capability for learning and growth. This short Forbes article offers suggestions on how to accept and act on feedback in the workplace.

Check out these other resources:

This short video by U of U Health discusses day-to-day behaviors that demonstrate this PROMISE standard.

Huntsman Cancer Institute posts interactive activities for several of the PROMISE standards that team leaders can use to emphasize desired behaviors and generate team discussions about a particular standard.
 
University Hospital Human Resources has developed a set of questions for each of the PROMISE standards intended to help individuals or groups generate new patterns of thinking and behaving. The reflexive questions can be used by teams to facilitate open conversation, by individuals to identify and explore their own beliefs and motivations, and by hiring managers to gain insight into the suitability of potential candidates.
Pediatrics Flyer committee members: Brandy Harman (Chair), Amy Amann, Pamela Carpenter, Leigh Fredericks, Melanie Gauci, Ashly Medlyn, and Colby Townsend