Dear friends,
I hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and have had some time with friends and family.
We have been busy clinically and seen an increase in our inpatient census. Staffing continues to be an issue in some areas, but is definitely improving. Please use Rex for admissions, when appropriate. Thank you to everyone who has been managing the inpatient census and staffing!
Please see this note from Dan Park regarding Emilia Frederick RN who so many of us know and love:
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The Pediatric Academic Society Conference (PAS) in Denver, Colorado was fantastic! Congratulations to the UNC faculty, trainees and staff who presented at the meeting. We had a booth at the Exhibition Hall; a special thank you to Kenya McNeal-Trice, Kelly Lear, Robin Howard, Sophie Ing, and Gonzalo Loza who set up the exhibit and answered questions from those who stopped by. The UNC basketballs were a hit! Our reception was great fun. Kudos to Dr. McNeal-Trice who won an Academic Pediatric Association Teaching Award!
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Our Reelin’ for Research event was a lot of fun and very successful! Reelin' for Research has been instrumental in supporting the UNC Pediatric Hematology Oncology Division for over a decade. "Reelin" is a yearlong fundraising effort for the childhood cancer program at UNC Children’s, culminating every year with a fishing tournament in Morehead City. In 15 years, this fundraiser has raised a total of $5.2 million; this year alone “Reelin” raised $800,000! Our clinic is now named the Reelin’ for Research Pediatric Hematology Oncology Clinic. Please watch this beautiful video from this event that took place this past weekend.
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Quick reminder that Grand Rounds is now hybrid. This week, Barry Solomon, Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins will be speaking. On May 12th, we will have Dr. David Nichols, past CEO of the American Board of Pediatrics, speak at Grand Rounds for the Emonson Lecture. We are looking forward to his presentation and please attend in person if you are able.
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Lastly, the Evening of Scholarship is on Thursday, May 5th at the Kenan Center. Wade Clapp is the keynote speaker and we are looking forward to the presentations. I hope to see you all there!
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UNC Children's Missions Update |
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Children’s Hospital Association IPSO Executive Report
IPSO is a nationwide collaborative with the goal of decreasing pediatric sepsis mortality. UNCMC joined IPSO in CY2017 and data submission began in CY2018. Since induction into the program, cases of IPSO sepsis and IPSO critical sepsis have steadily declined. This has resulted in a year over year decrease in the associated financial impact of pediatric IPSO critical sepsis for the hospital.
Thank you all for your support as we continue to focus efforts on early sepsis recognition and response. A special thanks to Lori Dupree for her detailed case review yielding the data provided on the report and to April Glick for her leadership of the Children’s Pediatric Sepsis Committee.
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UNC Children's - Center of Excellence in Pediatric Sedation
The Society for Pediatric Sedation recently announced that UNC Children’s Hospital has earned the designation of Center of Excellence in Pediatric Sedation. Congratulations!
Read more
www.med.unc.edu
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Positive Feedback -
A Grateful Patient and Family
Dr. Davis:
I have been meaning to email you over the last year, but just haven’t had the right words to express our gratitude for the care our daughter, Kate, receives at UNC Children’s. She was diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder several years ago and through the diagnostic and treatment process has seen many of the specialists including: pulmonary, GI, cardiology, GU, complex care/diagnostic clinic, PT/OT and genetics. Dr. Muge Calikoglu has been an amazing provider for Kate. In fact, we just had her yearly check in and “Dr. Muge” was so sweet and wonderful to Kate, giving her so many hugs. Dr. Kori Flower is Kate’s pediatrician and is always open to a call or telehealth visit when Kate is struggling. She is so thorough and really keeps Kate healthy and progressing. Dr. Scott Buck has been seeing Kate since she was very little (one of her first mito symptoms was unexplained syncope and long sinus pauses), and he has been so helpful in relaying fears when Kate has new cardiac symptoms.
I wanted to share that these amazing team members have helped our daughter thrive in ways that we never expected prior to diagnosis or even after.
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Here is a video of her at a recent dance competition where she had to give a little speech on who she hopes to inspire when she is dancing- I hope that you enjoy this positive message today!
We cannot thank the dedication that Kate’s team has provided to her treatment and are so very thankful.
Thank you, Elizabeth & JR
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DEI Climate Survey Results
Results from the recently completed Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Climate Survey for the Department of Pediatrics can be found on the DEI page of the Department of Pediatrics website. An ONYEN is required to access the results. Please take a few minutes to review the responses collected.
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Mini Grants
Applications will be reviewed three times for 2022. Application due dates will be June 1, September 1, and December 1. Who should apply: faculty, staff, trainees, and students. Applicants will be notified of their project’s status by the end of the corresponding month. Applicants are encouraged to think innovatively and to partner with other departments when appropriate, to share any associated administrative burden.
The SOM Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion looks forward to partnering with you on this initiative!
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Girl Scout Rides for PKU at UNC
Carissa Donica, a high school senior, recently completed a Girl Scout Gold Award project to raise awareness of phenylketonuria (PKU). Carissa sought to educate and provide food for local children with PKU.
Read more
www.med.unc.edu
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McNeal-Trice Awarded 2022 APA Teaching Award
Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, was recently awarded the 2022 Teaching Award for Mid-Career Faculty by the Academic Pediatric Association.
Read more
news.unchealthcare.org
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UNC Presentations @ PAS 2022
The recent Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting, April 21-25 in Denver, gave UNC Pediatrics an opportunity to shine!
Attached are the various presentations by UNC faculty and trainees. UNC had over 90 presentations scheduled!
We enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces in Denver. W are extremely proud of everyone who participated in the event!
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Flower New Chief of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Kori B. Flower, MD, MPH, has been appointed the next Division Chief for General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and will assume this role on July 15, 2022. Flower’s appointment follows a national search conducted earlier this year.
Read more
news.unchealthcare.org
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Jacquelyn Baskin-Miller, MD - Hematology-Oncology - received commendation for her work as a member of the Core Team for our HCS’s Care Redesign initiative to reduce care variation in the area blood management- specifically to reduce unnecessary RBC transfusions.
Since October 2020, Dr. Baskin-Miller and team have supervised the implementation of a multi-pronged action plan (e.g. educational sessions for faculty/staff, modifications in Epic, creation of a dashboard to monitor performance), and monitored the program’s progress.
Preliminary results suggest that this team’s initiatives are working; e.g. the fraction of RBC orders that are for a single unit has increased. We need to continue to monitor data, but we believe that unnecessary RBC transfusions have been avoided. We are optimistic that the work of their team will lead to meaningful improvements for patients, providers and the HCS.
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Alex Ahern, MD - Hospital Pediatrics and Wade Harrison, MD - NRSA Primary Care Research Fellow- were recently awarded support for their proposal to improve care for young febrile infants through the IHQI Improvement Scholars Program for the period September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2023.
The purpose of the Improvement Scholars Program is to develop clinical improvement leaders who will ultimately mentor others to improve care and outcomes. Scholars are selected based on the strength of proposals to improve clinical care and outcomes for a population of patients by implementing proven and/or expert-recommended strategies and approaches.
Improvement Scholars is a structured, experiential learning program. Improvement Scholars learn clinical improvement leadership by proposing, designing and leading a project with guidance and support from experienced clinical improvement leaders. Improvement Scholars receive training, mentorship and guidance from IHQI Faculty Coaches as well as half-time support of an IHQI project manager for 12 months. Improvement Scholars present project results at the annual IHQI Improvement Scholars Symposium and are expected to publish project results in an academic or professional journal.
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Check Out our New Awards, Achievements, and Publications |
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Melissa Bauserman, MD, MPH - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - named UNC PI for Postpartum IV Iron trial awarded by the Foundation for the NIH for 3 years. This award builds upon the Global Network grant infrastructure for Women’s and Children’s Health Research from the NICHD. Dr. Bauserman is also a co-Investigator on the recently awarded 5 year NIAID INTREPID study (Improving Neonatal health Through Rapid malaria testing in Early Pregnancy with high-sensitivity Diagnostics study in Western Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Dr. Bauserman recently published: The efficacy of low-dose aspirin in pregnancy among women in malaria-endemic countries. Bauserman M, Leuba SI, Hemingway-Foday J, Nolen TL, Moore J, McClure EM, Lokangaka A, Tsehfu A, Patterson J, Liechty EA, Esamai F, Carlo WA, Chomba E, Goldenberg RL, Saleem S, Jessani S, Koso-Thomas M, Hoffman M, Derman RJ, Meshnick SR, Bose CL. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022 Apr 10;22(1):303. doi: 10.1186/s12884-022-04652-9. PMID: 35399060
Health Care in Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pregnancy Outcomes in Six Low-and-Middle-Income Countries: Evidence from a Prospective, Observational Registry of the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health. Naqvi S, Naqvi F, Saleem S, Thorsten VR, Figueroa L, Mazariegos M, Garces A, Patel A, Das P, Kavi A, Goudar SS, Esamai F, Mwenchanya M, Chomba E, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Yousuf S, Bauserman M, Bose CL, Liechty EA, Krebs NF, Derman RJ, Carlo WA, Hibberd PL, Billah SM, Peres-da-Silva N, Haque R, Petri WA Jr, Koso-Thomas M, Nolen T, McClure EM, Goldenberg RL. BJOG. 2022 Apr 4. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.17175. PMID: 35377514
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Laura Cannon, MD - Rheumatology - recently published:
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Misty Good, MD, MS - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - recently published:
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James Hagood, MD - Pulmonology - selected as a Harrington Scholar-Innovator for his work on a therapeutic Strategy for pulmonary fibrosis. and awarded a grant from the Harrington Discovery Institute for a research project titled, “Thy-1 Mimicry as a Therapeutic Strategy for Pulmonary Fibrosis.” The selected scholars have access to several rounds of capital and have the opportunity to qualify for up to a total of $1.1 million in funding. READ MORE...
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Wesley Jackson MD, MPH - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - recently published:
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Matthew Laughon, MD, MPH - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - recently published: Association between postmenstrual age and furosemide dosing practices in very preterm infants. Bamat NA, Thompson EJ, Greenberg RG, Lorch SA, Zuppa AF, Eichenwald EC, Tolia VN, Clark RH, Smith PB, Hornik CP, Lang JE, Laughon MM. J Perinatol. 2022 Apr;42(4):461-467. doi: 10.1038/s41372-022-01320-w. PMID: 35075306
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Mike O'Shea, MD, MPH - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - recently published:
Association of Abnormal Findings on Neonatal Cranial Ultrasound With Neurobehavior at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Discharge in Infants Born Before 30 Weeks' Gestation. Helderman J, O'Shea TM, Dansereau L, Check J, Hofheimer JA, Smith LM, McGowan E, Neal CR, Carter BS, Pastyrnak SL, Betz B, Junewick J, Borders HL, DellaGrotta SA, Lester BM. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Apr 1;5(4):e226561. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.6561. PMID: 35394511
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Megan Rebuli, PhD - Allergy/Immunology - recently published:
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Ginny Taylor, MD - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - is a recent awardee of the 2022 Caregivers at Carolina Program. The program, aims to help sustain research productivity of physician scientists when faced with periods of family caregiving responsibilities and to raise awareness about the importance of added research assistance for caregivers as a retention mechanism. The COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists is a one-time, collaborative funding opportunity that builds on the promising outcomes of the original Fund to Retain Clinical Scientists program to accelerate transformative action toward sustainable institutional solutions.
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Andrea Trembath, MD, MPH - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine - recently published:
Failure to thrive, oral intake, and inpatient status prior to gastrostomy tube placement in the first year of life is associated with persistent use 1-year later. Bahraini A, Purcell LN, Cole K, Koonce R, Richardson L, Trembath A, deJong N, Sutton A, Hayes AA, Phillips MR. J Pediatr Surg. 2022 Mar 7:S0022-3468(22)00191-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2022.03.001. PMID: 35400490
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Jessy Faucette
Administrative Specialist - Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology
Nominated by Jessi Stark, Division Administrator
Over the past two years, with all of the complications of COVID, Jessy has really stepped up and been a huge asset to both divisions, Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology. She is always eager to help and take on new responsibility; she always strives to make sure she is doing things to the best of her ability. Jessy has been an enormous help with training our new administrative specialist, Jacob McCauley. She is such a great teacher - not a common skill!
Jessy is absolutely indispensable all of us!
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