March 2020
Dear Colleagues,
 
I wanted to share how much I enjoyed the time I spent at the annual meeting of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC) with two of our outstanding residents, Christel Wekon-Kemeni and Asantewaa Boateng . Both attended the Frontiers in Science program at AMSPDC.
 
I also wanted to share a link to an online program at Yale University entitled "The Science of Well Being." This CNN article describes this popular course and provides a link to the free content . This past month has certainly been difficult and this course may be helpful for many. 
Dr. Stephanie Davis with Dr. Christel Wekon-Kemeni (PGY-1) and
Dr. Asantewaa Boateng (PGY-2)
at AMSPDC in February 2020.
I also want to highlight our educational program! Congratulations to Kenya McNeal-Trice and her team for an incredibly successful residency match! 

As always, thank you for all you do for children and families across North Carolina.
 
Gratefully,
UNC Children's Missions Update
Chon Lee, MD
New Acting Division Chief for Child Neurology

Dr. Chon Lee has been appointed as the Acting Division Chief for Child Neurology. Dr. Lee is currently an Associate Professor of Neurology but originally did a residency in Pediatrics at UNC and worked as a faculty member at Cone Health teaching students and residents. She later returned to UNC to do a Child Neurology residency followed by a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at Wake Forest Baptist. After her time at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital, she was recruited back to UNC to work as an epileptologist. The child neurology group has dramatic growth planned for the coming year including having recruited at least 2 new Child Neurology faculty who will start this summer and also advanced practice providers. Dr. Lee is eager to work with the other leaders and clinicians across UNC Children’s.
From UNC Children's Quality Coordinator
  • An inter-professional team in Children’s recently participated in a Kaizen event to reduce pressure injuries across Children’s. Multiple improvements are underway to improve care for our children. We will continue to monitor progress and pressure injuries in the coming months.

  • Staff and providers from across Children’s came together to develop a standardized approach to Well Wire Quality TV across Children’s. We are in the process of implementation now, so look for Well Wire monitors in our Children’s units!
We Are Excited to Announce...
UNC Pediatric Residency Program
Match Day Results
 
Categorical Pediatrics
Joanne Alfred - University of Florida School of Medicine
Alessandra Angelino – Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Aubrey Barker – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Catherine Bernstein – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Ellen Cowherd – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Isabelle Dagher – Indiana University School of Medicine
Keia Faison - The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Stephanie Gehle – Medical University of South Carolina
Joseph Hall – University of Virginia School of Medicine
Abigail McRea – The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Elizabeth O’Neil – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Kelly Orgel – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Will Parker – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Maria Shaw – University of Virginia School of Medicine
Bonnie Suwan – Medical College of Georgia
Jenny Varner – Duke University School of Medicine
Xavier Williams – University of Florida School of Medicine
 
Primary Care 
Natalie Blake - Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
McCauley Massie – Emory University School of Medicine
Kimberly May – The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University 
Catherine Eve Tisdale – University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
 
Pediatric Preliminary
David Sender – Bond University Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine (Australia)
Jonathan Shein – George Washington University School of Medicine
 
Child Neurology
Steven Papas – University of Mississippi School of Medicine
Michaela Squire – Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
 
Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Gretter Benitez – Howard University School of Medicine
Emma Bick - University of North Carolina School of Medicine 
Heather Frank – Duke University School of Medicine
Shanice Oquin Glasco – University of Texas Medical Branch
Sarah Stafford – University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
Sebastian Werner – University of North Carolina School of Medicine
UNC Preventative Medicine Residency Program
Match Day Results
Dr. Sabina Mir and ABP colleagues w orking on questions for Pediatric Gastroenterology maintenance of certification and for the ABP subspecialty exam in March, 2020.
Stephanie Schwartz, MD and Tracie Walker, MD
Assistant Professors of Pediatrics
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

The UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement (IHQI) has invited Drs. Schwarts and Walker to participate in the Improvement Scholars program from September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2021 based on their proposal "Preventing, Recognizing and Managing Delirium in Critically Ill Children." Projects were selected after a rigorous review of 15 letters of intent and 11 full proposals.
 
The purpose of the Improvement Scholars program is to develop clinical improvement leaders who will ultimately mentor others to improve care and outcomes. IHQI provides training, mentorship, and guidance as well as half-time support of an improvement project manager. 
Congratulations to Drs. Colin Orr and Sam Schilling and their mentee, David Perez-Benitez , on David's competitive selection for UNC's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship! This opportunity has a 41% acceptance rate!

The successful application was supported by the efforts of Drs. Orr and Schilling and Malakha Bility. David, currently a work-study student in General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, will work in GPAM on a project with the Greenlight Study this summer.

We are delighted that his application was selected for support for the summer fellowship and that he will be able to continue working with and contributing to our division and the Greenlight team.
Check Out These New Awards and Publications
Elisabeth Dellon, MD, MPH – Associate Professor in Pediatric Pulmonology -  Dr. Dellon and colleagues published CCF Foundation consensus guidelines on the care of advanced CF lung disease.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, MD - Assistant Professor in Pediatric Emergency Medicine - recently had a paper accepted by the journal Paediatrics and International Child Health.

James Hagood, MD –Professor in Pediatric Pulmonology & R esearch Director of the UNC Rare and Genetic Lung Disease and the Marsico Lung Institute - co-authored a paper in Annals of the American Thoracic Society, describing clinical features and a scoring system used in the diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia of Infancy (NEHI), an unusual interstitial lung disease of infancy and early childhood.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32109152 .

Margaret W. Leigh, MD - Professor in Pediatric Pulmonology - with an international team of experts on primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) published new consensus guidelines in the European Respiratory Journal on transmission electron microscopy criteria for PCD diagnosis.   https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/erj/early/2020/01/24/13993003.00725-2019.full.pdf

Marianne Muhelbach, MD – Professor in Pediatric Pulmonology - Dr. Muhlebach and fellow members of the Antimicrobial Resistance International Working Group in CF reviewed antimicrobial stewardship issues in CF .  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569199320300643?via%3Dihub

John R. Stephens, MD - Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the Division of Hospital Medicine - recently had his article "Variation in Proportion of Blood Cultures Obtained
for Children With Skin and Soft Tissue Infections" in the ABP journal Hospital Pediatrics.
Dr. Margaret Leigh , Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pulmonology was a guest of honor at the recent annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation “Master Chefs” fundraising event in Durham, NC. 
Nominated by
Jennifer Law, MD , Associate Professor of Pediatrics - Division of Endocrinology

Tera James, NCMA, at UNC Children's Raleigh. tirelessly works with the Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrine team to keep clinic running smoothly. She greets patients with a smile and reassures them with her encouraging words as she gets them ready for their appointment. The most hectic clinics flow smoothly as she tackles complicated patient triaging situations, ensuring that the patients are ready and settled in time for their provider appointment. 

As diabetes technologies evolve, Tera eagerly learns the new skills required for patient care. She also goes above and beyond expectations by volunteering to take on extra tasks from the physicians to help their workflow. Tera is also a great team leader for other nursing and medical assistant staff - leading through instruction while modeling enthusiasm for patient care with them. 

Congratulations Tera!! Thank you for all you do!