September Pediatric Newsletter

Pediatric News

Updates from the Department of Pediatrics - 2022 Vol. 9

Take Advantage of the Early Bird

Discount by Registering for the

CHRI Conference (Nov. 3-4) by Sept. 22

Click Here to Register for the CHRI Conference

Click Here to Submit an Abstract

Department of Pediatrics Chair Update:

Kari Simonsen, MD, MBA

It’s officially back to school time! We are finding our way amidst the changing seasons and the energy and excitement that accompanies this transition—football, nicer weather and pumpkin spice everything. (Ok, that’s not for me, but I know some of you love it!)

In the Department of Pediatrics, we’ve continued to be busy with patient care activities, developing and expanding our clinical programs, supporting our trainees in education, growing our research and building our broader community as advocates.

A few notable examples for the month include the announcement from Children’s hospital that a new inpatient pediatric mental health facility will be built where the former Methodist nursing dormitory along Dodge Street was. Keep watching for further information on this exciting development.

In research, Pediatric Cancer Research Group within the Child Health Research Institute led an impressive Symposium highlighting accomplishments over the past five years. The day included investigators sharing their recent work and a poster session providing a forum to for researchers and mentees to share their recent projects.

The student and resident education teams are working diligently to prepare our M4 students for their interviews, and the current residency and fellowship programs are planning interview dates. Thanks in advance to all the faculty who are providing mentorship and participating in these important recruitment activities.

Additionally, our Pediatric division chiefs recently held an offsite retreat to continue their leadership development. We explored our strengths with Gallup Strengths-based leadership training, learned more about leading with strengths and building diverse teams by harnessing the power of one another’s strengths and then spent time discussing and brainstorming on the “wicked problems” in academic medicine—such as recruitment, retention, mentorship and wellness—the universal challenges that impact all of us and do not have simple answers. We will continue working together, using the ideas generated, to improve the faculty satisfaction, engagement and wellness of our team. Please reach out to your chief to learn more about the retreat and our next steps.

Finally, you will recall at our August faculty meeting we discussed new opportunities for mentorship, including a new peer mentoring group for educators, a new dyad mentoring structure for all interested faculty and a ongoing commitment to our new faculty through the established Anchors program. Please connect with Drs. Gollehon or Goodrich for more information on the educators group and Dr. Haney for the dyad mentoring and Anchors programs. We look forward to hearing more as the programs get underway this fall.

Thanks again for all that you do to care for our patients and one another.

Best,

Kari

Dr. Russell McCulloh Named to Leadership Research Positions at

UNMC College of Medicine and Children's

Russell (Rusty) McCulloh, MD, professor, Division of Hospital Medicine, has been named medical director for Clinical and Translational Research Operations at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and assistant dean for clinical research for the UNMC College of Medicine. He previously served as division chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine since 2018. Stephen Dolter, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine, has been named interim division chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Dr. McCulloh is among the premier physician-scientists in the UNMC Department of Pediatrics and was recognized in 2021 with a UNMC Distinguished Scientist Award bestowed upon researchers who have been among the most productive at UNMC during the past five years. He also received the national Pediatric Hospital Medicine Society’s 2022 Quality and Patient Safety Award. Dr. McCulloh directs the National Institutes of Health-funded Nebraska Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit.

In his new role at Children's, Dr. McCulloh will oversee research conducted in Children’s organization, support trainees, junior and senior faculty in conducting research and bring national projects with extramural funding. This new directorship is anticipated to enhance Children’s operational support and capacity-building for research in concert with the Child Health Research Institute and UNMC College of Medicine.

As the assistant dean for clinical research for the College of Medicine, McCulloh will serve as an advocate to help identify and tackle barriers to facilitate local, regional and national research. As a liaison and guide, he will help researchers connect with collaborators and resources across the research enterprises at UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and partners including the Veterans Administration, Children’s Hospital & Medical Center and other health systems.

Congratulations Dr. McCulloh!

Children's Celebrates One Year Anniversary

of Hubbard Center Opening

Children's Hospital & Medical Center celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Hubbard Center for Children on Aug. 29. The Hubbard Center enabled members of the Pediatrics Department to move into new, spacious areas that are supplied with the best technology available. The Hubbard Center houses or will house Neonatal Intensive Care Units, the Emergency Department, the Cardiac Care Unit, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and expanded surgical space. Congratulations and thank you to Children's for opening this remarkable space that aids in our recruiting efforts for faculty and learners and empowers members of our Department to be at their best.

Building for the Future: Celebrating Year One Inside the Hubbard Center

CHRI Global Health PI Seminar Series

"Improving Interprofessional Community Engagement in Sudan Using Project ECHO: a Virtual Global Health Approach"

Featured Speaker:

Nada Fadul, MD, FIDSA

Professor, Division of Infectious Disease

Medical Direct, Special Care Center

Assistant Dean, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Education Programs

Friday, September 16

9-10:00 a.m. CDT; 2-3:00 p.m. GMT

Sponsored by the Child Health Research Institute Global Health Area of Emphasis.

Health Service Academy Offer

Opportunity to Expand Research Skills

Children’s Hospitals Association’s Health Service Research Academy is a 12-to-18-month virtual training program that consists of on-demand learning modules coupled with an option for a mentored Capstone research project. The goal of the Academy is to help healthcare professionals develop skills to conduct health services research, including research using large administrative databases like PHIS.

Activities

Twenty on-demand learning modules that teach the fundamentals of health services research in a step-by-step manner. Examples of topics include a) Developing research aims, b) Writing a manuscript, c) Understanding statistics, and d) Responding effectively to reviewers.
Participants in the Capstone option will have:
A minimum of two mentors: one clinical, one analytical
Virtual meetings with their mentorship team every 2 weeks to complete a research project in < 12 months

Results

At the end of the program, all participants will improve their understanding of health services research, including how to design and conduct a research project as well as disseminate the findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations
Each capstone participant will have completed a mentored research project
11.5 credit hours of CME
All participants will receive a Certificate of Excellence in Research Scholarship

Examples of Research Conducted by Prior Participants

Hoffman J, Hall M, Lorenz D, Berry J. (2021). Emergency department visits for suicidal ideation and self-harm in rural and urban youth. Journal of Pediatrics.
Bayer N, Hall M, Li Y, Feinstein J, Thomson J, Berry J. (2022). Trends in healthcare utilization and spending for young children with neurologic impairment. Pediatrics.

Who can apply?

Any healthcare professionals (fellows, junior faculty,banalysts, nurses, etc.)

Connect with us!

Learn more at https://www.childrenshospitals.org/researchacademy or email research@childrenshospitals.org

Applications are due October 1 with a start date of November 1.

Division Infographics

Developmental Pediatrics

The Division of Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics has clinical, educational and research components. We provide on-site, telehealth and multidisciplinary clinical services for children, adolescents and young adults with or at risk for a variety of developmental, behavioral and/or emotional problems. Services include initial consultations for diagnostic evaluation, assessment and treatment planning, as well as ongoing follow-up for implementation of treatment plans. This may include medication or behavioral treatments as well as coordination of care across multiple disciplines. Developmental/Behavioral Pediatric fellows, Pediatric and Family Medicine residents, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows, medical students and interdisciplinary graduate students participate in clinical and didactic educational experiences, including Project DOCC (Delivery of Chronic Care). Research interests include outcome of high-risk neonates, outcomes of children with complex congenital heart disease, evidence-based treatments for autism spectrum disorder and industry sponsored drug studies.

Nephrology

The Division of Pediatric Nephrology evaluates and monitors patients with kidney disease and hypertension, from prenatal consultation through adolescence, and we assist in transition to adult providers as needed. The Division has the only pediatric dialysis unit in the state of Nebraska, providing full-service acute and chronic dialysis. Our physicians supervise medical management of pediatric kidney transplant patients in collaboration with transplant surgeons at Nebraska Medicine. We collaborate with Urology, Maternal-fetal Medicine, Neonatology and Cardiology in multidisciplinary clinics for kidney stones, congenital kidney and urogenital disorders and essential hypertension. The Division is a member of several national pediatric Nephrology research and quality improvement collaboratives, including Improving Renal Outcome Collaborative and Standardized Care to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric End-stage Renal Disease. This gives us the opportunity to share research and educational interests on a local and national level.

Denise Pecha, LCSW, Deputy Executive Director, CityMatCH and Sharon Stoolman, MD,

Associate Professor, Division of Hospital Medicine at the NorthStar Foundation Back to School Event

DEI This Month:

NorthStar Foundation Back to School Event

The Department of Pediatrics and CityMatCH partnered with the Douglas County Health Department to provide information about COVID-19 vaccines and general health at the NorthStar Foundation's back to school event.

Hispanic Heritage Month: Lunch and Learn

Thursday, October 13^th we will be hosting a Lunch & Learn: So, what’s the big deal? at noon in the Hubbard LL3 Conference Room A&B. This will be a series event to highlight various topics from cultural appropriation to different experiences of Hispanic/Latinx community members. We hope attendees will engage in discussion and learn from one another. Attendees are encouraged to pose questions during the event, but can also submit beforehand (via the RSVP).

Event RSVP: You may need to use your Children's email address to log in.

NorthStar Foundation Tutoring

With school starting again, NorthStar Foundation is again looking for after-school tutors.

NorthStar's volunteer opportunities listed below.

1. Reading/Math Tutors - 3rd-5th Graders

M, T, W, and/or Th
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Subjects – Math or Reading
Duration – Weekly commitment running through end of the semester

2. Elementary Homework Assistance – 3rd-5th graders

M, T, W, Th and/or F
4:30-6 p.m.
Duration – Weekly commitment running through end of the semester

3. Middle School Homework Assistance – 6th-8th graders

M, T, W, Th and/or F
3:30-5:30 p.m.
Duration – Weekly commitment running through end of the semester

4. High School Tutors

M, T, W and/or Th
4:15-5:30 p.m.
Duration – Weekly commitment running through end of the semester

If you are interested in any of the homework/tutoring options, please email andrea@northstar360.org and indicate your area of interest and the day of the week that works for you. Your name will be passed on to a director who will contact you to get things started.

Feel free to pass on to friends and colleagues. Thank you for considering!

Join us in learning about health disparities, health equity, and anti-racism research and work from across the Bay Area and the world at this year's annual HEAR symposium. This will be the 15^thsymposium and the first year under the new name.

The purpose behind HEAR is to inspire future collaborations and research direction by showcasing the breadth and depth of disparities research. The symposium aims to build community among disparities researchers across disciplines and across units, schools and campus sites.

The symposium will be held virtually on October 13 & 14, from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. on both days. To register:

We encourage and invite all to register for both days in advance.

Please also help spread the word with your communities.

Sincerely,

Office of Diversity & Outreach

415.476.7700 |DiversityOutreach@ucsf.edu

Five Questions

This month we feature Arthur Chang, MD, assistant professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, and Tom Blount, MD, assistant professor, Division of Cardiology.

Meet Dr. Arthur Chang

What brought you to your given specialty/role?

My earliest perceptions of medicine were around the realization that bugs infected people and that colored my extracurricular interests in high school and college. Also, having Kawasaki Disease as a child likely inadvertently pushed me toward pediatrics and subsequently infectious diseases.

What is your favorite place in the world?

I suppose it depends on my mood! If I want to disappear and disconnect, Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada is a favorite. If I want to day hike, Letchworth State Park in New York is where I will go. If I want to eat delicious foods, Taipei, Taiwan is my choice.

What are you a fan of or are very interested in?

I’m a big fan of Liverpool in the English Premier League and their manager Jurgen Klopp. I also love to fly my drone and take pictures.

Is there any book, music or TV series or movie that you admire and would recommend to others?

I sheepishly admit I’m a gamer, and I would highly recommend “Horizon Zero Dawn.” In more traditional media, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a recent A24 movie, has become one of my absolute all-time favorites!

What was the most important lesson taught to you during your medical training?

“Question how we got here,” was really important advice I was given. Sometimes in medicine we do things because, “that’s how we were taught,” but the reasoning behind many actions is often quite thin and potentially ripe for re-investigating.

Meet Dr. Tom Blount

What brought you to your given specialty/role?

Pediatrics was a natural fit for me, I love working with kids and getting to know their families. The main thing that drew me to pediatric cardiology was the fact that we get to know many of our patients in infancy, and we can follow them all the way through adolescence. The opportunity to play a small part in that developmental arc is so rewarding as a provider.

What’s your favorite place in the world?

I am my happiest simply relaxing with my wife and daughter. We love being on or around water, so my favorite place would have to be on a boat, watching my daughter try to fish.

What are you a fan of or very interested in?

I love watching sports, especially during Husker football season! (I’m a hopeless optimist, this is our year!) I grew up in Colorado and I also follow the Denver Nuggets.

Is there any book, music or TV series or movie that you admire and would recommend to others?

I don’t watch too much TV but when I do I prefer lighthearted comedy, The Office is my all-time favorite. Really anything that lets me unwind and disconnect when I’m at home. My favorite book of all time is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. The sequels are also fantastic, especially if you like historical fiction.

What was the most important lesson taught to you during your medical training?

A mantra that sticks with me is “care enough to look yourself”. Taking a few extra minutes to re-examine a patient or look twice at an echo will always pay off in the end.

Nominations Open for UNMC's

Annual Research Faculty Awards

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is seeking nominations for UNMC's annual research faculty awards: New Investigator Award, Distinguished Scientist Award, Research Leadership Award and Scientist Laureate Award. These awards recognize UNMC faculty for their outstanding research achievements and sustained contributions to UNMC's research mission. For complete information on eligibility requirements click here.

Anyone is eligible to submit a nomination, and self-nominations are accepted. Please submit your nominations with a copy of the nominee's curriculum vitae through the NU Ramp internal competitions application on or before Oct. 28. Select "UNMC Distinguished Scientist and Other Research Awards Nomination 2022" in the available drop-down menu.

Nominators can direct any questions about the process to James Geiger in the UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Nominations Now Open

for Community Service to Research Award

The UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is seeking nominations for the Community Service to Research Award.

The community is critical to UNMC’s research enterprise. Community members serve in many roles to develop, advise, review, support, disseminate or implement next steps in research. This award will honor a community member or group serving in any role that the nominator believes is worthy of recognition for how they contribute to UNMC research.

What are some examples or accomplishments for nominated individuals?

Collaborator or volunteer to support UNMC research projects.
Advisor to a research program.
Community member serving on a UNMC research oversight committee.
Activist who speaks up for research and its value in the community.

What are the guidelines for nomination?

Nominees cannot be employed by UNMC or the University of Nebraska.
The nominator must be a UNMC faculty member.
Letters of support may come from UNMC faculty, alumni or students.

Please submit nominations for consideration on or before Nov. 18 by completing the official nomination form. Nominations and questions should be emailed to James Geiger in the UNMC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. The award will be presented at the annual Distinguished Scientist Award Ceremony.

BHECN Opens Applications for ARPA Awards

The Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska (BHECN) is accepting proposals — the first in a series of funding cycles — to develop the behavioral health workforce in Nebraska.

Earlier this year, the Nebraska Legislature allocated $25.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to BHECN. In turn, BHECN will award that funding through a competitive process to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of behavioral health professionals.

Funding will be distributed through a competitive request for proposal process based on four major areas:

Behavioral health training opportunities: Projects should focus on providing training and clinical experience opportunities for behavioral health students, trainees and professionals.
Telebehavioral health support in rural areas: Projects should focus on increasing access to behavioral health care through telebehavioral services.
Behavioral health workforce projects for students and behavioral health professionals: Projects should be related to behavioral health issues caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Projects in this award category should focus on providing educational programs, recruitment and retention projects and research related to the behavioral health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding for licensed behavioral health supervisors currently employed in Nebraska: Projects should be focused on supporting supervision costs as organizations/providers supervise provisionally licensed, behavioral health professionals.

All Nebraska organization/providers are eligible to apply for the awards. Applicants can request funding for up to three years (funding expires Dec. 31, 2025).

Applications for the initial funding cycle are open now (Aug. 17) through Oct. 14. To learn more about the award categories, the funding cycle or to submit an application, visit the BHECN website. Applications may be accessed directly online.

Our Successes:

Department Celebrations

Please click on the link below to see achievements by Department of Pediatrics faculty and staff, including awards, certificates, publications, grants and more.

Celebrations

Best Practices:

Student Shadowing Experience

Before scheduling a student shadowing experience, please contact Dani Baxter at dwilsonb@unmc.edu. Dani will help arrange this with the Children’s Office of Medical Education. Please plan ahead because these do take several months to arrange.