Dear Friends,
September has been an especially tough month with many sick children admitted to NC Children’s Hospital, our capacity being near 100% most days, and high clinic and ED volumes.
Many of us, physicians, nurses, RTs, are working extra hours due to staffing needs. We are now having Children’s huddles three times a day to tackle the inpatient capacity issues.
Thank you for your incredible commitment, dedication and for going “over and beyond.” Melanie Dawes and hospital leadership are working diligently to improve the staffing constraints.
Thank you Ceila Loughlin for sharing the message about being kind to those who have showed up!
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As all of you know, our own Julie Byerley, is moving to Pennsylvania to be the President and Dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine as well as their Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer.
This is certainly bittersweet for many of us. I personally have had the privilege of knowing Julie since she was a second year resident. She has served in so many capacities both within UNC Children’s and the School of Medicine. She has been a true example of a servant leader, tireless and humble child advocate and exceptional educator. She has taught me so much and I, as well as many of us, will miss her! Congratulations Julie! They are so lucky to have you as their leader.
We are currently recruiting for several specialty positions (GI, pulmonary, neurology, cardiology, endocrinology) for our growing UNC Children’s practice in the Wilmington area. Thank you to those who are helping with this process!
Gratefully,
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UNC Children's Missions Update |
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Please Welcome our New Children's Providers! |
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Assistant Professor
Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Dr. Wood joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty on September 1, 2021. Dr. Wood received a BS in Nutrition and Exercise from Virginia Tech in 2010 and received her degree in Osteopathic Medicine from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2015. She completed her fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter in June 2021. Welcome Allison!
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Professor
General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Dr. Baum joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty on September 13, 2021. Dr. Baum received a BS in Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1992 and received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. She most recently was appointed as a Clinical Associate Professor at the Ohio State University. Welcome Rebecca!
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Associate Professor
Pediatric Cardiology
Dr. Paris joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty on September 27, 2021. Dr. Paris received her BS in Nursing from the University of Texas in 1980 and received her medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Science School of Medicine in 1992. She currently serves as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Baystate in Springfield, MA. Dr. Paris will spend her time performing clinical activities in Wilmington, NC. Welcome Yvonne!
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Assistant Professor & Director of Robotic Surgery
Pediatric Urology
Dr. Hans Arora received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, followed by Urology residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Glickman Urologic & Kidney Institute. He went on to complete a pediatric urology fellowship at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University. As part of his fellowship, he completed the Health Services & Outcomes Research program at Northwestern University. After completing his fellowship, Dr. Arora joined UNC as an Assistant Professor of Urology, and Director of Robotic Surgery in Pediatric Urology within the Department of Urology. Dr. Arora specializes in both pediatric and adult urology. Welcome Hans!
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New Division Chief for Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
The Department of Pediatrics is excited to announce that Misty Good, MD, MS, FAAP, has accepted our offer to serve as the new Division Chief of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. Dr. Good will be starting in December 2021, and comes to us from Washington University in St. Louis. She earned an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Southern California before pursuing a combined MD/MS program at the American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten, Netherland Antilles. After completing her medical and graduate degrees, she completed her residency and a year as Chief Resident at the Children's Hospital of Illinois. Dr. Good completed her Neonatal-Perinatal fellowship training, at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2011.
From 2011 to 2016, Dr. Good remained a the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor. Beginning in 2016 she has been an Assistant Professor and Co-Program Director for the Neonatal-Perinatal fellowship program at Washington University. In addition, Dr. Good has built an extensive research enterprise; her laboratory focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms in the gastrointestinal disease affecting premature infants. Dr. Good developed a large multi-center biorepository for infants with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) to evaluate the biological signature of infants with NEC, and institute strategies to prevent NEC altogether. Her long-term goal is to elucidate the signaling pathways regulating the uncontrolled immune response seen in NEC and develop strategies to attenuate or prevent the disease.
We are excited for all of you to get to know her and are thrilled to have her join us! Please join us in welcoming Misty to the UNC Children’s family!
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New Associate Chair of Faculty Development for Education
We are excited to announce that Eric Zwemer will be serving as Associate Chair of Faculty Development for Education. Dr. Zwemer is a pediatric hospitalist and pediatric palliative care provider at NC Children’s Hospital. He completed his undergraduate work at Princeton University, received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and completed residency and Chief Residency at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Zwemer joined the UNC faculty in 2015. He has served in multiple education leadership roles, including as an APD for the pediatrics residency, Chair of the Programming Committee for the Academy of Educators, and Director of Junior Faculty Development within the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine. His passion is education, both at the bedside and in the classroom, and he is currently pursuing a Masters in Health Professions Education at Johns Hopkins University School of Education.
In his free time, Dr. Zwemer is a self-proclaimed book nerd, tries to pretend he’s in shape by attending Orangetheory fitness classes, and is currently learning to play the piano. He and his wife Lillian, a Teaching Professor in the UNC Department of Biology, are the proud parents to a daughter and a son.
In his new role as Associate Chair for Faculty Development in Education, Dr. Zwemer is excited to orient new faculty to the educational environment at UNC, create faculty development resources for educational training, and support educational scholarship within the Department.
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Highlighting Sibling Support Services
This support is offered through 1:1 virtual sessions, monthly sibling support groups (virtual at this time) and meeting with caregivers to identify individual needs.
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Children's QI Project a UNC Medical Center Quality and Safety Award Winner
The 2021 UNC Medical Center Quality and Safety Award winners have been selected after a rigorous review process. Over 20 nominations were received by the committee. The UNC Children's project, #underpressure, was 1 of 3 teams selected by the MCIC Executive Committee. The 2021 winners will be recognized at the MCIC meeting on October 12th and receive individual awards commemorating their achievements. Congratulations to all of the team members and leadership sponsors!
Project: #underpressure: NC Children’s Hospital Pressure Injury Reduction Project
Project Leadership: Melanie Dawes MHA, MBA, RN, NE-BC (AVP, Executive Sponsor), Lisa Tibbetts MSN, RN, CPN (PICU PSM III, Sponsor), Jennifer Flippin, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC (NCCC PSM III, Sponsor), and Amber Kirkley, BSN, RN, CPN (CNIV, Project Coach)
Project Team: Almarie Deberry, NAI (CSTI), Ann Sexton, BSN, RN, CWOCN, CFCN (Cert. Wound Ostomy Continence Foot Care RN), Claudette Gaballo, BSN, RN (CNII), Danielle Stolfi, MSN, RN, CCRN (PSMIII), Ellen Maggiore, RN, CCRN (CNII), Heather Curran, BSN, RN, CPN, CPHON (CNIV), Joy Hazard, BSN, RN, CCRN (CNIV), Lauren Mulholand, BSN, RN (CNII), Maria Morrill, MSN, RN, CPN (CNIII), and Melissa Smith, MD (MD in PICU).
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Get Ready for the New Residency Recruitment Season!
The new Residency recruitment season is about to begin. The first interview day is Friday, October 22nd. We are looking forward to another virtual season and would love assistance from faculty to help with interviews!
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EZ Teaching Tips Video Series -Part 1 Available
Dr. Eric Zwemer, as part of his new role in faculty development, is creating various educational resources for the department. Below is a link to the first EZ Teaching Tips Video series, which will be a set of quick (<5 min), high-yield, and practical videos on various educational topics. This first video addresses Feedback (Part 1), which is a main educational focus on the residency program this year. This video series will be available from the Pediatrics Faculty Development website.
At the end of the video, there is a link to a survey for folks to submit other educational topics they would like to see covered. And, to make sure we practice what we preach, feedback is of course welcome!
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If you couldn't join us for the
Department of Pediatrics Virtual Meeting
on Thurs, September 23rd,
the slides can be found here!
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Ferrin Successfully Passing the Torch
Dr. Nikki Ferrin, Assistant Professor in General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, recently completed a faculty development program entitled Passing the Torch: Fostering Medical Humanism through developing Faculty Role Models. She is actively involved in working on a passion project which will be presented at a future Academy of Educators event to continue to highlight their work.
Dr. Ferrin’s enthusiasm and passion for her work is contagious. Her strong interests in the following are inspiring: providing compassionate/ humanistic care to her adolescent patients, educating medical students, residents, and faculty on how to best treat and approach various subsets of adolescent patients and their parents.
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Michelle Hernandez, MD - Pediatric Allergy/Immunology - As part of her role with the North Carolina Network Consortium, and in conjunction with other UNC collaborators, Dr. Hernandez has been awarded a Research Program Project Grant (P01), as part of the “Improving Provider Announcement Communication Training (IMPACT)” project.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is effective and recommended to protect against six types of cancer, but HPV vaccine coverage remains low, especially in rural areas. The overall goal of the study is to test promising behavioral economic alternatives in order to amplify the impact of AAT training - the teaching of health care professionals to make and support strong HPV vaccine recommendations). The study will examine whether clinic-level financial incentives, with behavioral nudges, can improve HPV vaccination communication and uptake.
The research is innovative in adopting behavioral economic principles to improve effectiveness of pay-for-performance strategies in pediatrics and addresses the IMPACT Program Project theme of amplifying the impact of a Research-Tested Intervention Program to improve HPV vaccine communication by providing much-needed evidence for the value of HPV communication interventions within healthcare systems.
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Orr & Gutierrez On virtual COVID Vaccine Outreach Event
Many thanks and congratulations to Drs. Colin Orr and Jennifer Gutierrez on their participation as panelists at the Wake County Health Department virtual COVID vaccine outreach event. This event was part of Wake County's monthly “Ask the Doc” series - a forum for community members, especially those from under represented groups, to ask COVID-related questions directly to physicians. The focus for the September session was COVID vaccination for children. The English-language event took place on September 16th and the Spanish-language session on September 20th. Thank you both for your part in outreach about this critical and timely issue!
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Making the Most of Masking: Let's Focus on Fit...
We encourage you to watch the webinar, prepared by our UNC colleagues, to provide parents, families, and providers with pertinent background on aerosols, masks, and easy ways to improve mask fit, especially in kids.
Read more
www.med.unc.edu
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Pediatric Leaders Call to Action
As clinical leaders of Children's hospitals in the North Carolina Triangle region, we are here to advance and protect child health. We are alarmed by the sharp rise in case numbers of COVID-19 positivity, infection, and hospitalizations in...
Read more
www.med.unc.edu
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'Life of service' brings Puerto Rican doctor to rural...
At UNC Health, Dr. Michelle Hernandez is breaking down barriers as a pediatric allergist and immunologist. The Puerto Rican native calls the work her purpose, "I feel like my life is a life of service, and I'm really honored that I can do this."
Read more
www.wral.com
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It is always tough being the new person, but it helps to have someone on the team who is looking out for you while also looking out for UNC Health's mission. Jessi Stark is that someone and stands out as one of our UNC Health #ValuesSuperStars for teammate Harriet McCarter.
For over a year, the administrative team in the Department of Pediatrics has worked remotely. "Jessi is the rare soul who "reads the room" and tries to keep the team motivated and engaged in the most sensitive and creative ways," praises Harriet. "It has been lonely and really difficult to feel connected and to believe we are making a difference – especially for newer staff like me. Jessi helps you when you need that help."
During a particularly low moment, Harriet recalls how a simple act of kindness from Jessi turned the day around. "I opened my email to find a virtual gift card for some goodies and the sweetest note from Jessi simply thanking me for what I do. That unexpected kindness made me realize how lucky I am to work with such great people, and it really turned things around for me," Harriet shared.
"Just taking the extra time to say thank you. Or go a little more out of your way to treat someone with kindness, or a little bit more professionalism," said Jessi while reflecting on her support for others and their well-being. "I'm supporting great staff members and faculty who are working hard to take care of North Carolina's children. I really feel good helping others."
"Sometimes that's what gets someone to bounce back and get from today to tomorrow… and gets everyone back on the team page," notes Harriet. Jessi's example of UNC Health's values, especially It Starts with Me, "conveys a work ethic, a caring and a real purpose in the overall Mission. It inspires me to do the same."
Thank you, Jessi, for being one of our #ValuesSuperStars and part of our One Great Team.
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Benjamin Butler, MSN, RN, CPN
UNC Children's Patient Services Manager, III
Nominated by Melanie Dawes & Jessica Simo
Benjamin Butler has been a pediatric nurse and a nursing leader for over 25 years with UNC Children’s. With this base of deep experience, he has built many friendships and helped to cultivate the talents of many team members within our organization.
Most recently, Benjamin agreed to serve as the Interim Director for Children’s Clinic Support Services. He has served this leadership team with characteristic grace, helping to guide his peers through the many changes that a pandemic will bring. Benjamin has also stepped in to help onboard the new Children’s Outpatient Director to assure that she will be well equipped in her position to lead the team going forward. For this and many reasons, Benjamin has enthusiastically been nominated for the Unsung Hero Award.
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