Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2014 - (Page 5)

EVERYDAY HERO Putting quality first R E S E A R C H U P D AT E s This doctor engages everyone in quality conversations. VITAL STATS NAME Elizabeth Mack, M.D. PositioN Director of quality, pediatric and critical care HosPitAl Palmetto Health Children's Hospital, Columbia, S.C. E lizabeth Mack, M.D., and her team are committed to transforming quality of care and saving lives. By engaging and educating everyone from parents to custodial staff to clinicians in preventing infections and reducing medical errors, she has leads her team to deliver the best care for kids. What do you enjoy doing most? I absolutely love my job. Taking care of critically ill children is the ultimate privilege. What's something most people don't know about you? As a child, I competed in math competitions, and I was president of the Latin club. Who are your heroes? Dr. Atul Gawande is amazing. He's changed lives with his safe surgery checklist-an easy, cost-effective intervention. Drs. Rich Brilli and Derek Wheeler are two of several faculty during my fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center who taught me the science of quality improvement. What natural gift would you most like to possess? I'd love to have the power to read minds. I try to anticipate parents' worries and needs, but that doesn't always work perfectly. What is your pet peeve? I'm a bit of a neat freak. I need a tidy office and home. And, I don't like blood under central line dressings. Which living person do you most admire? My pediatrician mentors, Drs. Caughman Taylor and Jimmy Stallworth, who taught me the art and science of taking care of critically ill children. They're both excellent communicators and diagnosticians. What is your most treasured possession? My health. My job makes me thankful for this every day. Children's Hospital Los Angeles was awarded a $17 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct HIV and AIDS research. The goal is to provide scientific leadership and infrastructure for laboratory testing as part of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials, which includes more than 50 laboratories worldwide. The Children's Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, N.Y., found that kids who regularly sing, play, tell stories and eat dinner with their families tend to have higher social-emotional health (SEH). Results showed children who participate in five family routines are more than twice as likely to have high SEH, and for each additional routine that a parent and child do together, there is a 50 percent greater likelihood of having high SEH. The study was published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland, Ore., is participating in a study on the impact of animal-assisted therapy for children with cancer and their families. Researchers will monitor the blood pressure and heart rate of patients and their family members and provide them with questionnaires to determine their response to therapy dogs. The study is the first of its kind to also examine the impact of therapy work on the dogs. Canine stress levels will be monitored through cortisol levels in the dogs' saliva, behavioral assessments and video analysis. Nominate an everyday hero from your hospital. Email magazine@childrenshospitals.org. children's hospital s today Spring 2014 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2014

Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2014
Contents
Editor's Note
President's Message
Reader Commentary
Everyday Heo
Transforming Care
Measuring Up
Data Breach: 10 Ways to Prepare and Respond
A Fresh Take
Balancing the Business of Care
Better Together
Public Policy Update
Board Member Q&A
Child's Story

Children's Hospitals Today - Spring 2014