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Congratulations to Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, on being named the new Medical Director of Critical Care Transport. Dr Rutledge graduated medical school from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a pediatric residency at the University of North Carolina before returning to UAB for a pediatric critical care fellowship. Upon completion of her fellowship she stayed on as faculty at UAB in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care. 

We would like to thank Dr. Margaret Winkler for her many years of leadership in this role.

 

Congratulations to Daniel Feig, M.D., Pediatric Nephrology, on being elected to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Nephrology Executive Council. Dr. Feig will serve on the council beginning November 1, 2018 and the term will extend through October 31, 2021.

 

The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomed four new faculty members during the month of September. Please join us in making them feel at home! 

Amy Myers CaJacob, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology

Mike Leonis, M.D., Ph.D., Professor in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Erika Mendoza, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care

Megan Yanik, M.D., MSPH, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Nephrology

Amy Myers CaJacob, M.D., Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, earned her Medical Degree from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. Dr. CaJacob completed an Internal Medicine Residency and Allergy and Immunology Fellowship at UAB and Children’s of Alabama. She has served as a clinical instructor at various institutions including UAB’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care. Dr. CaJacob will serve as the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Fellowship program. Her research interests include: asthma, food allergy, and eosinophilic gastroenteropathies.

 

Mike Leonis, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition earned his Medical Degree and Doctorate of Philosophy from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. He completed his Pediatric Residency at Primary Children’s Hospital Medical Center at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT and his Fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. Most recently, Dr. Leonis was an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine while also serving as Director of Training and Education and Director of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. His clinical interests include all areas of Pediatric Hepatology and Pediatric Liver Transplantation and he has participated in NIH-sponsored multicenter clinical research projects in pediatric acute liver failure over the last decade. Dr. Leonis joins UAB Pediatrics and Children's as the Bradford Dean Dixon Endowed Professor in Pediatric Hepatology. In addition, Dr. Leonis will serve as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Liver Care Center and the Medical Director of Pediatric Liver Transplantation.

 

Erika Mendoza, M.D., Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care, earned her Medical Degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela, Escuela Jose Maria Vargas, Caracas, Venezuela. She completed her Pediatric Residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center/St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA and Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Torrance, CA. Dr. Mendoza completed her Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Fellowship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR. Prior to her fellowship, Dr. Mendoza served as a Pediatric Hospitalist at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Yakima, WA.

 

Megan Yanik, M.D., MSPH, Pediatric Nephrology, earned her Medical Degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH. Dr. Yanik completed her Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship at UAB Department of Pediatrics and Children’s of Alabama. She recently finished her master’s degree in Public Health in Clinical and Translational Research with a concentration in biostatistics at UAB. Her clinical and research interests include: immunosuppressant medications and outcomes in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

Wayne Liang, M.D., Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and Member of the UAB Informatics Institute, received an appointment as an Associate Scientist in the Experimental Therapeutics Program of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center effective Sept. 21, 2017. 

Congratulations to Dr. Liang on joining the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center!

To increase the awareness about childhood cancer and help raise money for cure, two stories of childhood cancer survivors who were Children's of Alabama patients were featured on WIAT CBS 42 on Sept. 21 as part of 'Committed to a Cure' broadcast. View the broadcast here at 5:07:37.                                                   

The first story features a love story between Hannah Acton andLogan Whitehead who met at Children's and are both childhood cancer survivors. View their story here at 5:10:05.  

The second story features 14-year-old Payton Ray who was diagnosed with leukemia and is now cured after a bone marrow transplant because of a donor who is a complete stranger to Payton's family. View his story here at 06:06:34.

Michelle Kong, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, is among the list of 30 strong women in Alabama making differences in their communities. This year, This is Alabama presents the third annual Women Who Shape the State awards, which are listed on AL.com. Dr. Kong's recognition is due to being the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of KultureCity, which is changing the state and beyond for the betterment of members of the special needs community. 

Read the story on AL.com 

Gregory Friedman, M.D., Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, was invited to attend and speak at the WhatIFF Symposium for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research on Sept. 15-16 in Atlanta, GA. This first ever symposium for pediatric brain tumor research gathered the top clinicians and researchers in the field to present their ideas on how to put an end to brain tumors. Dr. Friedman's talk titled, "Immunovirotherapy to Target Pediatric Brain Tumors” discussed the ongoing oncolytic HSV trial at Children's of Alabama and plans to develop innovative combination approaches to maximize virus killing of cancer cells and the development of an anti-tumor immune response.

Kristen Waddell, MSN, CPNP-AC, CRNP, CCRN, recently received a Young Alumni Merit Award from the UAB School of Nursing Alumni Association at their Alumni Awards Night on Sept. 14, 2017. Kristen has worked as a RN in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children's for six years and a PICU PNP for four years. She is also co-developer and the program coordinator for the Children's of Alabama Community Healthcare Education Simulation (COACHES) program.
 

Hyundai Hope On Wheels presented Children's of Alabama with a $250,000 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. The grant funds will support the research of principal investigator Julie Wolfson, M.D., Pediatric Hematology & Oncology. Children's of Alabama patients battling cancer participated in the program’s signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they dipped their hands in paint and placed their handprints on a white 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe and Dr. Wolfson's white coat. 
 
To view photos, click here.

Winners of the 2017 Argus Awards were announced at the ceremony held Friday, Sept. 8. The awards are given each year by medical students to honor their professors and course directors for excellence in medical education. Click here to view this year's winners. Nominees from Pediatrics includes: Hussein Abdul-Latif, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, Robb Romp, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology, William Sasser, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, and Kim Whelan, M.D., Pediatric Hematology & Oncology. To view all nominees, click here. 

Stephenie B. Wallace, M.D., FAAP, Adolescent Medicine, has been selected to serve as Vice President aka President Elect for the Southeast Regional Chapter of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM). The Southeast Regional Chapter includes members from six states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. 

More information. 

The UAB Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) class roster for 2017-2018 was recently announced. Joseph Chewning, M.D., Pediatric Hematology & Oncology, is among the incoming members. The purpose of the HLA is to establish a cohesive and comprehensive program that offers training opportunities and helps develop essential skills for leaders in the 21st century academic health center. Click here to learn more. The UAB HLA is celebrating the 10th anniversary of this program! 

Thirty women have been selected to join Momentum, Alabama's premier women's leadership program. Among these is Cathy Turner, CPA, CGMA, Executive Administrator of UAB Pediatrics. 

The class, which Momentum leaders said is the largest and most diverse in its 15 years, will kick off this week and culminate with a luncheon. Following orientation, the class will begin the nine-month program of training and mentoring. Monthly sessions will include topics such as emotional intelligence, negotiation, healthy conflict, organizational and team development, branding and communication as well as mentoring. 

More information. 

We are happy to introduce Purnima Kasthuri Janarthanan as our Communications Intern for this fall semester. A native of Coimbatore, India, Purnima is a communication management graduate student at UAB. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering in 2014. Due to her passion for Public Relations, she gravitated toward activities related to PR during her sophomore year and chose to stick to the field ever since. Most recently Purnima completed an internship with UAB University Relations where she worked with various PR specialists writing news releases and briefs for UAB News, simultaneously pitching them to the external media.

Purnima will assist Sara Davies, communications specialist, with developing content for the website, newsletter, media relations outreach, and new communications initiatives.

Rylie Hightower, BSN, RN, a graduate student in Pediatric Neurology, has been selected as a 2017-2018 Civitan Emerging Scholar by the Civitan International Research Center (CIRC). This one-year award is granted to graduate students or postdoctoral fellows whose research is helping to advance the mission of the CIRC, enhancing our current understanding of brain development, impaired cognitive and intellectual development, and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Rylie is a Neuroscience PhD graduate student in the laboratory of Matthew S. Alexander, Ph.D. Her newly-funded research will explore the function of an important non-coding RNA in the clinical and pathological disease progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Doctors strongly warn against bed sharing, especially for infants under six months. Dramatic public service campaigns highlight the danger of rolling over on a baby or accidental suffocation with pillows and blankets blocking the airway. "The bottom line, a baby shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed with you," advises Dr. Brad Troxler, M.D., Director of the Children's of Alabama Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Troxler says new 2016 guidelines encourage parents to keep the baby in the same bedroom, just not in the parent's bed. Dr. Troxler says infants need their own safe sleep spot.

Watch the interview on ABC 3340.

Children’s of Alabama has modified its visitation policies for its inpatient units during respiratory illness season beginning Oct. 1 and running through April 1, 2018.

Beginning Oct. 1, visitors to the hospital’s inpatient units must be at least 12 years of age and symptom-free to visit. In the past Children’s seasonal child-visitor policy applied only to critical care units like the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) and Stem Cell Transplant Unit. The policy now applies to all inpatient units.

“We are taking this action for the benefit of our patients during respiratory illness season,” said Delphene Hobby-Noland, director of Infection Control at Children’s. “We are literately talking life and death in some cases and the well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority.

“That’s why we’re asking parents and other visitors to make plans to have siblings and other children safely stay with another adult while they are visiting Children’s or staying with their children in the hospital.”

Children’s generally allows visitation daily from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m. All visitors must register and wear hospital-issued identification before visiting any area. As always, any visitor experiencing the following symptoms are asked to postpone their visit:

• fever in the last 24 hours
• runny nose
• cough
• sore throat
• been exposed to anyone with flu like symptoms

Read the story on Childrensal.org. 

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Civitan Rett Syndrome Clinic has received the Center of Excellence award from Rettsyndrome.org, a leading advocacy organization for patients and families affected by Rett syndrome.

The award was presented at a reception Friday, Sept. 8 at Children’s of Alabama, which was well represented by both Children's of Alabama and UAB leadership.

“We are so grateful for this designation and what it means for the present and future of our Rett syndrome program here at UAB and Children’s of Alabama,” said Mitch B. Cohen, M.D., Chair, UAB Department of Pediatrics and Physician-In-Chief, Children’s of Alabama. “This award sends a message to families that they have a place close to home where they can seek out expert care and cutting edge research.” Read more

UAB Medicine strives to provide the best care and support to our patients by having healthy employees and to encourage a healthy community. For these reasons, UAB Medicine will implement a new policy effective Oct. 1, 2017, which makes flu vaccines mandatory for all UAB Medicine employees. This decision, made by the Medical Executive Committee, is for the safety of our patients.

All employees in the UAB Health System, UAB Hospital/LLC, UAHSF, The Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital, The Kirklin Clinic at Acton Road, UAB Callahan Eye Hospital, OSF, UAB Health Centers and UAB School of Medicine Clinical Departments will be required to take the flu vaccine each year prior to December 15. Children's of Alabama, among other local and national hospitals across the country, have already taken this step to require flu vaccinations each year.

Check the One website for Frequently Asked Questions about this new requirement. In the meantime, please contact your human resources department with questions or comments about the new flu policy

Susan Walley, M.D., CTTS, FAAP, has been selected as CME Chair and Board member of the Alabama Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics (AL-AAP). Dr. Walley’s term begins Oct. 1 and will last for three years, during which time she will be responsible for the CME activities of the AL-AAP. She is assuming the position from David Gremse, M.D., FAAP, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

 “We are very excited to have Dr. Walley join our board and assume this role,” said Wes Stubblefield, M.D., FAAP, incoming AL-AAP president.  “She brings a wealth of experience in this area and tenacity, which will make her a tremendous addition to our team.”