Evelyn Hsu
Seattle Children’s is pleased to announce that Dr. Evelyn Hsu accepted the position of division chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, following a year as acting division chief and a very competitive national search. She also has served as program director of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship and medical director for Liver Transplantation.
“I’m excited to join this group in an official capacity. My priority is to expand our staff and open up our services to care for more children in our region, while implementing a service model that allows us to scale up in size while continuing to provide excellent care.,” says Hsu. Read full post »
To realize our vision of becoming an anti-racist and equitable health organization, Seattle Children’s has developed the Anti-Racism Organizational Change (AROC) and Accelerated Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Plan. This plan was designed with guidance and support from our workforce, patients and families, community, and trusted and expert leaders on anti-racism work, equity, inclusion and diversity. Read full post »
Patients tested to date: 21,461. Positive: 536 (2.4%). Six patients are in the hospital; others are recovering at home.
Seattle Children’s is excited to announce the launch of a novel nonprofit research group that will accelerate the development of new medicines for childhood cancer and other debilitating pediatric diseases.
The new enterprise, Seattle Children’s Therapeutics, reimagines what a pediatric research organization should look like. It is intentionally structured like a biotech company rather than a typical academic research group. The people and functions needed to bring new medicines from bench to bedside — research scientists in the lab, clinical trials management teams, regulatory compliance specialists, business managers and a state-of-the-art on-site facility for manufacturing cellular and genetic therapeutics — have been brought together under one roof, under one management and leadership team.
Seattle Children’s Therapeutics includes a team of 130 led by Dr. Michael Jensen, Seattle Children’s chief therapeutics officer. A renowned pediatric cancer researcher and former founding scientist at Juno Therapeutics, Jensen says Seattle Children’s is “breaking the status quo” of pediatric disease research. Read full post »
Outpatient psychiatry services are now available at Seattle Children’s North Clinic in Everett. Providers at the North Clinic are offering:
- Diagnostic evaluations for depression, anxiety and early childhood disorders
- Stepped-care treatment for anxiety and externalizing behaviors (focusing on groups with some individual/family therapy)
- Parent management training
- Individual therapy for depressive disorders (very limited; by internal referral only)
- Treatment of young children focusing on parent management training
Read full post »
Patient Caregiver Policies in the Hospital
Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in our region and nationally, Seattle Children’s is returning to stricter guidelines regarding visitors in order to protect the health and safety of our patients, families and workforce.
Patients in both our inpatient and ambulatory settings will only be allowed a single caregiver effective Monday, Nov. 30.
Inpatient care visitor policy update:
- All families may identify two caregivers for their child’s inpatient stay.
- Only one caregiver may be at the bedside at a time.
- The two caregivers will remain the primary caregivers for the entirety of the hospitalization.
- The following exceptions will continue to apply:
- Caregivers of patients at the end of life may request an exception
- Patients whose caregivers are receiving discharge teaching
- Siblings who are younger than 12 months of age and who are breastfeeding may remain in a room with the breastfeeding parent if the patient is in standard precautions
Read full post »
Seattle Children’s is providing influenza vaccinations to inpatients and outpatients during their scheduled visits. Seattle Children’s is also offering the vaccination to Emergency Department and Urgent Care patients. All vaccinations given to patients are documented in the Child Profile Immunization Registry. Patients are screened for eligibility.
We are also offering flu shot vouchers to patients’ family members and household contacts age 3 and older during patient visits and stays. The vouchers can be used at any Bartell Drugs with no out-of-pocket cost (Bartell will bill family members’ insurance, if available, and charge any remaining balance to Seattle Children’s). Family members and household contacts 6 months to 35 months old will need to get their flu vaccine at their primary care provider’s office. Read full post »
As of Nov. 3, Seattle Children’s had tested 16,034 children. 250 were positive, for a positivity rate of 1.6%; most had symptoms but 39% were asymptomatic.
Testing sites and capacity: We offer testing for children and teens through age 17 at our four Urgent Care Clinics and at the Sand Point Learning Center drive-through near the hospital. We consistently have availability at all locations; our best capacity is usually at the Sand Point Learning Center and Seattle Urgent Care. Federal Way Urgent Care tends to fill up fastest.
Results: We have extended our COVID-19 test result window to 24 to 48 hours instead of one day due to higher demand. If you do not receive your patient’s results within the time expected, please call our clinical lab for assistance at 206-987-2102.
No walk-up COVID-19 testing: Referrals are required for COVID-19 testing at all Seattle Children’s testing sites; appointments are also required. After you submit an order, please ask the family to call us at 206-987-2100 to schedule their appointment at one of our five testing locations. Read full post »
A study led by Melissa Melough of Seattle Children’s Research Institute sheds light on the benefits of vitamin D intake by pregnant women to their child’s brain development as well as the significantly higher risk of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women of color. Vitamin D deficiency is common among the general population but Black women are at higher risk. “I hope our work brings greater awareness to this problem, shows the long-lasting implications of prenatal vitamin D for the child and their neurocognitive development, and highlights that there are certain groups providers should be paying closer attention to,” says Melough.
Read “Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy Linked with Child IQ, Study Shows Disparities Among Black Women,” On the Pulse, Nov. 2, 2020.
