Seattle Children's Provider News

Access Dashboard: November 2023

Please visit our Access Dashboard – November 2023 to find wait times for many of our ambulatory clinics and a list of conditions considered urgent for scheduling purposes. We hope this information will support you in making decisions about referring to Seattle Children’s. Algorithms and other clinical care resources for common pediatric conditions are available at seattlechildrens.org/algorithms.

CMEs, Conferences and Grand Rounds

CMEs

  • Common Pediatric Hand Problems: Yours, Mine, Ours. November 8, 2023, 6 to 7 p.m. Category 2 CME. Learn more and register.
  • The Shifting Landscape of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) Treatment and Outcomes. November 29, 2023, 6 to 7 p.m. Category 2 CME for OB/MFM providers. Learn more and register.
  • Fetal Echocardiography: Understanding the Normal and Abnormal Fetal Heart. December 14, 2023, 6 to 7 p.m. Category 2 CME for OB/MFM providers. Learn more and register.

  Read full post »

New Medical Staff

Medical Staff

Elizabeth Altomare, MD, Community Pediatrics

Basma Basha, MD, Pathology

Arron Cole, MD, Otolaryngology

Hannah Deming, MD, Bioethics

Emily Duffy, MD, Dermatology

Terry Kho, MD, Genetic Medicine

Grace Laidlaw, MD, Interventional Radiology

William Moore, MD, Community Pediatrics

Luke Hensley Mosley, MD, Bioethics

Brian Joey Que, MD, Community Pediatrics

Trusha Shah, DO, Neurology

LaVone Simmons, MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology

Jennifer Song, DO, Community Pediatrics

Sushitha Surendran, MD, Cardiology

Megan Wells, MD, Community Pediatrics

 

Allied Health Professionals

Daniella Breithaupt, PA-C, Hematology-Oncology

Julia Chavez, PA-C, Surgery

Elizabeth Deobald, ARNP, Critical Care

Laurie Dutko, PA-C, Surgery

Tamara Eklund, ARNP, Neonatology

Deannita Fielding, ARNP, Neonatology

Ruby Griswold, PA-C, Neonatology

Lisa Harvey, RD, Dietetics/Nutrition

Albert Hernandez, PA-C, Neonatology

Dafina Ibrani, ARNP, Neonatology

Lynne Kyoung Kim-Yang, ARNP, Neonatology

Celena Lyon, PA-C, Neonatology

Tuyen Thanh Nguyen, PA-C, Emergency

Seth Webb, ARNP, Community Pediatrics

Updates on Hospital Capacity, Masking Guidance and More

Emergency Department capacity

The Emergency Department (ED) has been experiencing high volumes and significant evening surges since the start of the school year. We continue to see many patients presenting for mental health assessment and are still requiring a significant number of those patients to wait more than 24 hours for the next step in care (inpatient bed, transfer or discharge). To handle the high demand, staff and procedures are in place; please do not hesitate to send patients to the ED when you have emergent concerns.

See our Emergency or Urgent Care Referral Guide for assistance.

 

Masking and visitor policies

Currently we recommend but do not require that patients, families and visitors wear a mask when visiting our facilities. Workforce members are required to wear hospital-issued masks or higher-level masks for all clinical encounters and are recommended to wear masks in other work locations.

Masking and other policy changes that were anticipated to go into effect at Seattle Children’s on October 2nd were postponed. However, updates are likely in the near future as we monitor COVID-19 trends in partnership with other hospitals in the area. Read full post »

The Autism Center Introduces the New ATLAS Class to Connect Kids to Care More Quickly

The Autism Center has revamped the way children with an autism diagnosis and their families will access services. The first step for almost all families is now to take our new ATLAS Class. ATLAS stands for Accessing Treatment, Learning and Support.  Here is what referring providers need to know:

 

What is the ATLAS Class?

ATLAS is a 90-minute class designed to teach families the basics of navigating services at the Autism Center and in the community. Objectives include:

 

  • Identifying their goals for their child and family
  • Learning about the services, classes and groups available at Seattle Children’s and elsewhere in the community
  • Building a roadmap (atlas) for next steps that will best meet their family’s and child’s needs

 

The ATLAS instructor will provide families with up-to-date wait times for various Autism Center services. This information will help families decide if it makes sense to consider community care options that may be available sooner.

 

Benefits of ATLAS

Before ATLAS, the Autism Center had capacity to see about 20 new families each month via individual visits; with ATLAS, we can get about 100 new families in the door each month. Families who complete the ATLAS class will be able to self-refer to the Autism Center’s services based on their goals. For example, families can choose to sign up for a Medical Care Consult if they want a visit with an autism provider, but they will know the wait and what they can do while waiting.

 

Classes and services available at the Autism Center

ATLAS participants will learn about the what the Autism Center does and doesn’t offer and the various education classes and resource and navigation classes.

Read full post »

Early Recognition of Common Pediatric Hand Problems: A Q&A With Dr. Suzanne Steinman

 

Suzanne Steinman, MD, is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and hand specialist at Seattle Children’s.

 

 

 


Q: What are some of the pediatric hand problems that can be treated in the PCP office?

The common conditions below can be managed in a primary care setting in most cases. I’ve offered a few tips below; for more detailed discussion, consider registering for our upcoming CME on common pediatric hand problems on November 8. PCPs with questions are always welcome to give us a call on the Provider-to-Provider Line.

  • Mild clinodactyly
  • Jammed fingers/volar plate injuries – These are usually overtreated. X-rays are often unnecessary. If it has been a week since the injury occurred and the finger still hurts, X-ray to check for displaced fracture. Appropriate treatment for a true jammed finger is one week of splinting (not longer) and then buddy tape.
  • Paronychiae (nail infection)
  • Superficial “responsive” infections
  • Herpetic whitlow
  • Ganglion cyst – Please watch and wait, as many cases will resolve on their own. Avoid steroids, injections and aspiration. If the cyst persists and hurts, surgery will be required, but this is rare. If in doubt, please refer.
  • Closed mallet fingers – Treat only if you have the appropriate splints available; otherwise, please send to us.
  • Simple subungual hematomas – These will go away on their own. Do not trephinate, as this may cause infection! Instead, offer Tylenol or ibuprofen for pain.
  • Paronychia (nail inflammation) – Consider moist heat, elevation, oral antibiotics, or nail removal for visible nondraining pus. These are more urgent referrals if it’s something you can’t treat.

Read full post »

Mission Control: The One-Stop Shop for Providers Who Are Sending Patients to Seattle Children’s for Emergency or Inpatient Care

Mission Control: 206-987-8899 or toll-free 866-987-8899

 

What is Mission Control?

Mission Control is a Seattle Children’s team that coordinates the flow of patients into the hospital’s inpatient setting. It was created in the spring of 2023 to serve as the single point of entry for all inpatients and a “one-stop shop” for providers seeking direct patient admission.

  • Mission: To provide seamless patient flow across the continuum of care to ensure every patient is in the right place, at the right time, and receives the right level of care.

 

How should external providers use Mission Control?

Please contact Mission Control if you are sending — or expect to send — a patient to the hospital Emergency Department (ED) or for admission.

Call Mission Control if:

  • You are sending a patient to the ED
  • You are sending a patient who needs direct admission as an inpatient
  • Your patient may need to be admitted as an inpatient in the next several days (so we can plan ahead)

An experienced Transfer Center RN will answer your call and collect information regarding your patient. They will know our bed and nursing capacity and can assign the patient a medical team. The nurse can consult with the Hospital Medicine attending physician — our “flow MD,” who is also a Mission Control team member — if there are questions about whether the patient needs intensive care, acute care or an ED visit. If the provider needs help figuring out the best way to get the patient to Seattle Children’s, the Transfer Center RN can connect with the Seattle Children’s transport team to help with that too.

Mission Control team members work on-site in a shared space to ensure seamless collaboration.

 

Questions Mission Control might ask

When you call, please be ready to provide: Read full post »

Seattle Children’s Announces Future Location of Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in the Central District

From On the Pulse, September 12, 2023, by Ashley Speller

 

Leaders from Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC) have announced the location of its new clinic site in Seattle’s Central District.

The future home of OBCC, situated on the corner of 18th Ave. S. and S. Jackson St., will serve area patients and families with robust mental health and behavioral health services, nutrition, acute and well-child medical visits, labs, violence and injury prevention support and addiction-related resources, which are unique to OBCC and not offered elsewhere.

“The Central District neighborhood is OBCC’s original home, and we are overjoyed to share this news,” said Dr. Shaquita Bell, OBCC’s senior medical director. “This location is in the heart of the Central District and allows us to continue caring for our patients and families in the neighborhood, as we have for over 50 years.” Read full post »

Managing Childhood Asthma: New Algorithm

A new asthma algorithm from our Pulmonary Division offers assistance with the initial diagnosis and management of asthma in a primary care setting.

About the algorithm

The algorithm starts with the point at which a patient is first seen in a primary care office for symptoms that may be asthma and walks the provider through the history, physical exam and diagnostic workup required to make a diagnosis (page 1, left side).

After a diagnosis of asthma is made, the algorithm details the steps involved in the initial management of asthma, which is much more than just medications. Comprehensive asthma care also includes an assessment of the child’s environment, addressing comorbidities that can aggravate asthma symptoms, providing patient and family education and ensuring protection with immunizations (page 1, right side).

Regarding medications for the management of asthma, the algorithm doesn’t dive into details of specific treatments, but instead points providers to already existing resources on page 2 under References. These are broken down by age group. Read full post »

New PAL Care Guides Available and Other Mental Health News

The Partnership Access Line (PAL) released the 2024 version of the Washington State “Seattle Children’s Primary Care Principles for Child Mental Health” care guide, available here.

The 2024 care guide (version 12.0) includes the following updates: Read full post »