Seattle Children's Provider News

Conferences

• What’s New in Medicine 2023: Infectious Disease, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9, 2023. Option to register for ONLY the Saturday conference (Pediatrics), allowing for 8 Category 1 CME credits. Or, register for two days (Infectious Disease on Friday and either Pediatrics or Internal Medicine on Saturday) and view the other Saturday conference anytime via video (up to one year after the event) to attain all 24 Category 1 CME credits.  Participate virtually or in person (Kennewick, WA). For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit whatsnewinmedicine.org. Brochure.

• 2023 Peroxisome Scientific Meeting. September 10–13, 2023. Seattle Children’s Research Institute will host three days of exciting scientific discussions, a keynote address, short talks by invitees and social activities. Learn more: event website.

• 2023 Epilepsy Symposium, “Improving Pediatric Outcomes: Advances in Diagnosis, Management and Treatment.” Saturday, October 14, 2023. Hear from experts from Seattle Children’s Neurology, Epilepsy, Neurosurgery and Genetics Programs. Medical professionals and caregivers of children with epilepsy are welcome to attend. Registration is required. Learn more.

CMEs

• Common Presentations of Childhood Cancer in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. September 20, 2023 from 6 to 7 p.m. Category 2 CME. Learn more. Register.

• Tried, True and New in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. October 17, 2023, 6 to 7 p.m. Category 2 CME. Learn more. Register.

Training Event

• Virtual Autism Center of Excellence (COE) Certification Training, Friday, September 29, 2023, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 pm. Learn more and register at https://medicalhome.org/coe or contact Kate Orville at [email protected]. Flyer.

Provider Grand Rounds

Year-round on Thursdays from 8 to 9 a.m. Learn more.

• September 7, 2023: The Genesis of Unequal Burden of Pain: A Selective Review Examining Social Inequities and Unheard Voices. Tarcea Pain Medicine Lecture. Carmen Renee Green, MD, Dean, CUNY School of Medicine, Bert Brodsky Chair; Medical Professor, Community Health and Social Medicine; Professor, Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, City College of New York (CCNY), Research Hospital.
• September 14, 2023: Scholarly QI: How to Build an Academic Career on the Work You Already Do. Lori Rutman, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Seattle Children’s.
• September 21, 2023: My Child’s Life Is Worth Saving: Addressing Racism in Serious Illness Communication. Mann Family Pediatric Palliative Care Lecture. Tessie October, MD, MPH, Pediatric Intensive Care, Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine, Children’s National Hospital;
  NIH, Pediatric Intensive Care Research
• September 28, 2023: ECMO: Current and Future Status. Robert H. Bartlett, MD, Active Professor Emeritus, Acute Care Surgery, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan.   

2024 Nursing Events: Save the Date

• 2024 Pediatric Nursing Update Conference: January 26, 2024 (virtual)
• 45th Annual Duncan Seminar: March 22, 2024 (virtual)
• 2024 Nursing Research Symposium: May 10, 2024, Seattle Children’s Sand Point Learning Center

Medical Staff

Lisa Akiyama, MD, Neurology

Erin Anstadt, MD, Plastic Surgery

Erin Balay-Dustrude, MD, Rheumatology

Britany Barber, MD, Otolaryngology

Katherine Bartoletta, MD, Pediatrics

Elizabeth Budnik, DO, Emergency-Urgent Care

Priya Chandra, MD, Nephrology

Benjamin Edmonds, MD, Neurology

Vikramjit Singh Gill, MD, Emergency Medicine

Georgia Griffin, MD, Pediatrics

Lauren Gunderman, MD, Immunology

Christina Hartje-Dunn, MD, Cardiology

Maria Henry, MD, General Anesthesia

Rebecca Hoban, MD, Neonatology

Sandy Johng, MD, Neonatology

Daniel Kaufman, MD, Transplant surgery

Samuel Keller, MD, Cardiology

Sheetal Khiyani, MD, Emergency

Sung Min Kim, MD, General Anesthesia

Lauren Kroll-Wheeler, MD, Pathology

David Le, DO, Orthopedics

Jared Levin, MD, Rehab Medicine

Katrin Lichtsinn, MD, Neonatology

Sarah Lopez-Walters, ARNP, Critical Care

Haytham Maria, MD, Transplant Surgery

Carol McFarland, MD, Cardiology

Andrea Otero Luna, MD, Cardiology and Critical Care

Rachel Rau, MD, Hematology/Oncology

David Shin, MD, Radiology

Dorata Szczepaniak, MD, Pediatrics

Christopher Tapia, MD, Neurology

Michael Wadle, DO, General Anesthesia

Justin Willis, MD, Pediatrics

Scott Yang, MD, Orthopedics

Andrew Yazman, MD, Emergency-Urgent Care

Allied Health Professionals

Kennedy Brinkworth, ARNP, Neonatology

Thuy-Linh Bui, PA-C, Child Psychiatry

Hailey Caudle, PhD, Psychology

Julie Ann DeGregorio, ARNP, Pediatrics

Virginia Dillon, ARNP, Emergency-Urgent Care

Justin Domurat, ARNP, Emergency-Urgent Care

Elizabeth Ferrill, ARNP, Pediatrics

Lauren Hamel, PA-C, Pediatrics

Whitney Hugie, ARNP, Hematology/Oncology

Teneisha Hunt, ARNP, Hospital Medicine

Amber Mashuta, ARNP, Hospital Medicine

Mary Montgomery, ARNP, Psychiatry

Shannon Nash, ARNP, Pediatrics

Kimberly Newell, ARNP, Neonatology

Dawn Niess, ARNP, Hematology/Oncology

Emily Oliver, PA-C, Gastroenterology/Hepatology

Jennifer Souza, ARNP, Pediatrics

Yiwen You, BCBA, Psychiatry

Active Community Medical Staff

Meghan Brombach, DO

Jessica Ebberson, MD, ACMS

Jaime Ruddell, ARNP, ACMS

The new Access Dashboard – August 2023 provides visibility into Seattle Children’s ambulatory clinics’ wait times.  Page 1 lists wait times by specialty. Page 2 lists conditions or symptoms considered urgent for scheduling purposes.

The Access Dashboard can help community providers make decisions about referring to Seattle Children’s versus referring elsewhere or managing a patient in their medical home.

We welcome your feedback on this new tool; contact us at [email protected].

Algorithms and other clinical care resources 

Seattle Children’s has a robust toolbox of algorithms and other clinical care resources to help primary care providers (PCPs) manage patients in primary care and know when is the right time to refer to a specialist.  These resources were created with the help of PCPs and are compiled along with Seattle Children’s clinical standard work pathways at seattlechildrens.org/algorithms.

Read full post »

Emergency Department volumes

A new space opened in the hospital in July to help care for Emergency Department (ED) patients with mental health concerns. The ED still has capacity constraints, especially in the evenings secondary to patient surges and patients who remain in the ED awaiting final disposition. Effective July 18, Seattle Children’s deactivated the code yellow for the surge in youth mental health patients and the Emergency Department (ED). Seattle Children’s continues to update our policies and improve workflows to support mental health patients experiencing extended lengths of stay due to barriers to discharge.

Please continue to call the Mission Control team at 206-987-8899 when sending a patient to the Seattle Children’s ED.

Chemotherapy drug shortages

A nationwide shortage of certain chemotherapy drugs is impacting many hospitals, including Seattle Children’s. It is not yet known when supply will improve. Some of our patients may require changes to their treatment; our care teams are working hard to limit negative impacts. We are working with multiple distributors to secure as much medication as possible. Read full post »

Dr. Jennifer Bauer is chief of spine surgery at Seattle Children’s.  She is a committee member of leading international and national pediatric spine societies and study groups and an editor and reviewer for scientific journals. 

Q: When should a child with scoliosis see a specialist?

Dr. Bauer: Kids with a thoracic or lumbar rib hump on an Adams forward bend who have a scoliometer reading of 3 to 5 degrees should be rechecked in six months by their PCP. For a scoliometer reading over 5 degrees, we recommend ordering a two-view standing PA/LAT spine radiograph. If it shows a Cobb angle over 20 degrees for any age child or over 10 degrees in a child under 10 years old, we recommend referral to Seattle Children’s. If they don’t meet those thresholds, we advise a follow-up X-ray in 6 months and referring to Orthopedics if any increase in curvature is seen.

We recently developed an algorithm for scoliosis that offers guidance on how to assess the pediatric spine and when to refer to orthopedics.

Read full post »

Evaluation and management of a child with suspected seizure 

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in children, but a child’s first contact with the medical system after a suspected seizure is almost always through the emergency room or their primary care provider, not directly with a pediatric neurologist. Therefore non-neurologists are the first line of evaluation, care and often long-term management in areas without immediate access to a neurologist. Thoughtful evaluation of a suspected seizure patient, whether they are presenting with a first suspected seizure or are a known epilepsy patient who is new to a primary care practice, allows these children to receive the correct level of care and helps worried families to know what to expect next.

• See our new Epilepsy/seizure algorithm.

History

Just as with any other medical condition, the history and physical examination are the first step.

Common suspected seizure types include “convulsions” and “staring spells.” The terms “grand mal” and “petit mal” are old-fashioned and only indicate whether the onlooker saw a convulsive or nonconvulsive event; they do not indicate whether the event was epileptic, or even what type of seizure was witnessed if it was in fact an epileptic seizure. Read full post »

In response to the national pediatric mental health crisis, Seattle Children’s is creating the Telemedicine Extension for Adolescent and Child Mental Health Boarders (TEAM B) program to address the growing needs of youth who present to emergency departments in mental health crisis.

This program will provide clinical consultation and resource assistance to our colleagues at outside facilities in need of support for their mental health boarders. Our team consists of psychiatric providers, mental health and community resource specialists and behavioral support providers. We will offer this program to assist with potential diversion efforts through psychiatric consultation and the provision of community-based resources. We will also provide behavior support consultation to your care teams for boarding youth with behavioral challenges. Read full post »

Seattle Children’s South Clinic in Federal Way

Seattle Children’s rheumatologists Dr. Esi Morgan (division chief), Dr. Erin Balay-Dustrude, and Dr. Stephen Wong will begin seeing patients at Seattle Children’s South Clinic in Federal Way 6 days each month effective September 1, bringing care closer to home for families in the South Sound region.

Learn more

• Rheumatology at Seattle Children’s
• Seattle Children’s South Clinic in Federal Way
• Rheumatology resources for PCPs:
  • Antinuclear antibodies (ANA): Algorithm
  • Back pain: Algorithm and Evaluation of back pain in children and adolescents (AAFP)
  • Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO): Algorithm
  • Growing pains: Algorithm
  • HSP: Algorithm
  • Hypermobility/benign hypermobility joint syndrome (BHJS)/Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: Algorithm
  • Urticaria: Algorithm
  • Pain syndromes (fibromyalgia, central sensitization, pain amplification, chronic regional pain, complex regional pain syndrome, reflex neurovascular dystrophy)
  • Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS): Information for PCPs.

From On the Pulse, July 11, 2023

At just 19 years old, Faye, an avid swimmer and college freshman at Northeastern University, found her life plans on hold when she began experiencing fevers and flu-like symptoms.

When her temperature reached 104 degrees, Faye called an Uber and headed to the nearest emergency department.

While at Boston Medical Center, providers discovered Faye had an abnormally low white blood cell count and kept her overnight.

“The minute they walked in, I knew something was deeply wrong,” recalled Faye.

The doctors explained to Faye and her mom, Molly, that her blood was filled with abnormal, immature white blood cells called blasts; they believed she had leukemia.

Words like “cancer” and “chemotherapy” filled the room, and Faye felt a burning sensation run down her spine while the rest of her body went numb. At the same time, her mom broke down.

“I’ll never forget the sound of her voice when she called my dad to tell him,” shared Faye. “She just lost it.” Read full post »

Conferences

• What’s New in Medicine 2023: Infectious Disease, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9, 2023. Option to register for ONLY the Saturday conference (Pediatrics), allowing for 8 Category 1 CME credits.  Or register for two days (Infectious Disease on Friday and either Pediatrics or Internal Medicine on Saturday) and view the other Saturday conference anytime via video (up to 1 year after the event) to attain all 24 Category 1 CME credits.  Participate virtually or in person (Kennewick, WA). Register by August 9 for a discount. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit whatsnewinmedicine.org. Brochure.
• 2023 Peroxisome Scientific Meeting. September 10-13, 2023. Seattle Children’s Research Institute will host three days of exciting scientific discussions, a keynote address, short talks by invitees and social activities. Learn more: event website.
• 2023 Epilepsy Symposium, “Improving Pediatric Outcomes: Advances in Diagnosis, Management and Treatment.” Saturday, October 14, 2023. Hear from experts from Seattle Children’s Neurology, Epilepsy, Neurosurgery and Genetics Programs. Medical professionals and caregivers of children with epilepsy are welcome to attend. Registration is required. Learn more.

CMEs

• Category 2 CME: “Tried, True and New in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.” October 17, 2023, from 6 to 7 p.m. (virtual). Presenter: Jennifer Bauer, MD. More details to come.
• Category 2 CME: “Common Presentations of Childhood Cancer in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.” September 20, 2023, from 6 to 7 p.m. (virtual). Mark Fluchel, MD, Medical Director of Outreach for Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, will discuss typical presenting symptoms of the most common pediatric and young adult cancers, identify common causes of delays in diagnosis and identify oncologic emergencies in newly diagnosed patients. Event flyer. Register.

Read full post »