Pediatric News

The Latest from the Department of Pediatrics

IN THIS ISSUE

Department of Pediatrics Flu Vaccine Guidelines
Ombuds Programs Offers Independent Problem Solving Assistance
Community Engagement News: NorthStar Family Night
Register for the Pediatric Academic Workshop
Letter from the Chair
Five Questions
Celebrations Deck
Staff Milestones
September House Officer of the Month

Department of Pediatrics

Flu Vaccine Guidelines

All UNMC faculty are expected to record their flu vaccination status by Nov. 30.

GETTING THE VACCINE

Flu Vaccine through UNMC (UNMC Employees)

If you work in a clinical area that has staff to administer the vaccine, it is recommended that you get a flu shot in your clinical area. If you do not work in a clinical area, use the flu clinic schedule link below to find a time and location that works for you. No scheduling is required, and appointments will be on a walk-in basis (please bring your UNMC ID Badge). See LINK for more information and the UNMC flu shot clinic schedule.

See recent article:

https://www.unmc.edu/newsroom/2024/09/30/time-to-get-vaccinated-and-take-the-tuberculosis-questionnaire/

REPORTING YOUR VACCINATION STATUS

Required Reporting to UNMC (All UNMC Employees)

Sign into Health Tracking System with your UNMC NetID (username@unmc.edu) to enter your flu vaccine status information (date/location or declination). You will need to wait at least one day after receiving the shot to enter the information. You can also add information about COVID immunizations and boosters, if relevant.

*If you get your flu vaccine at a UNMC/Nebraska Medicine clinic, you will fill out information on the influenza database prior to receiving the shot.

Required Reporting to Children’s

Flu vaccines are required annually for all Children’s employees. The following link will take you to a Forms site where you can document your flu vaccine status. Faculty Reporting Form

Tuberculosis Annual Symptom Review for UNMC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommend routine annual skin testing for health care personnel. All Nebraska Medicine colleagues and any UNMC students or staff who are fitted to wear an N95 respirator are also expected to fill out their annual symptom review form for tuberculosis (TB). Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 2, you can log into the Health Tracking System to complete this brief questionnaire.

Letter from the Chair

Today is a historic day for our country, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that with our Department of Pediatrics faculty and team. Elections can elicit feelings of excitement for the future, but also of uncertainty about what the future might hold for public health, medical research and the healthcare sector. Elections can also bring forward polarizing discourse and emotions, and I want to encourage all of you to be mindful of each other and yourselves and to feel supported in taking time away if you need to for personal reflection today. I also want you to support your team members today in order to facilitate the voting process as you ensure continuity of care for our patients and families.

While we can’t predict the outcome or how the results might affect our research and practice communities, we do know that regardless of what happens, we will continue to provide exceptional care to our patients and serve our communities. We are the experts in providing care to pediatric patients and their families and will continue to show up and be present to advocate for practice and policy discussions that require evidence and scientific rigor. As pediatricians and allied team members invested in the wellbeing of children, we will continue to work together with our hospitals and our professional society leaders to share information with leaders and policymakers on how best to align resources to support the needs and wellbeing of children and youth.

It's been another busy month in our Department, as well, and in this month's newsletter, you will find information about some recent events including our community outreach at NorthStar. There will be additional community events during November at Girls, Inc., so please connect with the community engagement committee if you'd like to participate. We also have the Pediatric Academic Workshop Series coming up Dec. 6. Registration is linked in the story so you can sign up to learn more about the research process and available resources for research in the Department of Pediatrics and throughout UNMC.

Fall also means flu season! The links are provided in this month's newsletter to help you track your flu and COVID-19 vaccine documentation for the medical staff offices at both UNMC/Nebraska Medicine and Children's Nebraska. We also have information included this month from the UNMC Ombuds team which is available to support faculty, staff and students at UNMC.

There are also lots of celebrations and service anniversaries of note this month. Congratulations are in order for our new faculty member, Dr. Sarah Swenson in Neonatology, on her podcast contribution and to Dr. Madison Wolf for being named UNMC House Officer of the Month. I want to give a special shout out and thank you to Dr. Cindy Ellis who is celebrating 26 years on the UNMC faculty!

Thank you again to each of you for all your contributions to the success of the Department of Pediatrics at UNMC.

Kari

Ombuds Programs Offers Independent Problem Solving Assistance

The UNMC Ombuds are confidential consultants who help faculty, staff and students solve work- and school-related problems and conflicts through off-the-record conversations. They can help with a wide variety of issues, especially those concerns that are confusing, complicated, upsetting or have not been adequately addressed through other university channels.

Available services:

Confidential assistance with problem definition and clarification
Objective identification and evaluation of options
Explaining relevant UNMC policies and procedures
Communication coaching for difficult conversations
Informal mediation and “shuttle diplomacy” between parties
Identifying problem trends while protecting individual privacy
Recommending positive changes in policies and procedures

For more information, you can call the confidential Ombuds telephone line at 402-559-2491. Ombuds consultations are available for all UNMC campus locations employees by telephone or ZOOM. Learn more about the program on the Ombuds intranet site (UNMC login required).

Two NorthStar students practice relaxation exercise.

Jackie Ostronic watches a NorthStar student participate in a pumpkin design contest.

Ruben Quiros, MD, has a conversation with a NorthStar student.

Sharon Stoolman, MD, receives a Halloween "tattoo" from a NorthStar Student.

Pediatrics and CHRI Volunteers Take Part in NorthStar Family Night

Department of Pediatrics community partner, NorthStar, held its annual family night on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Volunteers from the Department and the Child Health Research Institute staffed educational and entertaining activity stations for students and offered parent sessions on community identified health priority topics.

The Department of Pediatrics' Community Engagement Committee partnered with NorthStar to develop programming that would introduce the students to health topics in a fun way. Activities included learning first aid techniques on stuffed animals, breathing and relaxation exercises and learning about shadowing opportunities and the pathways program at UNMC (while enjoying a donut).

“Empowering youth to pursue careers in healthcare is a primary goal for the Community Engagement Committee," said Amy Rezac-Elgohary, outreach and education program manager. "Events like family night provide the spaces for staff and faculty to consistently share information and opportunities with youth and inspire future healthcare providers, innovators and health advocates.”

Cindy Colpitts, educational programs administrator; Ren Ernst, MD, pediatric resident; Makenzie Grant, MD, med-peds resident; Laura Holmberg, GME education program coordinator; Jenny Mobley, administrative associate II; Jackie Ostronic, operations/programs manager; Ruben Quiros, MD, chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; and Kathy Schall, MD, assistant professor, UNMC Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, worked directly with the students at the stations.

For parents, family night included two educational sessions. Laura Maskin, MD, associate professor, Division of Hospital Medicine and Mitzi Cardona, asthma program manager at Children's Nebraska, presented information and answered questions on asthma and allergy management. Sharon Stoolman, MD, chief, Division of Hospital Medicine, and Beatrice Egboh, MBBS, assistant professor, Division of Developmental Medicine, led a discussion of behavioral health concerns.

"We are grateful to NorthStar for inviting us to join in their family night each year," said Amy. "It’s a wonderful event that provides the opportunity for kids, parents and healthcare professionals to be together, share information and have fun!” .

“NorthStar family night is really a good model for how we as a department can grow as a trusted resource for families," Dr. Stoolman said. "This event reminded us that a healthy community starts with connected, informed families."

The Community Engagement Committee welcomes volunteers for Girls Inc.’s Health Sciences Career Nights on Nov. 18 and 20. Email Amy Rezac-Elgohary if interested in participating in one or both of the nights.

Dr. Maskin and Mitzi Cardona present on asthma and allergy management.

Omaha Public Schools volunteer Jennifer Drobny and Dr. Beatrice Egboh at the Behavioral Health presentation.

Register for the

Pediatric Academic Workshop

As an early career faculty member, it’s not uncommon to have numerous questions about getting your research program started. On December 6, the Child Health Research Institute and UNMC Department of Pediatrics are hosting a Pediatric Academic Workshop. The workshop is designed to help new and emerging researchers find their footing on their research journey and to empower mid-career researchers to strengthen skills and discover new avenues and collaborators for research and scholarly activity.

Subjects discussed will include:

Converting your everyday work to publishable research or quality improvement
Understanding implementation science
Working successfully with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Hands on practice with IRB forms

Make your reservation today! The Pediatric Academic Workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Children's Nebraska.

Sarah Swenson, MD, Featured on The Incubator Podcast

New Neonatology Division faculty member, Sarah Swenson, MD, was interviewed on The Incubator podcast. She was among a panel who shared insights on addressing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The podcast includes a discussion of the Children's Hospitals’ Neonatal Consortium workshop, "Nuts and Bolts of Screening and Brief Intervention for PMADs," which guides NICUs in implementing effective screening and intervention programs. Watch the video below.

Five Questions:

This month, we feature Steven Rose, DO, assistant professor, Division of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.

Meet Dr. Rose:

What brought you to your given specialty/role?

Maybe I'm indecisive, or maybe just too interested in everything, but I liked all of my pediatric residency. Which is good, right? The problem is, you can't continually bop around and do something different every month for your entire career. So, I did the next best thing, which for me was pulmonary medicine. I get to split my time between inpatient and outpatient patient care, both of which I love for different reasons. My role involves lots of history taking, good exam skills, some radiology interpretation, some test interpretation (PFTs are way more interesting and nuanced than I ever gave them credit for early on) and some procedural skills with bronchoscopy. If I'm honest, physics was not my strongest suit, but if you get into the physics of breathing, airflow and the various influences on it, it is really quite fascinating. My specific areas of interest are severe asthma, interstitial lung disease and autoinflammatory lung disease (such as rheumatologic lung disease or bronchiolitis obliterans). The pharmacologic challenges of controlling inflammation in the lungs is challenging and interesting but can make a huge and life-changing difference. My patients range from fairly healthy to extremely unhealthy, up to and including terminal lung disease. The variety and challenge of pulmonology is a great fit for me. I love what I do.

What’s your favorite place in the world?

I love being with my family, who I live for. But if we're talking physical locations, Zion's national park in Utah has a trail called the Narrows. It's a 15-mile hike through a narrow gorge with a river at the bottom. Red rock walls rise on both sides of you, with periodic trees and plants that are tenaciously growing in the most inhospitable soil. It's one of the most beautiful places I've seen, and if you do the hike, the strenuousness and feeling of accomplishment makes it all the more fulfilling.

What are you a fan of or very interested in?

I grew up interested in becoming a vet. That got derailed at some point (for the better), but I retain a strong interest in animals. They show us the way function and physiology can be stretched to the limit in ways we couldn't even think of doing ourselves. But, I just think they're beautiful and fascinating.

Is there any book, music or TV series or movie that you admire and would recommend to others?

I am a fan of most books by the Author Brandon Sanderson, up to and especially including the Stormlight Archive. It's very fantasy and maybe makes me a bit of a nerd. But fascinating and witty worldbuilding and the use of flawed, atypical heroes and heroines, makes the writing fascinating.

What was the most important lesson taught to you during your career training?

One of my attendings in medical school taught me that when rounding, you should round in an orderly manner (clockwise, by room number, etc.) instead of skipping around, because going out of order would upset "the vortex" and bring bad luck on your team. But in seriousness, he was also the first attending I heard be so clear and candid with a patient. There was a patient who, due to his own drug use, had some considerable health concerns. My attending sat down and said, without judgement or condescension, "I'm worried about you," and proceeded to explain in very clear terms the medical challenges we were up against. It was such a simple, straightforward and caring way to present bad news, despite the reasons for the health challenges.

Celebrations:

Click Here to View the Celebration Deck

Staff Milestones:

Recent Service Anniversaries

The anniversary dates listed below are pulled from a report that is meant to capture UNMC employment date, not the date of joining the Department. It does not include years of employment as a trainee or student at any stage. Gaps in service at UNMC will affect the years of service listed. If your information is listed incorrectly, please email ckoster@unmc.edu.

Kris Houston, 10/1/90, 34 years

Cynthia Ellis, MD, 10/1/98, 26 years

Heather Thomas, MD, 10/1/05, 19 years

Debra Tomek, MD, 10/1/09, 15 years

Sara Jones, 10/19/14, 10 years

Brooke Seaton, 10/23/14, 10 years

Christopher Maloney, MD, PhD, 10/1/17, 7 years

Natalie Ronshaugen, MD, 10/1/18, 6 years

William Bishop, 10/1/19, 5 years

Sree Valli Aparna Srishti, MD, 10/1/20, 4 years

Patrick Lloyd, DO, 10/19/20, 4 years

Analisa (Peyton) Swerczek, 10/26/21, 3 years

Ashleigh Kussman, MD, 10/1/23, 1 year

September House Officer of the Month: Madison Wolf, MD

Congratulations to Madison Wolf, MD, for being named the September House Officer of the Month.

"Dr. Wolfe did an outstanding job in her first month as a supervising resident. She was challenged but was able to manage the team so that patients were seen, safety was a priority and education still occurred.”

Peer testimonial

Participate in Big 10 Gender Equity, Mentorship and Sponsorship Survey

The BTAA CommUNITYten is conducting a scan of all Big 10 academic institutions to gauge faculty experiences regarding equity, mentorship and sponsorship and identify possible barriers to career advancement and professional development.

If you would like to participate in their survey, use this link.