The Department of Pediatrics has several genetic counselors in the Divisions of Cardiology, Medical Genetics, and Neurology who provide genetic counseling services to their unique patient populations. However, until now, the department GCs did not have a unifying space to call home. On July 1, 2022, Dr. Giardino approved the creation of a Section of Genetic Counseling. This section serves as a professional administrative home to all department genetic counselors who will still "live" in their respective academic divisions. The section is led by Karin Dent, genetic counselor in the Division of Medical Genetics and Professor of Pediatrics. The mission of the Genetic Counseling Section is to facilitate the integration of quality genetic counseling services across the Department of Pediatrics to support the collaborative, comprehensive, and compassionate care of families. We plan to fulfill this mission by improving genetic counseling services (clinical, education, and research) across the department; providing mentorship, evaluation, and support to all genetic counselors in the department; developing growth plans and facilitating the implementation of future GC positions; and ensuring GCs practice within their Scope of Practice.

In recognition of the GCs and the new GC Section in our department, please join us in celebrating the annual Genetic Counselor Awareness Day this Thursday, November 10. We are highlighting the value of genetic counselors in promoting patient health care and ensuring that physicians and patients have access to genetic counseling and testing at our institution. Learn more: National Society of Genetic Counselors & "I am a Genetic Counselor" video.

If you would like more information on the Section of Genetic Counseling or to discuss your division's needs for genetic counseling support, don't hesitate to contact Karin Dent. 

The Frontier of Pediatric Care, created under the direction of Dr. Angelo Giardino, entails a historical review of the Department of Pediatrics and an overview of how we're fulfilling our current missions. Please enjoy the picture-filled account of how we got to be such a large, diverse, thriving department.

> The Frontier of Pediatric Care

A link to the book can also be found on the intranet homepage in the General Information box.

Attention Clinical Research Principal Investigators and Staff: The Clinical Trials Office (CTO) currently purchases gift cards for clinical trial participant stipend distribution. Due to the University of Utah’s recent implementation of the Participant Payments System, the CTO will begin the gradual process of reducing the Department of Pediatrics’ supply of gift cards in the coming months in an effort to deplete the supply prior to the end of FY23. The Participant Payments system will be utilized university-wide and will replace all forms of clinical trial participant stipend and reimbursement methods (i.e. gift cards, Limited Purchase Checks, ePR, etc.).

Although the use of Participant Payments is not required until July 1st, 2023, we have begun the process of transitioning trials to the system. Projects where the University of Utah is responsible for providing DIRECT stipend and/or reimbursement to clinical trial participants will be impacted by the process change. If your project meets the following criteria, please reach out to Vanessa Bryant to determine an optimal transition plan:

Please continue to reach out to Aida Tasevac for all clinical trial participant gift card check-out requests. Please reach out to Vanessa Bryant for all other questions regarding gift cards, the Participant Payments System, and the Department of Pediatrics’ transition plan. Thank you in advance for your continued collaboration and we look forward to a smooth transition.

The Utah Children's Project participates in a national consortium of children's studies called Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) funded by the National Institutes of Health. The ECHO Discovery Series is a monthly webinar to highlight research being done by participating ECHO sites around the country. CME credit is available for participants.

See a list of upcoming webinars and video archives of past webinars on the ECHO Discovery website.

Stuti Das, MD, MSc, pediatric emergency medicine and child abuse fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, is the recipient of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion's 2022 Leadership in Inclusive Excellence Award in the trainee category. Stuti’s energizing presence contributed to the formation of the department’s Anti-Racism Working Group, Championing Diversity Dinners, and Child Health Equity Executive Committee to foster belonging, justice, empathy, and inclusion in professional and clinical spaces. As a dual trainee, she hopes to improve diagnosis of child abuse in the emergency department and address biases that can especially affect families of color.

Two of our pediatric cardiology fellows were recipients of this year's American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery awards.

Spencer Barfuss, MD, FAAP is the winner of the Young Investigator Award, which is given to the best scientific abstracts presented at the national conference in clinical research and basic science categories, for his research: Standardizing Discharge Furosemide Duration Following Uncomplicated Congenital Heart Surgery: A Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC3) QI Initiative.

Kari Phillips, MD, FAAP is the recipient of the Research Fellowship Award, a grant given to a cardiology fellow who has demonstrated aptitude for basic, translational, or clinical science research, for her project: Exploring Patient and Family Decision Making in Pediatric Heart Transplant.

"We are grateful for their drive to make contributions and to their mentors at Intermountain Primary Children's Heart Center for their guidance and support to put children first and always."

Michelle Meder, MD, one of our pediatric endocrinology fellows, received the 2022 Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) Rising Star Award. This is a competitive grant award intended to support and encourage research efforts of fellows. Michelle was awarded the grant in order to further support her research project on transgender youth. The Division of Pediatric Endocrinology is very proud of her work and achievements. Please join them in congratulating Michelle!

Susan Etheridge, MD, faculty member in our Division of Pediatric Cardiology, has been chosen to serve on the editorial board of EP Europace, the European Journal of Pacing, Arrhythmias and Cardiac Electrophysiology of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology. The journal aims to provide an avenue of communication for top quality original scientific work and reviews in these fields of cardiac care. Susan joins an elite group of international pediatric and adult cardiac electrophysiologists on the editorial board - one of the few Americans to be asked - and we congratulate her on this significant recognition of her expertise.

Elizabeth Keating, MD, faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, been invited to give Rounds at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital in January 2023 for their Global Health Resident Second Look. Dr. Keating will present on her pediatric injury research, which is ongoing and in partnership with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania.

Tate Keough - Transitioned from Study Coordinator to Clinical Research Coordinator with Neurology

Alina Moore - Transitioned from Medical Assistant to Clinical Supervisor with Clinical Enterprise

Kim Orton - Transitioned from Clinical Nurse Coordinator to Nurse Manager with Neurology

Brenden Roberts - Transitioned from Student Researcher to Clinical Study Assistant with Neurology

Welcome to the Autumn 2022 Dispatch. In this edition following a successful inaugural DCC Day, you can review the themes and main takeaways from DCC Day and a commitment from leadership to continue progress. In the Research Spotlight, learn more about the CARE4Kids study and what an autonomic test is, and don’t miss learning how NEDARC and PECARN DCC have merged into a new group. Finally, make sure to read about IT’s impressive advancements helping to make the NIH-funded HEAL Common Data Elements project become a reality. As always, please continue to provide feedback and content suggestions for the Dispatch by clicking on the Dispatch Feedback button at the bottom of the newsletter or by emailing Lisa Winter directly. 

Vandana Raman, Anshu Gupta, Ambika Ashraf, et al. Pharmacologic Weight Management in the Era of Adolescent Obesity. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2022;107(10):2716-2728. doi:10.1210/clinem/dgac418.

Congratulations to authors and reviewers on publishing new, updated, or peer-review of content on the Medical Home Portal! This month’s shout-outs go to:

The Medical Home Portal's Writing & Career Development Group provides support and training for faculty and fellows who enjoy writing and want to build their CV and professional network. Providing guidance to primary care clinicians, related professionals, and families taking care of children with special healthcare needs, the website has over 1 million viewers annually from around the world. Portal publications are analogous to book chapters for academic scholarly effort. Pediatrics faculty, fellows, and residents can contact the Medical Home Portal's editor-in-chief to discuss content authoring and reviewing opportunities.

The Pediatrics ECHO fall series is in session and held on Wednesdays at noon MDT. For those new to Pediatrics ECHO, you can earn CME for participating in a case-based learning session with experts in a variety of pediatric topics. Pediatrics ECHO offers a way to connect with other pediatric practitioners around Utah and beyond. We welcome case suggestions, questions, and interactive discussion. Recorded (non-CME eligible) sessions are available on the website.

Didn’t get time to attend? You can watch a great session about General Headache Management - presented by Meghan Candee, MD, MSc and Dedee Caplin, PhD, MS on 10/19/22. Other recent session recordings available on the ECHO website include presentations from Shriners on services, mobility supports, and the gait lab, and parts 1 & 2 of the Transition to Adult Health Care series.

11/16/22 - Pediatric Orthopedics 101/Pediatric Cerebral Palsy

11/30/22 - Scoliosis Screening and Interventions

12/7/22 - Transition to Adult Care 4: Schooling/Vacation/Daily Living for Youth with Special Health Care Needs

12/14/22 - Infectious Disease Trends: COVID, RSV, flu, and more

The Autism 101 ECHO interactive, online learning module (a special section of the Peds ECHO series) has ended, but all nine recorded sessions are available on the website. Thanks again to our presenters Allison Ellzey, MD; Michele Villalobos, PhD; Paul Carbone, MD; and Ashley Stuart, PhD from the University of Utah Developmental Assessment Clinics for covering these important topics.

The twice monthly Safe and Healthy Families ECHO series brings experts in child physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, child welfare, and ethics together to present on a diversity of topics of interest to those who work with potentially abused children (pediatricians, family medicine, child and adolescent psychiatry, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, social workers, mental health providers, child welfare workers, and lawyers). Each Safe and Healthy Families learning session qualifies for 1 hour of CME credit. Sessions are held on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month with bonus ethics sessions on the fifth Thursdays of the month.

Recognitions will be published anonymously in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.

The link to the recognition form can be found on the department intranet home page, or click the box below.

"Jakob was a lifesaver and pulled some essential last minute data when other avenues didn’t come through. He was quick, communicative, and extremely understanding of the situation and he never once made us feel like it was a burden but instead that he was extremely happy to be helping. We are SO grateful to him, and his boss, Spencer Hinckley, for their incredible support."

"She was a rockstar, managing the entire patient load. In particular, her patient tracker was thorough and always UpToDate with recommendations to follow-up on things that clearly showed she had very closely reviewed the patient chart and spoke with the family. In addition, her ongoing communication with the NICU to talk about babies on the board and determine plans for the night made for smooth admissions, transfers and transitions."

"Wanted to pass along some super positive feedback for Sydney Walker, our resident on nights right now on Lahey. We accepted a very complicated relapsed leukemia patient from Honduras yesterday who came with 5 years of disorganized Spanish language records. Overnight, Sydney was able to condense this all into a one page treatment summary including all regimens and chemo doses. This is invaluable for the team and just a tremendous amount of work. I'll reach out to Sydney but this is really above and beyond what I'd expect from almost any team member--let alone a 2nd year resident."

If you have any ideas or concerns you'd like to share with Dr. Giardino, please submit your comments to his suggestion box. The link can be found on the department intranet home page in the "Contact Us" tile, or send a suggestion now by clicking box below.