Children's of Alabama Introduces PetsRX



Children's of Alabama is introducing PetsRX to help patients navigate their health journey. PetsRX is an animal-assisted program that includes the hospital's first medical dog: Wanda, the medical dog.

Wanda works as a full-time employee at Children’s, assisting Child Life Specialist Noelle Connor in her daily tasks and providing support and comfort to patients. Wanda and Noelle focus on goal-based initiatives, such as preparing patients for procedures, assisting in interventions and helping to understand diagnoses.

In addition to the medical dog, PetsRX also consists of three other animal-assisted programs, which include Hand-in-Paw. Hand-in-Paw is a long-time beloved partner of Children’s of Alabama. Teams visit the hospital often and help make the hospital feel more comfortable for patients away from their pets. Children’s also utilizes the P.U.P.S. (Pups Unleashing Patient Smiles) Program at Children’s South. Shelby and Foster are poodles who are trained to work in therapeutic settings. The CHIPS (Children’s Hospital Intervention and Prevention Services) Center also works with service-trained facility dogs through the Hero Program with the Office of Prosecution Services. The CHIPS Center uses this program to help in the healing journey for suspected victims of child abuse.

Wanda

Foster

Shelby

APIC Annual Report

Visit the link below to view the Alabama Poison Information Center's 2023 Annual Report.

UAB Obesity Study: Call For Participants

UAB has been designated a Clinical Center site for this groundbreaking study: The Discovery of Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Youth Consortium (DISCOVERY), funded by the NIH/NIDDK. This multi-center cooperative agreement aims to enroll a racially/ethnically diverse cohort of 3,600 early pubertal youth at high risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).

Drs. Barbara Gower (Nutrition Sciences) and Ambika Ashraf (Pediatric Endocrinology) are tasked with recruiting 240 children living within a 2-hour drive of Birmingham. This presents a unique opportunity for your patients to participate in a study that not only seeks to advance understanding of T2D in youth but also offers regular health evaluations during the twice-yearly study visits.

DISCOVERY seeks to extensively phenotype participants aged 9-14 years as they transition through puberty, with an average follow-up of approximately 2.5 years. The study's primary goal is to characterize the decline in pathophysiological processes, including insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function, which lead to youth-onset T2D. By identifying predictive factors for T2D, we hope to enhance future screening and intervention strategies for children at the highest risk of disease development.

Recruitment will begin in May 2024. They are looking for young participants who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Overweight or obese with BMI ≥85^th percentile
•  Age 9-13 years for girls, 10-14 years for boys
• Tanner Stage 2 or 3, or Tanner Stage 4 (without initiation of menses for Tanner 4 girls)
• Elevated HbA1c 5.5-6.4% (diagnosed type 2 diabetes is an exclusion)

In addition, potential participants must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Family history of T2D in 1st or 2nd degree relative
• Personal exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)
• HbA1c >5.7%
• Severe obesity (BMI >99^th percentile)
• Personal history of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), small for gestational age (SGA), or low birth weight



For further details or to discuss potential referrals, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can contact: Dr. Barbara Gower at bgower@uab.edu Dr. Ambika Ashraf at aashraf@uabmc.edu

We believe your role as a primary care provider is pivotal in identifying potential participants who could greatly benefit from this study. Your keen insights into your patients' health histories and your trusted relationship with their families position you uniquely to recommend participation in DISCOVERY.

Barbara Gower, M.D.

Ambika Ashraf, M.D.

STEP Program Event (Staging Transition for Every Patient)

DATE

Saturday, April 12, 2024

TIME

8:30-9:45 a.m. – Vendor Expo

9:45 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. – Conference

LOCATION

United Ability’s LINCPoint

Adult Program Building

101 Oslo Circle

Birmingham, AL 35211

COST

$0 — Volunteers

$15 — Individuals

$25— Families

$50— Professionals seeking CEUs

National Doctor's Day Celebrated March 12

In honor of National Doctor's Day taking place March 30, Children's of Alabama honored its physicians in a celebration on Tuesday, March 12 with an Oscar's themed event. Children's of Alabama physicians received breakfast as well as a treat and gift in recognition of all they do to serve children across Alabama.

Live Accredited Continuing Education Opportunities

Visit the link below for live Accredited Continuing Education opportunities,

updated weekly with registration links for Grand Rounds.

2023-2025 Directory of Pediatric Services

Children's Facility Updates - Clinics 10 & 11 Relocate



The State Health Planning and Development Agency has recently approved the Certificate of Need (CON) by Children’s of Alabama for renovations that will allow the hospital to more effectively care for patients in behavioral health, critical care and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The project involves the building out of the 12th floor of the Benjamin Russell building—which is currently shelled space—to serve as a 50-bed unit for critical care patients. To better serve behavioral health patients, the hospital will renovate the 5th floor of the McWane building and operationalize 11 additional beds for the unit. Six bassinets will be added to the NICU. The project, which will cost nearly $55 million, will be completed in the fall of 2026.

In order to make space for the expansion, Rehabilitation Medicine department has moved from McWane Clinic 11 to the Lowder Clinic 12 space. Additionally, Clinic 10 (Gastroenterology and Hepatology) has relocated from 5th floor Dearth to 2nd floor Dearth.

Pictured above: The newly relocated GI Clinic 10 is now located on the 2nd floor of Dearth.

Check Out the Latest PedsCast

The Children’s of Alabama PedsCast is a pediatric sub-specialist peer-to-peer podcast focused on research, innovative programs and advances in pediatric health care at Children’s of Alabama. Featured speakers include physicians, surgeons, clinical specialists and other experts in the field of pediatrics.

Click the graphics below to hear the latest PedsCast episodes.

Children's of Alabama Welcomes New Physicians 

Children's is proud to welcome new physicians to its staff. Dr. John Bridges, Dr. Megan Cotti-Rausch, Dr. Stephanie Pool, Dr. Shane Strom and Dr. Stephen Walker (left to right) all joined Children's in August 2023.

Pediatric ENT Associates Honored with Castle Connolly Top Doctors 2024 Award

Children's of Alabama's Pediatric ENT Associates practice was honored with the prestigious Castle Connolly's Top Doctors Award for 2024. Congratulations to Dr. Brian Wiatrak, Dr. Audie Woolley, Dr. J. Scott Hill, Dr. Nicholas J. Smith and Brian Kulbersh for being recognized in this honor!

Children's Epic EMR

Epic is now live at Children's of Alabama! This new electronic medical record (EMR) platform aims to help improve the care of our patients, their families experience and the day-to-day work operations of our employees and providers.

As we adjust to this transition, we want to ensure that referring offices are receiving all patient notes, discharge summaries and other information needed.

Please submit any issues you may be experiencing and

we will work to resolve them as quickly as possible.

Fax FYIs

Please make note

of the below fax number updates!

Nephrology: 205-638-2517

Department of Surgery: 205-638-2513

Pediatrics East: 205-638-7102

Sports Medicine: 205-638-2879

*Sports Medicine Phone Number Change: 205-638-6921