The Pulse

With community spread numbers decreasing and vaccination numbers in our area increasing, Children’s is adjusting more restrictions that have been in place to keep our workforce and patients safe.

Two key things will take effect Monday, June 28:

• Children’s waiting rooms will be reopened to capacity for all locations, including the hospital and Specialty Pediatric Center (SPC) atriums, the cafeteria, the café at Indian Hills and the waiting areas in the SPC and all Children’s Physicians locations. This means that families will no longer be required to wait in their car until a room is ready; they may simply park and enter. Children’s Physicians patients may continue to wait in the car if they are more comfortable doing so.
• Children’s will be lifting all restrictions for meeting rooms, workrooms and elevators. The signage will be removed, and we will return to “normal” capacity for these spaces. In-person meetings are still required to have a virtual option.

REMEMBER, all visitors and staff are STILL required to wear masks in our patient care environments.
Other updates include:

• Screening will continue to occur for both employees and patients. Screening is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and we will continue to screen as long as it is required.
• Masks are not required when employees travel from their car to a patient care building, but we do encourage you to keep your personal mask handy, just in case no masks are available when you enter the building.
• Business travel restrictions remain in place. Children’s is working on a plan; stay tuned for updates at the end of June.
• At this time, there are no updates to the visitor policy. You can view current visitor policy here.
• The N95 trial period has been completed and we have adequate supply, so please continue to follow the most recent instructions given. You can view them here.

Children’s continues to offer monoclonal antibody therapies for pediatric patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. The purpose of this therapy is to prevent progression of the illness from mild/moderate illness to severe illness, requiring hospitalization. Children’s is currently utilizing the casirivimab plus imdevimab formulation that was made available by the FDA-issued Emergency Use Authorization. Use of this product is restricted to patients with:

• 1) positive SARS-CoV-2 viral testing (PCR or Antigen)
• 2) ≥ 12 years of age
• 3) ≥ 40 kg
• 4) < 10 days from symptom onset
• 5) not hospitalized

Since initially authorized, all children meeting these requirements can now be considered for this treatment if their medical provider believes they are at risk of progressing to severe symptoms. Given that the criteria for use have been broadened, and we have underutilized these therapies, we are no longer requiring Infectious Disease approval for use. If you would like your patient to receive these therapies, please fill out the Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for COVID-19 Order Request Form and fax to the Infusion Center (402-955-4148). Patients can be scheduled by contacting Central Scheduling. 

See the provider flier
See the request form

Letters created from an inpatient encounter will be created using the Communications activity. Some inpatient providers were getting an error in Epic when attempting to create a letter from the letter activity. Epic’s Communications activity supports creating and sending letters from inpatient and outpatient encounters. Letter templates and common letters can be found under Communications. 

See the tip sheet

On June 17, Children’s learned the results of our recent Magnet® accreditation survey. On the call, Nursing Administration heard the good news that Children’s achieved Magnet® designation for a fourth time, an honor achieved by only two percent of hospitals in the country.

Watch the celebration video here

It’s the last week to support Children’s Share the Love OneTeam Giving campaign! Please have your pledges and gifts submitted no later than Friday, June 25, to ensure your department receives its duck for the Great Duck Race. You do not need to make a pledge for your department to receive its duck, but you do need to complete the form through the OneTeam Giving platform. Check your Monday, June 21, email from OneTeamGiving@childrensomaha.org for details on how to log in.

So far, more than $175,635 has been raised toward our goal of $200,000 to benefit the children and families we serve and provide needed support for our team members!

Why do you support OneTeam Giving?
Our leaders share their reasons why they give to Children’s. Please listen to this message from Jerry Vuchak, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer.

The OneTeam Giving campaign will wrap up with the virtual Great Duck Race in the hospital “river” on July 8. Each department with 100% participation will receive a duck to race down the river.

Click here to see the Duck Race qualifiers.

Joan Daughton, M.D.; Cynthia Ellis, M.D., and Mel St. Germain were featured in an article in the AACAP News (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) about the fantastic work that they are doing to improve advocacy for children in Nebraska. This national publication reaches all members of AACAP and is an important communication to promote research, innovation and advocacy.  

See the article on page 124.

Children’s heart transplant program has once again obtained a Transplant Access Program (TAP) designation from Optum Healthcare. This designation means that patients who have Optum insurance can come to Children’s for heart transplant care. This designation maintains our network status from 2020. TAP status is a mark of distinction and should be celebrated.

Contact Kelly Weiler with questions.

This father-son story from our colleagues at Nebraska Medicine highlights pediatric heart surgeon Kim Duncan, M.D., interim division chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, and his son, who is also a surgeon.
Read it here

Chelsea Majerus, M.D., Children’s Emergency Department, was interviewed by KETV about Children’s pop-up vaccination clinic at the Henry Doorly Zoo, in partnership with the Douglas County Health Department. 49 doses were given during vaccination events held in the past two weeks at the zoo.
Watch it here

This is part of our ongoing series featuring physician-leaders to help the entire medical staff learn more about these colleagues.

• Division Chief of Pediatric Neurology, Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
• Professor and Chief, Division of Pediatric Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Early family experiences are what drove Sookyong Koh, M.D., Ph.D., to become a leading pediatric neurologist, epileptologist and researcher. Dr. Koh has spent decades studying neuroscience and researching epilepsy to provide the most effective treatment and care to children.

How does your personal experience of having a father with epilepsy impact your approach to caring for neurological illnesses?
“When I meet patients and their families, I know how they feel. Epilepsy is a family disease—if a child is affected by epilepsy, the entire family is affected. Watching someone have seizures is scary, especially a loved one. And I know my personal experiences help me understand the difficulties of the families we serve.”

What attracted you to join the team at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center?
“I saw an opportunity to grow and make a difference. The entire staff, everyone I have met, genuinely cares about and are proud of their position at Children’s. Their dedication and care are unprecedented in my view.”

What are some of your goals for the future of Children’s Pediatric Neurology?
“My passion is in pediatric epilepsy, and my goal is to create a regional center to become a resource for Neurology and epilepsy. We are at an exciting juncture in time for the entire field of Neurology. There is so much research going on. We have answers for many conditions, which makes Neurology much more effective now than in the past.”

What are some of your short-term goals?
“I would like to increase access for new-onset seizure patients to ensure faster treatment and care. I also have a passion for helping young adults and teens experiencing psychogenic non-epileptic seizures and would like to expand care offerings to help individuals suffering from the non-epileptic, but equally devastating episodes.”

Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that speaks to your approach as a medical professional?
“It is a quote by Dr. Francis Peabody. He was teaching medical students in Boston, and he said, ‘The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.’ It really speaks to me.”

What do you enjoy doing in your off-time?
“I enjoy walking. I completed a half-marathon with my daughters. My absolute true love is my 17-month-old granddaughter. She is my new love. I never thought I would be, but I have become a typical grandmother.”

On June 17, Children’s learned the results of our recent Magnet® accreditation survey. On the call, Nursing Administration heard the good news that Children’s has achieved Magnet® designation for a fourth time, an honor achieved by only two percent of hospitals in the country. Staff and public were able to join in the call through a Facebook Live broadcast.

The Magnet Recognition Program® is facilitated by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is the highest, most prestigious distinction a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration and high-quality patient outcomes. Earning Magnet recognition is an honor that reaffirms the hard work and dedication of our entire staff and reinforces the core values that guide how we do our jobs every day.