In 2010, when he was 15, Dr. Manuel "Manny" Gonzales was a sophomore in high school and a varsity cross-country runner when he received a stunning diagnosis: cancer. At that time, he underwent a grueling regimen to battle the disease: 10 rounds of chemotherapy, thirteen lumbar punctures, and countless hours spent in both the inpatient and outpatient settings of the hospital where he was being treated: Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. His experience changed his life, creating a passion for becoming a pediatric oncologist.  Dr. Gonzales shared his story on Episode 56 of the podcast. We've invited him back to check in on his health and career path as he completes his pediatric residency at Nemours and heads into a hematology/oncology fellowship.  Dr. Gonzales was recently nominated as a Visionary of the Year Candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He is raising money to power innovative research for newer and safer therapies needed in pediatric oncology. Click here for more information on his campaign and to join his fundraising team. Carol Vassar, producer

The season of rebirth, renewal, and growth is here: Spring. And for many, it brings with it thoughts of putting our hands in the soil and planting seeds or transplanting seedlings in gardens. That’s exactly what is happening right now on the Nemours Estate in Wilmington, Delaware. The Can Grow Garden is a collaboration between the estate and Nemours Children’s Hospital Delaware to grow plants and provide a place for patient, family, and associate education and respite. The grown plants - mainly vegetables - provide food for the community to help alleviate food insecurity and teach healthy cooking and eating. Carol Vassar, producer View the Can Grow Garden video here.  For more information on the Can Grow Garden, contact Judy Lieberman

Nemours' Chief Well-being Officer Dr. Maureen Leffler provides an update on the well-being of the healthcare workforce, both nationally and at Nemours. We'll explore the burnout that is plaguing the healthcare workforce and what Nemours is doing to counteract that, get an update on the enterprise peer support program launched in 2020 and now open to all associates, and the newly created Nemours Center for Associate well-being.  Well-being resources for Nemours associates. Nemours' Employee Wellness Benefits Carol Vassar, producer

As the pandemic was settling in on the world in 2020, a Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando resident was pondering a way to take her work out of the hospital and into the community. Her vision of well beyond medicine: a mobile clinic providing health care (and so much more) to underinsured or uninsured children and families in Greater Orlando. A fortuitous encounter with a Nemours grant writer yielded the seed money to make this resident’s dream a reality. Featuring Nemours Associates Dr. Laura Chilcutt, Dr. Branden Trandai, and Gabe Krivenko. Carol Vassar, producter

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Ensuring the U.S. has a well-trained pediatric workforce is critical. Listen in as Dr. Larry Moss, President and CEO, Nemours Children’s Health, and Amy Knight, President of the Children’s Hospital Association, discuss Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education funding. They offer policy recommendations to address the current pediatric workforce shortage, including a call to Congress to increase CHGME funding, reauthorization of the program, and more. Carol Vassar, producer

On Mar. 2, 2023, the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware donated $78 million to dramatically expand Nemours' capacity to provide clinical care for children with cancer, sickle cell disease, and other blood disorders. Learn more about this donation, including how it happened, from William (Bill) Martin, President of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, and Mark Mumford, Chief Operating Officer for Nemours Children's Health.  Carol Vassar, producer

This episode features conversations about raising resilient kids based on the video series of the same name. It’s a partnership between Nemours Children’s Health and the Michael Phelps Foundation and features the most decorated Olympian of all time and his wife, Nicole, as your hosts. Together, they talk with Nemours experts about the world’s hardest job: being a parent. Nicole and Michael are the parents of three young sons and face the same concerns and challenges that all parents do when it comes to helping kids grow to be healthy, happy, and resilient.  Learn more about the Michael Phelps Foundation Carol Vassar, producer

We’re talking about how parents learn to become parents, focusing on a parent training management program launched last fall at Nemours Children’s Hospital Floridie for parents whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our guests on this episode developed it: Dr. Lisa Spector, division chief of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Nemours Children's, Florida, and her colleague Dr. Corinne Bria, a pediatric emergency medicine physician. Dr. Bria holds a master's of medical education with an emphasis on curriculum, implementation, and evaluation, which fits nicely with her role as interim program director for the Nemours Children's, Florida, pediatric residency program.  For more information on this parent training program, please email FLPrevention@nemours.org Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours' Director of Talent Services Dr. Allison Craft is an ardent advocate for associate engagement across the enterprise. In this podcast, she'll share high-level results of the most recent employee engagement survey. She'll also reveal the very personal reason why she's so passionate about employee engagement, which has its origins in an experience so profound that it led her to leave her dream job with NASA to join Nemours and further the engagement mission. Carol Vassar, producer

For more than forty years, Nemours has been leading the way in voice synthesis, voice banking and related assistive technology. This is thanks to the leadership of Dr. Tim Bunnell, Director of the Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware. He also heads up Model Talker, a small group of Nemours scientists who helps create synthetic voices for people worldwide, applying the latest technology and research, including predictive analytics. They even allow people to bank their voices, if able, or for you to bank a voice for someone else who might need one.  Carol Vassar, producer.

Strange as it may sound, spite was exactly why Child’s Play was founded in 2003. Child’s Play - based in the technology hub of Redmond, Washington, home to Microsoft and Nintendo in America - is a gamer-led charity driving the movement to bring video gaming to pediatric hospitals like Nemours and other non-profits that serve children across the nation and across the world.  Hear more about Child’s Play - its background, mission, and partnership with Nemours in both Delaware and Florida - from Erick Blandin, Pediatric Gaming Technology Manager for Child’s Play, and Nemours Gaming and Technology Specialist Scott Shaw, whose position is funded by a capacity building grant from Child’s Play.  Carol Vassar, producer

Video games and virtual reality (VR) have long been a staple in the pediatric healthcare setting, and it's now becoming a part of the Child Life mission of leading pediatric hospitals like Nemours. In this episode, we talk with Scott Shaw, Nemours' Child Life Gaming and Technology Specialist. He is one of just 50 such people in the burgeoning field of gaming in healthcare. He joined Nemours in 2022 to take a position funded partly by a grant from Child’s Play, a game industry charity. Child’s Play provides funding, technical assistance, and ongoing education to grantees to make the healthcare experience a little less daunting for patients, families, and even staff.  Learn more about the Child's Play Charity Donate to support the Child Life Gaming and Technology Program Carol Vassar, producer

It's our first episode of 2023, featuring the final episode in our occasional series on Precision Medicine at Nemours. Our topic is predictive analytics for the purpose of research. Collecting it, preparing it, analyzing it, and protecting it are the realm of the Nemours Biomedical Research Informatics Center (BRIC). BRIC provides consultation, training, and computational resources to biomedical research investigators across the enterprise and beyond. Our guests are BRIC Director Dr. Timothy Bunnell, and Daniel Eckrich, BRIC’s Supervisor for Research Applications. Carol Vassar, producer Listen to other episodes in the Precision Medicine series: Episode 153: What is Precision Medicine (July 25, 2022) Episode 160: Changing Medicine through Pharmacogenomics Research (Sept. 12, 2022) Episode 161: Pharmacogenomics in Practice (Sept. 19, 2022) Episode 168: Biobanking at Nemours (Nov. 7, 2022) Episode 171: Genetic Medicine and Genetic Counseling for Kids (Nov. 28, 2022)

Nemours Pediatric Psychologist Dr. Danika Perry reveals that her Nemours experience began when she was a high school volunteer - a volun-teen - at what is now the Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware.  For Dr. Perry, this and other volunteer opportunities would point her to her life's passion: a career as a pediatric psychologist. Carol Vassar, producer

Respiratory therapist L'Tanya Pierce talks about the Nemours Hair Care for Champions project she started in the Delaware Valley Region. It's aimed at providing hospitalized Nemours patients with clean, healthy-looking, and attractive hair as a matter of dignity and pride. It's also a grassroots, bedside example of how Nemours associates go beyond medicine daily.  Please be advised: There are two patient stories in this podcast. Certain details have been left out to ensure their privacy. Details that remain could be difficult or disturbing for some listeners. This is a REBROADCAST of Episode 129, originally released on February 7, 2022 Carol Vassar, producer

It’s our year-end holiday remix, and at the center of this podcast episode is what’s likely at the center of many traditional holiday celebrations: food. Whether its Ghanaian groundnut stew or Nigerian jollof rice for Kwanzaa, the traditional “seven fishes” served in many Italian-American homes on Christmas Eve, latkes for Chanukah, pork pie for boxing day, or buckwheat soba noodles served at midnight on New Year's Eve in many Japanese homes, traditional foods and holidays seem to go hand in hand.  But what happens if none of the aforementioned foods - or any other traditional holiday foods from across the world - don’t fit with your disease state or diagnosed metabolic condition?  In this episode, we revisit the Killian family: Nemours associate and mom-of-two Lindsey and her husband, Tom, who, in November 2021, visited us on the podcast to outline the struggles and joys of being a PKU family. We’ll look back on their story, the 2022 formula storage that affected them and get an update on how the family is today now that TJ is a kindergartener.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nigeria is a multicultural country of 218 million people, nearly half of whom, according to UNICEF, are under 15. Over the past five years, infant and under-five mortality rates have remained steady and alarmingly high in Nigeria:  one in every eight children born in Nigeria does not survive to their fifth birthday. Nemours intensivist Dr. Odiraa Nwankwor is working with a team of his colleagues from Nemours, Cooper University HealthCare in Camden, New Jersey, and his medical school alma mater,  the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu to put a dent in that devasting statistic by building and continuing to support Nigeria's first pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) Also featuring Nemours associates Rachel Baskin, RN; Manish Purohit, MD; Erin Dwyer, RN; and Douglas Katz, MD Carol Vassar, producer

On Nov. 29, 2022, The Nemours Community Relations team put together a webinar featuring Dr. Alexander along with board-certified pediatrician Dr. Maria Petrini from Nemours Children’s Health Delaware and moderated by pediatrician Dr. Laura Chilcutt, a policy advisor to the external affairs team at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. During the webinar, they opened the chat room to parents’ pressing questions about each of the tripledemic viruses - for example, how they spread, how they are diagnosed, and how they’re treated (or not treated). They also answered some general pediatric medicine questions, such as what constitutes a fever, when and for how long should a sick child stay home from school or daycare,  and the role adults play in prevention. Here today, we present highlights from that Q & A session.  Carol Vassar, producer

The word of the season -  you’re hearing it everywhere - is tripledemic. What is it? How might it affect you and your family, especially your children, and, perhaps most importantly, what can you do to keep yourself and your family safe and healthy?  On Nov. 29th, The Nemours Community Relations team put together a webinar featuring Nemours experts in pediatrics and infectious diseases to provide information on the current tripledemic landscape and answer parents' questions about it. It’s information so important we’re highlighting it on the podcast this week and featuring our experts' answers to parents’ questions posed in the webinar next week.  The voices you hear are those of Dr. Kenneth Alexander, board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in Infectious Diseases and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, and Dr. Maria Petrini. Dr. Petrini is a board-certified pediatrician at Nemours Children's Health, Delaware. She also serves as the medical director of the Delaware Children's Health Network.  Nemours pediatrician Dr. Laura Chilcutt serves as moderator. Dr. Chilcutt is a policy advisor with the external affairs team at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.  Carol Vassar, producer

Our occasional series on precision medicine at Nemours continues with a look at medical genetics and genetic counseling. According to the American Society of Human Genetics, medical genetics is any application of genetic principles to medical practice. This includes studies of inheritance, mapping disease genes, diagnosis and treatment, and genetic counseling, all offered here at Nemours.  Featuring: Karen Gripp, MD, Pediatrician, and Genetic researcher, NCH Delaware Laura Baker, Genetic Counselor, NCH Delaware Louise Amlie-Wolf, Genetic Counselor, NCH Delaware Carol Vassar, producer

It's Thanksgiving week when families gather to celebrate that for which they are grateful. With the family together in one place, it's a rare opportunity for relatives to talk about and even record family history, including family health histories. That's one lesson that is being learned by teenagers across the nation whose teachers have chosen to avail themselves of a no-cost, evidence-based health education curriculum called "Navigating the Health Care System," developed here at Nemours. Today we are joined by the Nemours associates who created and have made available this curriculum and teachers from Delaware, Illinois, and Alabama to talk about how they have used or are using it in their classrooms.  Kate Blackburn and Denise Hughes from Nemours Children's Health, along with Ayanna Sterling, Program Manager, Health Literacy Program, Southeast Alabama Area Health Education Center; Christine DeGuzman, Health Education teacher, Brookside campus, Waukegan High School, Waukegan, Illinois and Katie Marianello, Delaware teacher and original curriculum pilot researcher.  Download the "Navigating the Health Care System" curriculum here.  Carol Vassar, producer

At the September 28, 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, a transformational vision and action plan for ending hunger and reducing diet-related disease by 2030 was introduced.  Achieving these goals that lie therein requires commitment and action across government, business, civic and nonprofit organizations, academia,  faith communities, healthcare, and the public at large. This conference showed that such commitment exists and that leaders across all sectors are ready to take up the challenge.  For its part, Nemours was well represented at the conference by Dr. Kara Walker, Executive Vice President and Nemours Chief Population health officer, and Daniella Gratale, Director of the Office of Child Health Policy. They join us in this podcast episode to talk about the conference and Nemours' ongoing commitments to ending hunger, improving health and reducing health disparities. Carol Vassar, producer

Biobanking is the process by which samples of bodily fluid or tissue are collected for research use to improve our understanding of health and disease. As part of our occasional series on precision medicine, we explore the past, present, and future of biobanking at Nemours.  Featuring Nemours associates Dr. Diana Corao-Uribe, Dr. Deepti Anand, and researcher Jennifer Holbrook. Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Roger Harrison joins us on this episode of the podcast, and together we'll delve into his work as a pediatric psychologist in the greater Wilmington Delaware area, a role he's had at Nemore for 19 years, and his longstanding passion for health equity and inclusion, which has led to his more recent role with the diversity, anti-racism, inclusion value, and health equity initiative called DRIVE.  Carol Vassar, producer

Animals are healers. They've been proven to reduce pain, anxiety, and blood pressure, and release endorphins, and even bring joy to what can be a scary place: a hospital. So it's not a surprise for hospitals, health care systems, and long-term care facilities to have pet therapy teams who bring tested, certified, and well-tempered animals - mostly dogs - to comfort patients and families. Nemours has volunteer pet therapy teams at both NCH locations.  Recently, Nemours took the next step in pet therapy, and obtained a specially trained pet assistance, or in-residence, dog. Allie is a full-time Nemours associate who comes to work every day and is part of a child's treatment team. She can comfort children going through procedures, teach kids how to take pills, be there for their families, and even model a hospital gown.  Allie's handler, Child Life Specialist and Pet Therapy Coordinator Kelsey Cebula, joins us on the podcast to talk about her work with Allie at NCH Delaware and her vision for growing this program across the enterprise.  Carol Vassar, producer

Throughout the history of Nemours Children's Health, research has been a crucial part of our mission. As a natural companion effort with clinical work, it has been central to serving patients and families in Delaware, Florida, and beyond.  Nemours' Executive Director of Research, Dr. Vicky Funanage, visits the podcast to provide an overview of research across the enterprise and a preview of Delaware Valley Research Week events happening from Oct. 17 through Oct. 21.  Agenda for 2022 Delaware Valley Research Week Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Mon., Oct. 17, from 8 a.m. - 1 .m.: Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 276 459 548 918 Passcode: oxEiqk Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Tues., Oct. 18, from 12 noon - 6 p.m.: Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 258 514 676 747 Passcode: qx2qVP Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Wed., Oct. 19, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.: Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 256 850 520 441 Passcode: E247qv Attend virtually via Microsoft TEAMS on Thurs., Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.: '>

We continue to honor Hispanic Heritage Month by talking with associates of Hispanic background about their personal experiences with being Hispanic in America and at Nemours. In this episode, we talk with Allen Garcia, PhD., Pediatric Psychologist based at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando.  Carol Vassar, producer

We're honoring Hispanic Heritage Month by talking with associates of Hispanic background about their personal experiences with being Hispanic in America and at Nemours. In this episode, we'll talk with first-year pediatric residents Dr. Natalia Cordona and Dr. Gabriela Guadalupe-Rios from NCH-Florida.   Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Stephen Dunn is the Chair of the Department of Surgery and Division Chief for the Nemours Solid Organ Transplant Program at Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware. We're talking with him about his international work, his background as a surgeon, as a public health service veteran, and his determination to bring training, technology, and treatment for children with liver and kidney disease to a wider world, starting at the place where the seeds of his interest in medicine were sewn: rural Indiana. Carol Vassar, producer

Under the broad umbrella of precision medicine falls pharmacogenomics, and within the field of pharamocogenomics, Nemours is involved with both researching and clinically applying pharacogenomics. In the second of two episodes on pharmacogenomics, we'll check in with pharmacists Dr. Benjamin Duong and Dr. Kelsey Cook about what's current in clinical pharmacogenomics, and what's on the horizon, too.  Carol Vassar, producer

Pharmacogenomics is a field of research that studies how a person's genes affect how an individual responds to medications. Its long-term goal is to help doctors select the drugs and doses best suited for each person. It's research that is happening within the walls of Nemours. We'll hear more about it from researcher Dr. Kathryn Blake, Director of the Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research, and research scientist Dr. Ed Mougey.  Carol Vassar, producer

It's Labor Day, and we're talking labor and delivery within the Advanced Delivery Program (ADP) at the Nemours Children's Hospital (NCH) in Delaware. It's a two-and-a-half-year-old program that started as a partnership between ChristianaCare and Nemours Children's Health aimed at having mom's deliver at NCH Delaware if their child had been diagnosed with a fetal anomaly requiring treatment immediately following birth. Nemours is taking on this program solo starting this month, and here to tell us about it are Nemours associates Dr. Margaret Chou and Dr. Joanna Costa.  Carol Vassar, producer

Breastfeeding is not easy. It's a learning experience for moms and babies, especially the first time around. Nemours associate Lindsey Killian faced more barriers than most when it came to her first-time breastfeeding experience: her son was diagnosed with the metabolic disorder PKU when he was just four days old. This required the introduction of specially blended PKU formula to his breastfeeding routine - a staple of his diet (and that of his father, Tom, who also has PKU) to this day. This makes 2022 particularly worrisome, as the Killians, and many other families in the U.S., do their best to find the formula they need amid a nationwide shortage.  Carol Vassar, producer Listen to the Killian family's full PKU journey in these episodes of Champions for Children: Episode 124: What's That You're Eating? Episode 125: Becoming a PKU Family

It is breastfeeding awareness month. And in previous podcast episodes this month, we've talked to the clinical experts on the benefits of breastfeeding to moms and their babies and breastfeeding across cultures. In part three of our Breastfeeding Awareness Month podcast, we'll talk with a breastfeeding mom and a lactation consultant - both Nemours associates- about family and community support and the key role it plays in a mother's breastfeeding journey. Fathers, grandparents, sisters, aunties, and friends all play a role! Featuring Nemours associates Lavisha Pelaez and Yolanda Sterling Carol Vassar, producer

August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and in this episode, we'll explore some of the cultural aspects of breastfeeding with Dr. Tara Williams, Nemours General Academic Pediatrician and Breastfeeding Medicine Specialist based in Orlando, and Karina Charra, site coordinator in the Emergency Department of the Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware, and co-lead of the Adelante Associate Resource Group.  Carol Vassar, producer

August is National Breastfeeding Month. According to the March of Dimes, though natural in many ways, breastfeeding is also a skill learned through practice. The benefits of breastfeeding are numerous and long-lasting. Nemours associates and breastfeeding counselors Ainger Walker and Shamiya Gould are here to talk about the benefits, the struggles, the stigmas, and ultimately the triumphs of breastfeeding. Carol Vassar, producer

Since 2021, retired healthcare executive Elliot Joseph has been a member of the Nemours Foundation Board of Directors. Prior to his retirement in 2019, he was the CEO of Hartford HealthCare, a fully integrated, multi-specialty healthcare network serving the state of Connecticut. Mr. Joseph brings that expertise, experience, and leadership to Nemours. We'll talk about his Nemours journey,  the path that led him to the business side of healthcare, the function of a board of directors within a not-for-profit healthcare organization, and confirm the rumor that he has a particular passion for a band out of California band known for its eclectic music and dedicated enthusiasts, commonly known as Dead Heads. Carol Vassar, producer

Today we begin an occasional series within the podcast to highlight precision medicine and the associates here at Nemours who are researching and implementing these innovative approaches to medicine, specifically pediatric medicine.  Answering the basic question of "What is precision medicine" are two Nemours geneticists with 73 years of combined experience in genetics and at Nemours: Dr. Pamela Arn, Nemours Division Chief for Genetics, and Dr. Vicky Funanage, Nemours' Operational Vice President for Research. Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Wade Shrader has seen Cerebral Palsy (CP) from two important perspectives: that of a physician, a surgeon, and the Chief of the Division of Cerebral Palsy inside the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware, and as the father of four children, two of whom are young adults living with CP.  His perspective as both family member and provider has proved influential in his decision to specialize in CP.  Carol Vassar, producer

We catch up with performer, singer, Nemours respiratory therapist, and optimist Mary Ann Douglas, who we first met on Episode 4 of the podcast from 2019. In a new interview recorded in July 2022, she provides an update on enduring the COVID-19 pandemic with her PICU team at NCH Orlando, providing stories of lessons learned and stresses born, along with patient stories from that time, which includes singing! Carol Vassar, producer

We're taking a deeper dive into Project HOPE by examining a partnership between Nemours and the State of Oklahoma that brings capacity-building skills and technical assistance to that state to help them in the work of preventing social adversities in early childhood. Featuring Nemours Associate Trevor Lee, Program and Policy Analyst in the Nemours Office of Policy and Prevention in Washington, DC., and  Carrie Williams, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness.

Nemours' Director of Talent Services Dr. Allison Craft is an ardent advocate for associate engagement across the enterprise. In this podcast, she'll share high-level results of the most recent employee engagement survey. She'll also reveal the very personal reason why she's so passionate about employee engagement, which has its origins in an experience so profound that it led her to leave her dream job with NASA to join Nemours and further the engagement mission. Carol Vassar, producer

Joining us in conversation on this episode of the podcast is Dr. Rachel Thornton, who arrived at Nemours on March 1, 2022, as the inaugural holder of a new leadership position within the enterprise: Enterprise Chief Health Equity Officer. Together, let's get to know Dr. Thornton, her path to becoming a doctor, and her vision for further advancing the health equity work that has been underway here at Nemours for a decade.

Have you been hearing about the new federal holiday? In some parts of the nation, June 19th has long been a celebrated as Solidarity Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, or, most commonly, Juneteenth, which is the name of the new federal holiday. The co-leads of the Nemours African Heritage Associate Resource Group - Danielle David Evans and Kia Gaines -  are here to talk about the origin and history of Juneteenth in the U.S., and how it is being celebrated at Nemours this year.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours Pediatric Psychologist Dr. Danika Perry reveals that her Nemours experience began when she was a high school volunteer - a volun-teen - at what is now the Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware.  For Dr. Perry, this and other volunteer opportunities would point her to her life's passion: a career as a pediatric psychologist. Carol Vassar, producer

According to U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, there is a serious mental health crisis happening among our children and youth in the U.S. It affects children, youth, families and communities across the communities Nemours serves. During May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we talk with Nemours associate Dr. Danika Perry about her perspective on the issue. Dr. Perry is the Behavioral Health Program Director of School-Based Wellness Centers in the elementary schools of the Colonial School District in New Castle, Delaware. Carol Vassar, producer

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and what better way to honor that than by letting you know about the newest Nemours Associate Resource Group (ARG), which encompasses those from this rich cultural background, and their allies. It's called the HealthCare alliance of Asian and Pacific Islanders (HAAPI). To talk about their work on this podcast are its executive sponsor Jane Mericle, Chief Nursing Executive and Patient Operations Officer in the Delaware Valley; Dr. Mary Lee, Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Lead for Educational Activities across the enterprise as well as physician in chief in the Delaware Valley; Steven Reader, a pediatric psychologist in the division of behavioral health; and Benjamin Duong, a pharmacist by training who is the Clinical Pharmacogenomics Service Manager for the enterprise. Ben also serves as co-leader for the HAPPI ARG.  Carol Vassar, producer

In the hustle and bustle of 21st-century life in the U.S., pausing for a moment feels like a luxurious indulgence. However, pausing to reflect on the life of a child who has recently died is proving to be an effective coping moment for direct care staff involved. That's what PAUSE - sometimes referred to as "The Pause"- is all about. PAUSE is currently being piloted in the Delaware Pediatric Intensive Care Unit  (PICU), and we talk about its fundamentals with Pastor Patricia Weichart, LCSW Elizabeth Wood, and Dr. Mindy Dickerman, from both the Divisions of Pediatric Critical Care, Palliative Care

Burnout..stress...anxiety...callouts...staffing shortages. The pandemic has taken an immense toll on frontline health care workers and laid bare issues that existed even before COVID-19 gained worldwide infamy. Concern for the mental well-being of frontline staff seemingly dominates news reports and peer-reviewed journals, revealing a depth of distress throughout the health care system like none before it.    What's being done? Nemours has piloted two programs designed to immediately identify situations that put added stress on staff, and provide necessary relief and resources. One of those is called Code Lavender.    Kristen Paliasia is the driving force behind this program in the NICU at Nemours Children's Hospital in Delaware. She joins us to talk about it.

It goes almost without saying that a hospital can be a scary place for our young patients and their families and a high-stress work environment for our associates. It's the role of chaplains like Tracie Herman and Ben White to help others navigate that fear and stress by providing emotional and spiritual care. That is the heart of what they do every day.

Pastoral care is a model of emotional, social, and spiritual health. The term is considered inclusive of both non-religious forms of support and spirituality as well as support for people who are part of a particular religious community.  What is pastoral care at Nemours? Chaplains Tracie Herman and Ben White discuss the importance of the spiritual in the healthcare setting. (part 1 of 2) Carol Vassar, producer

חג פסח שמח That's "Happy Passover" in Hebrew. As the Jewish community worldwide celebrates Passover now through sunset on April 23, it's the perfect time to introduce the launch of an enterprise-wide Associate Resource Group (ARG) specifically for those who identify as Jewish and their allies. Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Peter Adebi serves as the ARG's executive sponsor, and Director of Talent Development, Dr. Allison Craft, is the ARG's initial lead, here to talk about the importance of this ARG at Nemours.

Karen Wilding, Nemours' new Chief Value Officer, explains her role with the enterprise. She’ll also share her experience on 9/11, when she was a student in Washington, DC, where she watched the tragedy unfold. It was an event that shaped her life and put her on the path to becoming a Nemours associate.  Carol Vassar, producer

The passage of a massive economic recovery act in 2009 marked a watershed year for the evolution of health information technology in the U.S. Paper medical records were on the way out, securely exchanged electronic medical records available to patients, and authorized providers were on the way in.  Yet Nemours had been preparing for this since at least 1996 when Dr. David West became Nemours' first Chief Medical Informatics Officer. He stopped by recently to talk about the evolution of health information technology during that time and where it's headed next.    Carol Vassar, producer

When Dr. Bachrach joined Nemours in 1987, he became a witness to - and a driver of - the changes that would occur here that helped set the stage for "Well Beyond Medicine," including the transition from an orthopedic-only institution to a full-service pediatric hospital, the establishment of a world-renowned cerebral palsy center, the building of a new hospital in Orlando, and the evolution of Nemours Children's Health into a full-fledged pediatric healthcare system.    In this episode, Dr. Bachrach shares highlights of his distinguished Nemours career, memories of patients who inspired him, colleagues who have become his friends, and his perspective on change, retirement, and the Nemours culture that brought him here.    Carol Vassar, producer

As the executive sponsors of the Nemours Women at Work (W@W) Associate Resource Group (ARG), Dr. Mary Lee, Cindy Bo, Carrie Grant, and Christina Fleck came together recently to talk about why is it important to have a space specifically for women in the workplace, mentorship of women, by both women and men, and their very first (and vastly different) concert experiences. Carol Vassar, Producer

As we celebrate March as Women's HERStory Month in partnership with the Women@Work (W@W) Associate Resources Group (ARG), we brought together a panel of associates from across the enterprise to discuss women in the workplace at Nemours. Individually, these panelists have been with Nemours for between 8 months to 40 years, and bring forward experiences that are vastly different in some aspects, but remarkably similar in others.  Featuring Nemours associates Debbie Marchese, Martha Santoni, Teneasha Billingsley, and Janet Adams. Carol Vassar, producer BONUS PLAYLIST:  Truth Hurts by Lizzo (clean edit) I'm Every Woman by Chaka Kahn (Paid the Cost to Be) The Boss by James Brown Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys (clean edit) This One's for the Girls by Martina McBride The Schuyler Sisters by the original Broadway cast of Hamilton

Dr. Maureen Leffler is Nemours' Chief Wellness Officer. She joins the conversation in this episode to talk about the overall well-being of Nemours associates, but individually and as a whole. She'll also share some of her personal struggles with change both in her career and in her personal life, and let us know how Nemours associates from across the enterprise have an opportunity to provide input on the Nemours well-being strategy moving forward.  Carol Vassar, producer

In partnership with the African Heritage Associate Resource Group (ARG), we celebrate Black History Month by interviewing Nemours associates regarding their personal experiences with being Black in America, and at Nemours. Featuring Nemours associates Dr. Claude Beaty and Sarah Renaud.

In partnership with the African Heritage Associate Resource Group (ARG), we celebrate Black History Month by interviewing Nemours associates regarding their personal experiences with being Black in America and at Nemours. Featuring Nemours associates Danika Perry and Dr. Kara Walker.

Nemours' gastroenterologist Dr. James Franciosi, Division Chief for Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Nemours' Children's Hospital in Orlando, stops by to talk about his passion for finding better treatments - and maybe even a cure - for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)

Respiratory therapist L'Tanya Pierce talks about the Nemours Hair Care for Champions project that she has started in the Delaware Valley Region. It's aimed at providing hospitalized Nemours patients with clean, healthy-looking, and attractive hair as a matter of dignity and pride. It's also a grassroots, bedside example of how Nemours associates go well beyond medicine each and every day.  Please be advised: There are two patient stories in this podcast. Certain details have been left out to ensure their privacy. Details that remain could be difficult or disturbing for some listeners.

Project HOPE stands for Harnessing Opportunity for Positive, Equitable Early Childhood Development. Nemours is part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded consortium promoting both equity and child well-being on a national level. How? By building the capacity of local communities, state leaders, cross-sector state teams, and local coalitions to prevent social adversities in early childhood. Part of it is making sure that stakeholder voices are heard loud and clear whenever and wherever new health strategies, policies, or programs are created.  Featuring Nemours Associates Georgia Thompson and Trevor Lee

PedsAcademy is a unique, research-backed partnership between Nemours Children's Health and the University of Central Florida. It provides education to Nemours patients with chronic health conditions and complex medical needs. It also offers a formal internship program for teachers in training - the only such program of its kind in the nation. It gives future teachers deep insight and understanding into the educational and social-emotional needs of children coping with chronic illness -- training and experience that they carry with them to their classrooms and careers. Featuring Nemours associates Kate Blackburn and Rebeca Grysko Carol Vassar, producer RESOURCES: Visit PedsAcademy at Nemours Visit PedsAcademy at UCF An Exploration of the PedsAcademy Internship's Influence on Aspiring Educators' Preparation to Teach Children with Chronic Illnesses.

Nemours Executive Vice President and Enterprise Chief Communications Officer Gina Altieri shares her insights regarding the philosophy behind the new enterprise tagline, Well Beyond Medicine, and how these three words combined represent Nemours' new vision and strategy in a powerful and ingenious way. She'll also provide information on how every associate in the enterprise can weigh in on Well Beyond Medicine. Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours associate Lindsey Killian and her husband, Tom,  are the proud parents of two young sons: four-and-a-half-year-old T.J. and one-year-old Nicholas. T.J. and Tom were each diagnosed at birth with a metabolic condition known as PKU. In this second of two episodes, we'll delve into the extra work required for the Killians just to travel together, the struggles they've faced with health insurance coverage, and the reason Lindsey was determined to someday work at Nemours. Carol Vassar, producer

For Nemours associate Lindsey Killian and her husband, Tom, a typical evening meal with their two young children is anything but "typical." Hear how this family of four faced trials and triumphs following the diagnosis of a genetic condition affecting half of its members. It's a condition that impacts every aspect of their lives, from the food they eat to the places they choose to live, work and play, yet easily detected by a simple blood test required by law across the nation. Carol Vassar, producer

As we approached 2022, we look back on the history of Nemours, this time through the eyes of 40-year Nemours associate Ann Riley, who served from 1972 until 2012. We'll talk about the many changes she witnessed during her time with Nemours - and some of the core Nemours traditions, values, and beliefs that remain unchanged, even today.  Carol Vassar, producer

Five months ago, Adrienne Miller joined the Nemours Continuous Improvement Team as a Specialist. She did so after 16 years at Nemours as a pharmacist, most recently serving as Pharmacy Operations Manager in Delaware. It's a bit of a career swerve for Adrienne, who knew in high school that she wanted to work in healthcare but wasn't sure where. She talks about her entry into the field and her most recent career change.  Learn about the Nemours LEADER program here.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours Leadership Experience and Development Educational Program (LEADER) is a 90-plus hour education and development opportunity for current managers and associates who aspire to a management or leadership role. Nemours Associates Christina Savoie and Denise Hughes are recent LEADER graduates. They share the benefits they've derived from participating in LEADER and encourage other Nemours Associates to join them on the career development journey. Carol Vassar, producer

In 2012, Anabelle Burgos joined Nemours Children's Health in Florida as part of the BrightStart! pre-school literacy program. It was a position she loved with an organization whose mission aligned with her values. Yet an unplanned break in her career meant leaving Nemours in 2016. This hiatus gave Annabelle time to reflect on her early career: where it had been, and where it was going. What she liked, and what she wanted to change. Turns out, she loved working a Nemours,  so she set her sights on returning - this time, as a clinical research nurse coordinator! Carol Vassar, producer

This is an encore presentation of the Champions for Children podcast, originally released on Dec. 21, 2020. For over a century, Christmas at the Nemours Mansion and Estate in Wilmington, Delaware has been an opportunity to decorate, celebrate, and welcome the public for an immersive experience of holiday life behind the walls of Nemours in days of yore. 2020 is an exception, however, as COVID-19 has closed the mansion until Spring 2021. Instead, enjoy a social distanced audio love letter that provides a taste of that immersive experience, with Nemours associate Riva Brown as our guide Also, an encore airing of a story that first appeared on the podcast in August 2019, and yet has its own holiday theme. It features Jacksonville-based Nemours talent acquisition partner Dragona Piljug. Her path to Nemours begins far away in both time and place: Bosnia in the 1980’s. Carol Vassar, producer

It's food and gratitude on this episode, beginning in Oct. 2021 with the  18th birthday celebration of Jacksonville twins Lily and Will Moore. Lily, Will, and friends ate dinner, then headed to the Daily's Place Amphitheater in Downtown Jacksonville to see the Zac Brown Band live in concert. Post-pandemic excitement made the occasion even more festive. But as with any story, there is a twist that leaves just one twin to hear the band as the other faced a medical emergency. Carol Vassar, producer

Kevin McCormick is no stranger to the Nemours enterprise. He's in his seventh year here, having recently taken on the role of Continuous Improvement Specialist after previously serving as a physical therapist, and as director of operations for the Department of Orthopedics. His previous experience, plus a MBA and a drive to positively impact the lives of children make him a perfect fit for Nemours - an organization he'd never heard of before moving to Delaware. Yet he quickly became a fan. Carol Vassar, producer

Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate what is good in our lives: family, friends, food. But what if you are among the food insecure? According to Feeding America, about 42 million people in this nation - 1 in every 8 Americans - are food insecure. For the pediatric population we serve that number is approximately 13 million. One in every six children nationwide, one in every six children in Delaware, and one in every 4 children in Florida who are wondering where their next meal is coming from. And Nemours associates are already hard at work helping to feed those in their communities who may be hungry.  Carol Vassar, producer

Have you ever thought about what its means to be grateful? And what is gratitude, anyway? Day after day here at Nemours, the work you're doing is already cultivating gratitude in patients across the continuum of care - and now there is a new and concentrated effort on harnessing that gratitude to make a positive impact on children's health and well being for generations. It is called the Grateful Patient and Family Philanthropy Program. Carol Vassar, producer

Imagine you are someplace where your first language is not commonly spoken, and you need medical attention. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the use of professional medical interpreters with proficiency in translating medical terminology increases patient satisfaction, improves adherence and outcomes, and reduces adverse events. Nemours associate Margarita Olsen talks about her work as a medical interpreter. Carol Vassar, producer

What does it mean to be a woman in the healthcare workplace in the (hopefully) post-pandemic world that is 2021?  The Nemours Women at Work Associate Resource group (ARG) provides an opportunity for women, people who identify as women, and their allies to come together to provide professional development and  pathways to leadership through  networking and community engagement.  Carol Vassar, producer

Since June 2021, Clint Travis has served as Nemours assistant Vice President of Major and Planned Giving. He arrived at Nemours with a ton of philanthropic knowledge and experience at storied institutions such as Nationwide Children' Hospital and the University of Georgia. He's a lawyer by training , but philanthropy proved to be his true professional passion. Carol Vassar, producer

D.R.I.V.E (Diversity, Anti-Racism, Inclusion, Value, and Health Equity) is a Nemours task force committed to fostering change and continuing the momentum forward in building a healthy future for all - especially children. And the driving force behind the Nemours DRIVE task force is its eight work streams.  Dr. Peggy Greco joins us to talk about the DRIVE effort and the workstream she leads: Child and Family Impact. Carol Vassar, producer

It's National Hispanic Heritage Month, and we're marking the occasion by talking with members of the Nemours' Associate Resource Group, known as Adelante. For over five years, Adelante ARG has been actively creating a diverse and culturally competent environment where all associates feel they have a voice and where the Latino/Hispanic families we serve feel their needs are being met. The group's name has particular meaning for this high-energy, forward-thinking ARG. Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours has fully implemented a new “Social determinants of health screening” tool at primary care locations across the enterprise. It’s an annual survey designed to provide a snapshot of a family’s social health: housing, food, transportation, economic situation, etc. This tool provides Nemours with information to better target resources to those in need, and help shape future policy and planning initiatives.  Carol Vassar, producer

Clubfoot occurs in one of every 1,000 live births in the U.S. Left untreated, a clubfoot doesn't flex and point, causing a person to walk using the side of the foot. With proper treatment and patience, individuals with clubfoot should be able to have the issue corrected major problems. So what is proper treatment? Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr. Reid Nichols is a practitioner of the Ponseti method, which is aimed at AVOIDING surgery by making use of casting and bracing to correct the issue.  Carol Vassar, producer

We’re taking on the topic of childhood cancer - specifically the research being done by Nemours and its many partners in academia, public health, and the private sector. Dr. Andy Kolb is our guest. He is the Director of Blood & Bone Marrow Transplantation in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware, and his interest in medicine - like that of many of his peers - began in his own childhood. Carol Vassar, producer

It really is okay to NOT be okay, especially when working in the field of healthcare during a sustained pandemic. If you are stuggling and want to talk to someone who understands, the Nemours Peer Support program may be for you. Pediatric surgeon Dr. Loren Berman is one of the founders of this program at Nemours - and has a profoundly personal story to explain why she sees peer support as a value-add for all Nemours associates. Carol Vassar, producer

Lavisha Pelaez is a Health Equity Research Associate in the Nemours Office of Health Equity and Inclusion. In her spare time, she and fellow associate Kia Gaines, co-lead the enterprise-wide African Heritage Associate resource group, or ARG, which is currently expanding to the Nemours Florida region to become a truly enterprise-wide associate asset. Carol Vassar, producer

Meet Drs. William MacKenzie and Stuart MacKenzie, the Delaware-based father-son orthopedic surgeons whose close personal and professional relationship enhances patient outcomes, and whose long involvement with Nemours goes back several decades and some 3000 miles away in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Carol Vassar, producer

Do you find yourself as a caregiver outside of Nemours, caring for children, older parents or other family members? You are not alone. In fact, the new Caregiver ARG wants your input and stands ready to help address the needs of the caregivers among us. Carol Vassar, producer

Adolescent medicine specialist Dr. Lonna Gordon talks about her lived experience as a young, Black, female physician, and how those experiences - negative and positive - motivated her to become part of Nemours' Diversity, anti-Racism, Inclusion, Value and Equity (DRIVE) initiative. Carol Vassar, producer

If you had the chance to relive your adolescence, would you?  Adolescence is a time of change physically, emotionally, socially, and developmentally - and those changes can be overwhelming. Adolescent medicine specialist Dr. Lonna Gordon joins us to talk about defining adolescent medicine and the importance of welcoming children into this new phase of their lives and of their relationship with their healthcare provider.  Carol Vassar, producer

It's episode 100 of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast, and we are talking all things patient experience with Dr. Peggy Greco. Peggy is Nemours’ Enterprise Patient Experience Medical Director.  Carol Vassar, producer

In April 2021, a Minneapolis jury returned a guilty verdict against the former police officer responsible for the Memorial Day 2020 killing of George Floyd. Floyd’s death prompted demonstrations and inspired Nemours associates to hold their anti-racism demonstration: White Coats for Black Lives.  So what movement has occurred at Nemours toward anti-racism and diversity, inclusion, and equity? Cindy Bo, Senior Vice-President for Strategy and Business Development in the Delaware Valley and interim enterprise Chief Diversity Officer, joins me for an update on the progress of the Nemours DRIVE initiative. Listen to our episodes of the podcast on White Coats for Black Lives:  Episode 45 Episode 46

The Integrator Learning Lab began as a concept paper in 2012, and is now a fully realized, evidence-based set of nine scalable integrator networks aimed at improving health outcomes within communities through cooperative effort.  Learn how Nemours leaders helped bring this national project from concept to reality.  To bring this concept to your community, check out the Integrator Learning Lab tool kit.

What was once a 2012 concept paper written by Nemours associates is now a fully realized, national, evidence-based set of nine scalable integrator networks aimed at improving health outcomes within communities through cooperative effort, and led by those who best understand a community’s overall health needs: the people who live and work there. Interested in starting an integrator network in your community? Check out the toolkit here.  Carol Vassar, producer

To celebrate PRIDE month in June, we held a roundtable discussion with members of the Nemours PRIDE Associate resource group (ARG) about enterprise-wide efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion related to the LGBTQ associate, patient and family populations.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours orthopedic surgeon Dr. Alfred Atanda has an additional role: Chief of Clinician Experience Officer. We'll hear about his vision for, and approach to looking out for the physical and mental health of his fellow Nemours clinicians. Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Lauren Averill, Chair, Department of Medical Imaging the Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, and Dr. Ted Harcke, continue their conversation about the past, present and future of radiology at Nemours. They’ll touch on a variety of topics, including work/life balance, the effects of the growth of technology in healthcare, the standard practice that Dr. Harcke helped to pioneer for the diagnosis and treatment of dysplasia of the hip in infants, and the satisfaction derived from practicing radiology with a balance of education, clinical practice and research - they refer to it as the three-legged stool. But first, it may surprise you to learn that Dr. Harcke has another career - as a military forensic radiologist. His time with the Army goes back to his days as a cadet at The Point - West Point, and comes full circle with his medical career in the days that followed 9/11.

In 1981, "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes was the number-one song, and Raiders of the Lost Ark was the top-grossing movie. Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan survived attempts on their lives, Britain's Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, and America celebrated the release of hostages held in its embassy in Iran after 444 days of captivity. It was also the year pediatric radiologist Dr. Ted Harcke arrived at Nemours.  Carol Vassar, producer

Patient Michael Alexander, working with mentors from the A.I. Dupont Institute, finds a keen interest in science and medicine - enough to become a doctor at the very institution that served him as a child seeking rehabilitative services as a result of polio.  Carol Vassar, produer

While most of us don't think of hospitals as summer camps, that metaphor looms large for one former Nemours patient. Michael Allen Alexander was born in 1947, and, as a boy, contracted polio. This was before the development of safe and effective polio vaccines, which we have today. There is no cure for polio, but for those who have been paralyzed due to contracting the disease, there are treatments: long-term rehabilitation, physical therapy, braces, corrective shoes, and orthopedic surgery.                                      And that is just what Michael Alexander's family sought for their 12-year-old son from the AI Dupont institute in 1960. It's also where his life-long Nemours story begins. Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours President and CEO Dr. R. Laurence Moss talks about the "big and bold" strategic plan released last week, a plan strongly rooted in Nemours history and heritage.  Nemours' Chief Heritage Officer, John Rumm, John Rumm joins the conversation for a brief history of Nemours. A new book on the history of Nemours - written by Dr. Moss - is now available.  Carol Vassar, producer

It's a Founder's Day edition of the podcast! Founder’s Day 2021 marks a turning point with news of the Nemours’ Countdown to Liftoff: Celebrating our Future, which includes a new strategy, created with the help of over 4,500 Nemours associates and a new unifying brand.   Carol Vassar, producer

Thirty-seven-year-old Kyle Kibler has seen Nemours from two distinct perspectives: patient and associate. Kyle is the switchboard supervisor at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He talks about "a-plus" care he received at the hospital between the ages of 3 and 21 - a time period that included 22 surgeries to treat cerebral palsy.

Do you know how many people does it take to process payroll on-time and accurately for every Nemours associate? The answer is surprisingly low: just six, with significant help from an Enterprise resource planning platform, known as an ERP. Payroll is a department with a ton of fiduciary responsibility to  Nemours as an enterprise, and to every single one of Nemours’ 8,000-plus associates. It's a department headed by Shirley Williamson, a seasoned payroll professional with two Master's degrees, who moved from Georgia to Florida leaving behind a strong network of family and friends, and knowing virtually to officially become Nemour's Payroll director at a very interesting time: March 23, 2020. Carol Vassar, producer

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a renewed societal effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by washing our hands, wearing masks, and disinfecting everything in sight. Healthcare workers have been employing these methods - and many more - from as far back as the mid-19th century to ensure patient safety. Entire hospital departments - sterile processing and housekeeping to name just two - are built for cleaning, decontaminating, processing, sterilizing, assembling, testing, packaging and managing medical instruments and equipment.  It’s a role we all play to some extent or another as Nemours associates, even if it’s as simple as washing your hands. Yet there is always more to be done, continuous improvement to be had, even in cleaning and maintaining medical equipment.  And that’s where this story really begins -with a project centering on finding, cataloging and providing for use by Nemours associates the manufacturers Instructions for Use - the IFUs - for every piece of equipment used in the Delaware Valley. The project began in 2018 - the idea of one person - in anticipation of survey visits from the healthcare quality and safety  group known as the Joint Commission.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours associate Heather Quinn's personal COVID-19 story serves as a stark reminder that even as millions of people are vaccinated against the coronavirus each day here in the U.S. that it is still deadly.  Her story begins in March 2020, when the pandemic commandeered both her professional and personal life. Carol Vassar, producer

When it comes to ongoing professional development for Nemours associates, the place to turn is to the enterprise-wide online learning management system known as Nemours University. As a learning solutions specialist, Veronica Wisely understands - and works to meet - the thirst for knowledge of her fellow associates - especially during the pandemic.   Carol Vassar, host/producer

The shutdown of hospital services due to the pandemic in 2020 placed an extraordinary burden on departments for which remote work was nearly impossible. Audiology is one such department. It's a discipline where "up-close-and-personal" is vital to a patient's progress and success.  Pediatric audiologist Tammy Riegner recalls how the audiology team at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children coped with last spring's service shutdown, and on the concept that the COVID-19 pandemic has united people worldwide in a shared human experience. Carol Vassar, producer

The Nemours Center for Health Delivery Innovation (CHDI) has long been the place within the enterprise responsible for developing, deploying and integrating digital health care tools designed to improve the patient experience and deliver better health outcomes. Which is exactly why this team was called upon at the pandemic’s start in March 2020: to quickly, efficiently and safely grow and innovate digital technologies at an unprecedented pace so as to meet patient and business imperatives.  Carol Vassar, producer

As a core function within primary care, care coordinators need to be organized and resourceful. And they MUST be excellent communicators. Turns out, these are the very skills possessed by Katrina Wilson, a care coordinator at the Nemours Primary Care practice in Milford, Delaware. They are the same skills that Katrina used in force as life in the pandemic of 2020 closed in around her and her family at this time last year. Carol Vassar, producer

Amber Combs, Nemours Fundraising Database Manager, shares the story of her family's COVID-19 experience in the earliest days of the pandemic.    Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Maureen Leffler and Dr. Jay Greenspan they look back on Year One of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of Dr. Greenspan: how this once-in-a-lifetime event changed Nemours, and him as he served as the Nemours COVID-19 Enterprise Incident Commander. Starting Monday, March 15, the podcast turns its focus toward hearing the COVID-19 stories of associates from across the enterprise. Arrange to share yours by email podcast@nemours.org.  Carol Vassar, producer

In addition to a Nemours COVID-19 situational update, co-hosts Dr. Maureen Leffler and Dr. Jay Greenspan talk with Dr. Raul Pino, Florida Department of Health Commissioner for Orange County, which includes Orlando and the Nemours Children's Hospital. Dr. Pino has been the familiar, trusted public health spokesperson reporting evidence based facts and prevention measures on COVID-19 to the people of Orange County. Carol Vassar, producer

A situational update on COVID-19, plus part two of two parts honoring Black History Month, as we welcome the man responsible for creating the Nemours Office of Health Equity and Inclusion more than ten years ago, Dr. Kevin Churchwell. Dr. Churchwell is currently President and CEO of Boston Children's Hospital. Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Claudia Thomas is the first black woman orthopedic surgeon in the United States. Her journey, though, starts before her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital,  before medical school at Johns Hopkins,  and even before she risked her professional future leading a student sit-in at her undergraduate alma mater, Vassar College, in the late 1960's. It begins with the values she learned from her parents. Carol Vassar, producer

Neonatologist Dr. Mark Hudak, Professor & Chair for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Florida School of Medicine in Jacksonville talks all thing COVID-19 and babies. He also provides preliminary data from a national mother-baby he established to study the effects of COVID-19 on that population. He’ll have an overview of preliminary data from the registry, which is proving useful in guiding women through pregnancy in the midst of this pandemic. For information on the registry featured in this episode.  To see the statement on racism from the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Carol Vassar, producer

John Carney is the 74th Governor of the State of Delaware, but did you know that he was a summer associate for Nemours in the mid-1970's?  Today he joins hosts Dr. Jay Greenspan and Dr. Maureen Leffler to talk all things COVID-19: the state’s response, the vaccine rollout, the effect of the pandemic on health care and other front line workers, and what pandemic-related issues keep him up at night as year one of the pandemic comes to a close.  Carol Vassar, producer

This week, news emerged related to COVID-19 and pregnancy, raising questions about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant women, and the risks related to contracting COVID-19 while pregnant. Host Dr. Jay Greenspan talks with maternal/fetal medicine specialist Dr. Lindsay Maggio from the Nemours Center for Fetal Care in Orlando on these and other subjects related to COVID-19 and pregnancy. Carol Vassar, producer

One year ago this week, the first U.S. case of COVID-19 was diagnosed in Washington state. Today, the nation is looking at some grim COVID-19 milestones, as host Dr. Jay Greenspan will talk about in his situational weekly update. He’ll also have a conversation with Sandy Gomberg, CEO of the COVID-19 Response Team for the City of Philadelphia. Sandy’s a nurse by training and practice, a former hospital and health system CEO, a health educator, and even the leader of  a health technology start-up. She’ll tell the story of the call she received last spring requesting her experience and leadership to convert a 10,000 seat basketball arena into a temporary COVID-19 overflow hospital, and her work partnering with Genesis Healthcare, a nursing home operator in Pennsylvania and Delaware - to stand up a COVID-19 relief center for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents. Finally, she’ll talk about why the eyes  and hands of nurses are so important to COVID-19 relief efforts worldwide.  Also, the Nemours Champions for Children podcast has been selected as one of the Top 25 Children's Health Podcasts on the web by Feedspot. Ranking is based on relevancy, blog post frequency(freshness), social metrics, domain authority, traffic and many other parameters. See the full list here: https://blog.feedspot.com/childrens_health_podcasts/ Carol Vassar, producer

In addition to an up-to-the minute COVID-19 situational update and a COVID-19 question answered by Florida Division COVID-19 Incident Commander Randy Hartley, listen in on a conversation between Dr. Mo Leffler, Nemours Chief Wellness Officer (aka "Chief Worry Officer") and host Dr. Jay Greenspan. They'll discuss well-being and self-care for anyone working in healthcare, especially during the pandemic.  Carol Vassar, producer

Host Dr. Jay Greenspan provides a situational update, followed by a wide-ranging discussion with Randy Hartley, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando about the status of COVID-19 spread in Florida, and the distribution of vaccines to Nemours associates. They'll also touch on the long and sometimes sordid history of vaccine development in the U.S., and the resulting distrust that, even today, has people hesitating, or even refusing, to take the newly developed COVID-19 vaccines. Carol Vassar, producer

Delaware State Senator Nicole Poore joins host Dr. Jay Greenspan to talk about the toll the pandemic has taken on families, like hers, that include a young adult whose medical needs are complex, the stress of having that young adult age out of the pediatric health care system in the midst of a pandemic, her own personal experience battling COVID-19 and the lengths to which she and her husband went to protect all three of their children from becoming infected with virus. Plus, a Nemours COVID-19 situational update from Dr. Greenspan, and an update on the distribution of vaccines to Nemours associates.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours COVID-19 Incident Commander Dr. Jay Greenspan provides a situational update regarding the pandemic, and speak with Nemours infectious disease specialist Dr. Neil Rellosa about the vaccine rollout within the enterprise, when the vaccine might be available for kids, the new variant COVID-19 strain emerging in the U.K., and what’s it’s like to actually receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Carol Vassar, producer

For over a century, Christmas at the Nemours Mansion and Estate in Wilmington, Delaware has been an opportunity to decorate, celebrate, and welcome the public for an immersive experience of holiday life behind the walls of Nemours in days of yore. 2020 is an exception, however, as COVID-19 has closed the mansion until Spring 2021. Instead, enjoy a social distanced audio love letter that provides a taste of that immersive experience, with Nemours associate Riva Brown as our guide Also, an encore airing of a story that first appeared on the podcast in August 2019, and yet has its own holiday theme. It features Jacksonville-based Nemours talent acquisition partner Dragona Piljug. Her path to Nemours begins fair away in both time and place: Bosnia in the 1980’s. Carol Vassar, producer

En esta edición del podcast de actualización de COVID-19 de Nemours Champions for Children, la Dra. Diana Carao de A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children en Wilmington, Delaware ofrece una actualización de la situación de COVID-19 en toda la empresa en español. La Dra. Carao y el Dr. Jay Greenspan también discuten la eficacia, la seguridad y la importancia para la salud pública de las nuevas vacunas COVID-19. Carol Vassar, producer

This edition of the Nemours Champions for Children COVID-19 update features a situational update from host and Nemours COVID-19 Incident Commander, Dr. Jay Greenspan. Dr. Greenspan is joined by Florida-based Nemours pediatrician Dr. Odett Stanley Brown to talk about the ways in which the practice of pediatrics in communities like The Village, Florida has changed  since the pandemic's onset. Drs. Greenspan and Stanley-Brown also share their concerns about the pandemic's disproportionate impact on Black and Brown community members, and Nemours own efforts toward diversity and inclusion in the healthcare space.  To here to view the NCH COVID-19 Grand Rounds from December 9, 2020 referenced by Dr. Brown in this podcast.  Carol Vassar, producer

By now all are well-versed in the physical PPE required to help safeguard us from the pandemic: masks, gloves, gowns, shields, etc. But what about safeguarding your emotional self? Psychologist Dr. Meghan Walls joins host Dr. Jay Greenspan to talk about the importance of "psychological PPE" to protect you from what some are calling the “COVID Cloud” of doom and gloom. Plus, Dr. Greenspan provides a situational update from his perspective as Nemours pandemic response incident commander. RESOURCES: Nemours Virtual Wellness Fair (12/10/2020) Nemours Peer Support Nemours Vaccine FAQs (12/9/2020) Carol Vassar, producer

The situation surrounding COVID-19 is constantly changing. This podcast provides you with the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19 and your work as a Nemours associate. From operational changes to rumor busting, Nemours COVID-19 Incident Commander Dr. Jay Greenspan and his team of experts provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information on all things COVID from across the enterprise - directly from the source. This week, Dr. Greenspan talks with Dr. Kenneth Alexander about the two new COVID-19 vaccines: how safe are they? When can you expect to get one? They also provide an overall situational update applicable to all Nemours associates.  Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours Director of Community Affairs for the Delaware Valley, Michelle Burroughs, opens up about her daughter's health issue, and the effects of COVID-19 on her family. We'll also hear from Dr. Amber Hoffman about her involvement directing the Nemours Children’s Hospital Pediatric Residency Program.  Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Amber Hoffman wears many hats at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando: Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program, Director of the Medically Complex Coordination Clinic, and member of the hospital medical division. She has long possessed an inquisitiveness that, in turn, dgave rise to her youthful desire to go into medicine - a dream nearly derailed when, as she puts it, “life happened.” Carol Vassar, producer

Meet Debra Morales, Administrative Coordinator for Perioperative Services at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, and a 15-year Nemours associate. She has been referred to by at least one fellow associate as the person who makes the Wilmington O.R. the great place to work that it is. For that, we can thank Debra's late mom, Christine, who to this day has a significant influence on Debra’s life - including her career choices.  Also, meet Dr. Steven Selbst, who has distinguished himself as a medical doctor and as an academic. He is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, director of the Nemours Pediatric Residency Program, and a professor and Vice-Chairman for Education for the Department of Pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. As it happens, he was also on the forefront of that development of pediatric emergency medicine as a specialty!  Carol Vassar, producer

We're taking some time to get to know Nemours’ new Chief Population Health Officer, Dr. Kara Odom-Walker. Dr. Odom Walker came on board with Nemours in September after 2-and-a-half years as the top public health official in the State of Delaware, serving as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. Delaware is also the state where she was born and raised, and where she discovered her love of the STEM-related fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). She was guided by supportive, loving parents in a world that wasn’t always kind. Carol Vassar, producer

Dr. Lauren Averill, Chair of medical imaging at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington shares the family ties and puzzle-solving skills that led her to life as a radiologist. We’ll also hear from Cheri Berryhill about the team of behavioral health clinicians and support staff she works with at the Nemours Children’s Speciality Care Clinic at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, as well as the office just behind the coffee stand near the outpatient entrance of the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, home to the Nemours Delaware Valley family financial support team made up of people who, at various times during the workday, serve as detective to find any way possible to help relieve families of the financial burden of an ill or injured child.  Carol Vassar, producer

Pediatric cardiologist Dr. Mary Mehta is the chief medical officer of the Nemours Children’s Specialty Clinic based in Pensacola, Florida. It's a practice where more than 100 associates - from clinicians to researchers to support staff - provide specialized pediatric care throughout Northwest Florida and parts of Southern Alabama - despite hurricanes (and being in a completely different time zone from their fellow Nemours associates)Carol Vassar, producer

Four Nemours associates share what inspires them in their daily work, including wisdom of business and life learned from parents, and patient stories that clinicians will never forget. Featuring Nemours associates: Dr. Lauren Averill, Chair of Medical Imaging at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE Cindy Bo, Operational Vice President and Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer, Nemours Children's Health System Becky Phillips, Manager, Partnership Development and Cause Marketing,  Nemours Fund for Children’s Health Dr. Meg Frizzola, Division Chief,  Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PICU),  A.I. Dupont hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE Carol Vassar, producer

In 2010, 15-year-old Manny Gonzales was a varsity high school runner when he received a stunning diagnosis: cancer. Ten rounds of chemotherapy, thirteen lumbar punctures and the support of the associates of the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington helped him get back on track. Today, he is Dr. Manuel Gonzales, a first-year resident at the very same hospital where his life was saved. Carol Vassar, producer

Radio done right can mobilize a community to do good - and that is exactly what is happening this week in the Delaware Valley. It's the annual fundraising effort known as the “Help Our Kids” radiothon, an all-hands-on-deck broadcast extravaganza held, in years past, in the atrium of the A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington and on the airwaves of six Delaware Valley radio stations. Nemours associate Becky Phillips fills us in on the move from an in-person event to one that is now fully virtual.  Florida-based Nemours patient services specialist Sharleen O’Brien-Smock shares her first Nemours experience as a 14-year-old living outside Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and how that experience informs her work today.  Carol Vassar, producer

Today's episode highlights the work of the Simulation Labs at both the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, and the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, part of the Nemours Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).  Featuring Nemours associates: Heather Sobolewski, RN, Simulation Educator, NCH-Delaware Kimberly Dawson, RN, Simulation Education Specialist, NCH-Delaware Melisa Colon, EMT & Paramedic, Simulation Operation Specialist, NCH-Orlando Carol Vassar, producer

Join EMT, Paramedic, and Simulation Operation Specialist Melisa Colon, who talks about about why, after the birth of her son, she wanted to work for Nemours. We’ll also hear from James Digan, Nemours' Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, about his passion for leveraging philanthropy and development to level the playing field anyone seeking healthcare.  Carol Vassar, producer

Meet pediatric rheumatologist Dr. Maureen Leffler, Nemours first-ever enterprise-wide Chief Wellness Officer. Long before she arrived at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children as a pediatrics intern in 2004 she had a sense that healthcare could be delivered in a better, more holistic manner - a vestige of her childhood where she watched her family struggle as her mother battled a chronic disease.  Featured Associate: Maureen Leffler, DO, A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE Carol Vassar, producer

Be Brave. Be Bold. Be Caring. Those are the words of Nemours Associate Crystal Renderos, who shares the story of her long-time desire to work with kids in a healthcare setting, and about the grave incident that solidified her resolve to follow her dream. We also speak with Executive Assistant Debra Griffin, whose relationship with Nemours is longer than her employment here - in fact, it goes back to the early 1970s, when she herself was a child. Featured Associates: Crystal Renderos, Emergency Medical Technician/Medical Assistant, Lake Nona Primary Care, Orlando, FL.  Debra Griffin, Executive Assistant, A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE.  Carol Vassar, producer

Xiomara Picorelli-Hernandez's life story is one of determination and perseverance - and it begins with the birth of her first child when Xiomara was just 14 years old.  We also get more in-depth with Nemours hematologist/oncologist Dr. Manisha Bansal, one of the driving forces behind last June’s White Coats for Black Lives at Nemours, as well as Shirley Porras, Office Supervisor, TLC primary care practice in Longwood, FL.    Featured Associates: Xiomara Picarelli-Hernandez, Medical Assistant, Sanford, FL Manisha Bansal, MD, Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Nemours Children's Speciality Care, Jacksonville, FL Shirley Porras, Office Supervisor, TLC Primary Care, Longwood, FL Carol Vassar, producer

We’ll visit from a Nemours associate  whose passion is health equity and inclusion, a busy practice manager in greater Orlando whose career is based on the word “team,” and a Chicago native who moved to Florida to enjoy its beaches and warmth after a life-threatening battle with cancer.  Featured Associates: Nancy Figueroa, Medical Assistant, Nemours Primary Care, Orlando, FL Patricia Oceanic, Program Director for the Nemours Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, Wilmington, DE. Marc McCauley, Practice Manager, Children’s Health Alliance (CHA) Primary Care, Orlando, FL Carol Vassar, producer

The Nemours "Kudos" platform allows associates at every level to quickly recognize a colleague using a computer, iPad or smartphone. But have you ever wondered about the meaning of the word "kudos." This podcast answers that question, as we speak with associates additionally about the ease of using the platform, and the importance of employee engagement to our patients and families.  Featured Associates: Terrence Banfield, Benefits Manager, Nemours Home Office, Jacksonville, FL Cindy Bo, Operational Vice President, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer, Delaware Valley, Wilmington, DE.  Jay Greenspan, MD, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Nemours Delaware Valley, Wilmington, DE.  James Thomas, Emergency Department Manager, AI Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE Jennifer Wilkerson, Patient Service Specialist, Winter Haven, FL Carol Vassar, Producer

Nemours associate Jennifer Wilkerson was  a stay-at-home mother of three young children more than a decade ago when she stepped volunteered to help a close and dear family member achieve his dying wish. In doing so, she learned about herself - and her passion for serving others in a healthcare setting.  Also, Senior Practice Manager Nancy Szeliga talks about the impressive, down-to-earth leadership style of Nemours CEO Dr. Larry Moss, and get the scoop about the MAGNET journey that nurses are pursuing at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.  Featured Associates: Jennifer Wilkerson, Patient Services Specialist, Nemours Pediatric Primary Care (Kinder Care), Winter Haven, FL Nancy Szeliga, Senior Practice Manager, Nemours Children’s Primary Care network, Orlando, FL Susan Soderberg, RN, Nursing Professional Excellence Coordinator/Nurse Educator, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando, FL  Carol Vassar, producer

We examine Nemours' past, present and future efforts toward health equity, inclusion, diversity and anti-racism in the healthcare setting, particularly in light of the emergence of the novel coronavirus, and death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officers in Minneapolis.  Featured Associates: Dr. Kirk Dabney, Director, Nemours Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, and Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE Cindy Bo, Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer and Operational Vice President Dr. Jay Greenspan, Interim Chief Operating Officer, Nemours Delaware Valley Region Carol Vassar, producer

On June 5, 2020, associates across the Nemours enterprise knelt for 8:46 to raise awareness about disparities in medical care for minorities, and issues related to systemic racism in healthcare. The "White Coats for Black Lives" event followed by ten days the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, and proved to be a powerful first step for Nemours to actively work to end the spread of racism for the health and well-being of all. Featured Associates: Dr. Manisha Bansal, Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist, Nemours Speciality Care, Jacksonville, FL Cindy Bo, Nemours Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer and Operational Vice President Dr. Kirk Dabney, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Nemours Delaware Valley, Wilmington, DE Dr. Jay Greenspan, interim Chief Executive Officer, Nemours Delaware Valley, Wilmington, DE Patricia Oceanic, Director, Nemours Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, Delaware Valley, Wilmington, DE Carol Vassar, Producer

How an orthopedic surgeon copes with failure, and how a practicing neonatologist found himself leading not only the Delaware Valley Region as CEO, but took on a key leadership role in the Nemours response to COVID-19. Featured Associates: Dr. Alfred Atanda, Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE Dr. Jay Greenspan, Neonatologist and interim CEO, Nemours Delaware Valley Region, Wilmington, DE Carol Vassar, producer

Meet the ultrasound specialist/artist/painter who Nemours CEO Dr. Larry Moss references as one of the many examples of discretionary effort put forth each day by Nemours associates - and about the health struggles she faced that have inspired this massive project. We'll also meet one of the Pensacola-based associates who brings Nemours care to the small towns of the Florida panhandle, as well as a certified child life specialist based at the Nemours Children's Hospital whose team epitomizes the close bond - the trust - that helps to serve kids and families.  Featured Associates: Miranda Bullock, Ultrasound Specialist, Nemours Multispeciality Clinic, Pensacola, FL Ashley Cole, Northwest Florida Site Practice Administrator, Pensacola, FL Gloria Mendez, Certified Child Life Specialist, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Orlando, FL Carol Vassar, Producer

The whirlwind of change since March 2020 has affected everyone at Nemours. Let’s hear how it has changed the professional lives of a physician, a nurse, and a practice manager.  Featuring Nemours associates: Chad McRae, MD, Pediatrician, Nemours Primary Care Practice, Windermere, Florida Nancy Szeliga, Senior Practice Manager, Nemours Children’s Primary Care Network, Greater Orlando James Thomas, APRN, Emergency Department Manager, NCH-Delaware  Carol Vassar, producer

Robert Fulghum, the author of “Everything I Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten, wrote, "Without realizing it, we fill important places in each other’s lives. It’s that way with the guy at the corner grocery, the mechanic at the local garage, the family doctor, teachers, neighbors, and coworkers. Good people who are always 'there,' who can be relied upon in small, important ways. People who teach us, bless us, encourage us, support us, uplift us in the dailiness of life. We never tell them. I don’t know why, but we don’t." Here at Nemours, we’re working to change that through the Kudos platform, an immediate way to recognize and celebrate fellow Nemours associates for the good they do, no matter how large or small. Let’s check in with some “superusers” of the platform to see how it’s going.  Featuring Nemours associates: Chad McRae, MD, Pediatrician, Nemours Primary Care Practice, Windermere, Florida Peter Adebi, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Nemours Children’s Health Ashley Cole, Northwest Florida Site Practice Administrator, Pensacola, FL Debra Griffin, Executive Assistant, NCH-Delaware   Carol Vassar, Producer

Most of the time, we conduct one-on-one interviews for the podcast, with the occasional duo, trio, or larger group. So it was no surprise when Tracy Dill and Jordan Guthridge stopped by the mobile podcast studio at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando in early March 2020. The big surprise came when we learned that their relationship goes well beyond the walls of Nemours.  Featuring Nemours associates: Tracy Dill, Executive Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer, NCH-Orlando  Jordan Guthridge, Interprofessional Education Coordinator, NCH-Orlando Carol Vassar, Producer

Carol Vassar, Producer

If there is one theme that runs through today’s conversations in our pandemic-dominated world today, it is that working in healthcare is exhausting but rewarding. But don’t just take my word for it - here’s how a few of your fellow associates described how they feel when they leave work at the end of the day Featuring Nemours associates: Shalese Bennett, Certified Child Life Specialist, NCH-Orlando Martin King, RN, Emergency Services Department, NCH-Orlando Michelle Reed, Nutritionist, NCH-Delaware Carol Vassar, Producer

Travel back in time to what may seem like eons ago: January 2020. A new year. A new start. A time when terms like “social distancing” and “quarantine” were rarely used, and when wearing a mask was exclusively for skiing.  Planning for the 2020 Nemours Proms had begun in earnest in Florida and Delaware. The idea that a prom can be a normative experience was front and center for Dietician Michelle Fulmer and hematology/oncology nurse Julie Reegan when they entered the traveling podcast studio in Delaware in January 2020 and for Child Life Specialist and Florida Prom Chair Emily Bradley when we spoke in Orlando in early March 2020.  Carol Vassar, producer

In this episode, we’re taking a look at the culture at Nemours through the eyes of three different specialties: Child Life, Nursing, and Pediatric Sports Medicine.  Featuring: Emily Bradley, Certified Child Life Specialist, NCH-Orlando Susan Soderberg, Nursing Professional Excellence Coordinator/Nurse Educator, NCH-Orlando Sarah Gibson, MD, Pediatric Sports Medicine Orthopedist, NCH-Orlando Carol Vassar, producer

Building a strong structure or system of any kind requires a solid foundation. That is equally true for building a structure, or healthcare system like Nemours, where the foundation comes directly from the Dupont family. Featuring Nemours Associates Riva Brown, Dr. Alfred Atanda, and Janet Krossman. SEGMENT 1: Nemours Associate Riva Brown is an interpreter and tour guide at the Nemours Estate and Gardens in Wilmington. She helps us connect the Nemours of yesterday  - and the Dupont family - with the Nemours Children’s Health System as we know it today. SEGMENT 2: Children often explore career possibilities through play: dressing up as doctors, pretending to be truck drivers, or singing into a hairbrush with the idea that they'll be the next Beyonce. Dr. Alfred Atanda thought his career would be in construction - and in many ways, it is. Only he doesn’t build buildings. As an orthopedic surgeon at the A. I. Dupont Hospital or Children, he helps build, or rebuild, people. SEGMENT 3: Janet Krossman is a patient liaison with the Emergency Department at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She is the patient’s voice within the vast Nemours system. It’s a role that takes a great deal of patience, compassion and diplomacy. It’s a job that Janet sees as intricate to the overall Nemours mission.    Carol Vassar, Producer

Doing the right thing doesn't always mean doing what's most convenient or expeditious. It takes sacrifice, cooperation, and shared accountability. It requires trust between patients and staff, and between associates and leadership. Sometimes it means staying all night to get the job done because others are counting on you! SEGMENT 1: Dr. Lonna Gordon is the associate chief of adolescent medicine for the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. Adolescents can be a tough crowd, but for Dr. Gordon, working with the 10-25-year-old age group is exactly where she wants to be. It started with both an early desire to pursue medicine, and an encounter with a teenaged patient who demonstrated that, for adolescents, trust is a precious commodity. SEGMENT 2: Anesthesiologist Dr. Jay Deshpande serves as the Chief For Quality and Safety for the Nemours Florida operation. He is aa champion and leader in implementing "Just Culture"  here at Nemours. He talks about what is meant by "Just Culture," and how it impacts the work done by Nemours Associates across the enterprise.  SEGMENT 3: When it comes to all things related to the heating, cooling, and ventilation of Nemours facilities throughout the Delaware Valley, Jeff Harris is the Nemours Associate to know! He is a facilities maintenance supervisor heading up the HVAC team responsible for Nemours newest location, such as those in Deptford, New Jersey and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, to the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, portions of which date back to mid-twentieth century. Each presents it’s own challenges for Jeff and his team, and its love of the challenge, care for the kids and the feeling of being  a the overall Nemours team atmosphere - working in unison to keep kids health - that had kept Jeff coming back day after day (sometimes night after night) for over 15 years.

Holding a baby can be a life-changing experience for both the baby being held as well as the person holding that tiny infant. It is in these simple experiences where the Nemours Associates featured today find solace, healing and purpose. Featuring Nemours Associates Lynda Harriss, Dr. Meg Frizzola and Dr. Gary Josephson.  SEGMENT 1: Volunteer Lynda Harriss has been dubbed by no less than the Division Chief for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington as the “best baby holder ever!” During her 26 years as volunteer Lynda has spent the vast majority of her time working with babies and families in the PICU. It is here where Lynda finds solace in giving back after losing two of her own children.  SEGMENT 2: Pediatric critical care physician Dr. Meg Frizzola came to Nemours 17 years ago for her medical school rotations - and she stayed for her residency, her fellowship, her career.  She is currently the Division Chief of the AI Dupont PICU, and interim chair of pediatrics as well. Dr. Frizzola considers herself a Nemours “lifer,” having come to the conclusion pretty early on as to what kind of culture would best suit her  - and Nemours checked all the boxes. SEGMENT 3: In Episode 21,  surgeon Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer for Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville revealed something unusual: that he shares his cell phone number with the associates who work for him, so they can reach out to him anytime about anything. In this episode, we learn that Dr. Josephson employs that same policy with his patients, all of whom have access to his cel phone number. It’s just one of the many ways he goes above and beyond to support a family-centered culture at Nemours.

The ability to clearly see where you'd like to point your career or simply recognizing your own mother can make all the difference in how a life unfolds.  SEGMENT 1: Pediatric dietician Michelle Reed was in high school when her father became gravely ill, inspiring her to a career in dietetics, yet she had little interest in either clinical work or pediatrics. That soon changed when she met a cancer patient after taking a part time job at in food services at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. SEGMENT 2: In the 1990's, Managed Care Manager Judy Jackson moved with her husband and infant daughter to Delaware smack dab in the middle of a mid-Atlantic winter. She and her young family piled into their car all those years ago for a drive, and came upon the exquisite Nemours Mansion and Gardens: the 300-plus acre estate of AI Dupont that includes the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. It was Judy Jackson’s introduction to Nemours, and she set for herself a goal to become a Nemours associate.  SEGMENT 3: Kelly Rogers is the Nemours associate who makes the connection between healthcare and public health in Central Florida. She manages the Florida Prevention Initiative for enterprise, and her day-to-day work involves creating community partnerships that aim to improve the health of all children who live there - whether or not they are patients with Nemours.   Carol Vassar, Producer

When dealing with kids in a clinical setting, much of the best advice boils down to putting yourself in their shoes. Empathy is a great asset to communication with anyone. Our guests today provide examples of how to communicate successfully with kids in the clinic or hospital setting. One fellow associate even goes so far as to share a personal example of less than stellar communications he experienced in his teen years that informs his on-the-job communication style today.  SEGMENT 1: Martin King is a nurse who manages the Emergency Services Department for the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, providing oversight of its day-to-day operations. Yet his perspective on healthcare - and particularly the patient experience  - comes from his personal trials as a teen fighting for his life in a hospital designed for adults.  SEGMENT 2: Like so many doctors, Patrick Hanley who knew when he was fairly young that he wanted to go into medicine. What’s unusual about Dr. Hanley is that he even knew the speciality he wanted to pursue - endocrinology. Yet for a very specific - and personal - reason. SEGMENT 3: Kerry Collins Mooney is former teacher who now serves as a value stream specialist at Nemours. Based at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Kerry comes to Nemours by way of volunteering here along with her therapy dog, a 10-year-old shepherd mix named Dudley.

What is the "Nemours way?" It is a concept that can be difficult to define - but you know it when you experience it. Some of the words associated with the "Nemours way" include kind, open, caring, loving, generous. It's doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason: our patients and their families. The associates highlighted in this podcast try to define the "Nemours way."  SEGMENT 1: Dr. Sarah Gibson is an orthopedist specializing in pediatric sports medicine with the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She worked for a general orthopedic group in Fort Lauderdale for two years before - as she put it - happily refocusing on kids here at Nemours over six years ago.  With all that in mind, she finds it easy to relate to the Nemours mission of “Your Child, Our Promise.” SEGMENT 2: Mark Milner is a nurse by undergraduate training with over 25 years in healthcare. About a year ago, he joined Nemours as the Director of Quality, Safety and Operational Optimization for Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. He shares what his job entails.  SEGMENT 3: Medical Assistant Dashia Wooley has been with Nemours for six years. Her module at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children General Surgery Clinic - the Raspberry module - can see upwards of 150 patients each day over a multitude of specialties and departments - and it is Dashia who provides an example and definition of the "Nemours Way."

There are many moving parts in a quality healthcare system. Some can be measured and used as benchmarks for improve. Hospital re-admittance rates are one well-known example. Yet there is a very human element to healthcare. It is an intangible and nearly unquantifiable part of our work without which cannot be successful, as our guests on this episode can attest. SEGMENT #1: At the A.I.Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, the Public Safety Unit is a tight-knit group. Many have worked together before as either security officers, constables or police officers with employers and police forces throughout the Delaware Valley. This engenders a camaraderie unlike any other. And it is the support and care of his fellow associates that helped support Dispatcher Michael Zenorini as he faced a personal crisis. SEGMENT #2: From the time she was a young child, Dr. Adela Casas-Melley knew she wanted to be a doctor. But the path to achieving that dream was fraught with uncertainty. Yet that didn't deter Dr. Casas-Melley, who is now an in-demand pediatric surgeon with the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. SEGMENT #3: In 2002, Peter Adebi interviewed for a human resources position with Nemours. It was during that very first interview that he knew that Nemours would become his professional home. Today, Peter is the Nemours Chief Human Resources Officer, based in Wilmington, Delaware.

We begin this episode with a heartfelt and simple thank you to all Nemours associates for being on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19.  SEGMENT 1:  Music therapist Nicole Kirby from the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando grabbed her ukulele on the way to an impromptu interview so she could offer up a song along with a story about how the human heartbeat can mean so much to parents as they face the illness - or even death - of a child. SEGMENT 2: Telemedicine has taken on a new and much larger role given the situation surrounding the coronoavirus - and Nemours has been at it for quite some time, according to Alfred Atanda, MD, surgical director of sports medicine at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. SEGMENT 3: Peter Phelan is a research scientist and Research Laboratory Manager for the Nemours Children’s Hospital. His labs are located at the University of Central Florida Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. It is here where he and his fellow associates do basic science research - the very beginning stages of research that can lead to clinical trials in humans and, ultimately, a new treatment for cancer, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and musculoskeletal diseases.

This episode is a re-release, originally available on October 14, 2019  The paths we take to find ourselves at Nemours are as individual as each associate. The school to career path is the most direct - but not everyone follows that formula. The associates in this episode of the Champions for Children podcast arrived at their roles here by taking paths less traveled, including a childhood spent largely in a Bosnian hospital, and a career in opera and the theme park industry. There will be singing, including the Macarena like you've never heard it before.  Featuring: MaryAnn Douglas, Respiratory Therapist, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida Dora Jeffers, Medicaid Claims Specialist, Jacksonville, Florida Dragona Pillug, Talent Acquisition Partner, Jacksonville, Florida

Gloria Mendez, Shalese Bennett and Dana Smith each represent pieces in the vast and complicated puzzle that is Nemours. While no single piece on its own creates the whole of a patient's Nemours experience, the pieces fitted together provide the full depth and breadth healthcare provided in a manner that is state-of-the-art, caring, and kind.  SEGMENT 1: MRI are noisy - and noise can only serve to ramp up the nervousness of an already anxious child undergoing a scan. Nemours certified child life specialist Gloria Mendez (right), based at the Nemours Children's Hospital (NCH) in Orlando, realized that there was a better way to help explain and "normalize" the MRI experience for kids - and set about finding a way to make her idea a reality so as to improve the kids' experience, and make the job of her radiology colleagues a little bit easier.  SEGMENT 2: When NCH opened its doors for the first time in 2012, it did so with just two certified child life specialists on board. Shalese Bennett (left) is one of those foundational child life specialists who seized the opportunity to build a new team and create innovative  child-life programming.  SEGMENT 3: Dana Smith is a registration specialist with the Jacksonville Speciality Clinic. As we talked, she offered up that she is a millennial, a generation known for being social aware. In fact according to Forbes Magazine, 79% of millennial employees are loyal to companies that care about their effect on society. They believe that corporate social responsibility is key to improving life outcomes, which is exactly the reason Dana wanted to be an associate here at Nemours.

SEGMENT 1: Administrative Assistant Monica Hicks works as part of the Department of Anesthesiology team at Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville, Florida.  Her position, as she points out, is that of clearing the way for clinicians to be able to do the direct clinical work that is vital to our mission. It's teamwork that permeates the work of all, with much of the credit going to department chair, Dr. Carolyn Bannister, who, in Monica's eyes, is a mentor to all.  SEGMENT 2: Registered nurse Nicole Lassik (left) see many patients with complicated diagnoses and care plans. That's because she is on the 2-West intermediate unit at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. The range of patients on this unit is vast in terms of both age (birth to 21) and diagnosis. Yet there is one young man whose extended stay on the unit proved to be a learning experience for her and her fellow associates. SEGMENT 3: Robert Rosenbaum is a satellite registration specialist at the Nemours Jacksonville South Outpatient Clinic. He is part of a small, tight-knit team where cross-training provides peace of mind that each child will be well served from the start to conclusion of each visit.

There is good that happens within the walls of each and every office and hospital within Nemours. Our associates are a key to bringing that to our patients - and have been for generations.  SEGMENT 1: Long before Julie Rahaim became the Director of Corporate Contracts Administration for the Nemours Enterprise, in Wilmington, she admired the buildings, the grounds and the work being done  at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children. She knew what was happening inside here impacts patients and their families  for generations and from a very personal perspective. SEGMENT 2: The backbone of any well-organized department is made up of people like Leah Williams. She’s the person who, when all other avenues have been explored, knows what to do, or a least who to go to in order to complete any task. Over her decade and a half at Nemours, Leah has served seniors as well as kids, having spent time working within the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders before landing where she is today: administrative coordinator for the ED at the AI Dupont hospital for Children in Wilmington.  And though she isn’t in a clinical role, she knows and understands the positive impact of her day-to-day work SEGMENT 3: As a medical assistant at the Nemours Jacksonville clinic, Nicole Ring sees upwards of fifty patients each day - yet it is a role she loves!

Whenever there are kids around, adventure is sure to follow. At Nemours, adventure comes in all shapes and sizes, but always with the goal of providing top-notch health care for kids, even if it means creating a safari adventure to divert their attention from the anxiety they often experience when going to the doctor.  SEGMENT 1: Preventing the spread of infection within the hospital is the focus for Meg Gilman, Infection Prevention and Control Manager at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. But her involvement and experience with Nemours is so much deeper due to the personal connection she and her family made with Nemours clinicians 3-and-a-half years ago.  SEGMENT 2: Nemours’ pediatric allergists and immunologists are trained and experienced in diagnosing and treating asthma and allergies in children - anything from food allergies to hay fever. They also see kids with issues of the immune system. The goal? To help kids feel better and give parents the tools to manage their child’s condition at home. Getting poked and literally needled is an unfortunate yet necessary part of the process. Understandably, not a part of the process kids enjoy - by any stretch of the imagination.  Yet efforts are underway in the Jacksonville Allergy Clinic to make the experience a bit less daunting - and it starts with a safari map.  SEGMENT 3: Tara Spruill is a nurse manager based in Jacksonville working with a team of teams of nearly 40 people. Yet she looks at her role as being in service to them so that they can do what they do best: taking care of kids.

The term "no margin, no mission" comes from Sister Irene Kraus, a 20th century healthcare leader. Sister Irene keenly understood the importance of fiscal responsibility within healthcare. Her ethos was that a fiscally sound healthcare system has the ability to provide not only the standard day-to-day health services, but has additional capacity to support other mission-driven priorities, such as research. For its part, Nemours conducts research in a number of clinical areas: cystic fibrosis, pulmonary and sleep medicine, neuromuscular disease, oncology, surgery, just to name a few, with countless peer-reviewed journal publications and poster presentations across the world, improving the health and extending the lifespan of kids everywhere. It’s research made possible - in some way or another -  by every single Nemours associate. SEGMENT 1: Dr. Floyd Livingston is the Division Chief for Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. He is also co-medical director for Nemours Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center, where he leads a team that not only treats kids with CF, but researches ways to improve the treatment of the disease. He explains the disease itself, and the tremendous strides that have been made in extending the lifespan of CF patients - in no small part due to research done here at Nemours.  SEGMENT 2:  Working alongside Dr. Livingston in CF, pulmonary, sleep medicine and asthma research efforts here at Nemours are clinical research coordinators Amanda Darling and Mariella Dixon. They work directly with patients and their families, providing information, answering questions, and scheduling visits, which could involve blood work, physical exams, CAT Scans, MRIs, X-Rays or the administration of medications, and collecting data to examine the efficacy of a therapy. It’s precise work that can dramatically improve the lives of children for generations to come. In fact, they have seen first-hand the way that their research has made a difference. SEGMENT 3:  Matthew Leonard is a facilities manager. He and his team maintain 45 Nemours sites in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It’s a job that requires the coordination of staff and contractors so as to keep the Nemours physical plants not just up and running - but in tiptop shape as befitting a high quality healthcare provider like Nemours. From day care centers to urgent care facilities to the AI Dupont Hospital for Children itself, it’s demanding work for Matthew and his team - yet they find ways to make it happen without missing a beat.

So much goes into providing quality health care - and a quality health care experience. Passion, communication and holistic integration are just three of the many qualities that go a long way toward keeping Nemours patients - and their families - healthy and happy. Our guests today each exemplify these qualities.  SEGMENT 1:  Pediatrician Dr. Jonathan Miller manages the primary care practice at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He does so with a passion for his patients in mind - and carries in his heart one patient in particular as he performs his daily clinical work, and as the Medical Director for Medical Director for Value Based Care at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: We’ve heard it time and again - communication is key to success. It’s a philosophy that Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer for the Nemours Florida Division believes whole heartedly - with a recognition that listening is an indispensable piece of the communication puzzle. SEGMENT 3: According to the National Association on Mental Illness - NAMI - stigma is when someone views a person in a negative way just because they have a mental health condition. In the last decade or so, there has been a concerted effort across the country to reduce that stigma and to strive for more integration between the provision of mental health services alongside those for physical health. For psychologist Dr. Shana Boyle sees that as a win-win for the patients she works with in Jacksonville.

Nemours associates who have been with the enterprise for decades possess what is known as "institutional knowledge," that  that unique combination of experience, values, and information about crucial trends, projects, and perspectives that define the organization's history. Let's meet three of those long-standing employees, who share the unique gifts and talents that only longevity with a single institution can bring to bear.  SEGMENT 1: Respiratory Therapist Tim Cox has been with Nemours - in one capacity or another - for just about 30 years. He is currently the Clinical Director for Anesthesiology at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, but he began his career here over three decades ago as so many do: as the father of a patient.  SEGMENT 2: Another mainstay at the A.I. Dupont Hospital is Joan Hussey. About 12 years ago, she found herself at one of life’s crossroads. She’d been a stay-at-home parent for 20 years, and successfully raised three sons into three fine young men. So what path would Joan follow next? She thought long and hard about where she’d been - and where she wanted to be next. She has found a home at Nemours as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of General Surgery - a position she has found fulfilling in many, many ways, not the least of which are patients and patient families she encounters, as exemplified by one little girl.  SEGMENT 3: Ali Johnston is the patient reimbursement supervisor for the Nemours Enterprise. She grew up in the greater Jacksonville, Florida area, and has been involved with Nemours since she was a patient at the Nemours Children’s Speciality Care at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. This is where she went almost daily as a young teen to undergo treatment for a common heart condition known as super ventricular tachycardia.   Fast forward to today, and we see Ali - now a mom of a young son - had no hesitation on where to go when he needed a minor medical procedure - straight to Wolfson and Nemours.

Healthcare today is a heavily data-driven field. It seems as though there is a a metric for just about everything we do as we go about our work.  Then there are the "human elements," those small yet incredibly powerful moments between people without which the healthcare experience would be incomplete.  This episode brings together three stories of the incredible immeasurable intangible acts that exemplify the important of the human element in healthcare.  SEGENT 1: Meena Davis is an administrative coordinator in the Department of Nursing and Leadership at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Her desire to work at Nemours is driven by her love of helping others. Yet when Meena stopped in for her podcast interview, she was nervous. For moral support, she brought with her a friend and colleague for moral support: Jessica Jordan. It turns out, Jessica has provided moral support for Meena before, and the two spoke openly about the importance of having a trusted colleague upon who one can rely for a listening ear.      SEGMENT 2: Nurse Leonine Nicoleau is part of a remarkable team that provides in-patient rehab services team at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. According to Leonine, this team works hard to leverage their differences in order to best suit the needs of every patient at any given time, every single day - even if it is as simple as a group patient lunch, or a room full of donated board games! SEGMENT 3: Jessica Jordan from the Nemours Continuous Improvement Team returns to tell the story of an immeasurable yet vitality important connection between a patient, a paper graduation cap, and the associates who stood ready to bid celebrate the success of one young person - and bid that patient farewell after a long hospital stay.

Nemours "Kudos" is rolling out across the entire enterprise! What is it, exactly? Jane Mericle, Chief Nursing and Patient Operations Officer at Nemours Children's Health System teams up with Peter Adebi, who serves as Chief Human Resources Officer, to explain everything you need to know to take part in this new employee recognition platform!

Stories from the associates of the Nemours Children's Health System, including a team of over 100 who helped one family's deepest desire become a reality; a colleague who found a home at Nemours simply be responding to a job posting; and a Jacksonville-based team that works to resolve payor disputes while always remembering there are real people - real children - behind those bills!  SEGMENT 1: Dr. Jay Deshpande is an anesthesiologist by training, and serves as the Chief For Quality and Safety for the Nemours Florida operation. Yet he remains focused on the patients and families he serves, as demonstrated by the story of one little girl and the Nemours team of over 100 associates that he led to help her family’s deepest wish come true. SEGMENT 2: For Shawnya Calp, discovering Nemours was like love first sight. She had no healthcare background when she responded to a job posting for an applications analyst based in Wilmington, Delaware. But as she researched the organization and met people during the interview process, she knew she had found herself a professional home - and just in the nick of time. SEGMENT 3: We visit the Nemours Central Business Office (CBO) to meet Shannon Harpe. Shannon works on the payer dispute team. It’s a role she’s had for 16 “long and happy” years. In many ways it’s a patient advocate role that she and her team treat with a personal touch.

Across the Nemours enterprise, associates seize myriad opportunities to forge career paths that are in alignment with the value of helping others. Whether it's the doctor who finds satisfaction in alleviating pain in children, a patient care representative who has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to face cancer  First, let’s meet Jessica Lopez. For more than 3 years she’s been a patient service representative in the ambulatory care center at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Jessica had her sights set on working for Nemours long before that, though - for reasons that are strong and personal.    Carlos was joined in the interview space by his fellow in-patients hospital registration supervisor Christian Burgos. Together, they supervise 16 registrars, who work around the clock to gather a patient’s insurance and demographic details. With a team that large, there is one factor the counts above most others. Here’s Chris:   Finally, let’s talk about managing, minimizing and alleviating pain in kids. That’s the daunting job faced each and every day by pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Galaxy Li. For Dr. Li, it’s a great calling to help relieve the pain experienced by his patients.   Carlos Perez and Christian Burgos are the in-patient registration supervisors at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.   Dr. Galaxy Li is a pediatric anesthesiologist based in Jacksonville, Florida.

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato Music has a profound and positive effect on humans. We explore the magical powers of music with a song from a Nemours associate, and the story of a little girl's first dance upon hearing music for the very first time SEGMENT 1: Joelle Dellorbe-Just, administrative coordinator for volunteer services at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando  not only creates beautiful music (she'll sing us into the New Year), she also understands the powerful positive impact it has on others, including a Nemours patient named Aniyah.  SEGMENT 2: At the A.I. Dupont Hospital of Children in Wilmington, Kathy Vicario is a familiar face. She serves as faculty liaison for the Department of Surgery. She’s been with Nemours for 33.5 years and has seen her share of change: all for the good. For Kathy, the connection with Nemours goes beyond the professional: she has three personal reasons to be thankful that Nemours has such a strong presence in the Delaware Valley: her triplet daughters.

Across the Nemours enterprise each day, associates work diligently to keep stress and anxiety at a minimum for parents and kids. The Nemours associates featured in "Merriment and Mirth" have different methods they employ to keep stress and anxiety at bay: for one, it's working with insurance companies so parents don't have to; for another, it making a concerted effort to learn a little something about each child that crosses her path; for a third, it's simply by being a self-described "big kid."  SEGMENT 1: Who’s the the embodiment of merriment and mirth at the Nemours Jacksonville South Clinic?  ’Tis the season to think the answer is Santa Claus, but in this case registration specialist Robert Rosenbaum. He’s a 16-year associate with a background in adult orthopedics who found a home at Nemours because, he believes, he is just a big kid! SEGMENT 2: In her role as an inpatient hospital reimbursement analyst, Eladia Reyes works to help patient families get the insurance coverage their plans offer for the services their children receive at Nemours. Essentially, she wrestles for reimbursement for services so parents can focus their efforts on their child's health needs. While parents may not be aware that Eladia is working hard on their behalf, she knows exactly what parents and their kids are experiencing - she see it in black and white - and understands the importance of her success, not only for the enterprise, but for that child, his/her family, and all the children to follow.  SEGMENT 3: Patient Service Representative Erin McClintock is the first point of contact for hundreds of kids and their families each month at the Deptford, New Jersey Outpatient Clinic. Large numbers? Yes! Yet Erin makes it a point to remember little details about each patient that helps personalize their Nemours experience: their favorite school subjects, the sports they play, or the music they like. It's that kind of individual attention to detail that won Erin accolades from a grateful patient family who were impressed with her positive impact on the life of their daughter.

Teamwork is essential in healthcare. No single person can be an expert in every aspect of the field. Today’s episode demonstrates the importance of teams working together for consistency and balance in the unpredictable world of emergency medicine, the need for empathy across teams working directly with patients and families, and about developing the talents and skills of Nemours associates so they can better serve the teams with whom they work and, ultimately the patients whom we serve. SEGMENT 1: Some people like routine - the idea of knowing that their work day has a particular - and predictable - ebb and flow. Dr. Shiva Kalidindi is not one of those people. He’s a pediatric emergency physician at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, and has been with the hospital since it opened in 2012. Despite unpredictable, 24/7 work life, Dr. Kalidindi enjoys many aspects of his work - first and foremost, his team, which provides consistency and balance to the work at hand. SEGMENT 2: When your teenaged daughter is facing major emergency surgery, your mind would likely become hyper focused on saving her life. You want and expect the best care possible from the moment you walk in the door, until you and your child leave after surgery and followup, her her health restored. Nemours registration specialist Samala Huff understands that exact situation - because she’s lived it - and she carries it with her with each patient and family she encounters at the Jacksonville clinic. SEGMENT 3: Keisha Morris is all about on-the-job performance - and not just her own. As a Nemours talent development specialist at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, she’s all about helping other Nemours associates to develop their skills and talents for the benefit of the patients we serve. Here’s how she does it.

Members of a transport team receive the support they need from a manager following a devastating patient outcome, a family gives back despite the loss of three of their children, and the rollout of "Just Culture" across the Nemours enterprise - it's all covered in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast, "Opening Doors."  SEGMENT 1: Paul Brust, RN, MSN, started in healthcare at the age of 19 as an ambulance driver, earning his undergraduate and Masters degrees in nursing with specialities in burn emergency and trauma. He arrived at Nemours five years ago to lead the critical care transport team at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington as the nurse manager. His work, however, is to not only support patients and families, but his fellow Nemours associates, too. Nothing demonstrates his leadership qualities better, however, than how he approaches, supports and helps his team members bounce bsck after the death of a child.  SEGMENT 2:  Philanthopy in healthcare has a long and storied history, particularly here at Nemours. Maggie Hightower is the Director of Fund Development for Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville, who not only fills us in on the importance of philanthropy in healthcare today - but also has the story of one family whose devastating loss inspired them to help other sick kids and their families pay for the healthcare they need.  SEGMENT 3: Have you heard the term "Just Culture" here at Nemours? It's being rolled out across the enterprise, and is a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors fairly and justly. Marci Pawlik is the Nemours Business Director for Imaging,  who also serves as an employee engagement chairperson at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She talks also about the connection to employee engagement and patient satisfaction.

Failure is an inevitable part of life - and something experienced by all three of the Nemours associates in this episode of “Champions for Children.” SEGMENT 1: Brandi Raulerson. is an admitting registration specialist at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Her role put her front and center as  part of a hospital-wide registration team that includes medical translators and other registration specialists across the five floors of the hospital, as well as all of the satellite locations in and around Orlando. -She and her fellow associates may find themselves working at any of these locations from day to day, depending on patient workflow. It a job that takes flexibility, dedication and true teamwork to avoid mistakes - and recover when you do make them. SEGMENT 2: Research is an important part of the work that happens at Nemours. Ever since opening our doors in 1940, Nemours researchers have focused on ways to reduce suffering and improve the lives of children, and helping advance life-changing medical care. As the Director fo the Histochemistry Tissue Processing Core at Nemours, Heather Hardy and her team in at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware make up a very specialized segment of that research within the Nemours enterprise. As with all research, there are many failures before new and life-changing discoveries are made. It’s just part of the job. SEGMENT 3: Janice Genke was working for a healthcare system in Memphis, Tennessee when she spotted an ad for an opening at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. The hospital little more than a dirt and foundation when she applied for the job as the hospital’s head of quality and safety. She hadn’t even told her husband that she snagged an interview, so when the offer came to join Nemours, she and her husband had a long Thanksgiving weekend to weigh the pros and cons of relocation for a new job.

Thanksgiving is upon us - and there is much for which to be grateful, as we’ll hear from associates from across Nemours in the segment of the podcast, as well as in-depth associates stories from Jacksonville, Orlando  and Longwood, Florida. SEGMENT 1: Rachael Linsley is a Patient Services Specialist group lead and preceptor in Jacksonville - and her speaking voice is a familiar one to those who call to schedule an appointment for the Jacksonville clinic. It’s a job that requires grace under pressure - and it turns out she’s another of many talented singers among the Nemours family of associates.   SEGMENT 2: About two hours southwest of Jacksonville is the small town of Longwood, Florida, population about 14,000. Nemours serves the kids of Longwood with primary care services, and Ruth Rivera is one of the first Nemours associate kids and families see as a patient services specialist and team lead. From a very young age, she knew she wanted to be a health care professional. Little did she know that she would sit on both sides of the health care table: as professional and patient family member. In fact, it was in caring for her youngest daughter that she experienced the full range of what Nemours could offer. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Melissa Segura works as  a financial advocate supervisor. Her colleague, David Galindo, is a Hospital Registration Manager. Together, they talk about what it takes to create a high-performing and highly engaged team.

There is something to be said about being open to taking risks - to being vulnerable. It’s a valuable lesson that each story in the podcast episode brings to light in different ways. SEGMENT 1: Nemour’s performance improvement manager Jessica Jordan has a theater background and a passion for community service. Her philosophy of continuous improvement can be summed up on one word: vulnerability - an idea carried forward into healthcare from her days doing improv. SEGMENT 2: In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a gene therapy for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy - a devastating and often deadly neuromuscular disease. In fact,  Nemours was part of the successful clinical trial that led to FDA approval for wider use of this $2 million dollar therapy. It didn’t take long for Nemours to be approached about the possibility of administering the drug to its first SMA patient outside of the clinical trial. But there were challenges: It’s a new treatment. The patient was from outside the U.S.,  and time was short. Not to be deterred,  Nemours pediatrics neurologist Dr. Richard Finkel, and Clinical Research Coordinator Julia Balashkina led a team from across the enterprise to help get a little girl the therapy she so desperately needed. SEGMENT 3: Pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Katari Carello is devoted to the kids she serves. Yet soon after arriving at Nemours with her physician-husband and their young child, she learned she was pregnant again - with twins. New job? Pregnant with twins? No problem, said her colleagues- just one of many ways she felt welcomed and supported as a member of the Nemours family.

Hugs are an important part of healing. Employing them across Nemours: priceless! SEGMENT 1: For 12 years, Myrna Rivera been a Medicaid Enrollment Specialist in Financial Services at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. She helps families with kids who have special needs apply for Medicaid - and that can be daunting task - but not for Rivera, who truly enjoys her work helping others navigate the healthcare system. Recently, though, Rivera herself became ill - and it was she who needed help navigating the healthcare system - and her fellow Nemours associates were there at the ready SEGMENT 2: Anesthesiologist Dr. Amy Burns has a unique perspective on how clinicians interact with pediatric patients. It comes from her experiences growing up with two siblings with serious health issues - and inspires the compassion she brings to her work at Nemours.  who brings to her work the compassion of clinicians she saw taking care her siblings while growing up. We’ll also take the time to remember the importance of hugs with a couple of MRI techs from the Deptford, New Jersey facility. Right now, meet Myrna Rivera. SEGMENT 3: Nemours MRI tech Jenna Johnson and her colleague, Lisa, have 38 years’ experience in healthcare, and 18 years at Nemours. They have each worked in the adult health care setting, but have found that working with kids brings its own unique set of joys and challenges. They have a lot to say about the connecting with patients, letting them go, and the importance of hugs.

Anyone who has ever raised a child knows that different stages and ages bring new and sometimes daunting issues. Kids that don’t sleep, kids whose trust has been shattered by bullying before their arrival at Nemours, and figuring out how to pay for medical costs are just a few of the problems faced by patients and families within the Nemours enterprise. Lucky for them, these three associates were there to help.   SEGMENT 1: The in-patient rehabilitation unit at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando provides physical, speech and occupational therapy for kids who have additional medical needs, and aren’t quite ready to head home. It was here that RN Leonine Nicoleau met a teenager who suffered serious injuries as the result of a car accident. Earning his trust - and that of his mother - proved a challenge due to a post-accident bullying experience before his arrival at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: At the Jacksonville home office is a group of people who support the direct patient care performed by clinicians across the enterprise: the Central Business Office, better known as the CBO. Samantha Massey is a lead payer dispute specialist with the CBO whose job it is to make certain insurance companies pay for services delivered to Nemours patients. She does it with the parents in mind and a determination to remove as much of the financial burden from them as possible so they can concentrate on taking care of their ill or injured child. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, when the EEG team finishes their work for the day, the specialists from the sleep center move into the same space for the overnight. Using the same equipment, they conduct sleep studies on kids as young as two days old. Respiratory Therapist and Sleep Technologist Lisa DeGuzman reveals how her team discovered and helped treat a toddler who, in her words, sounded like Darth Vader.

Listen to kids, and they can help us to help them in their journey toward better health. That’s what these three Nemours associates have done, in very different ways, during the course of their careers in children’s health. SEGMENT 1: Present and engaged - that’s Neressa James each and every day. When she says she understands what a parent is going through with a terminally ill child, she knows the pain all too well - and wants only to help those who stand in the shoes she wore not all that long ago. SEGMENT 2: Come along to visit a hematology/oncology nurse from the Orlando Children’s Hospital to hear about her efforts to help her young patients maintain their personal dignity as they undergo treatment. SEGMENT 3: There comes a time when kids become adults - and must transition from Nemours to the adult health care system. At Nemours, a transition plan for each young adult provides a road map of what’s to come, not only for them, but for their parents.

It takes a village to care for an ill or injured child. Everyone within the community of Nemours associates plays an important role in helping kids experience and grow in a safe and healthy manner. That care extends beyond the walls of Nemours building and beyond the time spent “on the job,” as demonstrated by the associates featured in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast. SEGMENT 1: More often than not, the staff of the Nemours Emergency Departments have front row seats to the worst days of people’s lives - days when kids come in ill or injured, and lives are changed. Opportunities to put goodness, kindness and selflessness back into the world after performing such difficult work helps bolster morale and build closeness between team members. That’s the case for these staff members from the Nemours Children’s Hospital Emergency Department in Orlando. During their non-working hours, they volunteer their time to help kids at the Children’s Home of Central Florida. It’s become a focal point for building bridges with the community, and creating deep bonds between team members. These bonds they’ve built have helped them celebrate one another during good times, and bolster and console one another when faced with difficult moments - even times of deep personal loss.      SEGMENT 2: An important aspect of treatment at Nemours is the whole child approach, which ensures that each patient is viewed  as a unique human being whose overall physical and mental wellness is paramount. From the Nemours Deptford, New Jersey outpatient locations come two stories of patients whose routine appointments led to needed treatment for unrelated issues affecting their overall  health and well-being. SEGMENT 3: On the front lines, there are the clinicians and staff, working directly with the patient to assess their needs, create and execute care plans. For all involved - especially parents, caregivers and the kids - it’s stressful and scary. Behind the scenes, there are Nemours associates like Keona Pittman from the Jacksonville home office, whose sole job it is to remove as much stress from the process as possible.

The paths we take to find ourselves at Nemours are as individual as each associate. The school to career path is the most direct - but not everyone follows that formula. The associates in this episode of the Champions for Children podcast arrived at their roles here by taking paths less traveled, including a childhood spent largely in a Bosnian hospital, and a career in opera and the theme park industry. There will be singing, including the Macarena like you've never heard it before.  Featuring: MaryAnn Douglas, Respiratory Therapist, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida Dora Jeffers, Medicaid Claims Specialist, Jacksonville, Florida Dragona Pillug, Talent Acquisition Partner, Jacksonville, Florida

Families are the people we trust to care for us - and for each other - when times become difficult. At Nemours, we serve patient families with care, compassion and experience - and we become families within our own teams.  Nemours associates share the importance of family involvement in the care process, and how the strong bond of trust between teammates ultimately benefits patients.  Featuring: Shara Bialo, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist, Nemours Speciality Outpatient Clinic, Deptford, New Jersey Keith Fishlock, PhD, APRN, Emergency Department Clinical Specialist, A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware The EEG Neurodiagnostic Team, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida: Helen Cano Jennifer Campbell Jessica Cooley Gabriel Guzman Viviana Rico Leslie Rosa

Chance encounters are those moments when a person is in the right place at the right time, able and willing to do the right thing, with extraordinary results.  Listen in as four Nemours associates share their chance encounters with patients, family members and colleagues, and how those moments changed their lives.  Featuring: John Gossman, RN, Clinical Nurse Educator, A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware Susan Blumenfeld, APRN, Neurology, Nemours Specialty Outpatient Clinic, Cherry Hill, New Jersey Vikas Uppal, MD, Gastroenterologist, Nemours Speciality Outpatient Clinic, Deptford, New Jersey  Tova Feehan, Speech Therapist, Nemours Speciality Outpatient Clinic, Deptford, New Jersey

“Whether it’s celebrating success or coming together around a tragedy, the sense of family (at Nemours) is powerful.” - Nemours President and CEO R. Lawrence Moss, MD     Sharing Nemours’ family stories with 8,000 people across five states and 80 locations? Challenge accepted.    Introducing the Nemours “Champions for Children” podcast, featuring the words, stories and experiences of associates from throughout the Nemours Children’s Health System.    First up? Nemours President and CEO Larry Moss, MD on how a Pensacola associate showed him the true meaning of discretionary effort, and why he believes a podcast can serve to bring a family of 8,000 together.