2023 Department of Pediatrics Academic Annual Report

Pediatric Hospital Medicine

PEDIATRIC FACULTY Dr. Erin Shaughnessy..................................Director | Professor Dr. Stephanie Berger........................................Associate Professor Dr. Emily Casey..................................................Associate Professor Dr. Teresa Cornelius...........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Madeline Eckenrode....................................Assistant Professor Dr. Meghan Harrison..........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Meghan Hofto...............................................Assistant Professor Dr. Jordan Lim.....................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Brittany Marlin...............................................Assistant Professor Dr. Anderson Marshall........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Brian May........................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Elizabeth Mertens.........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Adolfo Molina ........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Lauren Nassetta..........................................Associate Professor Dr. Mary Orr .........................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Marie Pfarr......................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Nichole Samuy ...........................................Associate Professor Dr. Paul Scalici....................................................Associate Professor Dr. Erinn Schmit...................................................Assistant Professor Dr. Cassi Smola .................................................Associate Professor Dr. Michelle Veters..............................................Assistant Professor

Dr. J. Andrew Watson.........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Hunter Wilkerson..........................................Assistant Professor Dr. Chang L. Wu................................................Associate Professor Dr. Anthony Zanni...............................................Assistant Professor

FEATURED RESEARCH

HYPOTHERMIC INFANTS Stephanie Berger, M.D., leads UAB’s study team in a multi-site research collaborative called the Hypothermic Young Infant Research Collaborative that is investigating causes of hypothermia in young infants. Other members of the team include Erinn Schmit, M.D., M.Ed., Elizabeth Mertens, M.D., and former fellow Meenu Sharma, D.O. Recently the collaborative reported on the prevalence of invasive bacterial infection in hypothermic young infants the Journal of Pediatrics. They also published findings related to variation in care of this population in Hospital Pediatrics. HEALTH EQUITY Twenty-five million individuals in the United States (8.6%) speak a preferred language other than English (PLOE). Systematic reviews show that parental PLOE is associated with worse health outcomes in children. UAB Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) is participating in a PCORI-funded hybrid implementation-effectiveness trial, IPASS LISTEN: Language, Inclusion, Safety, and Teamwork for Equity Now, centered at Boston Children’s. Erin Shaughnessy, M.D., MSHCM, is site PI and Lauren Nassetta, M.D., co-PI. UAB/ Children’s of Alabama has been randomized to implement evidence-based interventions to improve communication with patients and families with a preferred language other than English. We will also implement a bundle of communication interventions for English-speaking patients that has been found to improve patient safety (Shaughnessy is co-author on that work scheduled for publication in Pediatrics next month). Adolfo Molina, M.D., MSHQS, leads efforts to address food insecurity (FI) in children admitted to Children’s of Alabama. His team includes Dr. Shaughnessy, Cindy Deerman and Beth Rocker (Children’s of Alabama social work leadership). Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain access to enough food for a healthy and active lifestyle. Prior to COVID-19, 23% of children in Alabama experienced FI, and the pandemic has only served to worsen this problem. Through a Kaul Pediatric Research Institute grant, the team is working to improve the current process of identifying FI families admitted to the hospital as well as providing resources such as gas cards, specialized food bank referrals and even specialized produce debit cards to work toward the global aim of decreasing FI in families of hospitalized patients. The team is also leveraging the electronic health record to improve screening rates. Mary Orr, M.D., MPH, DTM&H, and PHM fellow Ariel Carpenter, M.D., presented analyses of food insecurity screening data at the Pediatric Hospital Medicine meeting in Philadelphia in August 2023. Additional authors of that work include Molina and Chang L. Wu, M.D., MSCR.

2023 Academic Annual Report

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