Inside Pediatrics Summer 2022

A nother challenging year is nearly halfway complete, and as I look back at the way Children’s of Alabama has handled everything thrown at us, I can’t help but recall the famous quote from legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra: “It’s déjà vu all over again.” The last two years have been full of obvious, significant obstacles, but they haven’t stopped us from excelling. Children’s and our academic partner, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, have pushed through the difficulties of an uncertain environment to continue achieving marked advancements in medicine and patient care. Some of our recent success stories are highlighted in this issue of our magazine. One of those stories showcases the impact of community philanthropy. This year, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Smith made a significant donation to help establish a cleft lip and palate therapy called nasoalveolar molding or NAM—a type of therapy that can reduce the number of surgeries needed to repair the lip

and palate. At less than a year old, Crew Mitchell was among the first patients at Children’s of Alabama to receive it. Meanwhile, many diabetes patients now have better access to care thanks to the efforts of some of our doctors. Concerned about Medicaid coverage requirements for continuous glucose monitors, a group of Children’s endocrinologists conducted a quality improvement project to show how the requirements could affect patients. It led to expanded coverage and better quality of life for these patients. Our research also is making a difference. A study led by Children’s of Alabama pediatric hematologist and oncologist Matthew Kutny, M.D., showed that patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) don’t necessarily need chemotherapy to overcome the disease. In the case of five-year-old Asher Walker, who was one of 154 patients in Dr. Kutny’s clinical trials, it led to remission. The treatment is now the standard of care for pediatric patients with APL.

The last few months have brought us accolades and recognition, including a big honor from the American Pediatric Society (APS). This spring, the organization presented

clinical virology expert Richard J. Whitley, M.D., with its highest honor—the John Howland Award. Yes, the past couple of years have been anything but normal, but Children’s of Alabama has still been here providing the highest quality of medical care, leading- edge research, and compassionate advocacy, as we have since 1911. I invite you to read these stories and others in this issue of Inside Pediatrics.

On the Cover: Asher was diagnosed with APL at 5 years old. At the time of his diagnosis in 2016, Dr. Matthew Kutny, a hematologists and oncologist at Children’s of Alabama, was in the early stages of a clinical trial for treating children diagnosed with APL.

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