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Meet the 2017 Family Choice Award Winners Making a Difference in Patient’s Lives

October 12, 2017  |  Patient Care Post Comment

The 2017 Family Choice Award recipients (clockwise): Dr. Jimmy Beck, Dr. Nina Natarajan, Dr. Tim Savage and Alicia Sevilla.

When families feel like their child’s care team is putting them first, they remember it.

At least that’s the case for more than 250 people who submitted nominations for Seattle Children’s 2017 Family Choice Awards. Each nomination came with a heart-touching story about a special staff or faculty member whose commitment to family-centered care sustained a family in the most difficult of circumstances.

The nominees were narrowed down to three winners by the Family Advisory Council, and Seattle Children’s pediatric residents also selected one of their peers for the Family Centered Care Award.

Read on to learn how this year’s award recipients – Dr. Jimmy Beck, Dr. Nina Natarajan, Alicia Sevilla and Dr. Tim Savage – make a difference in patient’s lives every day. Read full post »

Program Prepares Future Nurses to Care for Children in Yakima Valley

August 29, 2017  |  Patient Care Post Comment

Nursing students (left to right) Collette Flinkfelt, Julie Rodriguez, Sandra Sanchez, Stephanie Jimenez and Josephina Salazar were part of a pilot to provide hands-on pediatric nursing experience.

A lot can happen in a month. A patient can beat their illness.

A crawling baby can take their first steps. And a nursing student can learn skills that will save lives.

The latter is certainly happening with students from Heritage University, who have visited Seattle Children’s in two waves this summer.

The university, which is located on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Toppenish, Washington, partnered with Seattle Children’s for the first time.

“It’s different here than anyplace else we’ve been,” said Claudia Padilla, one of four students who came for training in June. “The support from nurses was amazing; I felt trusted to take full care of patients and encouraged to try new things.” Read full post »

Three Cheers for the Team That Helped Wesslee Overcome Pain

May 17, 2017  |  Mental Health, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Patient Care, Patient Stories 1 Comment

Through Seattle Children’s Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program (PReP), physical therapist Sharon Yurs challenges Wesslee Holt to a game of hoops, with some extra balance work added in.

Last spring, Wesslee Holt rolled his ankle at his middle school in Shelton, Washington. The 12-year-old is a dedicated member of his cheer team and was eager to return to the squad quickly. He followed his doctor’s instructions to immobilize the foot and wear a boot — but his pain only increased over time.

Wesslee started using a scooter to keep weight off his foot and rested it as much as possible. Nothing seemed to work. His skin became splotchy and red, and was so sensitive to touch that he couldn’t put a sock or shoe on. He felt depressed and anxious, pulled out of cheer team completely and even left school.

His mother, Steph Fyfe, knew it was time for a different approach. “People wanted to put Wesslee on supplemental security income and call him disabled, but I knew there had to be a way for him to get better,” she said.

She was referred to Seattle Children’s Pain Medicine Clinic and learned Wesslee was suffering from complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which sometimes accompanies a routine injury and causes the nerves to send extreme pain messages to the brain. The good news is that Seattle Children’s was able to offer Wesslee a unique treatment option: the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program (PReP).

Read full post »