General

Summer is here and backyard barbecues, camping trips and youth camp sessions are in full swing. Amidst all of these fun activities is often a far less welcoming sign of summer: mosquitoes.

While the Pacific Northwest is not home to the type of mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus, on very rare occasions, mosquitoes here can carry the West Nile virus. Most often, however, mosquitoes simply leave people with uncomfortable, itchy bites. To help protect your family from mosquitoes as you enjoy the outdoors, Dr. Suzan Mazor, medical director of Toxicology at Seattle Children’s, shares the following advice. Read full post »

Dr. Michael Astion coached Isaac Turnbull in speed bag while the teen was in the Seattle Children’s Rehabilitation Unit.

After his all-terrain vehicle crashed near his home in Wasilla, Alaska, in March, Isaac Turnbull had the presence of mind to call his dad. He was okay, he said, except for one thing: He couldn’t feel his legs.

Isaac, 16, soon learned that he had fractured his back and injured his spinal cord. In a split second, he lost the use of his legs.

After three weeks in an Anchorage hospital, Isaac came to Seattle Children’s Rehabilitation Unit to continue his recovery and begin to learn the skills he would need to live in a wheelchair.

“When he got here he was feeling pretty hopeless — you could see it all over his face,” said occupational therapist Emily Sabelhaus, who worked with Isaac.

The goal of rehabilitation is to help patients find a way to get back to the activities they love, Sabelhaus said, but at first Isaac — an Alaska kid who loves to hunt and fish and be outdoors — couldn’t imagine how he would do that. He couldn’t see that his life, while different than he expected, could still be fulfilling and happy.

Halfway through his six-week stay on the rehab unit, Sabelhaus asked Isaac if he maybe wanted to punch something. Then she brought in an expert, Dr. Michael Astion, to show him how. Read full post »

Seattle Children’s has been caring for children for more than a hundred years, founded on the promise to care for every child in the region and provide the safest most effective care possible. That vision still guides the hospital today, but for Colleen Groll, manager of sustainability programs at Seattle Children’s, she interprets it in a unique way – from an environmental perspective.

“Environmental stewardship is perfectly aligned with our mission and vision,” said Groll. “If we want to positively affect the health of as many children as possible, we have to take responsibility for our environmental impacts. When we take responsibility for our impacts, we take responsibility for the health of the people around us, including the children and families we serve.” Read full post »

Omari Henry, 7, at Seattle Children’s South Clinic.

Cynthia Gordon was just 25 weeks into her pregnancy with her son, Omari Henry, when she fell to the floor of her home, seizing uncontrollably. She was rushed to the hospital and Omari was born a short time later.

Thankfully, both mom and baby made it through the delivery, but not without some complications. Omari suffered brain hemorrhaging from the stress of the birth, and he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

When Omari was 3 years old, Gordon found Seattle Children’s Federal Way Clinic, which offered occupational therapy and physical therapy. There, Omari made huge strides, but eventually, he needed services the clinic couldn’t provide anymore. Read full post »

New data suggests that adolescents in the U.S. are chronically sleep-deprived. Doctors recommend the average teenager get between 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights, but a recent study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that 87 percent of high school students were sleeping far less.

That’s a real concern for parents and caregivers, as sleep deprived teenagers run an increased risk of physical and mental health problems, car accidents, as well as declining academic performance. But with homework and school start times as early as 7:30 a.m. in some parts of the country, is it even possible for teens to get the sleep they need?

“No, it’s not possible,” said Dr. Cora Collette  Breuner, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and co-author of a new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement that recommends all middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later.

Read full post »

Seattle Children’s Hospital has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of 150 great places to work in healthcare.

Seattle Children’s was chosen for its “robust benefits, wellness imitatives, commitment to diversity and inclusion, professional development opportunities and a work environment that promotes employee satisfaction and work-life balance.” Read full post »

‘Tis the season for mistletoe, gingerbread and carefully strung lights. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but also a potentially dangerous one for children. And although festivities, candles and garland may make the holiday season more cheerful, with them come some serious safety concerns.

Tony Woodward, MD, MBA, medical director of emergency medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, says the most important thing to remember this holiday season is supervision.

“The holidays are a fun and exciting time, but there are a few more things inserted into the environment, like holiday plants, electrical cables, new toys and festive beverages, which are potentially dangerous,” says Woodward. Read full post »