Authors: Madison Joseph

Carlos Vives (left) and Nicolas Fernandez, MD, PhD, leader of the Spanish Urology Clinic at Seattle Children’s
Read in Spanish below. Leer en Español más abajo.
Carlos Vives, Colombian singer, songwriter and actor, paid a special visit to Seattle Children’s on Tuesday, September 20 to learn about our efforts to provide inclusive care for children and patient families whose first language is Spanish.
Vives has been an international figure for decades and is widely celebrated across the globe for his recent performance of ‘Colombia, Mi Encanto’ in the Disney movie ‘Encanto.’
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Authors: Ashley Speller

PedAL leadership left to right: E. Anders Kolb, Gwen Nichols, Samuel L. Volchenboum, Laura Di Laurenzio, Soheil Meshinchi, Todd Cooper
The PedAL (Pediatric Acute Leukemia) Master Trial is part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Dare to Dream Project with one of Seattle Children’s doctors leading the clinical trials for pediatric acute leukemia.
For children battling through a diagnosis of relapsed leukemia, moving away from standard chemotherapy and onto newer, safer treatments is something many families are hopeful for.
Seattle Children’s is actively working to identify, validate and innovate how children with pediatric acute leukemia, including acute myeloid leukemia and other high-risk leukemias, are treated through a collaborative master screening clinical trial led by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) called Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL).
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Authors: Ashley Speller

Dr. Abby R. Rosenberg, director of the Palliative Care and Resilience lab at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Dr. Abby R. Rosenberg, director of the Palliative Care and Resilience (PCAR) lab at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI); an associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Washington (UW); director of pediatrics at the UW Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence; and director of survivorship and outcomes research in pediatric oncology at the UW, has been awarded the 2021 Trish Greene Quality of Life Award by the American Cancer Society (ACS).
The prestigious award was presented to Dr. Rosenberg in an intimate ceremony in Seattle Children’s new Forest B building and honors those who have dedicated their career to research that improves the quality of life for cancer patients and their families.
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Authors: Casey Egan

“Forest B is a critical addition to Seattle Children’s, given our region’s incredible historic and anticipated growth,” said Mandy Hansen, senior director of planning, design, and construction at Seattle Children’s. “The building gives our care teams the space they need to provide lifesaving and life-changing treatments, surgeries and procedures to even more patients in the coming years. The thoughtful design will also help us integrate more of our breakthrough research into the clinical care environment as we tirelessly work toward cures.”
With eight floors above ground, one below ground and three levels of underground parking, patients visiting the new building will experience:
- Eight new operating rooms (ORs)
- Two catheterization labs
- 20 additional inpatient rooms
- New outpatient clinical space for the Cancer and Blood Disorders Center (CBDC)
- Outpatient infusion center
- Additional retail pharmacy and new inpatient pharmacy
- New laboratory space and new sterile processing space
In addition to allowing Seattle Children’s to care for more patients, Forest B was also designed to support transformative, patient-centered care. For children and families, that means starting and ending their journey with ease so they can focus on the care and not the process; providing time and space to decompress and take a breath when they walk through the front door; and having access to the right amenities in the right locations without being overwhelmed with information. For providers and care teams, it means optimizing the work environment so they can focus on patient care and having dedicated amenities and respite spaces so they can step away and recharge. Read full post »
Authors: Madison Joseph
New “Forest B” Building Features More In-Patient and Operating Rooms, Cancer and Blood Disorders Care Facilities and more
On June 1st, Seattle Children’s opens the latest addition to the hospital campus — a building called “Forest B.” Forest B is a project over 10 years in the making and will add an additional 310,000 square feet of space to the hospital campus.

“Forest B is a critical addition to Seattle Children’s, given our region’s incredible historic and anticipated growth,” said Mandy Hansen, senior director of planning, design, and construction at Seattle Children’s. “The building gives our care teams the space they need to provide lifesaving and life-changing treatments, surgeries and procedures to even more patients in the coming years. The thoughtful design will also help us integrate more of our breakthrough research into the clinical care environment as we tirelessly work toward cures.” Read full post »
Authors: Rose Ibarra (Egge)

The Hurtados enrolled their children in the Studies in Pediatric Liver Transplant (SPLIT) database which follows children who receive a liver transplant in the U.S. or Canada. They hope researchers will use this information to help other families like theirs.
Having one child in need of a liver transplant can be tremendously challenging for a parent. Eugenia and Justino Hurtado have four.
All four of the Hurtado children were born with Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) — a rare genetic metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to break down certain parts of proteins due to an enzyme deficiency. The disease can lead to a buildup of toxic substances that cause organ and brain damage.
Adolescents and adults with MSUD are also at risk for attention deficit disorder, anxiety and depression. Infections, stress, surgeries and injuries can lead to neurological damage at any age.
People with MSUD get most of their nutrients from a prescribed liquid formula. They can eat some low-calorie foods but must be very careful. If they stray from the diet, they can experience muscle spasms, breathing failure, intellectual and developmental disabilities or even coma. Read full post »
Authors: Seattle Children's Press Team

Seth Wayne is a Seattle Children’s athletic trainer at Evergreen High School.
Did you know March is National Athletic Training Month? In recognition of Seattle Children’s incredible athletic trainers, we’re highlighting the tremendous role they play in helping athletes thrive on and off the field.
Across the greater Puget Sound region, nearly 50 athletic trainers from Seattle Children’s are embedded in 42 schools from Tacoma to Woodinville. They are with athletes at least five days a week – on the sidelines at games when most injuries occur, as well as in the gym or training facilities during practice. They provide sport-specific training and conditioning programs, as well as injury care for high school athletes. Athletic trainers help care for athletes from a wide array of sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse, gymnastics, wrestling, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, golf, swimming, volleyball, cross country and roller derby. From helping tape ankles to suggesting specific exercises to decrease the risk of injury to communicating with orthopedic providers when catastrophic injuries occur, athletic trainers help support young athletes.
“We are the eyes, hands and ears of the care team and a liaison between the providers and patient,” said Seth Wayne, a Seattle Children’s athletic trainer at Evergreen High School.
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Authors: Seattle Children's Press Team

Dr. Todd Blumberg is the program director of Seattle Children’s Child and Young Adult Hip Preservation Program.
Dr. Todd Blumberg, program director of Seattle Children’s Child and Young Adult Hip Preservation Program, has helped build a new program that is truly one-of-a-kind in the Pacific Northwest. The program offers comprehensive and complete care for children, teens and young adults with a wide range of hip conditions.
Blumberg was born and raised in Texas. He graduated from medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic surgery training at the University of Washington and then went on to complete pediatric orthopedic fellowship training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, with additional fellowship training in hip preservation surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.
We sat down with Blumberg to learn more about the program and his vision for helping children with hip issues live their most fulfilling life possible.
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Authors: Seattle Children's Press Team

Sirish, pictured in the top row on the left with his family, unexpectedly began developing seizures at age 11. Learn how teams at Seattle Children’s helped to protect his brain.
Sirish was a healthy, happy boy with no underlying medical conditions aside from food allergies and eczema, both of which were easily managed at home.
Then one day, he spiked a fever.
Initially, his mother, Jyothi, a physician who previously practiced in India, wasn’t concerned. The fever broke, and Sirish seemed to improve.
About a week later, though, he spiked another fever. This time, medication didn’t help. Then, the unimaginable happened: he had a seizure.
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Authors: Seattle Children's Press Team

Dr. Klane White is an international leader and advocate for children like Emma with rare skeletal health conditions. As the parent of a child who had a complex medical condition, he knows what it feels like to be on the receiving side of a difficult medical diagnosis and care –– and it’s helped shape him into the incredible provider, researcher and surgeon he is today.
Dr. Klane White leads the Skeletal Health and Dysplasia Program at Seattle Children’s. He is an international expert in the care of children with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) and skeletal dysplasia, lecturing around the globe on the orthopedic management of these conditions. In addition to being the only pediatric orthopedic surgeon in the world to serve as principal investigator on phase 3 clinical trials for rare skeletal conditions, he serves on the medical advisory board of Little People of America, the scientific advisory board of the National MPS Society and is an executive founding member of the Skeletal Dysplasia Management Consortium. This story is one example of the compassionate care he and other members of Seattle Children’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Program provide to children every day.
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