News:



Summer Fit4Allkids™ classes begin June 13
In Florida, 53% of ten-year-old children are overweight or obese, well above the national average of 40% (Child Health and Healthcare Quality in Florida website). All Children's Hospital created the Fit4AllKids™ Weight Management and Fitness Program for Families to help family members work together to make healthy food choices and to incorporate physical exercise into everyday routines. Group classes for children ages 8-12 and their family members include nutrition and cooking activities, physical exercise and personal motivation techniques. Classes are offered weekly for eight-week sessions in these locations:

YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg
YMCA of the Suncoast-Clearwater Branch
YMCA of the Suncoast,
James P. Gills Branch,
New Port Richey

A group program for teens is held at the YMCA of the Suncoast in Largo.

Referral from a physician is required to participate in Fit4Allkids. Summer classes begin the week of June 13. To refer a patient or request more information, call 727-767-6923 or email [email protected].


All Children’s Hospital Telethon is Sunday, June 12
The 28th Annual All Children’s Hospital Telethon will air from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 12. Watch the Telethon on News Channel 8 in Tampa/St. Petersburg and WXCW/CW-6 in Ft. Myers and celebrate the miracles.


Pediatric Grand Rounds on Summer Hiatus
Pediatric Grand Rounds at All Children’s are now on summer hiatus. Weekly Grand Rounds presentations will resume Friday, September 9.

There is still time to register for the 35th Annual Suncoast Pediatric Conference and 4th Annual Pediatrics of Tomorrow Conference. The conference will feature many topics of interest to the primary care pediatrician, with presentations in these areas:

� Infectious Diseases
� Rheumatology
� Neurosurgery
� Radiology
� Adolescent Gynecology
� Dermatology
� Sports Medicine
� Disaster Preparedness
� Maintenance of Certification Requirements

The keynote speaker will be Bernard Cohen, M.D., professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and director of pediatric dermatology and cutaneous laser surgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Dr. Cohen will present two talks: "Infantile Hemangiomas" and "Gimmicks for Evaluation with Challenging Dermatologic Cases."

Two pre-conference workshops to be held on Thursday, June 23. Topics are "Are You Smarter than a CPT Coder?" and "It's Time for Me to do What? - Effective Health Care Transitions for Youth with Special Health Care Needs."

Information, daily agendas and online registration are available at www.allkids.org/conferences.
Pediatric Anesthesiology

Denise Michelle Chan, M.D., has joined All Children’s Specialty Physicians and the pediatric anesthesiology program at All Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Chan received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she received a Presidential Scholarship. She completed her pediatric internship at Baylor College of Medicine and her anesthesiology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. Dr. Chan completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital Boston, also serving as chief fellow.

Before joining All Children’s, Dr. Chan was a staff pediatric anesthesiologist at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. She is board certified in anesthesiology and is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. Dr. Chan has participated in medical mission trips to China, Latin America and Bangladesh.

Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery

Paul Benfanti, M.D., has joined the pediatric orthopaedic surgery program at All Children’s Hospital and Children’s Orthopaedic and Scoliosis Surgery Associates, LLP.

Dr. Benfanti graduated from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia and a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics and spinal deformity at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Benfanti was the Orthopaedic Surgery Program Director from 2003-2009 and Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery from 2010-2011 at Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington.
He recently retired as a colonel from the United States Army.

Dr. Benfanti is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Surgeons. He is an active member of the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. Dr. Benfanti enjoys all aspects of pediatric orthopaedics and has a special interest in sports medicine and hip preservation.
Congratulations to the investigators who were selected to participate in the inaugural Designing Clinical Research Program at All Children’s Hospital.
The clinicians and their projects are:

Dipti Amin, M.D.: A survey to recognize risk factors for “re-admissions” to the ACH Hospitalist service within 1 month of hospital discharge.

David Berman, D.O.: Physician attitudes toward immunization.

Nicole Chandler, M.D.: Cosmetic outcomes following open, laparoscopic or single incision laparoscopic appendectomy.

Kristen Danielson, M.D.: Prospective, randomized comparison of community acquired soft tissue abscesses in children.

Laura Drach, D.O. and Debra Hansen, M.S.W.: Use of a structured communication model to improve the quality of communication at the end of life for pediatric patients.

Allison Messina, M.D.: Management of spinal implant infections in children.

Michelle Miller, M.D.: An echocardiograph assessment score for the patent ductus arteriosus in the preterm infant.

Luis Rodriguez, M.D.: A radiographic evaluation of evaluation of motion and instability of the craniovertebral junction.

Fauzia Shakeel, M.D.: Improving outcomes in premature infants by increasing protein delivery to 3g/kg/day at birth.

Dima Turpin, M.D.: Comparison of echocardiographic methods for measurement of left ventricular mass in children and adolescents.

Ivan Wilmot, M.D.: 3-dimensional speckle tracking assessment of left ventricular function in heart transplant.

Lisa Wittman, M.D.: Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of aloe vera juice for alleviation of chemotherapy-induced mucositis.

The goal of the program is to support the All Children’s Hospital community in developing skills in clinical research and educational scholarship. The yearlong program, which begins in June, will use a structured curriculum to assist clinicians with project development, study design, biostatistics and presentation of findings through poster presentations and article submissions.
The V Foundation for Cancer Research announced on May 20 that it will provide start-up funding for a new fellowship in pediatric cancer research at All Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine. The Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship at All Children’s Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, will be a three-year advanced training program and is the first fellowship to be established since All Children’s and Johns Hopkins Medicine joined forces in April 2011.

"It is fitting that the first evidence of the power of the collaboration between All Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine be named after a man with exceeding dedication to children - in Florida and beyond - who are battling the effects of cancer," said Jonathan Ellen, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Vice Dean for All Children's Hospital.

The Dick Vitale Cancer Research Fellow will spend three years actively training for a future in pediatric cancer research. The program is designed so that the first year of clinical training will take place in the Department of Pediatric Oncology on the Baltimore campus of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Don Small, M.D., Ph.D. Chairman of Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, will hold overall responsibility for the fellowship. The second and third years of training will focus on mentored pediatric oncology research at All Children's Hospital.

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was established by the late Jim Valvano and ESPN. Since 2006, the annual Dick Vitale Gala, a fundraiser for the V Foundation, has awarded more than $850,000 to All Children’s Hospital for research in pediatric oncology.

Zo�'s Garden at All Children's Hospital was dedicated early this month in the outdoor dining area on the hospital's first floor. The garden, a gift of St. Petersburg-based chef Tyson Grant and his wife, Sommer Grant, in memory of their daughter Zo�, will provide organic produce that All Children's can use in its hospital fare and for family cooking classes.

The garden will yield education as well as vegetables and fruit. "This is an exciting addition for our patients," says Child Life Director Luci Weber. "We strive to give them opportunities to enjoy some of life's everyday pleasures while they are here in the hospital. Certainly, being able to go out in a garden - even if they can't get their hands in the soil - will provide a chance for some fresh air and the learning opportunities that a garden offers for all children."

Just a week later, patients gathered in Zo�'s Garden to welcome celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse to All Children's Hospital. Lagasse toured the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and met patients in the outdoor garden, where the mayors of St. Petersburg and Treasure Island presented him with a Key to the Cities. Emeril will return to St. Petersburg in November for a fundraising event to benefit All Children's. The Emeril Lagasse Foundation supports non-profit organizations that provide educational programs, life skills development, culinary training and cultural enrichment.