Texas Children’s Heart Center experts to present at Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society 11th International Meeting

11 Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine specialists will discuss pediatric heart topics

HOUSTON – (Dec. 9, 2015) – Intensivists, cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, nurses and outcomes and quality experts from Texas Children’s Heart Center and Baylor College of Medicine will serve as presenters and moderators during the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (PCICS) 11^th International Meeting held Dec. 9 through 11 in Houston. Texas Children’s Heart Center is ranked #2 nationally in cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report. For more information about Texas Children’s Heart Center visit texaschildrens.org/heart.

Nearly 300 cardiovascular experts from 13 countries will meet during the two-day multidisciplinary, interactive conference which includes cutting-edge research presentations and panel discussions. PCICS is an international professional forum for promoting excellence in pediatric cardiac critical care medicine. Through programs, meetings and educational curriculums, the society has a large role in vital research and training that will improve the level of care of pediatric patients with congenital heart disease and acquired cardiovascular disease.

“I’m thrilled so many of our leading Heart Center experts are presenting and moderating at this year’s conference in front of an international audience,” says Dr. Paul Checchia, medical director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) at Texas Children’s and president of the PCICS.

Checchia, who also serves as a professor of pediatrics-critical care and cardiology at Baylor, and Dr. Lara Shekerdemian, chief of critical care medicine at Texas Children’s and professor of pediatrics-critical care and cardiology at Baylor, are program directors of the meeting. The 11 Texas Children’s Heart Center experts who will present or moderate throughout the meeting include:

• Dr. Patricia Bastero, pediatric intensive care physician at Texas Children’s and associate professor of pediatrics-critical care at Baylor, will present: Lessons Learned from Simulation: How to Keep a Safe Environment for Real Life Event Debriefings.
• Kathleen Carberry, director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Outcomes and Impact Service, will moderate: Wave the Magic Wand: What do Bedside Nurses Need to Create a Safer Culture?
• Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., surgeon-in-chief and chief of congenital heart surgery at Texas Children’s and professor of surgery and chief of the division of congenital heart surgery at Baylor, will moderate: The Risks We Used to Take: Panel of Innovators.
• Trudy Leidich, director of quality and safety at Texas Children’s, will present: Reassurance vs. Criminal Charges, How Do We Handle/Talk About Errors?
• Dr. Carlos Mery, congenital heart surgeon at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of surgery-congenital heart surgery at Baylor, will present: Congenital Heart Disease in Mexico: Building Programs and Changing Paradigms.
• Dr. Jack Price, pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s and associate professor of pediatrics-cardiology at Baylor, will present: Candidate Selection: Different Views from Across the Spectrum – Medical.
• Dr. Craig Rusin, cardiology research core, physiological signal processing and algorithm development at Texas Children’s and assistant professor of pediatrics-cardiology at Baylor, will present: Capturing Data in CVICU: When is Enough, Enough?
• Kerry Sembera, CVICU nurse at Texas Children’s, will serve on the panel: Wave the Magic Wand: What do Bedside Nurses Need to Create a Safer Culture? and present: Improving Patient Outcomes: Just in Time!
• Shekerdemian will moderate: The Future is Now: Updates on Trials and Research and present: PHN/NIH Update.
• Dr. James Thomas, pediatric intensive care physician at Texas Children’s and professor of pediatrics-critical care at Baylor, will present: Ethics in ECMO: How to Handle Difficult Cases.
• Dr. Eric Williams, medical director of quality at Texas Children’s and associate professor of pediatrics-critical care at Baylor, will present: Being Resilient: The Cardiac ICU as a Complex Socio-Technical System.

To learn more about the PCICS 11^th International Meeting visit pcics.org. 

About Texas Children’s Hospital

Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Center for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, a second community hospital planned to open in 2017. The organization also created the nation’s first HMO for children, has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country and a global health program that’s channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.