Heather Crouse, MD

Personal Statement

I attended the UNC School of Medicine and then completed my residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston. I came to Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital (BCM/TCH) in 2005 to complete a combined fellowship training in Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) and Global Health (GH), and joined the Baylor College of Medicine faculty in 2009. Currently I am director of the PEM – Global Health program at BCM/TCH. I have experience as a clinical researcher in global health program development and am an educator, both domestically and globally. I have breadth of experience and training in both pediatric emergency medicine and global health, including formal education in both tropical medicine and international disaster medicine. Past projects abroad have included direct patient care but have primarily focused on site development, including performance of site assessments and development of local partners, and subsequent capacity building of the sites through development of curricula, training programs, quality improvement projects and establishment of monitoring and evaluation systems. 

I focused the first 7 years of my faculty career collaboratively developing an Emergency Triage Assessment and Training (ETAT) training program in Spanish with the Pan American Health Organization aimed at building the capacity of hospitals in Latin America through implementation of high-quality, locally-relevant, sustainable training programs and triage processes for pediatric healthcare workers in-country. Most recently I spearheaded development of the Pediatric Alliance for Child Health Improvement in Malawi at Kamuzu Central Hospital and Environs (PACHIMAKE). This consortium brings together US-based institutions (Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill / Project Malawi and the University of Utah / Primary Children’s Hospital) and local institutions (Kamuzu Central Hospital [KCH] Department of Pediatrics and the Malawi College of Medicine) to build pediatric emergency capacity and improve the care of acutely ill children at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) through the implementation of effective, coordinated, high-quality clinical, educational, quality improvement and research initiatives. 

Though early in its development, we anticipate this consortium may serve as a model of collaboration for institutions striving to improve pediatric healthcare systems in other Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). In my current role as Director of the PEM-GH program at BCM/TCH I aim to develop initiatives that promote collaboration and foster partnerships between existing BCM/TCH Global Health programs, as well as domestic and global partners in global health education, health systems strengthening, care and treatment, advocacy, and research to improve emergency care of children worldwide. As a result of my previous global and educational experiences, I am acutely aware of the importance of collaboration and partner development at every level.

Utilizing a core set of strategies, the Emergency Services department is committed to our vision of improving the health outcomes of all children in emergent and urgent care settings. Additionally, we endeavor to fulfill our mission of providing the highest quality care, experience, education, research, advocacy and value.

Please note that Dr. Crouse only sees patients in the Emergency Center and does not accept appointments.

Clinical Interests

Global health, medical education, quality improvement, health services strengthening

Education

Honors and awards

2018

Joan Shook, MD, MBA Excellence in Leadership Award, BCM Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine

2017

Baylor College of Medicine Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award for Educational Leadership, BCM

2016

Baylor College of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Educators, BCM

2015

Baylor College of Medicine Fulbright and Jaworski Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation, BCM

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Global health, educational research (both domestic and global), program evaluation

Genisca A, Mackey J, Kosoko A, Habet M, Johnson L, Eck C, Sampayo E, Crouse HL. Healthcare provider attitudes towards the emergency triage system in Belize. Glob Pediatr Health 2020 Apr 10; DOI: 10.1177/2333794X20911581. PMID 32313821.

Crouse HL, Watts J, St. Clair N, Batra M, McGuinness G, Keating E, Russ C, Farr K, Steenhoff A, Schubert C, Leslie L, Woods S, Wilson K, Camp E, Butteris S. Global Health opportunities in pediatric fellowships. Pediatrics 2020 Feb;145(2):e20192138. PMID: 32001489.

Steenhoff AP, Crouse HL, Lukoloyo H, Larson CP, Howard C, Mazhani L, Pak-Gorstein S, Niescierenko ML, Musoke P, Marshall R, Soto MA, Butteris SM, Batra M for the American Board of Pediatrics Global Health Task Force. State of the Art review Article: Partnerships for Global Child Health – Stronger Together. Pediatrics 2017 Oct; 140 (4). PMID 28931576.

Eckerle M, Crouse HL, Chiume M, Phiri A, Kazembe PN, Friesen H, Mvalo T, Rus MC, Fitzgerald EF, Hoffman IF, McKenney A, Coe M, Mkandawire B, Schubert C. Building sustainable partnerships to strengthen pediatric capacity at a government hospital in Malawi. Front Pub Health 2017 July; 5:183. PMID 28798907.

Kapoor R, Avendaño L, Sandoval MA, Cruz AT, Soto MA, Crouse HL. Initiating a standardized regional referral and counter-referral system in Guatemala: A mixed-methods study. Glob Pediatr Health 2017 Jul; 4:1-14. PMID 28812056.

Crouse HL, Mullan PC, Macias CG, Hsu DC, Shook JE, Sirbaugh PE, Schutze GE, Jones WJ, Torrey SB. A novel approach to combining Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Global Health Fellowships. Pediatr Emerg Care 2016 Mar; 32(3):157-162. PMID: 25285392.

Crouse HL, Torres F, Vaides H, Walsh MT, Ishigami EM, Cruz AT, Torrey SB, Soto MA. Impact of an Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) – based triage process in the paediatric emergency department of a Guatemalan public hospital. Paediatr Int Child Health 2016 Aug; 36(3):219-224. PMID: 25940386.