NEWS OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER — VOL. 6 / NO. 11, DEC. 2019 — JAN. 2020 Shooting for Gold An elite athlete sets her sights on the Paralympics, p. 20 A HUNTINGTON’S BRINGING AUTISM TO TMC HEADLINES WARRIOR, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, OF 2019, p. 10 p. 14 p. 28 2020 MARK A . WALLACE CATALYST LEADERSHIP AWARD “Leadership always determines outcomes — not some of the time, but all of the time.” MARK A. WALLACE PRESIDENT AND CEO CATALYST LEADER OF THE YEAR NATASHIA BUSH, R.N. PATIENT CARE MANAGER, EMERGENCY CENTER Natashia is warm, authentic, collaborative, and empowering. She consistently looks for ways to make positive things happen for our patients and our people. 2020 CATALYST LEADERS Lindsey Fox Matthew Borges Bobbie Jehle Christian Niedzwecki, D.O. SR. PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DIRECTOR MEDICAL DIRECTOR public relations SURGICAL ADVANCED PRACTICE AUSTIN REGIONAL OPERATIONS INPATIENT REHABILITATION UNIT PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION HEART OF GOLD Each year, the program honors outstanding Hilda Andrade individuals who lead by example, make the biggest possible difference, ensure the best ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES possible outcomes and uphold Texas LEAD TECH Children’s mission and core values. FACILITIES OPERATIONS TEXASCHILDRENSCATALYST.ORG 2020 MARK A . WALLACE CATALYST LEADERSHIP AWARD “Leadership always determines outcomes — not some of the time, but all of the time.” MARK A. WALLACE PRESIDENT AND CEO CATALYST LEADER OF THE YEAR NATASHIA BUSH, R.N. PATIENT CARE MANAGER, EMERGENCY CENTER Natashia is warm, authentic, collaborative, and empowering. She consistently looks for ways to make positive things happen for our patients and our people. 2020 CATALYST LEADERS Lindsey Fox Matthew Borges Bobbie Jehle Christian Niedzwecki, D.O. SR. PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DIRECTOR MEDICAL DIRECTOR public relations SURGICAL ADVANCED PRACTICE AUSTIN REGIONAL OPERATIONS INPATIENT REHABILITATION UNIT PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION HEART OF GOLD Each year, the program honors outstanding Hilda Andrade individuals who lead by example, make the biggest possible difference, ensure the best ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES possible outcomes and uphold Texas LEAD TECH Children’s mission and core values. FACILITIES OPERATIONS TEXASCHILDRENSCATALYST.ORG President’s Perspective TMC | PULSE Vol. 6 No. 11 December 2019 /January 2020 President and Chief Executive Officer William F. McKeon Pulse Editor Maggie Galehouse, Ph.D. [email protected] Assistant Editor Cindy George [email protected] Staff Writers Alexandra Becker Britni R. McAshan Mark Mulligan/© Houston Chronicle. Used with permission. with Used Chronicle. Houston Mark Mulligan/© Shanley Pierce WILLIAM F. McKEON President and Chief Executive Officer, Texas Medical Center Photojournalist Cody Duty ou may have read in the local news recently will increase; if our utilization was on par or below NEWSROOM Ythat a major insurance company (a.k.a. expectations, our rates may remain the same. 713-791-8812 “payer”) is proposing to remove one of the Texas The cost of health care is one of the most seri- [email protected] Medical Center’s most prestigious institutions ous issues facing our country. Health care spend- ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION from its insurance plan. It is remarkable that a ing, as a percentage of the U.S. gross domestic Joseph Gray longstanding partnership between a payer and product, has tripled since 1960 and now comprises 713-791-8829 a provider would suddenly be abandoned. Sadly, nearly 18 percent of the GDP. This will continue [email protected] this move may become more commonplace in the to create tension between payers, providers and [email protected] future and will surely limit the number of physi- consumers. In addition, the number of people READ US ONLINE cians and hospitals that patients can choose from without health care continues to grow and places tmc.edu/news when seeking care. additional financial pressure on the system. As we are all health care consumers, it is TMC institutions have long been recognized FOLLOW US @TXMedCenter important to understand the interdependencies of as top performers in the United States and around @texasmedcenter all of the entities that participate in the economics the world. Each year, they work diligently to @thetexasmedicalcenter of the health care system. reduce costs while maintaining and enhancing The “payer,” as the name indicates, is the care, but this is becoming increasingly difficult TMC Pulse is an award-winning entity that pays the providers (doctors, nurses as payers are also reducing the amount of money monthly publication of the Texas and other medical professionals) and the facil- they are willing to pay for certain services. Medical Center in Houston, Texas. ities (clinics, hospitals, etc.) for delivering care. As health care consumers, it is important to Permission from the editor is The largest payer in the United States is the U.S. recognize that the quality of health care is directly required to reprint any material. government, which administers the Medicare and related to the training and expertise of the clini- Medicaid programs. cians, the investments an institution makes in The largest private health insurance compa- research, technology and facilities, and the orga- nies in the country include familiar names, such nizational commitment to all levels of service. In as UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Aetna and Cigna. short, not all health care providers are capable of These insurance companies increasingly wield delivering the same quality of care. more power and influence as the market consoli- At the beginning of each year, all individuals dates and their respective membership grows. with health insurance should dedicate time to As the CEO of a company, I believe one of the reviewing their health plans. They should fully most important annual decisions I make with understand their coverage and the providers they my executive team is the selection of our health are able to utilize. Finally, every person should insurance plan. We carefully choose our plan schedule an annual physical, which is typically based on our access to the top providers in our covered by most plans. Nothing in the world area and the costs of the plan to our company, is more important than the health of you and our employees and their families. Payers, in turn, your family. consider the health care services utilization rates of our employees and their families over the past year. If we are relatively “high utilizers,” our rates 2 t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2019/JAN 2020 13 17 25 36 Highlights of the TMC Health What’s in AI Adds Big Data New Technology Boosts Policy Institute Survey a Name? Power to Radiology Brain Imaging 4 Curated: Heartbeat recording program 7 Spotlight: James Muntz, M.D. 35 Vitals: Why are some regions more susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease? 37 Next Med: Giving poorly prepared colons a clean sweep 38 Field Notes 40 Calendar on this page: J Y Reynolds is participating in a trial for patients with Huntington’s disease. on the cover: Kaitlyn Eaton, a coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, became a member of the U.S. Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team in 2017. t’s nap time in the While Brickley Ineonatal intensive is usually asked to care unit (NICU) The Intersection of ARTS and MEDICINE record songs like at Texas Children’s “Twinkle, Twinkle, Hospital. Dane Scott, a By Britni R. McAshan Little Star” and “You tiny patient, is resting are my Sunshine” for comfortably in his her NICU patients, crib, his red hair the she’s happy to same color as the accommodate any dinosaurs on his onesie. Music therapy has become a positive song request and adapt the words to fit On this day, Texas Children’s music force for the Scotts during Dane’s stay in each situation. therapist Alix Brickley is recording Dane’s the NICU. “It’s the best part of my job. … Getting to heartbeat to create an original song for “The first month of his life … everything provide something tangible … something his family. was very negative around him, but once that these families can have forever,” Brickley “The heartbeat recording is something the music therapy came it was something said. “Even when it is a really sad situation, that is really unique,” Brickley said. “To be positive for him and he loved it,” Sarah said. they are still getting that moment to share able to give that to families, especially fami- “I wanted to get the recording for something with the family. It is something that will last lies that don’t get to go home with their kids, for him to remember and to show the babies well beyond my time with them.” to give them that little bit of their child back how much they have been through and how Since Dane was born, Sarah and her hus- is something special.” far they have come.” band, Drace, who live near The Woodlands, The heartbeat recording program was Sarah chose the song “Hey Look Ma, have been splitting their days to be with Dane founded in 2016 by music therapist Marial I Made It,” by Panic! at the Disco, for Dane’s around the clock. Dane’s condition at birth Biard to give families of critically ill children recording. Brickley captured Dane’s heart- should not affect his health as he gets older. a lasting gift. beat with a digital stethoscope connected to “Some of his organs are in the wrong It hasn’t been an easy few months for Dane an iPad and took the recording to the Texas place, but it shouldn’t matter as long as they and his family. Delivered at 34 weeks, Dane Children’s recording studio to create an are in,” Sarah said. “He also may or may not was born with a large omphalocele, a congen- original song. have a belly button, but it will all be part of ital abnormality that causes the abdominal “The heartbeat is like a drum beat … his story.” organs to protrude out of the belly through an It just keeps going and I build the song Although Dane’s doctors expect he will opening around the umbilical cord.