by James Mandell, MD, CEO on March 25, 2010
Earlier this week, we shared on our Thrive blog some comments about the new health reform legislation by Judy Palfrey, MD, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a long-time pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Reactions to the post were both positive and negative when it was shared on our Facebook page, with some people wondering why we would share our “political” views. First let me say that I think it’s important to distinguish views about political candidates and political parties from “policy” views about things that are good or bad for children and the providers who care for them. I also think it’s important to recognize and give voice to the incredible breadth of knowledge and expertise we have here at Children’s. Dr. Palfrey has spent her entire career working on child advocacy issues and is nationally recognized on the subject, and we’re fortunate to be able to share her knowledgeable voice on our blog. Full story »
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on March 16, 2010
A Boston Globe article this morning brought the cost of care here at Children’s Hospital Boston into question, saying, among other things, that “Children’s charges the highest fees for both outpatient and inpatient care.” It’s based on data by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) that we don’t feel accurately reflects the care that we provide.
While the writer, Liz Kowalczyk, did say that because about 30 percent of our patients are on Medicaid, we have to “make up the lost revenue from private insurers,” I don’t think she went far enough in explaining why our costs tend to be higher than other hospitals in the state. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 8, 2009
Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.
Read why the days of jumping back into a game after a possible concussion are over. A new study shows that adult survivors of childhood cancer are much more likely to experience suicidal thoughts than their peers. Children’s expert Ellen Hanson, PhD, questions whether autism really is on the rise. An experimental heart valve saves a child with H1N1. Children’s has established and unprecedented partnership with the state’s largest health plans. The HealthMap team gives its weekly H1N1 update. Children’s Dennis Rosen, MD, questions whether sleeping late can keep your child slim and Joanne Cox, MD, answers parents’ questions about H1N1. Our resident mediatrician tackles the question of graphic violent and sexual images in the media and a teen guest blogger writes about teens and self-esteem.
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on October 9, 2009
The debates around federal health reform continue to involve complex decisions, and many of them originate from an “adult medicine” perspective.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals have taken leadership roles to assure that child health needs are appropriately recognized in the final legislation. Judy Palfrey, MD, Children’s Hospital Boston’s longtime chief of General Pediatrics, has been an eloquent and engaged voice for pediatric care and has spent a great deal of time in Washington recently in her role as president-elect of the AAP. Her recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine lays out some of the critical issues we have been watching and working as a child-health community.
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on September 25, 2009
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study saying that less that 40 percent of the population of the United States got vaccinated against the seasonal flu last year. That number in and of itself is surprising, given that the flu kills an astonishing 36,000 people every year, putting it squarely in the top 10 annual causes of death in the United States. The distinction between the flu and other top 10 causes, like heart disease and cancer, is that there’s something incredibly easy and quick you can do to keep the flu at bay: get vaccinated.
So you would think that health care workers – the hundreds of thousands of us who spend our time at the bedside, in the operating room, escorting patients to appointments, cleaning hospital rooms, serving food and on and on – would do the easy thing to slow the spread of the flu: get vaccinated and spare ourselves and the patients we spend time with the potentially deadly ramifications of getting the flu. Full story »
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on September 15, 2009
As many of you know, we have been committed to ensuring that health care reform guarantees that children have access to high quality care. I’m writing now from Washington, DC, as we personally deliver this message to the senators and congressmen representing all the New England states.
Lawrence McAndrews, the president and chief executive National Association of Children’s Hospitals and I wrote this editorial in response to and in support of the op ed by former Senators Tom Daschle and John Danforth.
When we return, I’ll let you know how the trip went and what the prospects look like for reform that will protect the health of the nation’s children.
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on August 17, 2009
Given that there has been a lot of conversation about cost control in the health care debate, I’d like to talk a little bit about how we at Children’s Hospital Boston view as our responsibility in controlling costs.
We necessarily are focused on providing safe and effective care for the most severely ill children in our region. Most of those kids and families rely on Children’s for both acute and chronic care for difficult, life-long problems. We also have become the largest primary care providers for the underserved pediatric population of Boston and its surrounds. Still others come here for less serious conditions to see the pediatric specialists not available throughout the state or anywhere else in New England. Full story »
by James Mandell, MD, CEO on August 11, 2009
Well folks, quite a last week for Children’s and, interestingly enough, for us personally! In Boston, August is supposedly a slow month for many people and business due to vacations. Just the opposite happens here at Children’s. In addition to the usual high volume of kids with emergent, critical health needs, many families decide to have their children’s elective surgical procedures when school is out. The operating room schedule goes through the roof and every ICU bed is filled to capacity. We had heart transplants, multiple organ transplants and every conceivable medical problem that a child could have being taken care of in the hospital. It was amazing.
It was also the week that our very youngest (4-month-old) grandchild had her reconstructive surgery and was here at Children’s for two days. During the nearly six hours in the family waiting room during the surgery and a subsequent visit to the emergency room during the middle of the night, my daughter and son-in-law met many other families just as worried and exhausted as they were. They also expressed what every parent I have ever met has said: “We are so fortunate compared to other families here who have children with problems even more difficult than ours.” It always reminds me of the warmth and caring of our entire staff. Thanks for everything you do for the kids.
Hope that the rest of you have a happy and healthy August.
- Jim
