Medical School: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Residency: Miami (Nicklaus) Children's Hospital

Areas of Interest:

• Patient safety
• Teaching quality improvement to residents
• Discharge communication
• Research in comparative efficacy of medications and variation in practice

Fellowship Accomplishments:

• Participated in the development and execution of a residency curriculum in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
• Prepared a case for discussion at the hospital-wide Morbidity and Mortality conference, including facilitation of a root cause analysis and identification of system changes for improvement.
• Participated in national collaborative effort via the Value in Inpatient Pediatrics (VIP) Network Transitions of Care Initiative to improve discharge communication between inpatient and outpatient providers. The first phase was a quality improvement effort to improve the rate of timely communication. The second phase was an IRB-approved study investigating providers’ view of content, timeliness and satisfaction of discharge communication, leading to two abstracts and plenary sessions presented at the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Annual Conference 2012.
• Developed the Functional Constipation Multidisciplinary Action Plan (MAP), an evidence-based guideline for management of constipation in the emergency department and inpatient wards at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
• Member of the Committee on Expedited Event Review and Corrective Actions (CEERCA).

Fellowship Publications and Presentations:

• Lee V, Maniscalco J. Acute Glomerulonephritis. In: AAP Pediatric Hospital Medicine Manual (1st Edition; Rauch and Gershel Eds.). Publication pending.
• Lee V, Maniscalco J. Reading Abdominal X Rays and Head CTs. National Pediatric Nighttime Curriculum, 2011.
• Lee V, Schrager S, Wu S. Nasal Decongestants and Its Use In Hospitalized Infants with Bronchiolitis: Variation in Practice and Association with Outcomes. Presented at The Saban Research Institute at Children's Hospital Los Angeles 17th Annual Poster Session, 2012, and accepted for poster session at AAP National Conference & Exhibition, 2012.
• Lee V. Colorful eyes: Kawasaki Disease presenting as jaundice. Poster presentation at Society of Hospital Medicine Annual Meeting 2011 and Pediatric Hospital Medicine Annual Conference 2012, Clinical Conundrums.
• Heydarian C, Lamphier K, Lee V. Fever of Furry Origin. Poster presentation at Pediatric Hospital Medicine Annual Conference 2012, Clinical Conundrums.

Testimonial:

I’ve known I wanted to be a pediatric hospitalist since my days in medical school, particularly inspired by the great clinical educators I’ve had throughout my training. After graduating from a high-volume and high-acuity pediatric residency, I felt well-trained to take care of patients, but decided to pursue a fellowship in hospital medicine to further my skills in teaching. Little did I realize how much more there was to learn in this exciting and growing field! The first year of the fellowship provided me exposure to such a diverse range of clinical, educational, administrative and research encounters; the second allowed me the time and mentorship to develop my specific interests and projects. I discovered in this process a passion for work in quality improvement and patient safety that I had never known, and in the meantime have been able to integrate teaching a quality curriculum for the residents, as well as participate in a national collaborative designed to improve communication between providers at the time of hospital discharge. I am incredibly honored to have been the first fellow for a wonderful group of hospitalists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and grateful for the dedicated time to complement my clinical work with the pursuit and development of my academic and administrative interests.

Alejandra Romero supports the Division of Hospital Medicine's work in quality improvement and divisional initiatives. She completed a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration at Grand Canyon University. She hopes to contribute to enhancing the medical treatment provided to vulnerable pediatric communities and is interested in assisting in improvement of healthcare quality. She is eager to participate in research at CHLA and learn about the latest developments in these areas.

Medical School: The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Residency: Indiana University School of Medicine/Riley Hospital for Children

Other training: Academic Pediatric Association Research Scholars Program; cohort 3

Areas of Interest:

• Children with medical complexity
• Care of children at non-children’s hospitals

Publications:

• Ahuja, N., Stage, L., Schneider, K., Dietrich-Kusch, A. The Use of Sleep Sacks To Improve Safe Sleep Practices in an Inpatient Unit. E-PAS2015:2865.144 (Poster Presentation)
• Ahuja, N., Zhao, W., & Xiang, H. (2012). Medical Errors in US Pediatric Inpatients with Chronic Conditions. Pediatrics, 130(4), e786 -e793. PMID: 22966036
• Ahuja, N., Brothers, B., Andersen, B., Hopelessness, not Social Support, Predicts Physical Status in Patients with Breast Cancer Recurrence. Poster presentation at Society of Behavioral Medicine 2007 meeting, Washington DC

Testimonial:

My journey to become a pediatric hospital medicine fellow at CHLA did not start right out of residency, but rather after I had already embarked on a career as a pediatric hospitalist at a community hospital. While my work as a community pediatric hospitalist was rewarding in many ways it also helped me recognize that there were skills I needed to acquire in order to go from being merely a good pediatric hospitalist to an exceptional one. I joined the fellowship program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with the goal of enhancing my clinical, teaching, quality improvement, and research skills, and thus far this program has delivered on all of these fronts. In particular, I am enjoying the opportunity to learn more about research methodology, and the guidance from my excellent and enthusiastic research mentor. Informed by my experience as a community hospitalist I am pursuing a research project comparing the care of children with technology dependence in children’s versus non-children’s hospitals.

Dalia completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Irvine where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Public Health Sciences. Throughout her tenure at UCI, Dalia actively engaged in research related to civic engagement concerning environmental justice issues among Boyle Heights residents. She is profoundly interested in conducting research aimed at enhancing healthcare quality and accessibility in underserved and vulnerable communities. While at CHLA, Dalia has supported clinical and quality improvement research initiatives. She has contributed to tasks such as subject screening, recruitment, and consent, as well as data extraction and analysis. Dalia is currently focused on a study called I-Share that is designed to enhance the hospital’s capacity to effectively identify otherwise unrecognized errors from patients and families, particularly those who face language and educational barriers. This study involves partnering with patients and families, with the aim of hospitals identifying novel patterns and ultimately addressing systemic flaws to improve safety and equity.

Dalila Amaya obtained a bachelor's degree in Biology (Biochemistry) and minored in Anthropology and Spanish at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a Spanish medical interpreter and interned at a level I trauma center in the Critical Care Research Department. She gained a variety of skills and experiences that significantly contributed to her desire to become a clinician-scientist and an advocate for inclusive communications in healthcare. At CHLA, she is the research assistant for IPASS LISTEN, a study that aims to compare the effectiveness of communication interventions to improve patient/family and provider communication and reduce adverse event rates. Her role in the study includes subject recruitment, data extraction, observing patient and provider interactions, and surveying families and the medical team regarding communication and safety events.

Sarah Cho is a Research Nurse with specialized knowledge of pediatric healthcare and experience navigating electronic medical records. She received her dual undergraduate degree in Psychology and Hispanic Language and Literature from Boston University, after which she developed research skills in the areas of childhood obesity, asthma, COPD, and smoking cessation. Sarah completed her RN Residency at CHLA and was a bedside nurse here in the Neonatal and Infant Critical Care Unit for several years while also completing her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Western University of Health Sciences. Sarah then had the privilege of serving as a stay-at-home parent, joining the Board of Trustees at her children’s co-op nursery school, volunteering at vaccination clinics, and developing greater passion for supporting families with young children and developing a sense of community in a post-quarantine climate. Sarah is delighted to return to CHLA, where she can support the Division of Medicine’s research endeavors and pursue a PhD in Nursing.

Pateel Jivalagian is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Division of Hospital Medicine (DHM). At CHLA, Pateel supports in administration and IRB-related work for the division. She is currently working with Dr. Tamara Simon to establish a DHM Registry to achieve cohort discovery by contextualizing the health profile of hospitalized infants and children in the division. The Registry will also serve to support DHM operations. Pateel received her Master of Public Health degree from the Yale School of Public Health and developed her research skills by working at various research labs across campus. She received bachelor’s degrees in Public Health and Psychology from U.C. Berkeley. Her commitment to public health and vulnerable communities, particularly children and older adults, has been informed by her research experiences. She has an interest in studying health from a life course perspective and is particularly interested in how early life factors may influence health in later life.