What Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us about leadership
Among the individuals who have helped shape American history, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stands out. As one of the key leaders of the civil rights movement, he was instrumental in overturning racist laws that segregated public spaces and treated Black Americans as second-class citizens. After years of marches and sit-ins, after nonviolent ... Read More
Bringing genomics to community NICUs
About a year and a half ago, Robert Rothstein, MD, FAAP encountered a baby with a pattern of facial features and clinical findings that suggested a genetic syndrome. The available tests couldn’t pinpoint a diagnosis, and the family wanted a more definitive answer. So Rothstein and his colleagues transferred the newborn from Baystate Medical Center ... Read More
Gift-wrapping kindness: Helping others can offer children a unique kind of joy
The holidays are a time for not just receiving gifts but also giving back. It’s the ideal time to teach young children about the importance of helping others and to guide older children toward opportunities that allow them to volunteer and make a difference. “Volunteerism and giving are important traits to learn,” says Miranda Day, ... Read More
Addressing inequities in asthma by focusing on children’s environments
Asthma strikes children in low-income urban areas especially hard, more often sending them to the hospital. For more than 20 years, Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul at Boston Children’s Hospital has been investigating why — and seeking ways to level the playing field. “Children in low-income areas and children of color often aren’t diagnosed early enough with ... Read More
Standing up to microaggressions: A hospital-wide training
How can a large, teaching hospital address racial bias in the midst of a pandemic? This question came to a head last summer as the country reacted to the death of George Floyd. As a champion for children’s health, and as part of its Declaration on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity, Boston Children’s Hospital committed to ... Read More
Empowering the medical leaders of tomorrow through mentorship
Walk the halls of Boston Children’s Hospital and you’ll find trailblazers in the field of medicine. You’ll cross paths with leaders who are known around the world for their groundbreaking research and other work to advance knowledge and improve the care of children. Their expertise is vast and disparate — basic scientists in laboratories, clinicians ... Read More
Global services: Coordinating care for international families
In most years, more than 2,500 families living outside of the United States seek care at Boston Children’s Hospital. To help guide the process, the Global Services team — a group of medical and administrative professionals — manages all the details. Their mission is to help coordinate care between families, medical professionals in their home ... Read More
We speak your language: Helping non-English-speaking families receive the best care
Visiting a health care provider requires a fair amount of communication, whether for scheduling an appointment, receiving care, or understanding follow-up directions. For families whose primary language isn’t English, the Interpreter Services program at Boston Children’s Hospital can help make those discussions easier. “Our team of interpreters provides translation services in more than 70 languages,” ... Read More
A Juneteenth celebration of children’s books featuring Black characters
Books can provide a mirror for kids to understand themselves and a window into the world around them. Yet for many generations, Black characters were almost nonexistent in children’s books. Very often, the few that did appear were limited, with one kind of hair and one skin tone. “Thinking about the books that were popular ... Read More
Beyond HIPAA: Maintaining patient privacy in a big data era
After a prolonged, painful era in which medical data were exchanged mainly by fax, most patients today have electronic health records. But the data within them aren’t as private as they might think, says Kenneth Mandl, MD, MPH. As director of the Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP) at Boston Children’s Hospital, he’s seen patient data ... Read More