Manuel Gonzales

In 2010, when he was 15, Dr. Manuel "Manny" Gonzales was a sophomore in high school and a varsity cross-country runner when he received a stunning diagnosis: cancer. At that time, he underwent a grueling regimen to battle the disease: 10 rounds of chemotherapy, thirteen lumbar punctures, and countless hours spent in both the inpatient and outpatient settings of the hospital where he was being treated: Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. His experience changed his life, creating a passion for becoming a pediatric oncologist.  Dr. Gonzales shared his story on Episode 56 of the podcast. We've invited him back to check in on his health and career path as he completes his pediatric residency at Nemours and heads into a hematology/oncology fellowship.  Dr. Gonzales was recently nominated as a Visionary of the Year Candidate for The Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. He is raising money to power innovative research for newer and safer therapies needed in pediatric oncology. Click here for more information on his campaign and to join his fundraising team. Carol Vassar, producer

In 2010, when he was 15, Dr. Manuel "Manny" Gonzales was a sophomore in high school and a varsity cross-country runner when he received a stunning diagnosis: cancer. At that time, he underwent a grueling regimen to battle the disease: 10 rounds of chemotherapy, thirteen lumbar punctures, and countless hours spent in both the inpatient and outpatient settings of the hospital where he was being treated: Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. His experience changed his life, creating a passion for becoming a pediatric oncologist.  Dr. Gonzales shared his story on <a href="https://nemours.libsyn.com/episode-56-outrunning-cancer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 56</a> of the podcast. We've invited him back to check in on his health and career path as he completes his pediatric residency at Nemours and heads into a hematology/oncology fellowship.  Dr. Gonzales was recently nominated as a Visionary of the Year Candidate for The Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society. He is raising money to power innovative research for newer and safer therapies needed in pediatric oncology. Click <a href="https://pages.lls.org/voy/de/delaware23/mgonzales" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> for more information on his campaign and to join his fundraising team. Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 191: Running with Passion - Checking in with Dr. Manuel Gonzales

The season of rebirth, renewal, and growth is here: Spring. And for many, it brings with it thoughts of putting our hands in the soil and planting seeds or transplanting seedlings in gardens. That’s exactly what is happening right now on the Nemours Estate in Wilmington, Delaware. The Can Grow Garden is a collaboration between the estate and Nemours Children’s Hospital Delaware to grow plants and provide a place for patient, family, and associate education and respite. The grown plants - mainly vegetables - provide food for the community to help alleviate food insecurity and teach healthy cooking and eating. Carol Vassar, producer View the Can Grow Garden video here.  For more information on the Can Grow Garden, contact Judy Lieberman

The season of rebirth, renewal, and growth is here: Spring. And for many, it brings with it thoughts of putting our hands in the soil and planting seeds or transplanting seedlings in gardens. That’s exactly what is happening right now on the Nemours Estate in Wilmington, Delaware. The Can Grow Garden is a collaboration between the estate and Nemours Children’s Hospital Delaware to grow plants and provide a place for patient, family, and associate education and respite. The grown plants - mainly vegetables - provide food for the community to help alleviate food insecurity and teach healthy cooking and eating. Carol Vassar, producer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qqeErSuGNM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">View the Can Grow Garden video here</a>.  For more information on the Can Grow Garden, contact <a href="mailto:judy.lieberman@nemours.org" rel="noopener">Judy Lieberman</a>

Episode 190: Can Grow Garden

Nemours' Chief Well-being Officer Dr. Maureen Leffler provides an update on the well-being of the healthcare workforce, both nationally and at Nemours. We'll explore the burnout that is plaguing the healthcare workforce and what Nemours is doing to counteract that, get an update on the enterprise peer support program launched in 2020 and now open to all associates, and the newly created Nemours Center for Associate well-being.  Well-being resources for Nemours associates. Nemours' Employee Wellness Benefits Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours' Chief Well-being Officer Dr. Maureen Leffler provides an update on the well-being of the healthcare workforce, both nationally and at Nemours. We'll explore the burnout that is plaguing the healthcare workforce and what Nemours is doing to counteract that, get an update on the enterprise peer support program launched in 2020 and now open to all associates, and the newly created Nemours Center for Associate well-being.  <a href="https://www.nemours.org/forassociates/wellness/associate-well-being.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Well-being resources for Nemours associates</a>. <a href="https://nemoursbenefitsguide.com/benefits-options/yourhealth-wellness-program/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Nemours' Employee Wellness Benefits</a> Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 189: Healthcare Workforce Well-being - An Update

As the pandemic was settling in on the world in 2020, a Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando resident was pondering a way to take her work out of the hospital and into the community. Her vision of well beyond medicine: a mobile clinic providing health care (and so much more) to underinsured or uninsured children and families in Greater Orlando. A fortuitous encounter with a Nemours grant writer yielded the seed money to make this resident’s dream a reality. Featuring Nemours Associates Dr. Laura Chilcutt, Dr. Branden Trandai, and Gabe Krivenko. Carol Vassar, producter

As the pandemic was settling in on the world in 2020, a Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando resident was pondering a way to take her work out of the hospital and into the community. Her vision of well beyond medicine: a mobile clinic providing health care (and so much more) to underinsured or uninsured children and families in Greater Orlando. A fortuitous encounter with a Nemours grant writer yielded the seed money to make this resident’s dream a reality. Featuring Nemours Associates Dr. Laura Chilcutt, Dr. Branden Trandai, and Gabe Krivenko. Carol Vassar, producter

Episode 188: A Mobile Clinic Goes Well Beyond Medicine

Episode 187: Advocacy for Tomorrow's Pediatric Workforce

Ensuring the U.S. has a well-trained pediatric workforce is critical. Listen in as Dr. Larry Moss, President and CEO, Nemours Children’s Health, and Amy Knight, President of the Children’s Hospital Association, discuss Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education funding. They offer policy recommendations to address the current pediatric workforce shortage, including a call to Congress to increase CHGME funding, reauthorization of the program, and more. Carol Vassar, producer

Ensuring the U.S. has a well-trained pediatric workforce is critical. Listen in as Dr. Larry Moss, President and CEO, Nemours Children’s Health, and Amy Knight, President of the Children’s Hospital Association, discuss Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education funding. They offer policy recommendations to address the current pediatric workforce shortage, including a call to Congress to increase CHGME funding, reauthorization of the program, and more. Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 186: Pediatric Workforce Development

On Mar. 2, 2023, the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware donated $78 million to dramatically expand Nemours' capacity to provide clinical care for children with cancer, sickle cell disease, and other blood disorders. Learn more about this donation, including how it happened, from William (Bill) Martin, President of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, and Mark Mumford, Chief Operating Officer for Nemours Children's Health.  Carol Vassar, producer

On Mar. 2, 2023, the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware donated $78 million to dramatically expand Nemours' capacity to provide clinical care for children with cancer, sickle cell disease, and other blood disorders. Learn more about this donation, including how it happened, from William (Bill) Martin, President of the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, and Mark Mumford, Chief Operating Officer for Nemours Children's Health.  Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 185: A Momentous Gift

Nicole Phelps

This episode features conversations about raising resilient kids based on the video series of the same name. It’s a partnership between Nemours Children’s Health and the Michael Phelps Foundation and features the most decorated Olympian of all time and his wife, Nicole, as your hosts. Together, they talk with Nemours experts about the world’s hardest job: being a parent. Nicole and Michael are the parents of three young sons and face the same concerns and challenges that all parents do when it comes to helping kids grow to be healthy, happy, and resilient.  Learn more about the Michael Phelps Foundation Carol Vassar, producer

This episode features conversations about raising resilient kids based on the video series of the same name. It’s a partnership between Nemours Children’s Health and the Michael Phelps Foundation and features the most decorated Olympian of all time and his wife, Nicole, as your hosts. Together, they talk with Nemours experts about the world’s hardest job: being a parent. Nicole and Michael are the parents of three young sons and face the same concerns and challenges that all parents do when it comes to helping kids grow to be healthy, happy, and resilient.  <a href="https://michaelphelpsfoundation.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Learn more about the Michael Phelps Foundation</a> Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 184: Raising Resilient Kids with Michael and Nicole Phelps

We’re talking about how parents learn to become parents, focusing on a parent training management program launched last fall at Nemours Children’s Hospital Floridie for parents whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our guests on this episode developed it: Dr. Lisa Spector, division chief of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Nemours Children's, Florida, and her colleague Dr. Corinne Bria, a pediatric emergency medicine physician. Dr. Bria holds a master's of medical education with an emphasis on curriculum, implementation, and evaluation, which fits nicely with her role as interim program director for the Nemours Children's, Florida, pediatric residency program.  For more information on this parent training program, please email FLPrevention@nemours.org Carol Vassar, producer

We’re talking about how parents learn to become parents, focusing on a parent training management program launched last fall at Nemours Children’s Hospital Floridie for parents whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our guests on this episode developed it: Dr. Lisa Spector, division chief of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Nemours Children's, Florida, and her colleague Dr. Corinne Bria, a pediatric emergency medicine physician. Dr. Bria holds a master's of medical education with an emphasis on curriculum, implementation, and evaluation, which fits nicely with her role as interim program director for the Nemours Children's, Florida, pediatric residency program.  For more information on this parent training program, please email <a href="mailto:FLPrevention@nemours.org" rel="noopener">FLPrevention@nemours.org</a> Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 183: If Only They Came with Instructions (Parent Training Program)

Nemours' Director of Talent Services Dr. Allison Craft is an ardent advocate for associate engagement across the enterprise. In this podcast, she'll share high-level results of the most recent employee engagement survey. She'll also reveal the very personal reason why she's so passionate about employee engagement, which has its origins in an experience so profound that it led her to leave her dream job with NASA to join Nemours and further the engagement mission. Carol Vassar, producer

Nemours' Director of Talent Services Dr. Allison Craft is an ardent advocate for associate engagement across the enterprise. In this podcast, she'll share high-level results of the most recent employee engagement survey. She'll also reveal the very personal reason why she's so passionate about employee engagement, which has its origins in an experience so profound that it led her to leave her dream job with NASA to join Nemours and further the engagement mission. Carol Vassar, producer

Episode 182: The Importance of Employee Engagement (REBROADCAST)

We’re redefining children’s health by looking beyond and improving children’s health where it starts — at home, in the community, and anywhere you find children.

Champions for Children

The term "no margin, no mission" comes from Sister Irene Kraus, a 20th century healthcare leader. Sister Irene keenly understood the importance of fiscal responsibility within healthcare. Her ethos was that a fiscally sound healthcare system has the ability to provide not only the standard day-to-day health services, but has additional capacity to support other mission-driven priorities, such as research. For its part, Nemours conducts research in a number of clinical areas: cystic fibrosis, pulmonary and sleep medicine, neuromuscular disease, oncology, surgery, just to name a few, with countless peer-reviewed journal publications and poster presentations across the world, improving the health and extending the lifespan of kids everywhere. It’s research made possible - in some way or another -  by every single Nemours associate. SEGMENT 1: Dr. Floyd Livingston is the Division Chief for Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. He is also co-medical director for Nemours Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center, where he leads a team that not only treats kids with CF, but researches ways to improve the treatment of the disease. He explains the disease itself, and the tremendous strides that have been made in extending the lifespan of CF patients - in no small part due to research done here at Nemours.  SEGMENT 2:  Working alongside Dr. Livingston in CF, pulmonary, sleep medicine and asthma research efforts here at Nemours are clinical research coordinators Amanda Darling and Mariella Dixon. They work directly with patients and their families, providing information, answering questions, and scheduling visits, which could involve blood work, physical exams, CAT Scans, MRIs, X-Rays or the administration of medications, and collecting data to examine the efficacy of a therapy. It’s precise work that can dramatically improve the lives of children for generations to come. In fact, they have seen first-hand the way that their research has made a difference.  SEGMENT 3:  Matthew Leonard is a facilities manager. He and his team maintain 45 Nemours sites in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It’s a job that requires the coordination of staff and contractors so as to keep the Nemours physical plants not just up and running - but in tiptop shape as befitting a high quality healthcare provider like Nemours. From day care centers to urgent care facilities to the AI Dupont Hospital for Children itself, it’s demanding work for Matthew and his team - yet they find ways to make it happen without missing a beat. 

The term "no margin, no mission" comes from Sister Irene Kraus, a 20th century healthcare leader. Sister Irene keenly understood the importance of fiscal responsibility within healthcare. Her ethos was that a fiscally sound healthcare system has the ability to provide not only the standard day-to-day health services, but has additional capacity to support other mission-driven priorities, such as research. For its part, Nemours conducts research in a number of clinical areas: cystic fibrosis, pulmonary and sleep medicine, neuromuscular disease, oncology, surgery, just to name a few, with countless peer-reviewed journal publications and poster presentations across the world, improving the health and extending the lifespan of kids everywhere. It’s research made possible - in some way or another -  by every single Nemours associate. SEGMENT 1: Dr. Floyd Livingston is the Division Chief for Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. He is also co-medical director for Nemours Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center, where he leads a team that not only treats kids with CF, but researches ways to improve the treatment of the disease. He explains the disease itself, and the tremendous strides that have been made in extending the lifespan of CF patients - in no small part due to research done here at Nemours.  SEGMENT 2:  Working alongside Dr. Livingston in CF, pulmonary, sleep medicine and asthma research efforts here at Nemours are clinical research coordinators Amanda Darling and Mariella Dixon. They work directly with patients and their families, providing information, answering questions, and scheduling visits, which could involve blood work, physical exams, CAT Scans, MRIs, X-Rays or the administration of medications, and collecting data to examine the efficacy of a therapy. It’s precise work that can dramatically improve the lives of children for generations to come. In fact, they have seen first-hand the way that their research has made a difference. SEGMENT 3:  Matthew Leonard is a facilities manager. He and his team maintain 45 Nemours sites in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It’s a job that requires the coordination of staff and contractors so as to keep the Nemours physical plants not just up and running - but in tiptop shape as befitting a high quality healthcare provider like Nemours. From day care centers to urgent care facilities to the AI Dupont Hospital for Children itself, it’s demanding work for Matthew and his team - yet they find ways to make it happen without missing a beat.

Episode 22: No Margin - No Mission

Listen to kids, and they can help us to help them in their journey toward better health. That’s what these three Nemours associates have done, in very different ways, during the course of their careers in children’s health. SEGMENT 1: Present and engaged - that’s Neressa James each and every day. When she says she understands what a parent is going through with a terminally ill child, she knows the pain all too well - and wants only to help those who stand in the shoes she wore not all that long ago. SEGMENT 2: Come along to visit a hematology/oncology nurse from the Orlando Children’s Hospital to hear about her efforts to help her young patients maintain their personal dignity as they undergo treatment. SEGMENT 3: There comes a time when kids become adults - and must transition from Nemours to the adult health care system. At Nemours, a transition plan for each young adult provides a road map of what’s to come, not only for them, but for their parents.

Listen to kids, and they can help us to help them in their journey toward better health. That’s what these three Nemours associates have done, in very different ways, during the course of their careers in children’s health. SEGMENT 1: Present and engaged - that’s Neressa James each and every day. When she says she understands what a parent is going through with a terminally ill child, she knows the pain all too well - and wants only to help those who stand in the shoes she wore not all that long ago. SEGMENT 2: Come along to visit a hematology/oncology nurse from the Orlando Children’s Hospital to hear about her efforts to help her young patients maintain their personal dignity as they undergo treatment. SEGMENT 3: There comes a time when kids become adults - and must transition from Nemours to the adult health care system. At Nemours, a transition plan for each young adult provides a road map of what’s to come, not only for them, but for their parents.

Episode 6: The Wisdom of Children

Families are the people we trust to care for us - and for each other - when times become difficult. At Nemours, we serve patient families with care, compassion and experience - and we become families within our own teams.  Nemours associates share the importance of family involvement in the care process, and how the strong bond of trust between teammates ultimately benefits patients.  Featuring: Shara Bialo, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist, Nemours Speciality Outpatient Clinic, Deptford, New Jersey Keith Fishlock, PhD, APRN, Emergency Department Clinical Specialist, A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware The EEG Neurodiagnostic Team, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida: Helen Cano Jennifer Campbell Jessica Cooley Gabriel Guzman Viviana Rico Leslie Rosa

Families are the people we trust to care for us - and for each other - when times become difficult. At Nemours, we serve patient families with care, compassion and experience - and we become families within our own teams.  Nemours associates share the importance of family involvement in the care process, and how the strong bond of trust between teammates ultimately benefits patients.  Featuring: Shara Bialo, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist, Nemours Speciality Outpatient Clinic, Deptford, New Jersey Keith Fishlock, PhD, APRN, Emergency Department Clinical Specialist, A. I. Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware The EEG Neurodiagnostic Team, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida: Helen Cano Jennifer Campbell Jessica Cooley Gabriel Guzman Viviana Rico Leslie Rosa

Episode 3: All Shapes and Sizes

Members of a transport team receive the support they need from a manager following a devastating patient outcome, a family gives back despite the loss of three of their children, and the rollout of "Just Culture" across the Nemours enterprise - it's all covered in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast, "Opening Doors."  SEGMENT 1: Paul Brust, RN, MSN, started in healthcare at the age of 19 as an ambulance driver, earning his undergraduate and Masters degrees in nursing with specialities in burn emergency and trauma. He arrived at Nemours five years ago to lead the critical care transport team at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington as the nurse manager. His work, however, is to not only support patients and families, but his fellow Nemours associates, too. Nothing demonstrates his leadership qualities better, however, than how he approaches, supports and helps his team members bounce bsck after the death of a child.   SEGMENT 2:  Philanthopy in healthcare has a long and storied history, particularly here at Nemours. Maggie Hightower is the Director of Fund Development for Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville, who not only fills us in on the importance of philanthropy in healthcare today - but also has the story of one family whose devastating loss inspired them to help other sick kids and their families pay for the healthcare they need.  SEGMENT 3: Have you heard the term "Just Culture" here at Nemours? It's being rolled out across the enterprise, and is a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors fairly and justly. Marci Pawlik is the Nemours Business Director for Imaging,  who also serves as an employee engagement chairperson at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She talks also about the connection to employee engagement and patient satisfaction. 

Members of a transport team receive the support they need from a manager following a devastating patient outcome, a family gives back despite the loss of three of their children, and the rollout of "Just Culture" across the Nemours enterprise - it's all covered in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast, "Opening Doors."  SEGMENT 1: Paul Brust, RN, MSN, started in healthcare at the age of 19 as an ambulance driver, earning his undergraduate and Masters degrees in nursing with specialities in burn emergency and trauma. He arrived at Nemours five years ago to lead the critical care transport team at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington as the nurse manager. His work, however, is to not only support patients and families, but his fellow Nemours associates, too. Nothing demonstrates his leadership qualities better, however, than how he approaches, supports and helps his team members bounce bsck after the death of a child.  SEGMENT 2:  Philanthopy in healthcare has a long and storied history, particularly here at Nemours. Maggie Hightower is the Director of Fund Development for Nemours Children’s Speciality Care in Jacksonville, who not only fills us in on the importance of philanthropy in healthcare today - but also has the story of one family whose devastating loss inspired them to help other sick kids and their families pay for the healthcare they need.  SEGMENT 3: Have you heard the term "Just Culture" here at Nemours? It's being rolled out across the enterprise, and is a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors fairly and justly. Marci Pawlik is the Nemours Business Director for Imaging,  who also serves as an employee engagement chairperson at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando. She talks also about the connection to employee engagement and patient satisfaction.

Episode 12: Opening Doors

The paths we take to find ourselves at Nemours are as individual as each associate. The school to career path is the most direct - but not everyone follows that formula. The associates in this episode of the Champions for Children podcast arrived at their roles here by taking paths less traveled, including a childhood spent largely in a Bosnian hospital, and a career in opera and the theme park industry.  There will be singing, including the Macarena like you've never heard it before.  Featuring: MaryAnn Douglas, Respiratory Therapist, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida Dora Jeffers, Medicaid Claims Specialist, Jacksonville, Florida Dragona Pillug, Talent Acquisition Partner, Jacksonville, Florida

The paths we take to find ourselves at Nemours are as individual as each associate. The school to career path is the most direct - but not everyone follows that formula. The associates in this episode of the Champions for Children podcast arrived at their roles here by taking paths less traveled, including a childhood spent largely in a Bosnian hospital, and a career in opera and the theme park industry. There will be singing, including the Macarena like you've never heard it before.  Featuring: MaryAnn Douglas, Respiratory Therapist, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando, Florida Dora Jeffers, Medicaid Claims Specialist, Jacksonville, Florida Dragona Pillug, Talent Acquisition Partner, Jacksonville, Florida

Episode 4: Roads Less Traveled

Nemours "Kudos" is rolling out across the entire enterprise! What is it, exactly? Jane Mericle, Chief Nursing and Patient Operations Officer at Nemours Children's Health System teams up with Peter Adebi, who serves as Chief Human Resources Officer, to explain everything you need to know to take part in this new employee recognition platform!

Nemours "Kudos" is rolling out across the entire enterprise! What is it, exactly? Jane Mericle, Chief Nursing and Patient Operations Officer at Nemours Children's Health System teams up with Peter Adebi, who serves as Chief Human Resources Officer, to explain everything you need to know to take part in this new employee recognition platform!

Episode 18: Nemours Kudos

Anyone who has ever raised a child knows that different stages and ages bring new and sometimes daunting issues. Kids that don’t sleep, kids whose trust has been shattered by bullying before their arrival at Nemours, and figuring out how to pay for medical costs are just a few of the problems faced by patients and families within the Nemours enterprise. Lucky for them, these three associates were there to help.   SEGMENT 1: The in-patient rehabilitation unit at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando provides physical, speech and occupational therapy for kids who have additional medical needs, and aren’t quite ready to head home. It was here that RN Leonine Nicoleau met a teenager who suffered serious injuries as the result of a car accident. Earning his trust - and that of his mother - proved a challenge due to a post-accident bullying experience before his arrival at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: At the Jacksonville home office is a group of people who support the direct patient care performed by clinicians across the enterprise: the Central Business Office, better known as the CBO. Samantha Massey is a lead payer dispute specialist with the CBO whose job it is to make certain insurance companies pay for services delivered to Nemours patients. She does it with the parents in mind and a determination to remove as much of the financial burden from them as possible so they can concentrate on taking care of their ill or injured child. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, when the EEG team finishes their work for the day, the specialists from the sleep center move into the same space for the overnight. Using the same equipment, they conduct sleep studies on kids as young as two days old. Respiratory Therapist and Sleep Technologist Lisa DeGuzman reveals how her team discovered and helped treat a toddler who, in her words, sounded like Darth Vader.

Anyone who has ever raised a child knows that different stages and ages bring new and sometimes daunting issues. Kids that don’t sleep, kids whose trust has been shattered by bullying before their arrival at Nemours, and figuring out how to pay for medical costs are just a few of the problems faced by patients and families within the Nemours enterprise. Lucky for them, these three associates were there to help.   SEGMENT 1: The in-patient rehabilitation unit at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando provides physical, speech and occupational therapy for kids who have additional medical needs, and aren’t quite ready to head home. It was here that RN Leonine Nicoleau met a teenager who suffered serious injuries as the result of a car accident. Earning his trust - and that of his mother - proved a challenge due to a post-accident bullying experience before his arrival at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: At the Jacksonville home office is a group of people who support the direct patient care performed by clinicians across the enterprise: the Central Business Office, better known as the CBO. Samantha Massey is a lead payer dispute specialist with the CBO whose job it is to make certain insurance companies pay for services delivered to Nemours patients. She does it with the parents in mind and a determination to remove as much of the financial burden from them as possible so they can concentrate on taking care of their ill or injured child. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, when the EEG team finishes their work for the day, the specialists from the sleep center move into the same space for the overnight. Using the same equipment, they conduct sleep studies on kids as young as two days old. Respiratory Therapist and Sleep Technologist Lisa DeGuzman reveals how her team discovered and helped treat a toddler who, in her words, sounded like Darth Vader.

Episode 7: Sleep Tight and Don't Let the Bullies Bite

Hugs are an important part of healing. Employing them across Nemours: priceless! SEGMENT 1: For 12 years, Myrna Rivera been a Medicaid Enrollment Specialist in Financial Services at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. She helps families with kids who have special needs apply for Medicaid - and that can be daunting task - but not for Rivera, who truly enjoys her work helping others navigate the healthcare system. Recently, though, Rivera herself became ill - and it was she who needed help navigating the healthcare system - and her fellow Nemours associates were there at the ready SEGMENT 2: Anesthesiologist Dr. Amy Burns has a unique perspective on how clinicians interact with pediatric patients. It comes from her experiences growing up with two siblings with serious health issues - and inspires the compassion she brings to her work at Nemours.  who brings to her work the compassion of clinicians she saw taking care her siblings while growing up. We’ll also take the time to remember the importance of hugs with a couple of MRI techs from the Deptford, New Jersey facility. Right now, meet Myrna Rivera. SEGMENT 3: Nemours MRI tech Jenna Johnson and her colleague, Lisa, have 38 years’ experience in healthcare, and 18 years at Nemours. They have each worked in the adult health care setting, but have found that working with kids brings its own unique set of joys and challenges. They have a lot to say about the connecting with patients, letting them go, and the importance of hugs.

Hugs are an important part of healing. Employing them across Nemours: priceless! SEGMENT 1: For 12 years, Myrna Rivera been a Medicaid Enrollment Specialist in Financial Services at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. She helps families with kids who have special needs apply for Medicaid - and that can be daunting task - but not for Rivera, who truly enjoys her work helping others navigate the healthcare system. Recently, though, Rivera herself became ill - and it was she who needed help navigating the healthcare system - and her fellow Nemours associates were there at the ready SEGMENT 2: Anesthesiologist Dr. Amy Burns has a unique perspective on how clinicians interact with pediatric patients. It comes from her experiences growing up with two siblings with serious health issues - and inspires the compassion she brings to her work at Nemours.  who brings to her work the compassion of clinicians she saw taking care her siblings while growing up. We’ll also take the time to remember the importance of hugs with a couple of MRI techs from the Deptford, New Jersey facility. Right now, meet Myrna Rivera. SEGMENT 3: Nemours MRI tech Jenna Johnson and her colleague, Lisa, have 38 years’ experience in healthcare, and 18 years at Nemours. They have each worked in the adult health care setting, but have found that working with kids brings its own unique set of joys and challenges. They have a lot to say about the connecting with patients, letting them go, and the importance of hugs.

Episode 8: The Importance of Hugs

Failure is an inevitable part of life - and something experienced by all three of the Nemours associates in this episode of “Champions for Children.” SEGMENT 1: Brandi Raulerson. is an admitting registration specialist at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Her role put her front and center as  part of a hospital-wide registration team that includes medical translators and other registration specialists across the five floors of the hospital, as well as all of the satellite locations in and around Orlando. -She and her fellow associates may find themselves working at any of these locations from day to day, depending on patient workflow. It a job that takes flexibility, dedication and true teamwork to avoid mistakes - and recover when you do make them. SEGMENT 2: Research is an important part of the work that happens at Nemours. Ever since opening our doors in 1940, Nemours researchers have focused on ways to reduce suffering and improve the lives of children, and helping advance life-changing medical care. As the Director fo the Histochemistry Tissue Processing Core at Nemours, Heather Hardy and her team in at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware make up a very specialized segment of that research within the Nemours enterprise. As with all research, there are many failures before new and life-changing discoveries are made. It’s just part of the job. SEGMENT 3: Janice Genke was working for a healthcare system in Memphis, Tennessee when she spotted an ad for an opening at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. The hospital little more than a dirt and foundation when she applied for the job as the hospital’s head of quality and safety. She hadn’t even told her husband that she snagged an interview, so when the offer came to join Nemours, she and her husband had a long Thanksgiving weekend to weigh the pros and cons of relocation for a new job.

Failure is an inevitable part of life - and something experienced by all three of the Nemours associates in this episode of “Champions for Children.” SEGMENT 1: Brandi Raulerson. is an admitting registration specialist at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Her role put her front and center as  part of a hospital-wide registration team that includes medical translators and other registration specialists across the five floors of the hospital, as well as all of the satellite locations in and around Orlando. -She and her fellow associates may find themselves working at any of these locations from day to day, depending on patient workflow. It a job that takes flexibility, dedication and true teamwork to avoid mistakes - and recover when you do make them. SEGMENT 2: Research is an important part of the work that happens at Nemours. Ever since opening our doors in 1940, Nemours researchers have focused on ways to reduce suffering and improve the lives of children, and helping advance life-changing medical care. As the Director fo the Histochemistry Tissue Processing Core at Nemours, Heather Hardy and her team in at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware make up a very specialized segment of that research within the Nemours enterprise. As with all research, there are many failures before new and life-changing discoveries are made. It’s just part of the job. SEGMENT 3: Janice Genke was working for a healthcare system in Memphis, Tennessee when she spotted an ad for an opening at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. The hospital little more than a dirt and foundation when she applied for the job as the hospital’s head of quality and safety. She hadn’t even told her husband that she snagged an interview, so when the offer came to join Nemours, she and her husband had a long Thanksgiving weekend to weigh the pros and cons of relocation for a new job.

Episode 11: Failing Up

There is something to be said about being open to taking risks - to being vulnerable. It’s a valuable lesson that each story in the podcast episode brings to light in different ways. SEGMENT 1: Nemour’s performance improvement manager Jessica Jordan has a theater background and a passion for community service. Her philosophy of continuous improvement can be summed up on one word: vulnerability - an idea carried forward into healthcare from her days doing improv. SEGMENT 2: In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a gene therapy for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy - a devastating and often deadly neuromuscular disease. In fact,  Nemours was part of the successful clinical trial that led to FDA approval for wider use of this $2 million dollar therapy. It didn’t take long for Nemours to be approached about the possibility of administering the drug to its first SMA patient outside of the clinical trial. But there were challenges: It’s a new treatment. The patient was from outside the U.S.,  and time was short. Not to be deterred,  Nemours pediatrics neurologist Dr. Richard Finkel, and Clinical Research Coordinator Julia Balashkina led a team from across the enterprise to help get a little girl the therapy she so desperately needed. SEGMENT 3: Pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Katari Carello is devoted to the kids she serves. Yet soon after arriving at Nemours with her physician-husband and their young child, she learned she was pregnant again - with twins. New job? Pregnant with twins? No problem, said her colleagues- just one of many ways she felt welcomed and supported as a member of the Nemours family.

There is something to be said about being open to taking risks - to being vulnerable. It’s a valuable lesson that each story in the podcast episode brings to light in different ways. SEGMENT 1: Nemour’s performance improvement manager Jessica Jordan has a theater background and a passion for community service. Her philosophy of continuous improvement can be summed up on one word: vulnerability - an idea carried forward into healthcare from her days doing improv. SEGMENT 2: In May 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a gene therapy for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy - a devastating and often deadly neuromuscular disease. In fact,  Nemours was part of the successful clinical trial that led to FDA approval for wider use of this $2 million dollar therapy. It didn’t take long for Nemours to be approached about the possibility of administering the drug to its first SMA patient outside of the clinical trial. But there were challenges: It’s a new treatment. The patient was from outside the U.S.,  and time was short. Not to be deterred,  Nemours pediatrics neurologist Dr. Richard Finkel, and Clinical Research Coordinator Julia Balashkina led a team from across the enterprise to help get a little girl the therapy she so desperately needed. SEGMENT 3: Pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Katari Carello is devoted to the kids she serves. Yet soon after arriving at Nemours with her physician-husband and their young child, she learned she was pregnant again - with twins. New job? Pregnant with twins? No problem, said her colleagues- just one of many ways she felt welcomed and supported as a member of the Nemours family.

Episode 9: The Art of Vulnerability

Nemours associates who have been with the enterprise for decades possess what is known as "institutional knowledge," that  that unique combination of experience, values, and information about crucial trends, projects, and perspectives that define the organization's history. Let's meet three of those long-standing employees, who share the unique gifts and talents that only longevity with a single institution can bring to bear.  SEGMENT 1: Respiratory Therapist Tim Cox has been with Nemours - in one capacity or another - for just about 30 years. He is currently the Clinical Director for Anesthesiology at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, but he began his career here over three decades ago as so many do: as the father of a patient.  SEGMENT 2: Another mainstay at the A.I. Dupont Hospital is Joan Hussey. About 12 years ago, she found herself at one of life’s crossroads. She’d been a stay-at-home parent for 20 years, and successfully raised three sons into three fine young men. So what path would Joan follow next? She thought long and hard about where she’d been - and where she wanted to be next. She has found a home at Nemours as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of General Surgery - a position she has found fulfilling in many, many ways, not the least of which are patients and patient families she encounters, as exemplified by one little girl.  SEGMENT 3: Ali Johnston is the patient reimbursement supervisor for the Nemours Enterprise. She grew up in the greater Jacksonville, Florida area, and has been involved with Nemours since she was a patient at the Nemours Children’s Speciality Care at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. This is where she went almost daily as a young teen to undergo treatment for a common heart condition known as super ventricular tachycardia.   Fast forward to today, and we see Ali - now a mom of a young son - had no hesitation on where to go when he needed a minor medical procedure - straight to Wolfson and Nemours. 

Nemours associates who have been with the enterprise for decades possess what is known as "institutional knowledge," that  that unique combination of experience, values, and information about crucial trends, projects, and perspectives that define the organization's history. Let's meet three of those long-standing employees, who share the unique gifts and talents that only longevity with a single institution can bring to bear.  SEGMENT 1: Respiratory Therapist Tim Cox has been with Nemours - in one capacity or another - for just about 30 years. He is currently the Clinical Director for Anesthesiology at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, but he began his career here over three decades ago as so many do: as the father of a patient.  SEGMENT 2: Another mainstay at the A.I. Dupont Hospital is Joan Hussey. About 12 years ago, she found herself at one of life’s crossroads. She’d been a stay-at-home parent for 20 years, and successfully raised three sons into three fine young men. So what path would Joan follow next? She thought long and hard about where she’d been - and where she wanted to be next. She has found a home at Nemours as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief of General Surgery - a position she has found fulfilling in many, many ways, not the least of which are patients and patient families she encounters, as exemplified by one little girl.  SEGMENT 3: Ali Johnston is the patient reimbursement supervisor for the Nemours Enterprise. She grew up in the greater Jacksonville, Florida area, and has been involved with Nemours since she was a patient at the Nemours Children’s Speciality Care at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. This is where she went almost daily as a young teen to undergo treatment for a common heart condition known as super ventricular tachycardia.   Fast forward to today, and we see Ali - now a mom of a young son - had no hesitation on where to go when he needed a minor medical procedure - straight to Wolfson and Nemours.

Episode 20: Longevity

So much goes into providing quality health care - and a quality health care experience. Passion, communication and holistic integration are just three of the many qualities that go a long way toward keeping Nemours patients - and their families - healthy and happy. Our guests today each exemplify these qualities.  SEGMENT 1:  Pediatrician Dr. Jonathan Miller manages the primary care practice at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He does so with a passion for his patients in mind - and carries in his heart one patient in particular as he performs his daily clinical work, and as the Medical Director for Medical Director for Value Based Care at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: We’ve heard it time and again - communication is key to success. It’s a philosophy that Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer for the Nemours Florida Division believes whole heartedly - with a recognition that listening is an indispensable piece of the communication puzzle. SEGMENT 3: According to the National Association on Mental Illness - NAMI - stigma is when someone views a person in a negative way just because they have a mental health condition. In the last decade or so, there has been a concerted effort across the country to reduce that stigma and to strive for more integration between the provision of mental health services alongside those for physical health. For psychologist Dr. Shana Boyle sees that as a win-win for the patients she works with in Jacksonville.

So much goes into providing quality health care - and a quality health care experience. Passion, communication and holistic integration are just three of the many qualities that go a long way toward keeping Nemours patients - and their families - healthy and happy. Our guests today each exemplify these qualities.  SEGMENT 1:  Pediatrician Dr. Jonathan Miller manages the primary care practice at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. He does so with a passion for his patients in mind - and carries in his heart one patient in particular as he performs his daily clinical work, and as the Medical Director for Medical Director for Value Based Care at Nemours. SEGMENT 2: We’ve heard it time and again - communication is key to success. It’s a philosophy that Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer for the Nemours Florida Division believes whole heartedly - with a recognition that listening is an indispensable piece of the communication puzzle. SEGMENT 3: According to the National Association on Mental Illness - NAMI - stigma is when someone views a person in a negative way just because they have a mental health condition. In the last decade or so, there has been a concerted effort across the country to reduce that stigma and to strive for more integration between the provision of mental health services alongside those for physical health. For psychologist Dr. Shana Boyle sees that as a win-win for the patients she works with in Jacksonville.

Episode 21: Passion, Communication and Integration

Thanksgiving is upon us - and there is much for which to be grateful, as we’ll hear from associates from across Nemours in the segment of the podcast, as well as in-depth associates stories from Jacksonville, Orlando  and Longwood, Florida. SEGMENT 1: Rachael Linsley is a Patient Services Specialist group lead and preceptor in Jacksonville - and her speaking voice is a familiar one to those who call to schedule an appointment for the Jacksonville clinic. It’s a job that requires grace under pressure - and it turns out she’s another of many talented singers among the Nemours family of associates.   SEGMENT 2: About two hours southwest of Jacksonville is the small town of Longwood, Florida, population about 14,000. Nemours serves the kids of Longwood with primary care services, and Ruth Rivera is one of the first Nemours associate kids and families see as a patient services specialist and team lead. From a very young age, she knew she wanted to be a health care professional. Little did she know that she would sit on both sides of the health care table: as professional and patient family member. In fact, it was in caring for her youngest daughter that she experienced the full range of what Nemours could offer. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Melissa Segura works as  a financial advocate supervisor. Her colleague, David Galindo, is a Hospital Registration Manager. Together, they talk about what it takes to create a high-performing and highly engaged team.

Thanksgiving is upon us - and there is much for which to be grateful, as we’ll hear from associates from across Nemours in the segment of the podcast, as well as in-depth associates stories from Jacksonville, Orlando  and Longwood, Florida. SEGMENT 1: Rachael Linsley is a Patient Services Specialist group lead and preceptor in Jacksonville - and her speaking voice is a familiar one to those who call to schedule an appointment for the Jacksonville clinic. It’s a job that requires grace under pressure - and it turns out she’s another of many talented singers among the Nemours family of associates. SEGMENT 2: About two hours southwest of Jacksonville is the small town of Longwood, Florida, population about 14,000. Nemours serves the kids of Longwood with primary care services, and Ruth Rivera is one of the first Nemours associate kids and families see as a patient services specialist and team lead. From a very young age, she knew she wanted to be a health care professional. Little did she know that she would sit on both sides of the health care table: as professional and patient family member. In fact, it was in caring for her youngest daughter that she experienced the full range of what Nemours could offer. SEGMENT 3: At the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Melissa Segura works as  a financial advocate supervisor. Her colleague, David Galindo, is a Hospital Registration Manager. Together, they talk about what it takes to create a high-performing and highly engaged team.

Episode 10: Giving Thanks

Stories from the associates of the Nemours Children's Health System, including a team of over 100 who helped one family's deepest desire become a reality; a colleague who found a home at Nemours simply be responding to a job posting; and a Jacksonville-based team that works to resolve payor disputes while always remembering there are real people - real children - behind those bills!  SEGMENT 1: Dr. Jay Deshpande is an anesthesiologist by training, and serves as the Chief For Quality and Safety for the Nemours Florida operation. Yet he remains focused on the patients and families he serves, as demonstrated by the story of one little girl and the Nemours team of over 100 associates that he led to help her family’s deepest wish come true. SEGMENT 2: For Shawnya Calp, discovering Nemours was like love first sight. She had no healthcare background when she responded to a job posting for an applications analyst based in Wilmington, Delaware. But as she researched the organization and met people during the interview process, she knew she had found herself a professional home - and just in the nick of time. SEGMENT 3: We visit the Nemours Central Business Office (CBO) to meet Shannon Harpe. Shannon works on the payer dispute team. It’s a role she’s had for 16 “long and happy” years. In many ways it’s a patient advocate role that she and her team treat with a personal touch. 

Stories from the associates of the Nemours Children's Health System, including a team of over 100 who helped one family's deepest desire become a reality; a colleague who found a home at Nemours simply be responding to a job posting; and a Jacksonville-based team that works to resolve payor disputes while always remembering there are real people - real children - behind those bills!  SEGMENT 1: Dr. Jay Deshpande is an anesthesiologist by training, and serves as the Chief For Quality and Safety for the Nemours Florida operation. Yet he remains focused on the patients and families he serves, as demonstrated by the story of one little girl and the Nemours team of over 100 associates that he led to help her family’s deepest wish come true. SEGMENT 2: For Shawnya Calp, discovering Nemours was like love first sight. She had no healthcare background when she responded to a job posting for an applications analyst based in Wilmington, Delaware. But as she researched the organization and met people during the interview process, she knew she had found herself a professional home - and just in the nick of time. SEGMENT 3: We visit the Nemours Central Business Office (CBO) to meet Shannon Harpe. Shannon works on the payer dispute team. It’s a role she’s had for 16 “long and happy” years. In many ways it’s a patient advocate role that she and her team treat with a personal touch.

Episode 17: Touching Hearts, Fulfilling Wishes

Across the Nemours enterprise each day, associates work diligently to keep stress and anxiety at a minimum for parents and kids. The Nemours associates featured in "Merriment and Mirth" have different methods they employ to keep stress and anxiety at bay: for one, it's working with insurance companies so parents don't have to; for another, it making a concerted effort to learn a little something about each child that crosses her path; for a third, it's simply by being a self-described "big kid."  SEGMENT 1: Who’s the the embodiment of merriment and mirth at the Nemours Jacksonville South Clinic?  ’Tis the season to think the answer is Santa Claus, but in this case registration specialist Robert Rosenbaum. He’s a 16-year associate with a background in adult orthopedics who found a home at Nemours because, he believes, he is just a big kid!  SEGMENT 2: In her role as an inpatient hospital reimbursement analyst, Eladia Reyes works to help patient families get the insurance coverage their plans offer for the services their children receive at Nemours. Essentially, she wrestles for reimbursement for services so parents can focus their efforts on their child's health needs. While parents may not be aware that Eladia is working hard on their behalf, she knows exactly what parents and their kids are experiencing - she see it in black and white - and understands the importance of her success, not only for the enterprise, but for that child, his/her family, and all the children to follow.  SEGMENT 3: Patient Service Representative Erin McClintock is the first point of contact for hundreds of kids and their families each month at the Deptford, New Jersey Outpatient Clinic. Large numbers? Yes! Yet Erin makes it a point to remember little details about each patient that helps personalize their Nemours experience: their favorite school subjects, the sports they play, or the music they like. It's that kind of individual attention to detail that won Erin accolades from a grateful patient family who were impressed with her positive impact on the life of their daughter. 

Across the Nemours enterprise each day, associates work diligently to keep stress and anxiety at a minimum for parents and kids. The Nemours associates featured in "Merriment and Mirth" have different methods they employ to keep stress and anxiety at bay: for one, it's working with insurance companies so parents don't have to; for another, it making a concerted effort to learn a little something about each child that crosses her path; for a third, it's simply by being a self-described "big kid."  SEGMENT 1: Who’s the the embodiment of merriment and mirth at the Nemours Jacksonville South Clinic?  ’Tis the season to think the answer is Santa Claus, but in this case registration specialist Robert Rosenbaum. He’s a 16-year associate with a background in adult orthopedics who found a home at Nemours because, he believes, he is just a big kid! SEGMENT 2: In her role as an inpatient hospital reimbursement analyst, Eladia Reyes works to help patient families get the insurance coverage their plans offer for the services their children receive at Nemours. Essentially, she wrestles for reimbursement for services so parents can focus their efforts on their child's health needs. While parents may not be aware that Eladia is working hard on their behalf, she knows exactly what parents and their kids are experiencing - she see it in black and white - and understands the importance of her success, not only for the enterprise, but for that child, his/her family, and all the children to follow.  SEGMENT 3: Patient Service Representative Erin McClintock is the first point of contact for hundreds of kids and their families each month at the Deptford, New Jersey Outpatient Clinic. Large numbers? Yes! Yet Erin makes it a point to remember little details about each patient that helps personalize their Nemours experience: their favorite school subjects, the sports they play, or the music they like. It's that kind of individual attention to detail that won Erin accolades from a grateful patient family who were impressed with her positive impact on the life of their daughter.

Episode 14: Merriment and Mirth

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato  Music has a profound and positive effect on humans. We explore the magical powers of music with a song from a Nemours associate, and the story of a little girl's first dance upon hearing music for the very first time SEGMENT 1: Joelle Dellorbe-Just, administrative coordinator for volunteer services at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando  not only creates beautiful music (she'll sing us into the New Year), she also understands the powerful positive impact it has on others, including a Nemours patient named Aniyah.  SEGMENT 2: At the A.I. Dupont Hospital of Children in Wilmington, Kathy Vicario is a familiar face. She serves as faculty liaison for the Department of Surgery. She’s been with Nemours for 33.5 years and has seen her share of change: all for the good. For Kathy, the connection with Nemours goes beyond the professional: she has three personal reasons to be thankful that Nemours has such a strong presence in the Delaware Valley: her triplet daughters.

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato Music has a profound and positive effect on humans. We explore the magical powers of music with a song from a Nemours associate, and the story of a little girl's first dance upon hearing music for the very first time SEGMENT 1: Joelle Dellorbe-Just, administrative coordinator for volunteer services at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando  not only creates beautiful music (she'll sing us into the New Year), she also understands the powerful positive impact it has on others, including a Nemours patient named Aniyah.  SEGMENT 2: At the A.I. Dupont Hospital of Children in Wilmington, Kathy Vicario is a familiar face. She serves as faculty liaison for the Department of Surgery. She’s been with Nemours for 33.5 years and has seen her share of change: all for the good. For Kathy, the connection with Nemours goes beyond the professional: she has three personal reasons to be thankful that Nemours has such a strong presence in the Delaware Valley: her triplet daughters.

Episode 15: Music's Magic

Across the Nemours enterprise, associates seize myriad opportunities to forge career paths that are in alignment with the value of helping others. Whether it's the doctor who finds satisfaction in alleviating pain in children, a patient care representative who has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to face cancer  First, let’s meet Jessica Lopez. For more than 3 years she’s been a patient service representative in the ambulatory care center at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Jessica had her sights set on working for Nemours long before that, though - for reasons that are strong and personal.    Carlos was joined in the interview space by his fellow in-patients hospital registration supervisor Christian Burgos. Together, they supervise 16 registrars, who work around the clock to gather a patient’s insurance and demographic details. With a team that large, there is one factor the counts above most others. Here’s Chris:   Finally, let’s talk about managing, minimizing and alleviating pain in kids. That’s the daunting job faced each and every day by pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Galaxy Li. For Dr. Li, it’s a great calling to help relieve the pain experienced by his patients.   Carlos Perez and Christian Burgos are the in-patient registration supervisors at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.   Dr. Galaxy Li is a pediatric anesthesiologist based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Across the Nemours enterprise, associates seize myriad opportunities to forge career paths that are in alignment with the value of helping others. Whether it's the doctor who finds satisfaction in alleviating pain in children, a patient care representative who has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to face cancer  First, let’s meet Jessica Lopez. For more than 3 years she’s been a patient service representative in the ambulatory care center at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Jessica had her sights set on working for Nemours long before that, though - for reasons that are strong and personal.  Carlos was joined in the interview space by his fellow in-patients hospital registration supervisor Christian Burgos. Together, they supervise 16 registrars, who work around the clock to gather a patient’s insurance and demographic details. With a team that large, there is one factor the counts above most others. Here’s Chris: Finally, let’s talk about managing, minimizing and alleviating pain in kids. That’s the daunting job faced each and every day by pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Galaxy Li. For Dr. Li, it’s a great calling to help relieve the pain experienced by his patients. Carlos Perez and Christian Burgos are the in-patient registration supervisors at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Dr. Galaxy Li is a pediatric anesthesiologist based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Episode 16: Taking Pain Away

Teamwork is essential in healthcare. No single person can be an expert in every aspect of the field. Today’s episode demonstrates the importance of teams working together for consistency and balance in the unpredictable world of emergency medicine, the need for empathy across teams working directly with patients and families, and about developing the talents and skills of Nemours associates so they can better serve the teams with whom they work and, ultimately the patients whom we serve. SEGMENT 1: Some people like routine - the idea of knowing that their work day has a particular - and predictable - ebb and flow. Dr. Shiva Kalidindi is not one of those people. He’s a pediatric emergency physician at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, and has been with the hospital since it opened in 2012. Despite unpredictable, 24/7 work life, Dr. Kalidindi enjoys many aspects of his work - first and foremost, his team, which provides consistency and balance to the work at hand. SEGMENT 2: When your teenaged daughter is facing major emergency surgery, your mind would likely become hyper focused on saving her life. You want and expect the best care possible from the moment you walk in the door, until you and your child leave after surgery and followup, her her health restored. Nemours registration specialist Samala Huff understands that exact situation - because she’s lived it - and she carries it with her with each patient and family she encounters at the Jacksonville clinic. SEGMENT 3: Keisha Morris is all about on-the-job performance - and not just her own. As a Nemours talent development specialist at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, she’s all about helping other Nemours associates to develop their skills and talents for the benefit of the patients we serve. Here’s how she does it.

Teamwork is essential in healthcare. No single person can be an expert in every aspect of the field. Today’s episode demonstrates the importance of teams working together for consistency and balance in the unpredictable world of emergency medicine, the need for empathy across teams working directly with patients and families, and about developing the talents and skills of Nemours associates so they can better serve the teams with whom they work and, ultimately the patients whom we serve. SEGMENT 1: Some people like routine - the idea of knowing that their work day has a particular - and predictable - ebb and flow. Dr. Shiva Kalidindi is not one of those people. He’s a pediatric emergency physician at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, and has been with the hospital since it opened in 2012. Despite unpredictable, 24/7 work life, Dr. Kalidindi enjoys many aspects of his work - first and foremost, his team, which provides consistency and balance to the work at hand. SEGMENT 2: When your teenaged daughter is facing major emergency surgery, your mind would likely become hyper focused on saving her life. You want and expect the best care possible from the moment you walk in the door, until you and your child leave after surgery and followup, her her health restored. Nemours registration specialist Samala Huff understands that exact situation - because she’s lived it - and she carries it with her with each patient and family she encounters at the Jacksonville clinic. SEGMENT 3: Keisha Morris is all about on-the-job performance - and not just her own. As a Nemours talent development specialist at the AI Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, she’s all about helping other Nemours associates to develop their skills and talents for the benefit of the patients we serve. Here’s how she does it.

Episode 13: There is no "I" in Team

Healthcare today is a heavily data-driven field. It seems as though there is a a metric for just about everything we do as we go about our work.  Then there are the "human elements," those small yet incredibly powerful moments between people without which the healthcare experience would be incomplete.  This episode brings together three stories of the incredible immeasurable intangible acts that exemplify the important of the human element in healthcare.  SEGENT 1: Meena Davis is an administrative coordinator in the Department of Nursing and Leadership at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Her desire to work at Nemours is driven by her love of helping others. Yet when Meena stopped in for her podcast interview, she was nervous. For moral support, she brought with her a friend and colleague for moral support: Jessica Jordan. It turns out, Jessica has provided moral support for Meena before, and the two spoke openly about the importance of having a trusted colleague upon who one can rely for a listening ear.      SEGMENT 2: Nurse Leonine Nicoleau is part of a remarkable team that provides in-patient rehab services team at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. According to Leonine, this team works hard to leverage their differences in order to best suit the needs of every patient at any given time, every single day - even if it is as simple as a group patient lunch, or a room full of donated board games! SEGMENT 3: Jessica Jordan from the Nemours Continuous Improvement Team returns to tell the story of an immeasurable yet vitality important connection between a patient, a paper graduation cap, and the associates who stood ready to bid celebrate the success of one young person - and bid that patient farewell after a long hospital stay. 

Healthcare today is a heavily data-driven field. It seems as though there is a a metric for just about everything we do as we go about our work.  Then there are the "human elements," those small yet incredibly powerful moments between people without which the healthcare experience would be incomplete.  This episode brings together three stories of the incredible immeasurable intangible acts that exemplify the important of the human element in healthcare.  SEGENT 1: Meena Davis is an administrative coordinator in the Department of Nursing and Leadership at the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington. Her desire to work at Nemours is driven by her love of helping others. Yet when Meena stopped in for her podcast interview, she was nervous. For moral support, she brought with her a friend and colleague for moral support: Jessica Jordan. It turns out, Jessica has provided moral support for Meena before, and the two spoke openly about the importance of having a trusted colleague upon who one can rely for a listening ear.  SEGMENT 2: Nurse Leonine Nicoleau is part of a remarkable team that provides in-patient rehab services team at the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. According to Leonine, this team works hard to leverage their differences in order to best suit the needs of every patient at any given time, every single day - even if it is as simple as a group patient lunch, or a room full of donated board games! SEGMENT 3: Jessica Jordan from the Nemours Continuous Improvement Team returns to tell the story of an immeasurable yet vitality important connection between a patient, a paper graduation cap, and the associates who stood ready to bid celebrate the success of one young person - and bid that patient farewell after a long hospital stay.

Episode 19: The Incredible Intangibles of Healthcare

It takes a village to care for an ill or injured child. Everyone within the community of Nemours associates plays an important role in helping kids experience and grow in a safe and healthy manner. That care extends beyond the walls of Nemours building and beyond the time spent “on the job,” as demonstrated by the associates featured in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast. SEGMENT 1: More often than not, the staff of the Nemours Emergency Departments have front row seats to the worst days of people’s lives - days when kids come in ill or injured, and lives are changed. Opportunities to put goodness, kindness and selflessness back into the world after performing such difficult work helps bolster morale and build closeness between team members. That’s the case for these staff members from the Nemours Children’s Hospital Emergency Department in Orlando. During their non-working hours, they volunteer their time to help kids at the Children’s Home of Central Florida. It’s become a focal point for building bridges with the community, and creating deep bonds between team members. These bonds they’ve built have helped them celebrate one another during good times, and bolster and console one another when faced with difficult moments - even times of deep personal loss.      SEGMENT 2: An important aspect of treatment at Nemours is the whole child approach, which ensures that each patient is viewed  as a unique human being whose overall physical and mental wellness is paramount. From the Nemours Deptford, New Jersey outpatient locations come two stories of patients whose routine appointments led to needed treatment for unrelated issues affecting their overall  health and well-being. SEGMENT 3: On the front lines, there are the clinicians and staff, working directly with the patient to assess their needs, create and execute care plans. For all involved - especially parents, caregivers and the kids - it’s stressful and scary. Behind the scenes, there are Nemours associates like Keona Pittman from the Jacksonville home office, whose sole job it is to remove as much stress from the process as possible.

It takes a village to care for an ill or injured child. Everyone within the community of Nemours associates plays an important role in helping kids experience and grow in a safe and healthy manner. That care extends beyond the walls of Nemours building and beyond the time spent “on the job,” as demonstrated by the associates featured in this episode of the Nemours Champions for Children podcast. SEGMENT 1: More often than not, the staff of the Nemours Emergency Departments have front row seats to the worst days of people’s lives - days when kids come in ill or injured, and lives are changed. Opportunities to put goodness, kindness and selflessness back into the world after performing such difficult work helps bolster morale and build closeness between team members. That’s the case for these staff members from the Nemours Children’s Hospital Emergency Department in Orlando. During their non-working hours, they volunteer their time to help kids at the Children’s Home of Central Florida. It’s become a focal point for building bridges with the community, and creating deep bonds between team members. These bonds they’ve built have helped them celebrate one another during good times, and bolster and console one another when faced with difficult moments - even times of deep personal loss.      SEGMENT 2: An important aspect of treatment at Nemours is the whole child approach, which ensures that each patient is viewed  as a unique human being whose overall physical and mental wellness is paramount. From the Nemours Deptford, New Jersey outpatient locations come two stories of patients whose routine appointments led to needed treatment for unrelated issues affecting their overall  health and well-being. SEGMENT 3: On the front lines, there are the clinicians and staff, working directly with the patient to assess their needs, create and execute care plans. For all involved - especially parents, caregivers and the kids - it’s stressful and scary. Behind the scenes, there are Nemours associates like Keona Pittman from the Jacksonville home office, whose sole job it is to remove as much stress from the process as possible.

Episode 5: It Takes a Village

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