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Body Piercing by Teens on the Rise, Health Risks Ignored
Body piercing, once considered a fringe activity that was associated with risk-taking behavior, is now on the rise among teenagers and considered mainstream, according to researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. However, many teens who are getting piercings don’t contemplate the health risks, which can include infection, bleeding or permanent scarring, especially if the piercing isn’t done by a professional.
In a study of 225 patients treated at Children’s Hospital’s Adolescent Medicine clinic, nearly half (48 percent) reported having a body piercing and almost all (93 percent) considered body piercing to be accepted by the general public. The most common sites for body piercings were ears (74 percent), nose (34 percent), tongue (30 percent), navel (27 percent) and eyebrow (15 percent). Fewer than 7 percent had pierced genitalia, lips or nipples. Patients in the study ranged in age from 12–21.
Results of the study were published in the April 2005 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, the official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
Bilingual Clinic Serves Pittsburgh’s “Invisible” Hispanic Population
A bilingual primary care clinic at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and a new mobile clinic for Hispanic and Latino families are improving their access to essential pediatric health care services through Spanish-speaking physicians and nurses.
The Pittsburgh region’s Hispanic population grew by 44 percent between the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses, and approximately one-third of the region’s Hispanics are children under age 18, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Many of these families have difficulty accessing health care because of cultural and language barriers or lack of insurance, according to Diego Chaves-Gnecco, MD, MPH, a pediatric resident at Children’s.
Dr. Chaves-Gnecco, a native of Colombia, founded Children’s bilingual clinic for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking patients in the summer of 2002. As of 2005, it has grown to more than 100 patients. In late 2004, he also organized a mobile clinic that provides primary care to Hispanic and Latino children on Pittsburgh’s South Side. This program, offered by the Children’s Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, is known by its Spanish name, Salud Para Niños (Health for Children).
Watchful Waiting vs. Antibiotics for the Treatment of Ear Infections
At Children’s, a team of researchers led by Alejandro Hoberman, MD, is beginning a National Institutes of Health-funded study of about 300 children to further test the watchful waiting vs. antibiotics treatment strategies for ear infections, the most common childhood illness.
Dr. Hoberman also is leading national efforts to help physicians more accurately diagnose the severity of the ear infections so the most appropriate course of action can be taken. Doctors can tell if an ear is infected by looking into the ear canal for redness or inflammation. But that observation isn’t always accurate, and in many cases antibiotics are unnecessarily prescribed, according to Dr. Hoberman.
Generous Donation from Senator Jane Orie Will Help Provide Camps for
Severely Ill Children
Senator Jane Clare Orie presented Children’s Hospital with a $150,000 donation for heart, cancer, transplant and sickle cell camps for ill patients. The money is to be used to help offset camp costs for families of patients who suffer from diseases like cancer and sickle cell. Children’s offers camps to help foster growth and development. The camps are all non-medical settings, where children are able to experience a normal camping adventure, share their experiences with other children and develop independence.
Camp allows kids who have been through challenging medical and emotional experiences to come together with other children who have similar conditions in a fun setting. Providing camps to young patients helps them to develop a sense of identity and acceptance, all-the-while having a great time in a relaxed setting.
One Shine at a Time, Shoeshiner Albert Lexie Donates Tips and Raises $100,000 for Free Care Fund at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Shoeshiner Albert Lexie has achieved a remarkable milestone, raising more than $100,000 for the Free Care Fund at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh by donating tips from his business over the last two dozen years.
Children’s held a ceremony Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006, to recognize Lexie’s commitment to the patients of Children’s. Physicians, nurses and other staff from the hospital, as well as friends from throughout western Pennsylvania, were on hand for the celebration.
Following comments by Roger A. Oxendale, president and CEO of Children’s, and Steven G. Docimo, MD, chief of Pediatric Urology – both regular customers of Lexie’s – the shoeshiner was given a plaque commemorating his achievement. A second plaque will be placed in the hospital.
Lexie, a 63-year-old Monessen, Pa., resident, has been shining shoes at Children’s since 1982 and accepting tips from customers on behalf of “his kids,” as Lexie refers to the patients at Children’s. Charging $3 per shine, Lexie donates all tips to Children’s Free Care Fund, which ensures that all children receive medical care, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
At age 15, Lexie built a shoeshine box in high school shop class. He now uses that same box to shine shoes at Children’s every Tuesday and Thursday. On those days he makes the trip by bus from his hometown to Oakland, leaving home at 5:50 a.m. and arriving at the hospital at 7:25 a.m. In addition to shining shoes at Children’s, Lexie travels to Salomon Smith Barney in Pittsburgh and the business districts of Charleroi, Donora, Monessen and Monongahela to offer his services.
Iraqi Patient Undergoes First of a Series of Facial Reconstruction Surgeries at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
On March 21, 2006, Abdul Hakeem Hussein, a 7 year-old boy from Iraqi wounded in a bombing in Fallujah, underwent the first of several planned surgeries at Children's to repair his heavily scarred face, lip and left eye. Abdul Hakeem lost his left eye in the bombing and currently has a silicon implant in its place.
An international group called No More Victims arranged for Abdul Hakeem and his father, Ishmael, to come to Pittsburgh for the surgeries at Children's. The first surgery, lasting approximately five hours, was performed by Drs. Frederic Deleyiannis and Tonya Stefko. Following 4-6 weeks of recovery, Dr. Deleyiannis will place tissue expanders in the left side of Abdul Hakeem's face in order to obtain skin for a graft to repair the scar. He also will continue to repair his lip, which is being pulled by scar tissue. Dr. Stefko subsequently will repair Abdul Hakeem's left eyelid. He also will receive a prosthetic for his left eye.
Music Therapist Strikes a Chord at Children's Hospital
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spent a day recently with Children's Hospital's music therapist, Debbie Benkovitz. A reporter and photographer followed her as she visited patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Intermediate Intensive Care Unit, 9 South, 9 North, 8 South, 8 North and 7 North. From classical music on the keyboard to silly children's songs on the guitar, Debbie plays for patients and invites them to play instruments as well. One patient who was undergoing occupational therapy at the time enjoyed strumming Debbie's guitar.
Debbie is one of the featured speakers this week at the American Music Therapy Association's Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, being held March 23-25, 2006, at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown. The conference attracted more than 500 music therapists from the East Coast. Debbie is making two presentations, one titled "A Toolkit of Pediatric Music Therapy Interventions." The second is a presentation on how to start a hospital-based music therapy program.
Debbie, a certified music therapist and licensed social worker, has been Children's music therapist for nearly three years.
View the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette audio slideshow.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Heart Camp Helps Children with Heart Disease Build Confidence and Friendships
The Dr. Bill Neches Heart Camp for Kids offers children with heart disease the chance to trade doctor’s appointments for pool time. The annual camp, co-sponsored by Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the American Heart Association (AHA), gives kids a test-free, pain-free vacation and the opportunity to interact with nurses and doctors in a non-medical setting. This year, Heart Camp was held from June 13 – 17, and was featured in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Heart disease affects approximately 1 percent of all children born in the U.S., yet very few who have heart disease are aware of others with similar problems. As a result, many children with heart conditions often feel isolated. Heart Camp helps children and adolescents with heart disease feel less isolated by introducing them to other children like themselves.
Heart Camp is a program of the Heart Center at Children’s. The Heart Center cares for infants, children and young adults with all types of heart disease and for adults with congenital heart disease including many who have undergone heart transplants. Susan Miller, MD, and Linda Russo, MD, both Children’s cardiologists, serve as Heart Camp Medical Director and Assistant Medical Director, respectively. Keith McIntire, an adult Children’s cardiology patient, serves as volunteer director.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Deploys “Hard Head Patrol” To Educate and Reward Kids Wearing Bicycle Helmets This Summer
Children’s has launched its “Hard Head Patrol” – a summer initiative aimed at increasing the number of children wearing helmets while riding anything with wheels, including a bicycle, scooter or skateboard.
Children’s representatives wearing bright red buttons that read “Hard Head Patrol” will fan out across southwestern Pennsylvania between May and August in search of children on bicycles, scooters and skateboards. Children wearing helmets will receive a coupon for a free meal at Wendy’s. Children who aren’t wearing a helmet will receive a certificate to be fitted for a free helmet at a Children’s neighborhood location on select days during the summer. Children’s representatives have volunteered to identify kids in their own neighborhoods throughout the summer.
The program is sponsored by Kohl’s as part of the ongoing Kohl’s Cares for Kids® program, which supports children’s health and educational opportunities.
Each summer, thousands of children pass through Children’s Emergency Department with injuries sustained riding bicycles, scooters, skateboards and roller skates. In 2005, 139 children suffered serious bicycle-related injuries requiring admission to the hospital. Even more troubling is that fewer Children’s patients admitted with bicycle-related injuries are wearing helmets. Helmet use by Children’s patients decreased from 26 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2005.
Stuttering
Since up to 90 percent of kids between the ages of 2 and 5 go through some form of stuttering – a story about stuttering would be appealing for many parents. This piece focused on early identification of problems with stuttering and how early detection helps experts eliminate the problem in children. Current research indicates that many different factors, including genetic inheritance, the child’s temperament, and the reactions of the child’s environment all play a role in the development of stuttering. Parents play a significant role in a child’s treatment.
