Worldwide, over 300 million people suffer from asthma, and many of these are children. Sadly, their numbers are increasing. The consequences of pediatric asthma are significant. These include recurrent hospitalizations, poor quality of life and even death. Proven therapies for managing pediatric asthma exist. Yet, recent reports suggest that these therapies are not widely used. Why is this? How is pediatric asthma different from the chronic inflammatory airway disease seen in adults? What should a parent know about their child’s asthma therapy? In this edition of “Children’s on Quality,” I pose these and other questions to Shahid Sheikh, MD, pediatric pulmonologist and asthma expert at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

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The health care community has known about the problem of obesity in children for some time. Now, parents are getting the message. The National Poll on Children’s Health conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan lists obesity as the number one health concern of parents in 2009. Overall, 42% of parents rank obesity in children as a “big problem.” For the first time, Hispanic (46%) and African American (55%) parents have joined with Caucasian (39%) parents in identifying obesity as their top concern. Please join me as I talk with Judy Groner, MD, a member of the Section of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Robert Murray, MD, director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, regarding the epidemic of childhood obesity.

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Recent reports confirm that skin and other infections with bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA are on the rise. In this podcast, I interview two leaders at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who see this problem first hand each and every day. Dennis Cunningham, MD is a pediatric infectious disease specialist and the medical director for epidemiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Daniel Cohen, MD is a clinical associate professor and an emergency medicine specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. These MRSA experts offer insites into how to recognize and manage MRSA infections in children and families. They also provide an update regarding the quality improvement efforts to reduce MRSA infections both in and out of the hospital.

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Did you know that to some extent, the quality and preparation of food in hospitals could have a therapeutic value? In this podcast I speak with Kathy Grover, Director of Nutrition Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Chef Matthew Shank, Production Catering Manager at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Chuck Adams, Sr. Business Process Improvement Consultant at Nationwide Children’s Hospital about the food service quality initiative called Kaleidoscope. Listen to the podcast to learn more about the Kaleidoscope program:

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Welcome to Children’s on Quality! My name is Dr. Rick McClead, Medical Director of Quality Improvement Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. I’ll be posting podcasts and posts that take an in-depth look at the quality issues affecting pediatric health care across the country by speaking one-on-one with those on the front lines of patient care, as well as those behind-the-scenes who contribute to overall quality and safety.

Be sure to subscribe to “Children’s on Quality” via the orange RSS button on this page to stay abreast of the latest in quality. I invite you to listen and join the conversation by posting your comments, feedback, questions and opinions on the issues discussed.