- Elizabeth Meade
1. As a pediatric hospitalist, you have a passion for quality improvement and patient safety work. Tell us more about some of the projects you are most proud of and how you maintain the changes you’ve made.
In 2019 I became the Medical Director for Pediatric Quality & Safety at my hospital, and it is an enormous honor to serve in that role. We have a large pediatric presence including most pediatric subspecialties, a pediatric unit, and a PICU - but in an otherwise adult-focused community hospital. We also serve an enormous number of newborns and NICU patients in our system, so partnering with our OB and Family Medicine colleagues has been key to success in optimizing quality of care and patient safety for babies, kids, and teens. Some of our projects over the last few years have included: implementation of the Kaiser Neonatal Sepsis Calculator, which decreased our antibiotic use in well newborns >37 weeks by more than 70%; creation of a pediatric appendicitis pathway to help our non-pediatric ED colleagues risk-stratify possible appendicitis patients and limit use of CT scans in pediatric patients; and as of 2021, adoption of the Eat, Sleep, Console methodology in caring for our sizable population of newborns with NOWS. Pediatric QI work in non-children's hospital settings comes with its own set of challenges, but soliciting multidisciplinary collaboration and focusing on the "why" in terms of patient safety has been critical in ensuring that we are able to maintain change and continue forward movement.
2. As the Washington Chapter AAP President, what are your roles and responsibilities? How did you get involved?
I have a very different answer for this one than I would have 18 months ago when I became President! Over the last year, COVID has turned all of our workplaces and professional roles (not to mention our personal lives) on end. My WCAAP Presidency has been no different. When I accepted the role, I could not have dreamed that I would be leading a medical organization through a global pandemic, a raw and overdue national reckoning with racism, or the fallout and ongoing trauma from either. But it has truly been one of the greatest honors of my career so far. I first became involved with WCAAP after graduating residency and moving back to Seattle - over the last 10 years I have served as Early Career Representative, Board Trustee, Vice President, and now President. Involvement with the AAP both nationally and at the Chapter level has been the single biggest thing contributing to my professional development and resiliency - the community, mentorship, learning, and connection have truly been lifelines for me over the last decade.
3. You posted on twitter, “...What are practices we can start because of #COVID19 but carry with us into the rest of our lives?” Being in Seattle, you have been on the front-line with the COVID-19 pandemic, do you have any ideas for what we can take away from this experience and “carry with us” as we move forward?
Life has changed so much in the last year... much of it has been enormously difficult, and still is. But for me and for our family, there have been a few silver linings. We have been able to refocus on the important things - time with those we love (even if most of it was over Zoom this year!), things we always wanted to do but never felt like we had time for like gardening and art projects and learning new skills, and concentrated time together at home like we have never had before and probably never will again. Yes, I will be really glad to go back to having in-person school or childcare (it's been 13 months, but who's counting!) and traveling and having conferences and meetings together, but I hope that I carry with me the recognition that my family and friends and community are the most precious resource in my life and should always be my biggest priority. I hope we all carry forward the appreciation we have now for things taken for granted in the Before Times - hugs, family gatherings, human touch with our patients. And one enormous silver lining is the way we have FINALLY figured out how to meet virtually, and that some meetings can truly just be emails, and that it's OK if you have to miss a meeting because you're dealing with your real life. I hope that doesn't go away. I also want to recognize that I am incredibly privileged in even having an answer to this question. I have not lost a family member or close friend to COVID, my husband and I still have our jobs and relative financial security, and I am not part of a community (other than healthcare workers) disproportionately impacted by COVID; I know that for so many people it does not feel like there is anything to be gained from the last year.
4. You’ve done hundreds of television appearances as well as print and radio interviews—what advice do you have for any hospitalists that want to get involved with the media? Or if they are asked to give an interview on TV?
My advice is DO IT! Having more evidence-based, truthful, expert voices in the media is so needed and hospitalists are often uniquely perfect for this work. We are used to thinking on our feet, we see the downstream effects of bad policies that negatively impact the health of kids and families, and we are frequently available at odd hours or at the last minute for media interviews. Honestly, I have multiple lectures that I give on media training for physicians, but the bottom line is this: stick to the facts, stay on message and stay positive, and trust that you are an expert because of the work that you do. Know that you can always ask for as much prep as you need (like asking for the questions ahead of time, or giving suggestions for topics to avoid), especially if you are new to media work, and remember what we tell our trainees - if you don't know something, it's OK to say that and tell the person you'll get back to them with the information!
5. Beyond medicine, you have served several local community organizations including Mary’s Place and Inspire Youth Project. Can you tell us more about these?
Mary's Place is an incredible Seattle organization that offers housing and services to women and children on their journey out of homelessness. They provide so much more than shelter - things like child care, housing assistance, career development resources, mobile outreach, and family activities. They also have a wonderful program for children with medical complexity and provide shelter, care, and support to families who have children undergoing treatment for illness. Inspire Youth Project sadly has transitioned out of providing direct services, but IYP served Seattle for many years - specifically children affected by HIV/AIDS (most often children with a parent living with HIV or AIDS). I was really fortunate to be involved with IYP as a mentor for several years and they made an enormous difference in the lives of the families they cared for.
6. You have your own website (https://elizabethmeademd.wordpress.com/)—please tell us more about it, when you started it, and what you post about.
I started the website years ago as a place to post blogs and allow for more long-form discussion, because at that point my only real social media presence was on Twitter - where it's hard to do any sort of deep-dive discussion of topics! But I have to say that the blog has been sadly neglected for some time now as life got busier and busier, and I diverted more of my media time to other platforms like Instagram (there you can find me @elizabethmeademd), my role as Director of Medical Communications for my hospital system, and to television work. What do you think, should I bring back the blog in 2021?!
7. Jack Percelay often ends his list-serve commentary with the phrase “that’s just my 2 pennies.” What are your two cents?
My two cents... anyone who knows me knows I'll have to work hard to limit myself here. But I will say this: PHM docs are a special group, and one that I feel honored to have spent 10 years learning with and from. I can't wait to see you all again in person and look forward to a time when we all reminisce about pandemic life as a thing of the past, preferably over a cocktail. Take care of yourselves and each other - this is hard, and it's been a long year.
In 2019 I became the Medical Director for Pediatric Quality & Safety at my hospital, and it is an enormous honor to serve in that role. We have a large pediatric presence including most pediatric subspecialties, a pediatric unit, and a PICU - but in an otherwise adult-focused community hospital. We also serve an enormous number of newborns and NICU patients in our system, so partnering with our OB and Family Medicine colleagues has been key to success in optimizing quality of care and patient safety for babies, kids, and teens. Some of our projects over the last few years have included: implementation of the Kaiser Neonatal Sepsis Calculator, which decreased our antibiotic use in well newborns >37 weeks by more than 70%; creation of a pediatric appendicitis pathway to help our non-pediatric ED colleagues risk-stratify possible appendicitis patients and limit use of CT scans in pediatric patients; and as of 2021, adoption of the Eat, Sleep, Console methodology in caring for our sizable population of newborns with NOWS. Pediatric QI work in non-children's hospital settings comes with its own set of challenges, but soliciting multidisciplinary collaboration and focusing on the "why" in terms of patient safety has been critical in ensuring that we are able to maintain change and continue forward movement.
2. As the Washington Chapter AAP President, what are your roles and responsibilities? How did you get involved?
I have a very different answer for this one than I would have 18 months ago when I became President! Over the last year, COVID has turned all of our workplaces and professional roles (not to mention our personal lives) on end. My WCAAP Presidency has been no different. When I accepted the role, I could not have dreamed that I would be leading a medical organization through a global pandemic, a raw and overdue national reckoning with racism, or the fallout and ongoing trauma from either. But it has truly been one of the greatest honors of my career so far. I first became involved with WCAAP after graduating residency and moving back to Seattle - over the last 10 years I have served as Early Career Representative, Board Trustee, Vice President, and now President. Involvement with the AAP both nationally and at the Chapter level has been the single biggest thing contributing to my professional development and resiliency - the community, mentorship, learning, and connection have truly been lifelines for me over the last decade.
3. You posted on twitter, “...What are practices we can start because of #COVID19 but carry with us into the rest of our lives?” Being in Seattle, you have been on the front-line with the COVID-19 pandemic, do you have any ideas for what we can take away from this experience and “carry with us” as we move forward?
Life has changed so much in the last year... much of it has been enormously difficult, and still is. But for me and for our family, there have been a few silver linings. We have been able to refocus on the important things - time with those we love (even if most of it was over Zoom this year!), things we always wanted to do but never felt like we had time for like gardening and art projects and learning new skills, and concentrated time together at home like we have never had before and probably never will again. Yes, I will be really glad to go back to having in-person school or childcare (it's been 13 months, but who's counting!) and traveling and having conferences and meetings together, but I hope that I carry with me the recognition that my family and friends and community are the most precious resource in my life and should always be my biggest priority. I hope we all carry forward the appreciation we have now for things taken for granted in the Before Times - hugs, family gatherings, human touch with our patients. And one enormous silver lining is the way we have FINALLY figured out how to meet virtually, and that some meetings can truly just be emails, and that it's OK if you have to miss a meeting because you're dealing with your real life. I hope that doesn't go away. I also want to recognize that I am incredibly privileged in even having an answer to this question. I have not lost a family member or close friend to COVID, my husband and I still have our jobs and relative financial security, and I am not part of a community (other than healthcare workers) disproportionately impacted by COVID; I know that for so many people it does not feel like there is anything to be gained from the last year.
4. You’ve done hundreds of television appearances as well as print and radio interviews—what advice do you have for any hospitalists that want to get involved with the media? Or if they are asked to give an interview on TV?
My advice is DO IT! Having more evidence-based, truthful, expert voices in the media is so needed and hospitalists are often uniquely perfect for this work. We are used to thinking on our feet, we see the downstream effects of bad policies that negatively impact the health of kids and families, and we are frequently available at odd hours or at the last minute for media interviews. Honestly, I have multiple lectures that I give on media training for physicians, but the bottom line is this: stick to the facts, stay on message and stay positive, and trust that you are an expert because of the work that you do. Know that you can always ask for as much prep as you need (like asking for the questions ahead of time, or giving suggestions for topics to avoid), especially if you are new to media work, and remember what we tell our trainees - if you don't know something, it's OK to say that and tell the person you'll get back to them with the information!
5. Beyond medicine, you have served several local community organizations including Mary’s Place and Inspire Youth Project. Can you tell us more about these?
Mary's Place is an incredible Seattle organization that offers housing and services to women and children on their journey out of homelessness. They provide so much more than shelter - things like child care, housing assistance, career development resources, mobile outreach, and family activities. They also have a wonderful program for children with medical complexity and provide shelter, care, and support to families who have children undergoing treatment for illness. Inspire Youth Project sadly has transitioned out of providing direct services, but IYP served Seattle for many years - specifically children affected by HIV/AIDS (most often children with a parent living with HIV or AIDS). I was really fortunate to be involved with IYP as a mentor for several years and they made an enormous difference in the lives of the families they cared for.
6. You have your own website (https://elizabethmeademd.wordpress.com/)—please tell us more about it, when you started it, and what you post about.
I started the website years ago as a place to post blogs and allow for more long-form discussion, because at that point my only real social media presence was on Twitter - where it's hard to do any sort of deep-dive discussion of topics! But I have to say that the blog has been sadly neglected for some time now as life got busier and busier, and I diverted more of my media time to other platforms like Instagram (there you can find me @elizabethmeademd), my role as Director of Medical Communications for my hospital system, and to television work. What do you think, should I bring back the blog in 2021?!
7. Jack Percelay often ends his list-serve commentary with the phrase “that’s just my 2 pennies.” What are your two cents?
My two cents... anyone who knows me knows I'll have to work hard to limit myself here. But I will say this: PHM docs are a special group, and one that I feel honored to have spent 10 years learning with and from. I can't wait to see you all again in person and look forward to a time when we all reminisce about pandemic life as a thing of the past, preferably over a cocktail. Take care of yourselves and each other - this is hard, and it's been a long year.