For the last week, Cook Children’s Center for Community Health provided mindfulness games and stress-relief techniques for kids, job training and oral health tips with free dental-care kits and cavity-prevention demostrations. KERA shared their family resources with children and parents. JPS shared QPR training, workforce development and lactation education. Friday focused on vehicle safety with Cook Children’s Center for Community Health, JPS Community Outreach & Education and JPS Trauma Injury Prevention. There was booster seat education and sign-ups for free car seat checks, car seat education and installation with a certified child passenger safety technician and motor vehicle crash prevention.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for these past 30 days! Keep an eye out for more events to come in the future!

This fourth week of our 30 Days of Wellness events at the neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail was full of fun!

Cook Children’s Center for Community Health shared activity dice games and easy 5210+ lessons. JPS stopped by to give lactation education and a behavioral health overview. Cook Children’s, JPS Health Network, TCC, and Workforce Solutions provided on-site job training information, registration, and answered any questions. The Demo Kitchen held its second nutrition class with practical meal ideas for picky eaters and growing appetites. We had more guided walk-throughs of the facility for local agencies to learn how to collaborate for community care. The week ended with JPS’s Connection Program Engagement and Cook Children’s Health Plan Engagement Table.

We had lots of smiling faces at our third week of our 30 Days of Wellness events at the neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail!

To kick off the week, The Parenting Center shared tips on discipline, positive communication and stress management while KERA Family Resources offered their services for kids and parents. JPS Connections program explained their financial resources and JPS Women’s Services provided support for breastfeeding families. The American Heart Association stopped by with lifestyle coaching to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. Cook Children’s Center for Community Health brought fun fitness stations for every age and ability. Wednesday focused on poison prevention with Cook Children’s Center for Community Health and poison education with North Texas Poison Center. Jacob’s Journey stopped by to distribute naloxone as well. The Demonstration Kitchen hosted its first infant nutrition class alongside Mother’s Milk Bank.

The week wrapped up with CHAMP Texas having peer-led discussions and referral information. Cook Children’s, JPS Health Network, TCC, and Workforce Solutions had on-site job training information, registration, and answered questions. JPS Community Outreach provided information on behavioral health service lines, programs, and clinic locations. Cook Children’s Center for Community Health had several nutrition booths providing information on growing healthy foods, making healthy snacks, and promoting healthy development in your family.

We loved having our second week of our 30 Days of Wellness events at the neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail! It was the first full week of events and we were thrilled to see so many new faces stop by.

To celebrate the first week of school, the NHC Demo Kitchen invited kids to create quick, nutritious treats they can make at home for an after school snack. Cook Children’s Center for Community Health had multiple events throughout the week covering various topics such as asthma action plan basics for kids, safe sleep education, infant resources and parenting tools for communication, routines and resilience. JPS also hosted several events about their Connection Program, behavioral health services, diabetes education as well as lactation education. My Health My Resources (MHMR)  shared early-childhood development screening and support referrals. Lastly, Cook Children’s had art projects that teach kids to identify and express emotions and support coping skills.

This week kicked off the first few days of our 30 Days of Wellness events at the neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail! Volunteers from the Parent Pass phone app stopped by to explain how to navigate the app and share about all the local events and opportunities in the area. Cook Children’s Center for Community Health’s “Aim for Safety” initiative leaders and the JPS Trauma department shared hands-on firearm safety knowledge and safe storage resources. The Fort Worth Police Department demonstrated child-proofing essentials and gave tips to secure your home. It was a successful first three days and we are looking forward to more!

Join us for a full month of free wellness activities, education and family-friendly celebrations designed to help our community thrive. Every weekday (Aug. 6 - Sept. 5), you’ll find hands-on demos, health screenings, safety workshops, nutrition classes and more, all hosted by Cook Children’s and trusted local partners. No registration is required unless noted.

When: Aug. 6 – Sept. 5, 2025
Where: The neighborhood health center in Las Vegas Trail
2800 S. Cherry Lane, Suite 100
Fort Worth, TX 76116

Mark your calendar for the 34^th Annual School Nurse Symposium, which will take place June 12-13, 2025! This event will provide school nurses from across the U.S. with an opportunity to learn about the latest health care practices and education.

The webcast last year had 1,680 attendees from 10 states, and this year will be the first in-person conference since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to network and meet other nurses and medical professionals!

“We’re excited to have school nurses on the Cook Children’s campus,” meeting and event coordinator Danielle Allsbrook said.  “We have a great lineup of speakers this year. We are expecting to sell out fast, so make sure you register early!”

To ensure accessibility for nurses located outside of the Fort Worth area, the two-day symposium will be livestreamed. 

“With the virtual option, we are able to make a positive impact for the betterment of pediatric healthcare not only in Tarrant County but in cities and states from a variety of regions,” said Leigh Ann Campbell, MSN, RN, CPN, School Nurse Symposium planning committee chair. 

The conference will provide the opportunity to learn from the leading experts in pediatric care and student health. We’ll examine emerging health trends that impact students and discuss evidence-based practices in the school clinical setting to improve patient outcomes. Topics will include life threatening events at schools, behavioral health, sports injuries, diabetes in children and much more. 

This year, our second day will cover diabetes education for school nurses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Statistics Report, diabetes is relatively common in children, affecting about 35 in every 10,000 children and adolescents in the United States. Cook Children’s clinics combined also have over 8,000 diabetes encounters per year including mental health counseling, nutrition counseling and classes in English and Spanish.

A Sneak Peek at Conference Topics 
Throughout the conference, you’ll have the opportunity to attend more than a dozen presentations including:

• Acute life-threatening events at school with Ben Olsson, D.O., and Jonathan Nedrelow, M.D.
• Sports related concussions: Evaluation and management in pediatrics and adolescents with Nicole Pitts, D.O., Cook Children’s—Prosper
• Drug exposure in the student population with Donna Wright, MSN, APRN, CPNP, CP-SANE, and Sergeant Scott Banes, Fort Worth Police Department
• Pediatric depression: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment with Kia Carter, M.D.
• Supporting students with autism with Zelime Elibol, M.D., and Duy Le, BCBA
• Navigating diabetes care in schools with Susan Hsieh, M.D., and Candice Williams, APNP, Cook Children’s
• Keeping diabetics safe at school, it’s the law! with Crystal Woodward, MPS, American Diabetes Association

What Past Attendees Are Saying About the Symposium

• "This is my favorite continuing education every year! It is always very relevant and you always have the best speakers!”
• "Great presenters with great information! I look forward to this annual conference.”
• "This was my first time watching and I learned so much. I will be watching it again. I learned so much valuable information that I could have used during the first couple of years of school nursing. I look forward to watching it next year. Thank you!”
• “I have been attending this symposium for the past several years, and I always look forward to it. It just seems to get better every year. Thank you for the resources and education that you provide for school nurses!”
• "This was one of the best School Nurse Symposiums I have attended. Every topic was interesting and applicable.”

Register Now!

• Registration for In-Person Event
  • Day 1 (June 12)
  • Day 2 (June 13)
• Registration for Virtual Event
  • Day 1 (June 12)
  • Day 2 (June 13)

Ongoing Webinars

Don’t forget to check out our school nurse resources. We have webinars available throughout the year.

Have Questions?

Email Danielle Allsbrook, meeting and event coordinator at Danielle.Allsbrook@cookchildrens.org. 

We can’t wait to see you this summer!

Medical students and resident physicians in Amarillo will get more exposure to pediatric neurology thanks to a new and unique partnership between Cook Children’s and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC).

The TTUHSC School of Medicine and Cook Children’s worked together for four years to design and implement their collaboration. It’s an innovative model of health care teamwork: Two Amarillo-based Cook Children’s neurologists serving as TTUHSC teaching physicians. Their job? To evaluate how students and residents interact with patients. 

“The main philosophy is to provide the best care for children in our community. This partnership provides accessibility to more providers,” said Shannon Herrick, M.D., regional chair for TTUHSC and associate professor of pediatrics. “At the same time, it allows learners who are going to go out to these surrounding communities in the future to learn from these providers. That's the goal.”

A little background helps put the partnership in context. Scott Perry, M.D., an epileptologist and head of Cook Children’s Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health, began seeing patients in Amarillo once monthly more than eight years ago, in an effort to bring pediatric neurology care closer to the children of West Texas. As the only pediatric neurologist coming to the area at the time, Dr. Perry formed strong relationships with local referring physicians.

Texas Tech Physicians group hired pediatric neurologist Diana Lebron, M.D. several years later to provide full-time neurology care to the area. Her role at the Headache Clinic and General Pediatric Clinic included giving feedback to TTUHSC medical students and residents during their neurology rotations. However, it was clear the demand for pediatric neurology services required another full-time provider.

Meanwhile, pediatric neurologist Rolla Shbarou, M.D. began seeing patients two years ago at Cook Children’s Pediatric Specialties Amarillo. Her fellow neurology specialists in epilepsy and movement disorders, along with doctors in other specialties, continued to come from Fort Worth periodically. But Dr. Shbarou was the clinic’s only full-time physician.

Now, with the new partnership, Dr. Lebron joined Dr. Shbarou at Cook Children’s Pediatric Specialties Amarillo, located at 17 Care Circle. Cook Children’s welcomes Dr. Lebron’s patients to her new location. It’s also a new site for the medical students and residents as they’re being mentored by both Dr. Shbarou and Dr. Lebron as clinical professors.     

Pediatric neurology involves treatment for babies, children and teens who experience seizures, stroke, cerebral palsy, movement disorders, brain injury, chronic headaches and other conditions. The partnership between TTUHSC and Cook Children’s is designed to make access to neurology broader and more convenient for patients in and around Amarillo. Dr. Lebron and Shbarou provide general neurology care daily, while Dave Shahani, M.D. and Dr. Perry provide specialized epilepsy services and Stephanie Acord, M.D. provides movement disorders/spasticity services during monthly trips to Amarillo.

Dr. Perry said the arrangement helps make neurology care available closer to home for families in the Texas Panhandle and beyond.

“Many people we take care of in neurology have complex needs, maybe developmental delays, mobility issues and equipment,” he said. “The kids might be having seizures, and you don’t want to have to travel long distances if you can avoid it for a 30-minute appointment.”

Here’s a closer look at the advantages for each group impacted by the merged approach.

Medical Students and Residents

TTUHSC uses a strategy called academic medicine. Dr.  Herrick explained that students and resident physicians go through weekly or monthly rotations in various specialties – not just neurology, but also cardiology, sports medicine, hematology/oncology and more. Clinical professors critique how the learners handle encounters with patients, such as taking medical histories or conducting physical exams. In the process, the learners pick up on delicate skills.

“It’s a lot of the nuances of bedside manner, the nuances of how do you handle a difficult case and help the family cope and do it in an understanding way,” Dr. Herrick said. “There’s a complexity with children who have seizures or chronic disease that is hard sometimes for families to handle. That’s the art of medicine, and we’re driven to teach that.”

Groundwork for the partnership dates back to 2019, when Dr. Herrick reached out to see if the neurology team at Cook Children’s might be able to support Dr. Lebron so that she wasn’t always on call. That initial conversation grew to a discussion of possible ways that TTUHSC could partner with Cook Children’s on a larger scale.

One advantage of this new collaboration is that students and residents will see an increased number of general neurology and complex neurology patients. They’ll also experience different teaching styles between the two neurologists. Students and residents will do the initial exams and other procedures, with Dr. Lebron and Dr. Shbarou repeating each step to make sure nothing is missed. Families are very understanding of the teaching process, Dr. Herrick said.

The arrangement provides students and residents with greater exposure to a diversity of disorders. And when neurologists from Fort Worth visit Amarillo, they could give lectures to TTUHSC classes on epilepsy, movement disorders or other subspecialties. The intent is to demonstrate the bigger picture of neurology to more prospective neurologists.

“I hope to inspire medical students and pediatric residents, encouraging them to consider a career in pediatric neurology,” Dr. Lebron said. “Introducing residents and students to Cook Children’s doctors could lead to more research and innovation that benefits our patients and inspires future health care professionals.”

Patient Perspective

Many neurology conditions can be treated at the Cook Children’s clinic in Amarillo. But it won’t eliminate long-distance travel in every case, because patients who need certain care might have to go to Fort Worth. Dr. Lebron specializes in headaches in part because she too suffers from migraines.

“We don’t have biological markers for this, and so it makes it challenging,” she said. “To me, it’s exciting to be able to strategize and treat headaches. We have so many tools that we use to try to improve their quality of life.”  

Dr. Lebron’s patients seek her out from as far as southern Kansas. She notified them in anticipation of her move to Cook Children’s in late 2023. A native New Yorker, Dr. Lebron has Puerto Rican and Cuban roots, and she speaks fluent Spanish.

“Being bilingual is a big plus because it helps me connect with more patients and their families. It’s about breaking down language barriers and making sure everyone gets the care and information they need in a way that makes them feel at ease.”

Physician Perspective

TTUHSC will pay teaching stipends to Dr. Lebron and Dr. Shbarou. They’re able to consult with one another as colleagues, plus enjoy the backing of Cook Children’s neurologists in Fort Worth and Prosper to share on-call nights and weekends. 

“It’s hard to get a specialist in rural areas and hard to keep a specialist in those areas until you have some amount of inertia, which is generally created by a team of people,” Dr. Perry said. “To have another provider in the office to talk to means you’re not off on your little island by yourself.”

He and Dr. Herrick expressed hope that this joint investment will strengthen and stabilize the long-term outlook for neurology care in the Amarillo area. The model could potentially expand to other specialties beyond neurology. They say it’s important to emphasize the cooperation and mutual benefit for both TTUHSC and Cook Children’s.

“We wanted to make sure we did it right and to make sure that everyone knew that this was a partnership. We're not competing,” Dr. Herrick pointed out. “This is to enhance the health care of the community.”

On the evening before the first day of school the multiple to do’s on a list have almost been checked off and completed: 

• Hair cuts 
• School supplies 
• School clothes and other necessities 
• Adjustment of bedtimes to make the early morning wake time doable 
• Meet the Teacher 

While I’m almost certain I’ve forgotten to add something to that list, a sense of angst, excitement, worry, uncertainty and joy all in one rush my mind. While it’s common for parents of kids that will begin school for the first time to feel these emotions intensely for the first time, it's not uncommon for parents of kids returning to school to feel these very same feelings once again.  

The world we are raising children in now seems very different from the not too distant past when we were school aged children ourselves. The last few years have proved to be anything but easy when it comes to parenting and raising children. While these complex situations have led to many difficulties and internal struggles; the resilience and innate perseverance of our own children is what reassures us that this will all be okay. 

While there are varied life circumstances and difficulties that parents may be facing, we must remember that a “first day” offers a new beginning and opportunity to help us through these complex situations in our lives. May we use this new beginning as an opportunity to form partnerships with teachers, school administrators and those who are a part of our child’s village to help them thrive. 

The emotions come rushing back after I’ve given myself a pep talk about the many worries that are usually put at ease when my children are on summer break. Will they be safe? A very loaded question because now they will leave my attentive side and learn to navigate their time away without me. Have I taught them enough about being kind? Will other children be kind to them?  

My worries ease some with knowing that although there are many factors beyond my control I have done my best to prepare them for these “first days” and beyond.

To all parents feeling all the feels on the evening before the “first day of school”  know that you are not alone. Continue to inspire kindness and connect with your village to help your children thrive. For they are our future and how we shape that future is dependent on us.

To all teachers and educators thank you for what you do every day for students and their families. Your willingness to remain in this profession has gone underappreciated for quite some time but we are so very thankful for what you do every day.

Lastly to ALL kids returning to school this year may this be a healthy, safe and successful school year for you!

 – Dr. Soria-Olmos

In Cook Children’s Emergency Department, treating gunshot victims requires all hands on deck. The moments are precious as staff work against the clock to save young lives. The goal? To rescue every child who comes through the sliding doors. The reality? Children with gunshot wounds are among those most likely to die from their injuries.

For emergency room physicians like Dan Guzman, M.D., caring for shooting victims is particularly bothersome because gunshot wounds are preventable. He fears he will see many shooting victims in the coming months as summer is typically a busy time for this type of injury.

“Kids are out of school, and parents are working,” he said. “Children will find a gun that’s not locked or hidden, and a matter of seconds can change a family’s life.”

As of May, 35 children have already been treated at Cook Children’s with gunshot wounds in 2021. Two died. Compare that to 2019 when 41 children were treated for gunshot wounds, including five deaths, and 2020, which totaled 47 patients and four deaths.

“We are five months into 2021 and are on track to exceed prior years,” Dr. Guzman said. “We haven’t reached the halfway point and we’ve already lost two patients.”

While most of the situations stemmed from unintentional gunshots, Dr. Guzman says all of the incidents could have been avoided.

“The vast majority of the kids that we see suffer from head and neck injuries. It's almost impossible to save a life because the damage has been done to the brain.” Dr. Guzman said.

Celeste Calhoun and Jill Plunkett are emergency room nurses with a combined 20+ years of experience. They both agree that seeing gunshot victims coming through the emergency department has happened more often than they’d care to see.

“Gunshots are preventable for children,” Calhoun said. “Children don't go out with an intent to harm each other. They usually obtain the gun because it was left open or out, and by playing with it. Not knowing that it's loaded or what it can do when they aim it at someone and squeeze the trigger.”

Plunkett says her husband was raised around police officers and guns, she and her husband made it a point to teach their two children about gun safety and education at a young age.

“We have guns in our home, they were never loaded and my children didn’t even know the code to the safe until they were adults. They knew the guns were in our home, and if they ever wanted to see them or had questions, my husband would take them out and educate them, but they were never accessible,” Plunkett explained.

Dr. Guzman agrees that education is key. He says he understands why parents may feel they need guns for the safety of their family, however, there is a safe way to have a weapon in the home - locked up.

“Let's put our guns away. For the safety of our children, let's make sure that we're making the right choices,” Dr. Guzman said. “If you can buy a safe, 100%, get a safe and put that gun away. This is not about who can have a gun or who shouldn't have a gun. The bottom line is our children’s safety.”

Dr. Guzman worries that recent state legislation coupled with a spike in gun sales nationwide could lead to more unintentional child shootings.

“Last year (2020) was a bad year, we saw more injuries than we’d seen in the last five years,” Dr. Guzman explained.

The plea is simple. If there are guns in your home, educate your children and make sure they are in a safe and secure place.

“We want to help people avoid having to be in our emergency department, to be safe at home, and live a long life without ever having to see us,” Dr. Guzman said.

Calhoun, who is also a mother, shares another piece of advice that is often forgotten by parents.

“Make sure you know where your child's going to visit and play,” Calhoun said. “If they're going to another home with another child, have that awkward conversation with the parents to find out if they have guns in their home and what safety precautions they take to protect their children.”

Lastly, Dr.Guzman says when educating families, it is important to note that handguns are not the only kind of gun that can injure a child.

“We hear about handguns and firearm accidents in the news,” Dr. Guzman said. “We can’t forget children are injured by BB guns and pellet guns too. I’ve seen children die from BB guns and pellet guns, so we have to be cognizant at all times.”

1. What system do you use for your classroom management?

This question is important because it lets you know the class norms along with what is expected of your child’s behavior.

2. How do you reinforce positive behavior?

This will give you an idea of the rewards and praises the teacher gives out in order to support a more positive learning environment.

3. What is your primary medium for communication?

It's important to know how your child’s teacher plans to get important information to you and vice versa. Maybe they send home letters or maybe they prefer to email. It's always a good idea to know what the teacher prefers to ensure communication is not hampered.

4. What are the top three things I can do at home to help my child succeed?

By finding out the answer to this question, you will know what new material is of great importance in your child’s new grade level. For example, Ownby lets her parents know that practicing multiplication facts was extremely important when she taught third graders. If they are practicing at home, they will be better prepared in the classroom.

5. What supplies do you run out of first?

This is helpful to know in case you would like to send in supplies to school with your child. Many supplies are used on a daily basis and tend to run out quickly.

Other ways to ensure your child gets the most out of the school year include setting high expectations and making sure they attend school on a regular basis (unless they are sick). Parents should also keep an open line of communication with their child's teacher and make sure they understand the parents' goals and expectations for the child. With these points in minds, parents can help make sure their students are being given the opportunities they need to succeed in the classroom.

So I got home the other day from a LOOOOOOONGday at work. You know what I’m talking about …It was a Monday (few things go right on a Monday), the beginning of the work week. And my son was off his schedule from a long three-day weekend because his grandparents spoil him.

All my wife and I want to do is get home and lay on the couch. WAIT! I can’t because we have a 2 year old who just wants a little attention. All he wants to do is … eat a snack, wrestle, play the tickle game, go outside, go on a bike-ride, kick the ball, throw the ball, go see the ducks, eat another snack, watch a movie, run up and down the stairs, go on another bike-ride, play hide-n-go seek and wrestle some more. No big deal, we can do this. To think, it’s only MONDAY!! Oh, and someone has to make dinner.

As hectic as that sounds, and believe me it is, it’s worth the time we spend with him. It would be so easy to put an iPad in front of him or even just sit him in front of the TV for a few hours until bedtime. Remember all those activities that my son wants to do? Think about each one and consider the number of vocabulary words and the amount of rich language I would be able to provide him in each of those activities.

It really is endless.

The only way a child will learn words is by hearing words. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we just had a magic wand and anytime we wanted our children to learn a new word, all we had to do was wave it at them, “Abracadaba!” Wave the wand with me two times. My child needs another word, I’m thinking of an animal, so he will say, ‘BIRD”!” There it is, BOOM!! He just improved his vocabulary. That just isn’t the way life works. Believe me, if it was that easy, I wouldn’t have a job as an SLP. The models that my wife and I provide my son Dominic has influenced his language and now he says things like “Where is it?” because we play hide-n-seek. He says “Let’s go!” because he wants to go on a bike-ride.

I recently went to a course where the presenter said that about 90 percent of what young children learn is through play. When you look back, isn’t that what a child’s life should look like? Sleep, play, eat, play, poop and some more play. Their lives revolve around play. At one point, I thought that in order for a child to play, they had to be in a soccer or basketball league, a club or camp, etc. That isn’t true! Play can be anything you make it and you can even play during activities that you are already more than likely doing at home.

1.Bathtime - Get some toys and make them swim, splash, dry them, make them jump.

2. Ball - You can kick, throw, catch, run with it

3. Hide-n-seek- Hide a favorite toy under, on top, in various objects

4. Super Hero Game - use action words(verbs). You can run, jump, roll, throw, etc. Caregivers can even carry their child and make them fly or vice-versa.

These are only a few activities. The best thing to do is go through your day and reflect back on a time or multiple times where you are already interacting with your child doing daily activities. Now think of how you can make the activity into a play activity. Just have FUN!!

Stephen Baker said it best when he said “Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction.It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it.” We don’t have to buy things to play with our children. All they need is US.

About the author

Jonathan Suarez is a speech pathologist at Cook Children's. Speech/language pathologists focus on oral motor, speech, language and communication skills to enhance development, restore function and to prevent disability from pediatric conditions, illness or injury.