The Top 10 Most Popular Stories of 2019
Almost 2.2 million people in 230 different countries visited checkupnewsroom.com this year. They found a variety of pediatric health news, with topics ranging from inspiring patient stories to information on keeping your child healthy. These are the top 10 stories written in 2019 that resonated most with our readers this year. We hope you enjoy our look back at 2019. Thank you for reading and we look forward to many more exciting stories in a brand new decade.
10. What The First Measles Case In Tarrant County Means for Your Child: In March, Tarrant County Public Health confirmed the first case of measles in the area since 2015. “This is an important case to take note of because we already know that Tarrant County is a hot spot for potential outbreaks of diseases like the measles,” said Jason Terk, M.D, a Cook Children’s pediatrician and a nationally known advocate for vaccines, said at the time. “Even though this is an imported case, we are more likely to have a wider outbreak of measles in our area because of the number of unvaccinated people and especially the people who are unvaccinated and live in unvaccinated clusters.”
9. Experts Urge Parents To ‘Lifeguard Your Child’ Following Bathtub: We've urged parents to 'Lifeguard Your Child' for years now, but that doesn't mean just the pool or lake. In the midst in the tragic death of two young children, Cook Children's launched the 'Lifeguard Your Child' bathtub drowning prevention campaign. “When talking to parents about bathtub safety, I like to stress ‘touch supervision’ in infants and young children.” said Corwin Warmink, medical director of Emergency Services at Cook Children’s. “This means you are close enough to reach your child at all times versus just watching them from a distance."
8. So the Rock-N-Play’s Been Recalled. Now What?: Remember in April when Kids2 recalled all of its rocking sleeping models after reports of five children dying in its sleeper since March 2012? The recall left many parents wondering, "What do you do with a baby that never slept well anywhere else.?" We talked to Justin Smith, M.D. and Diane Arnaout, M.D., to get some ideas.
7. What Parents Need to Know About E-Cigarettes and Vaping: No story gained as much attention or passion as the article we wrote about e-cigarettes and vaping this year. This is the first of two stories about vaping that made our list and one more narrowly missed the list. "I’m really worried about how addictive these things are. Kids who want to quit are finding it more difficult to do so than if they’d smoked a pack a day," Dr. Arnaout wrote at the time.
6. What Parents Need to Know after Fort Worth Child Abduction: The abduction of an 8-year-old Fort Worth girls is the kind of news that rocks a community. During this scary time, we spoke to one of our child psychologists to gain perspective and hopefully calm some fears. “We know that abductions/kidnappings are very rare, and random/nonfamily kidnappings (or kidnappings involving someone unknown to the child), are even rarer. As such, what happened this weekend is extremely rare, uncommon, and children and parents need to be assured of that,” said Joy Crabtree, Psy.D., a licensed psychologist and clinic manager for Cook Children’s Southlake Urgent Care and Pediatric Specialties and Hurst Urgent Care Psychology Clinics.
5. Cook Children’s ER Doctor Urges Gun Safety After 5 Kids Shot, 1 Killed On Sunday: Another tragic situation occurred in September when five children were shot, one fatally, during the course of one day. All the children were treated at Cook Children's. Dan Guzman, M.D., a Cook Children’s emergency physician, called the day gut-wrenching for the victims, their families, and the medical staff that took care of the kids, ranging from ages 3 to 14.
4. The Growth Chart: How Is Your Child Trending?: At every well-child check, there probably is a review of your child’s growth. But what do all of those lines on the chart mean? Ramon Kinloch, M.D., wrote this informative piece to help parents understand the growth chart at what it means for your child to be a certain percentile.
3. Cook Children’s Experiencing Extreme Number of Patients, Resulting in Longer Wait Times: Welcome to the cold and flu season at Cook Children's. This article was written in November when Cook Children's was under a 'Facility Alert' due to an extremely high census. Since then the number of patients seen per day has almost doubled. Find out what's causing the high census rate, what it means for you and what other options are there besides the Emergency Department.
2. ‘Entering Someone Else’s Story.’ What It Means to be a Child Life Specialist: "I am a child life specialist. And after 10 years, it is still sometimes difficult to explain all the things that we get to do. It really is the best job, but contrary to the popular belief and cliché that we hold iPads and give prizes, there is a deep alliance between us and patients and families." This heartfelt blog by one of our Child Life specialists
1. Why Doctors Believe Vaping Landed 17 Year Old in ICU: When Dr. Arnaout wrote this post about one of her patients, no one knew what would follow. Tryston Zohfeld's story captured the attention of the nation and was interviewed by local media as well as national. But it all began with this post that has now been read by more than 290,000 people: "As his Cook Children’s pediatrician, I was sent daily updates about him. I found myself holding my breath every time I opened the update – and audibly gasped the moment I realized that he was intubated," Dr. Arnaout wrote.
