Areas receiving grants are pediatric cardiac regenerative medicine, pediatric surgery research, the Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit, the UofL Autism Center at Kosair Charities, the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit, and the Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

“Research is vital to advancing the care we, as partners, can provide to children,” said Steven T. Hester, MD, MBA, system senior vice president and chief medical officer, Norton Healthcare. “The pediatric specialists at the University of Louisville are doing work that can help us provide even better care and, hopefully, cures.”

“We appreciate the funding provided by Norton Healthcare to further our work in understanding and ultimately curing diseases and conditions that affect children,” said Gregory C. Postel, MD, interim executive vice president for health affairs, University of Louisville. “At UofL, we have set an ambitious yet achievable agenda in pediatric research that will advance medical knowledge and provide novel and innovative treatments for the children of Kentuckiana and beyond.”

“We see firsthand the benefits that research provides to children,” said Thomas D. Kmetz, division president, Women’s and Children’s Services and Kosair Children’s Hospital. “Supporting this research agenda is incredibly important not just to children, but also in continuing to attract additional pediatric specialists to Louisville.”

The $1.25 million provides one year of funding to the six research areas:

• $100,000 for pediatric cardiac regenerative medicine, led by Bradley B. Keller, MD, for research focusing on identifying the biomechanical origins of congenital heart disease and the development of implantable engineered cardiac tissues for repair and restoration using patient-derived human pluripotent stem cells. The goal of these studies is to repair and regenerate damaged heart muscle as an alternative to cardiac transplantation.
• $100,000 for the pediatric surgery research lab, led by Mary E. Fallat, MD, to support research in surgical techniques and outcomes, trauma practices and necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects mostly the intestine of premature infants where the wall of the intestine is invaded by bacteria that cause local infection and inflammation that can ultimately destroy the bowel wall. Research in this area directly impacts the care children and neonates receive when they need surgical services.
• $100,000 for the Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Research Unit, led by Janice E. Sullivan, MD, to support the unit’s medication, quality improvement and device clinical trials. The goal of this unit is to improve health care provided to children through development of new or improved treatment practices and evaluation and approval of medical devices or medications for children.
• $250,000 for the UofL Autism Center at Kosair Charities led by Gregory N. Barnes, MD, PhD, to support the Precision Medicine Initiative in Autism Spectrum Disorders. The goal of this study is to use a child’s DNA to develop individualized treatment approaches to better restore the function of neural circuits in the brain, thereby improving behavior and cognitive skills.
• $300,000 for the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit led by Charles R. Woods Jr., MD, to support research projects around overprescribing of psychiatric medications and antimicrobial agents in children, as well as improving data availability to frontline state workers in the foster care system. The goal of this research unit is to improve the effectiveness, quality, safety and delivery of health care and prevention/health promotion services to children.
• $400,000 for the Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute led by Lu Cai, MD, PhD, for support in research programs in the areas of diabetes- and obesity-related multi-organ diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, neurobiological and carcinogenic susceptibility, molecular and cellular mechanisms and potential interventions. The focus of the institute is on basic and translational research, bringing these programs forward as quickly as possible from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside.

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New research from the University of Louisville that was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 Meeting in Baltimore in May shows loosening U.S. laws that let people buy pyrotechnics at younger ages is tied to increased incidence and severity of fireworks-related burns in children.

As states relaxed laws related to fireworks sales during the past decade, emergency doctors saw an increase in both the number of fireworks-related injuries among children and the severity of those injuries.

“The increase in fireworks-related injuries and the severity of these injuries in children since 2006 are very concerning,” said Dr. Charles Woods Jr., one of the study’s authors and associate chair of pediatrics at the University of Louisville and UofL Physicians. “Parents and caregivers of children also should be aware of these increasingly serious injuries and the potential dangers involved in allowing young children to handle and play with fireworks.”

Dr. Heather Felton, medical director of the UofL Pediatrics Sam Swope Kosair Charities Centre and an assistant professor at the UofL School of Medicine, said there are ways parents can protect their children from the dangers and still enjoy the festivities.

“First, igniting fireworks should be left to adults,” Dr. Felton said. “Adults are also at risk of having an accident, so any and all precautions should be taken.”

Adults should also be aware of local and state laws regarding fireworks before purchasing and setting off fireworks.

“If you’ve done this and are ready to start your celebration, children should be encouraged to watch the fireworks and not help,” Dr. Felton said.

Accidents can happen, and having them a safe distance away from where the fireworks are being lit is one way to avoid injury from any mishaps, she said.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety recommends that if fireworks are going to be used, they are used outdoors away from flammable materials, overhead obstructions, buildings or vehicles.

”It’s also a good idea to have a water source available in case of a fire,” Dr. Felton said.

To dispose of used fireworks, the council recommends wetting the fireworks, placing them in a metal trash can away from any building and waiting a day to dispose of the materials.

Also, Dr. Felton said that for parents and their children’s safety, they should read the cautionary labels on fireworks before igniting them.

If participating in your family’s fireworks display is a battle between parents and their children, Dr. Felton offers a few alternatives:

• If age appropriate, buy bubbles and let children enjoy seeing who can produce the most bubbles or who can create the biggest bubble.
• Sidewalk chalk. Ask children to use their creativity and draw a fireworks display.
• Glow sticks. If celebrating outdoors, give children glow sticks to wear when the sun goes down. (Read the safety labels on these as well and make sure the product is age appropriate.)
• Silly string or confetti. “This can be fun and colorful, and only a bit messy to clean up,” said Dr. Felton. You can find confetti poppers, which give your children the sights and the sounds of the Fourth of July.
• Attend a neighborhood or citywide celebration. Many cities, neighborhoods and clubs will have fireworks. Parents and children can enjoy the show without being close.

“Teaching your children responsible fireworks safety now will prepare them for later, and it helps everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday,” Dr. Felton said.

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