[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] i am a the co-owner of

politics and prose and on behalf of the entire staff, will come a few? notes turnoff your cell phones that when we get to the q and a portion we would ask if you have a question make your way to that microphone because c-span is here this evening and so are we to put it up on our channel. on youtube. please full up your chairs and put them up against the bookshelf before they get signed. it is the special pleasure to be hosting d. kurt newman i have known him for more than two decades. i first got involved with children's national medical

center the way many parents do that one of our kids needs help. he was a full-time practicing surgeon and one who clearly enjoys his working and you could tell he was interested not just what he did in the operating room but and the biggest picture of medical research with advancement of cater clearly a people person who connected very easily with kids so watched as he became chief of surgery with the help of $150 million against to oversee development for pediatric surgical innovation which is focused on making surgery for children minimally invasive than pain free so the chief of surgery up and tell then

aspired that he was destined to go higher with those administrative skills to become a ceo of first position to run a hospital under his leadership for the care for kids and those that hear the story after story with the health restored in the future and in "heaing children" he shares a number of personal stories and also offers a short but useful section of practical and vice for parents how to get the best care for their children. but there is a larger

message in this book for all pediatric medicine and all of the audiences compared to the attention given but when he joined childrens he worked for randolph the first full-time pediatric surgeon in the nation's capital that was more than 30 years ago. the world has come a long way since then but they might not realize how fortunate day are to have a separate hospital devoted to kids. only three dozen independent children's hospitals in the united states may be just a couple hundred facilities but this is 5,000 hospitals

on the dole health care. but the pediatric specialty care and research should be a national priority so just think of it so we can get care for kids write that means caring for the health of adults so much easier and cost-effective. please join me to welcome d. kurt newman. [applause] >> is hard to know what tuesday after the order am prop. of this iconic institution here in washington d.c. introduces you when you think about

politics and prose, with children's national and c-span i feel like i have made it. [laughter] so to see so many friends and colleagues patients and families it is a special moment to see all of you there. i did want to save more to bradley who was a longtime friend i think in some ways more importantly from children's national that support of isfahan:negative us if they know it is about my book but if you are ceo you have to use every chance you get to tell a story but they have been huge supporters of the orthopedic department. one is through their own philanthropy that i don't

think the business of the orthopedic department has never been as good as when your three kids play soccer. [laughter] >> they are all terrific athlete and i know because i coached one of them. now he has gone on to yale. so it is a real honor to be here thinks to all the staff here that has been terrific to host that this is the official launch. this is it. you are here. it is historic. [laughter] i can feel it. because this is an institution has not been around as long as children's that it's been a part of washington d.c. for almost 150 years and it is

wonderful to be in this room to see so many faces of people who have helped make children's what it is san there for this book was made possible. i could use of mine entire time thinking people around the room and there are so many i could but i don't want to use up all my time. i will do it individually because as i look around i have great stories. with best friend from high school is your. [laughter] but i am grateful for all of your support. one person i do want to call out is my wife. she is your. [applause]

she has been the most supportive partner anyone could ask for throughout the process. she even let the and agreed i could tell the story of how we met in the book. is day little bit of a joke and a spoiler lerner but i did get the girl. [laughter] but if you read this story you will realize it was a long shot. [laughter] she has been with me every step of the way writing the book saying are you kidding? [laughter] but we morphed that all the way now is better than i thought it would be. we are making progress. [laughter] they give for your support.

i was trying to think about the ways i could talk about the book and why i wrote the book and i brought a little pop to help me keep focused as we talk about the difference of the dole hospitals for children's hospitals but i want to get you focused and this might help this is a 3-d printer printed the replica of a baby's heart. think of the human heart. i tell the story in the book of day girl and i was with her today on television if anybody was watching channel seven, she was shot in the

heart. when she caveman i operated on her in the emergency department because her heart had stopped. her heart was as big as my hand but this is the baby's heart and this is what we operate on. maybe this size of a large wall lit but this is what part surgeons for children to every day. it makes the point why start talking about why i wrote the book how different a baby's heart is or how different babies and children are from adults. most people don't think about that for their children that way and it is kind of weird because we think about them differently

but for medicine people think it is just one thing. and one-size-fits-all. but in my career as a surgeon and have these stories many if you rob the other end of the phone call to say i am in the emergency department, we don't have a specialist, my child has a concussion. they hadn't seen too many children. we're here about to have surgery and they tell me the anesthesiologist does a couple of cases a month. finally i got tired of an ad and the little bit in greek and that is what motivated me to write the book tour empower parents to take what i had learned over 30 years

of practice to get those kinds of overcalls working with pediatricians who were just as frustrated. and to get that message out that the reason i wrote the book was to try a and provide stories of children because i wanted to bring them into the world of pediatric medicine and children's hospitals but through these stories to engage parents on how they could be advocates for their children's health and to understand the difference in a children's hospital that takes care mostly of adults but also does children. so at a place like children's national that is all anybody does. we almost taken for granted but there is a whole world

of pediatric medicine and specialist and pediatricians better there in washington 84 saying that that is blast to have a hospital completely focused on children. and that is all they do because it by bringing back back, children not just a different because they are smaller but the whole biology, they are resilient resilient, so this 14 year-old is standing outside her junior high school in a nice part of washington now but it wasn't and was a bystander she happened to be

the double dutch jump rope champion of washington d.c. of 14 years old man was shot in the chest and immediately collapsed, the emergency team got there and they knew what to do and took her two children and her heart stopped on the way. so i happen to the on call that day. we knew what to do. we were trained and ready with the equipment. that is not a given. i operated on her right there in the emergency department because her heart stopped and got it going. there was a tiny little the gunshot hole in her heart and as her heart came back to life beating began the

blood was is squirting out of that whole. it sounds dramatic but i put my finger over the whole and that saved her life. you are laughing. [laughter] but it was the most incredible thing. we didn't know if she is again off the table if she would make it first -- through the first day but two days later she will go up and smiled with a breathing tube. that is what kids are all about. they are resilient with this in the to the ability with a story after story in the book of how these kids with their biology and resilience comeback and the great thing about pediatric medicine and

doctors is that we know that and take that into account. that is part of the deal. you know, how a child will develop. so a concussion for example, in the ural this very different from 12 for 60 or 20. this is your child's brain. you want somebody that understands that you don't just want the most convenient place to get in around out. and we see people making those compromises all the time. that is when i get angry people spend much more time where their kids will go to school, what soccer team their kid will play for ic

soccer parents. we drive 200 miles for a game but people will not drive 5 miles to go to the emergency department of one of the best children's hospitals in the country. think about that. that is what motivated me i want people to understand that and then the parents because it is easy to say you should do that but if you don't give them the tools but it is also amazing to make easy for them to figure out to say really you should go to the neonatal intensive care nursery that

has everything that is needed like it will be complicated ahead of time. there is a competition with all of these hurdles put in place to make it hard for parents to figure it out. so we give the parents some of the tools with the philosophy is o k to abdicate and gaspar of questions and it is okay to switch and find the right thing and to be very differential. but more and more what i have seen is that to be successful you have to be an advocate to take combat role for your children.

and when you do, the results will be better because if we take specialist for example, , and will get the result of different treatments like orthopedics comedy want an orthopedic surgeon there really knows about the growth? so in children you have to know about growth plates and what happened that the joints and to interpret the mri with the x-ray based on what happens with the growth in mind. we were fortunate because our son got the best orthopedic care in the country. but it wasn't easy with serious injuries along the

way but if things are not taking care of properly or done right, you miss so much opportunity and that is the other principal when you deal with children that there is so much that we can do early and if you look at a lot of the things we have in our country now that children are facing whether mental health, heart disease , obesity, this is on the cusp of being able to solve so with this diagnosis early we can prevent a lot of the things that could have been a leader i feel bad is just one of the exciting things that is out there so this whole area of

the diagnosis of prenatal pediatrics. i tell a story in the book about a family i have gotten to know very well about mothers. the biggest mistakes i ever made as a surgeon often when i did not listen to the mother. that was true in my own home. [laughter] i was the great minimize hours so here i a.m. pontificating. he is all right but the fact he can barely breathe and turning blue. and he says if your wife is not the icy uterus that is

where he would be right now. there is so much we can learn now and i tell the story of a mother and grandmother who came to see me they were given some of vice about terminating a baby based on the ultrasound. that was by the obstetrician to go through the story real? , what they were told when they came to see me for a second opinion, termination was not necessary. this is something that could probably be taking care of after the baby was born. it would need surgery so i had a great radiologist who

all she does is look at baby x-rays all day long. why would you want a radiologist that is only part of their job? that is all that she does definitively this baby will be fine. so that turned out to be true and the obstetrician was very, very unhappy with me and said i had done a real disservice but to be fair after the baby was born she called me to say how long she was and she appreciated what we had done now she is a young girl doing great so it wasn't just the mother's intuition it was the grandmothers. i said what was it? why did you come to me? why a second opinion? she said dr. kurt newman, we had a

feeling we didn't just want a second opinion but the expert opinion. so that is what goes through the book has a fever is the idea that the whole world of pediatric medicine and our children's hospitals or specialists is a different world than what we all deserve and want for our children. we are fortunate to have those resources here in washington but that is untrue across the country and we need to do more. i am also concerned but it is important that we had a real crossroads in the country so we talked about the conversations i hear about cutting cane is like medicaid or n i h with mir on the cusp of such terrific discovery is. when you think about half of

the people on medicaid of the beneficiaries are children. so who will get hurt? in fact, we ought to double down. and put more into our children because it is wise. survey also tells of funny stories and to be a pediatric surgeon. and then met some amazing mentors.

and took care of so many children and families that is what brought me down here. i talked about great pediatricians and many people here in the audience know they're still practicing in the practice with an incredible visionary how we could make children's national a leading hospital for children in the world through the department of surgery a lot of the doctors soon nurses are the real heroes.

dr. george a. is year end is the world's expert on childhood concussions. in fact, one ava hardest parts was knowing not to put it in because there were so many people and some of these stories and my editor is here. and said you cannot do that. [laughter] so they helped me craft these stories and to with book. i hope you enjoy and find a way to spread the word i hope you feel empowered about the value of

children's medicine and what it can offer parents but also what it can offer our country. something we can all rallied around. so people say how long did it take? and my answer is technically it took about four years. i was in a book club and we would sit around to tell stories and they say you need to be telling these stories beyond but we told them because we never read the books. [laughter] so i tell what goes on in the book club. [laughter]

and they see my friends from high school and they keep joking there is a stack that the book sale that is why i am autographing them all with their names. [laughter] so i know who is returning the books for the $0.10 and i know who you are. [laughter] but the real fame is in a way i'm thinking of writing this book first as a surgeon for 25 years but 10 years before that and then the last five years but it has

ben were that. so i will tell you why. the kids have come back to me that i never connected with the stories are so amazing actually the baby i will give a little bit of the story away where i tried when reroute on a date when a the first dates i was called in. message you want to come see me operate? [laughter] that is kind of cool. thinking it would be? and easy and be really impressed.

so the nurse said it was okay and this is one of the most complicated things i have ever seen i even called my boss to tell him and ask for his advice and he said i guess you're on your own. [laughter] i was not counting on that answer but i had some good colleagues but i was just trying to move concentrate to save there had been an internet i would have been on it at that point but there was something that saved his life he will read about it but at the end of the evening it did not go well. she was not impressed and

also educated me about how i needed to pay more attention to the baby's needs to be cuddled and warm and somebody there that he knew that there is somebody looking out for him because his mother was not there. and beebes' know that and nobody paid attention to that. so fast forward he just came back to children say couple of nights ago for an even there was having and i was at his wedding this lead after 22 operations i don't know how many hospitalizations and somebody we've never thought would get married and now has a seven month old son.

and is the most healthy and amazing baby and of course, tither is one of the real heroes of the book he has perfect genes checked out but if he ever breaks his arm i am free him to children's national. [laughter] so the book is "heaing children". i will be signing some books it ever be happy to take some questions. [applause] >> thank you for your words.

ma local college student -- student regularly advocate for inclusion after completing my education and i am seriously considering working in a profession it is possible to help individuals who have special needs and of particular children to achieve their dreams. so my question is what do they give is important for people such as myself to understand?. >> first of all, congratulations. it sounds like you have a great career ahead of you and they're doing such wonderful thing is in school of a bite to talk to you more about your idea is the and your plans.

but i think what i have learned is there is a little story in the book how far a frog can jump. so we tend to categorize people in a diagnosis to quickly and we really need to do think about the individual and the potential of every individual. so there are many things i want to say about your question. first of all,, research there is so much opportunity to find out what causes something like what his own.

maybe that isn't one thing but i don't know your name but you have one thing. so if this is nathan's problem then georges probably make a mistake by lumping it together and then be tailored treatments individually to people situation to look at their potential. so that is i would say we have a lot of work to do in that area but people like you are champions with your examples for all of us with what can happen with what people can achieve. [applause] >> i am not planted in the audience but you really

answered my question already but i do one to give you a shout out this is the nexus of my question as somebody who works in health policy but as a parent, how did you fill the pipeline? leer into evidence based madison madison, so how old do you figure out? the room during with my son went into surgery i remember it was wonderful but going into anesthesia he was wrapped up in his blanket we took off

and the doctor said though he is going into surgery. so how you figure out where you're so based in science and evidence so how do you do that?. >> i have learned a lot i am not the experts i have learned a lot now as ceo of the hospital i the bill lot of it is about listening. so coming with great ideas

not so much ideas but they are observations about how we to do things better and sometimes with madison and science the focus on the medicine and the science but we're learning more and more bad experiences of that is the title of the book is about healing -- "heaing children." i thought about curing children i was looking at leading towards the science but it is a balance so wind of the great days about children's hospital that i tried to talk about is fell whole dimension schoolwork

and friends and family that is critical and crucial and that science because the studies are starting to show when you have that then children he'll warsaw children's national be of great friends and allies. people say how can you work there? it must be really sad, depressing but in fact, most of the publisher is except mine thought the book was too depressing or discouraging so rarely the children don't have that perspective it it takes on

the five and added it is our job to support that and reinforce that and to empower that healing. i am not sure i've been answering your question directly but but i was brought up short by a young man at one of the first town meeting this and said dr. kurt newman you are doing some great games but i am a teenager you don't have anything for teenagers. we have our own music, we don't want to be there with the teddy bears we have video games you need a hospital that respects that. so with some great partners

we have moved along that path. but it did say balance you don't want to lose sight of the science is just so promising that was so incurable up 1.and there are so many different legal diseases and we'd never quite know what works and a young man in south carolina for summer vacation playing basketball and women to into shock.

but the blow had cracked a liver tumor and started to believe and went into shock and he was resuscitated the family want him brought to you children's for his treatment because by the statistics, best case 10 percent chance of surviving. because it had spread and the worst kind. he was in eighth grade at gonzaga high school the we gave it our all with surgery . that is the most defeated i have ever left in operating room because i knew we did get it all.

it wasn't easy enough. we had to talk to his parents and tell them that but there was a certain serenity but the boys never knew that he just knew he wanted to get better we gave him the chemotherapy and within five months he made the baseball team as a freshman and then we thought we were going to have to do in liver transplant. deliver have grown back with no evidence of any cancer. two years later he sent me a picture he carries the olympic torch when it came through all the way to the eliot olympics. now graduated from college with through business school and just got engaged. even with all the science it passed tuesday

individualized because you just don't know and they will surprise you every time. you want doctors that have that mindset. >> one of the great pediatrician's of all time. >> i was a plant but it is such a great question i will ask it. my patients are weighed down at the bottom of the world but they do, to children's national but the question they gave me is what can parents do in advance especially like mine that are far away, what can they do to prepare themselves justin casey there is an

emergency other than and here's my phone number?. >> that is a good place to start because they're rarely is about preparation and education in general there are resources and practical pointers and shamelessly i will pitch my book the one of the pains is there wont to give parents practical with vice. there is a section called the eight ways to get the best medical care for your kids. the basic theme is preparation. just like if you plan if there is a fighter in your house you the data for your children. you need to know ahead of time to figure out where you

will take your child if there is that emergency. may be a local hospital but for other thanes you can make it through the pediatric department but don't wait to find out where you park or navigate. to the dry run so you go. in the middle of a crisis is not the time to figure this out. and that have been swayed too often. most people don't know whether their insurance covers children's hospital or not and more and more hospitals can be carved out of your health plan so you want to know that is the case. if it is you want to switch health plans. if they will not allow you

to use the resource. talked your pediatrician. and then to have a set so i am good want to know if you had surgery that my child will have an anesthesiologist that that is all they do. on to that surgery center that is the least complicated part so that can make the difference. so you are right to ask those questions and then to

be an active member of the team. war and anti-war those encourage participation whether it is on grounds they like to be challenged. don't be afraid in their our resources to help you with that. there is navigators' so was the of the improvements that i made on the autism's spectrum one of the parents came to me and was very

angry because one of the day in this in hospital led trigger the things that made them anxious. we did not have that personalized approach so every a person there may be something that makes them feel more comfortable were relaxed so with those resources that are embedded the problem is, it is frustrating and they don't make it as easy as it should be. i will stop there. but i would say the biggest they is check these things out, and then handed he

think about having a baby in the worth speaking about where will the baby the board or have fishes have a plan ahead of time. if there is a complication. >> if that isn't to nafta and where will you go? why is that the best place? you may want to switch. the time to have that discussion is when you are healthy and then that can and i swear? all hell is breaking loose.

that is not the time you would that seamlessly set up the head of time the best advice for that situation. >> one more question. >> you describe a very convincingly the importance of teamwork and how that contributes to the outcomes and most of these descriptions understandably from a pediatric surgeon there from the surgical perspective but children's is very well regarded for chronic care issues like asthma or diabetes. how was the replicated for kids with chronic conditions ?. >> my good friend if i did

not credit the team that i would be remiss because it is the team's board so to get the best outcome requires the team so i do talk a lot in the book about nursing and that is one of history's our important it is a thought that symbolized to have that ceo position and chief operating officer as a nurse to send a message and this is the real deal. but it is about the team. and those to help with chronic diseases because one

of the great perspectives that especially if it is early diagnosis or treatments to talk about a couple of situations with cystic fibrosis we would never see now because the treatments are so good or diabetes remaking big advancements but children and development that compliance as kids are so different than adults whether they take their medicine and stick to would die it or not feel different and the whole psychology if you don't have that team in place with the care and the outcome will not be there. so it is that holistic approach what is central to

that team is a great mother and a father but parents and family and don't forget about the siblings. this is the approach that you need to get the best outcomes. [applause] >> i do want to add incase you think there will be a millionaire and retire all proceeds go to the charity that supports research and children most of that will go to children's national but also other worthy institutions. thinks for being here with your support and spread the word. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

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