Phone Calls, Home Visits, and Virtual Hearts

What does it look like to meet a child where they are, not just physically, but technologically, emotionally, and clinically? In this episode, three innovators share how they are redesigning pediatric care delivery around the child rather than around the hospital.Dr. Caitlin Sayegh, clinical psychologist and researcher at CHLA and USC Keck School of Medicine, describes her work using cell phone coaching to help teenagers with chronic illness take their medications. The insight that drives it: a small dose of human accountability (a phone call or text from a coach who sees a teen as a whole person) can produce meaningful improvements in medication adherence across a wide range of conditions, from HIV to sickle cell disease to organ transplants.Taylor Beery, co-founder of Imagine Pediatrics, shares how his company is delivering integrated medical, behavioral, and social support to children with complex special healthcare needs (at home, virtually, and at no cost to families) through value-based contracts with Medicaid health plans. His personal story of losing his son Walker to pediatric brain cancer, and founding Imagine Pediatrics a week after his funeral, is one of the most powerful origin stories in this podcast's history.Dr. Sassan Hashemi, Assistant Professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Heart Institute, explains how virtual surgical planning (using 3D models derived from imaging data, viewed in virtual and augmented reality) is changing how surgeons prepare for complex congenital heart procedures, enabling interventions that once seemed impossible, and building toward an AI-enabled future of pediatric cardiac care.Episode Resources:▶️Randomized pilot trial of cell phone support to improve medication adherence among adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions▶️Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine CHLA▶️Kids Join The Fight: Nonprofit▶️Heart Institute | Cincinnati Children'sConnect with Dr. Caitlin Sayegh:Dr. Caitlin Sayegh LinkedInDr. Caitlin Sayegh CHLAKeck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California WebsiteKeck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California LinkedInKeck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California InstagramConnect with Taylor Beery:Taylor Beery LinkedInImagine Pediatrics WebsiteImagine Pediatrics LinkedInImagine Pediatrics InstagramConnect with Dr. Sassan Hashemi:Dr. Sassan Hashemi LinkedInCincinnati Children's Hospital WebsiteCincinnati Children's Hospital LinkedInCincinnati Children's Hospital InstagramConnect with us:KidsX WebsiteKidsX LinkedInChildren's Hospital L.A. WebsiteChildren's Hospital L.A. InstagramChildren's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn