Get to Know Our Staff: Carissa Stoddard, Physical Therapy

Get to Know Our Staff: Carissa Stoddard, Physical Therapy

by | Feb 13, 2025 | Spotlight, Therapy Services

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?
I am a physical therapist (PT), and I primarily help with Scottish Rite’s intensive PT program and other inpatient PT needs.

 

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is witnessing the joy on children’s and families’ faces as they achieve their mobility goals. It’s truly remarkable to see a child discover their ability to move and explore independently.

 

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
I have always dreamed of working at Scottish Rite. What makes Scottish Rite unique is the collaborative care we provide to every patient, and I am honored to be part of the team.

 

What made you choose a career in health care?
I wanted a job that was not only enjoyable and fulfilling but also revolved around personable interactions. With an engineering and athletic background, physical therapy was a natural transition for me.

 

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
I love that I get to see patients and families at all stages in their care journey, from before surgery, immediately after surgery, during rehab and at follow-up appointments. I really enjoy seeing how far the children progress through every phase of their journeys.

 

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I enjoy trying new restaurants in Dallas and traveling.

 

Do you have any hidden talents?
I can bake pretty well.

 

Where are you from and what brought you to D-FW?
Although I moved all over the state growing up, I spent most of my childhood in D-FW. I returned to Dallas for graduate school and never left.

 

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I would travel to Spain or Africa. I’ve always wanted to go for an extended trip but haven’t been able to yet.

 

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chips and salsa.

 

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
“White Christmas,” because it’s a classic.

 

What was the first concert you attended?
Although admitting this may age me a little, the first real concert I attended was Creed and Sevendust when they were really popular.

 

Favorite DFW hidden gem?
Lounge Here.

 

If you were to have a movie based on your life, which actress/actor would you choose to play your character?
Jennifer Lawrence or Reese Witherspoon (because I’ve been compared to her before).

 

What is some advice you would give your younger self OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Take the scenic route, pause to enjoy the view and learn from the process.

Get to Know Our Staff: Erika Harper-Dugan, Dietary

Get to Know Our Staff: Erika Harper-Dugan, Dietary

by | Feb 10, 2025 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?
I am a food service manager, and I ensure that our patients’ food orders are correct and delivered in a timely manner.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?                             
The most fulfilling part of my job is getting the chance to meet patients and their families.

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
Scottish Rite is special to me because I get the chance to make a lifelong impact on the lives of patients and their families. 

What made you choose a career in health care?
I chose a career in health care to be able to make patients happy.

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
I get to talk, play and have fun with the patients!

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I like to make crafts and give back to the community in various ways.

Where are you from and what brought you to DFW?
I’m a native cowgirl of Dallas.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I would travel to Madrid, just to be able to experience traveling and trying different foods.

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I could eat surf and turf for the rest of my life, as well as shrimp, steak, baked potatoes and a salad.

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
“The Christmas Story.”

What was the first concert you attended?
Prince.

Favorite DFW hidden gem?
A DFW hidden gem is Jimmy’s Food Store, located in Old East Dallas.

If you were to have a movie based on your life, which actress/actor would you choose to play your character?
I would pick Queen Latifah.

What is some advice you would give your younger self OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The best piece of advice I’ve heard is that there are no strangers.

Healing With Hope: Mickel’s Transformation Through Spinal Fusion

Healing With Hope: Mickel’s Transformation Through Spinal Fusion

by | Feb 6, 2025 | Scoliosis & Spine

To Mickel, Scottish Rite for Children represents hope for a better tomorrow. After noticing that the curve in his lower back had grown, Mickel and his family were referred to Scottish Rite for Children. Chief of Staff Daniel J. Sucato, M.D., M.S., discovered that he had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) at age 17. AIS is the most common type of scoliosis in children and teenagers, and the cause is unknown.

Due to the severity of Mickel’s curve, Dr. Sucato decided that a spinal fusion would be the best treatment option for him. While this may be the most common type of surgery to treat scoliosis, surgery is still a daunting experience. Mickel shares that, during his moments of uncertainty before surgery, Dr. Sucato’s care was instrumental in his overall experience.

“He listened to all of my concerns,” Mickel says. “No matter how silly my questions felt to me, Dr. Sucato reassured me that I would be able to navigate life confidently after the spinal fusion.”

After undergoing treatment, Mickel remembers that his perspective on life began to change. “It took some time, but I eventually regained my confidence, sense of self and even a desire to become more active,” Mickel says. “I don’t think this would have been possible before my spinal fusion.”

Today, 24-year-old Mickel shows no signs of slowing down! When he is not hanging out with his friends, Mickel can be found hiking, swimming, running or lifting. Now, Mickel is looking forward to serving in the U.S. Army as a geospatial engineer this year!

“I would tell anyone with AIS that it does get better,” Mickel says. “Scottish Rite gives people like me the potential to have a brighter future and be able to live a normal life after treatment. For that, I am grateful.”

Do you have a story? We want to hear it! Share your story with us.

Fueling For Gymnastics: A Conversation with a Certified Sports Dietitian

Fueling For Gymnastics: A Conversation with a Certified Sports Dietitian

by | Feb 5, 2025 | Sports Medicine

Gymnasts have unique fueling needs. From long training days to busy competition days, proper nutrition is key to meet their short- and long-term energy needs. Scottish Rite for Children hosted a webinar, featuring sports dietitian Taylor Morrison, M.S., R.D.N., CSSD, L.D., and sports medicine physician Jane S. Chung, M.D. From their multiple projects together, they shared valuable insights on fueling strategies for young gymnasts.

 

Common Signs of Underfueling

If a gymnast experiences any of these symptoms, nutrition could be a key factor:

  • Fatigue before practice ends
  • Dizziness during training
  • Recurring injuries, such as stress fractures
  • Difficulty building muscle
  • Plateau in skill progression
  • Increased anxiety or mood swings

With proper fueling, many of these issues can improve.

 

There are Four Key Areas of Gymnastics Nutrition

1. Building a Strong Nutrition Foundation
  • Aim for three meals and three snacks daily.
  • Each meal should contain at least three food groups.
  • Snacks should include two food groups.
  • Balance proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats.
2. Key Micronutrients for Performance

Certain micronutrients are critical for gymnasts:

  • Calcium supports bone strength and injury prevention. Good sources include dairy, leafy greens and almonds.
  • Vitamin D aids calcium absorption and bone health. It is found in salmon, eggs and fortified foods.
  • Iron helps prevent fatigue and supports oxygen transport.  Iron is found in lean meats, beans and spinach.

 

3. Energy Availability: Are You Eating Enough?

    Gymnasts need adequate daily calories to support training and growth.  Skipping meals or snacks can lead to low energy availability, affecting performance and recovery. If you are unsure on the number of calories that your young athlete needs, talk with your pediatrician, a sports medicine physician or a sports dietitian.

     

     4. Performance Nutrition Strategy

    Nutrition timing is key for training and competition days:

    • More than three hours before activity – A balanced meal with protein and complex carbs.
    • One to 1.5 hours before – Simple carbs for quick energy, such as fruit or yogurt.
    • 15 to 30 minutes before – Easily digestible carbs, such as applesauce or pretzels.
    • During long training sessions – Quick energy snacks, such as sports drinks or granola bars.
    • Post-training recovery – A mix of protein and carbs, such as chocolate milk, a smoothie or a sandwich.

     

    By building a strong nutrition foundation, prioritizing key nutrients, ensuring adequate energy intake and implementing a fueling strategy, gymnasts can optimize performance, prevent injuries and improve recovery.

    For more expert tips, watch the full webinar here.

    Innovation in Motion: Scottish Rite for Children’s Highlights From the 2025 PRiSM Meeting

    Innovation in Motion: Scottish Rite for Children’s Highlights From the 2025 PRiSM Meeting

    by | Feb 4, 2025 | Events, Research & Innovation

    Scottish Rite for Children attended the 12th annual Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine (PRiSM) Society meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Scottish Rite clinicians and researchers displayed the results of 25 projects through various presentations and posters, resulting in a strong presence at the meeting.

    Continue reading for highlights of Scottish Rite’s contributions and accomplishments at the 2025 PRiSM meeting:

    Staff in the Spotlight

    Director of Movement Science Sophia Ulman, Ph.D., led several presentations, involving the groundbreaking work from the Movement Science Lab team. She also served as a board member for PRiSM.

    Director of Sports Medicine and orthopedic sports surgeon Philip L. Wilson, M.D., shared promising results from a study, which included outcomes in treating osteochondritis dissecans in the ankle, specifically the talus bone. The technique was adapted from one previously published by the team in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine as a treatment for osteochondritis dissecans in the knee.

    Jacob C. Jones, M.D., RMSK, helped lead the pre-conference workshop to introduce attendees to the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in diagnostics methods for pediatric sports medicine conditions. He also presented several novel investigations from the podium, involving the use of ultrasound to evaluate ankle injuries, as well as elbows, in asymptomatic baseball players and gymnasts.

    Learn more about the annual internation Pediatric Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Symposium held at Scottish Rite for Children. Registration for the August 2025 program is open now.

    Trainees in the Spotlight

    Scottish Rite’s sports medicine team proudly supports young researchers and students in various programs. They mentor the young researchers by helping them prepare presentations for national audiences, such as PRiSM, and publish research, as the lead author or primary investigator.

    Medical Student Research Fellow (MSRF)

    Rishi Sinha, M.D., is an orthopedic resident at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. As he completed medical school at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, he participated in the one-year Medical Student Research Fellowship at Scottish Rite for Children and collaborated the sports medicine and hip teams. Sinha shared data from the Sports Cohort Outcomes Registry (SCORE), a multicenter registry of pediatric and adolescent arthroscopy cases and complications. His presentation focused on skeletally immature anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions and was nominated as a top ten contender for the Top Scientific Paper Award.

    Clinical Orthopedic Research Assistant (CORA)

    Each year, Scottish Rite seeks out college students in pursuing a career in medicine. Clinical Orthopedic Research Assistant (CORA) are hired to help Scottish Rite’s experts in collaborating on clinical research tasks and projects. CORA researchers specialize in an area of study and works with the experts in that department, exiting the program with a well-rounded experience to further their education in medical school or other post-graduate programs.

    For the past two years, PRiSM has recognized two Scottish Rite for Children CORA researchers with trainee travel grants to present their projects. Trainee travel grants help members pay for the expenses to travel to conferences or other events to present their research. This year, the following CORA researchers gave two exceptional presentations:

    • James McGinley, B.S., a former baseball player and first-year medical student at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston, presented findings from an ultrasound study on baseball players and a project on risk factors for osteochondral fractures in first-time patellar dislocations.
    • Cassidy Schultz, B.S., presented a retrospective study on the incidence of rhabdomyolysis in North Texas and an anatomic study of the medial meniscus. She plans to become a physician assistant and will begin her program this summer.

    Learn more about the Medical Student Research Fellow (MSRF) and Clinical Orthopedic Research Assistant (CORA) programs. These programs immerse medical students and college graduates in a highly productive academic setting to learn the skills necessary to become a successful musculoskeletal clinician researcher.

    Awards and Accolades

    In addition to the trainee travel grants, PRiSM society award committee members recognized a handful of outstanding projects. Recipients of these and other awards are selected by a small committee during the annual meeting.

    Hank Chambers Best Scientific Paper Award

    Our team is a significant contributor to data and efforts of the Research on Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee (ROCK) study group. The presentation of this data earned the Hank Chambers Best Scientific Paper Award, named for the founding member of PRiSM, Dr. Hank Chambers.

    Kevin Shea Best Scientific Poster Award

    Lead biomechanist Ashley Erdman, B.S., M.B.A., was awarded the Kevin Shea Best Scientific Poster for her project scrutinizing the medial knee position in the single-leg squat, a test used to evaluate knee collapse, or valgus, a known position that increases risk of ACL injury. The project is called, “Comparison of Most Medial Knee Position and Knee Abduction During a Single-Leg Squat Task: Are We Seeing the Whole Picture?”.

    “Top 10” Poster

    The poster titled, “Strength and Spatiotemporal Predictors of Fatigue induced Changes in Hip and Ankle Kinetics in High-School Cross-Country Runners,” was a top ten contender for Best Scientific Poster. In this poster and on the podium, sports medicine physician Shane M. Miller, M.D., and physical therapist Jessica Penshorn, P.T., D.P.T., A.T.C., shared findings from work on young runners in a project that began as an idea at the 2024 PRiSM annual meeting. They have tested young, long-distance runners in Scottish Rite’s Movement Science Lab  in a novel study evaluating movement mechanics and running mechanics across the course of a five-mile run.