This update from Chief of Staff Daniel J. Sucato, M.D., M.S. was previously published in Rite Up, 2022 – Issue 1. 

Every day, Scottish Rite for Children staff members deeply invest their time and efforts into taking excellent care of our patients. Whether one’s daily role is filled with handson medical care or otherwise, the culture, the intent and the focus never change.

Scottish Rite’s world-class reputation for this commitment is well known. The specialized medical care, innovative research and top-notch education accomplished within our institution impacts each patient we see and ripples into pediatric orthopedic treatment protocols across the country and around the world.
 
Our team’s involvement with the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society (PRiSM) is one example. The ninth annual national meeting was held in Houston this year and brought together advanced practice providers, clinical research coordinators, physicians, bioengineers and many other practitioners from Scottish Rite. This multidisciplinary group presented, attended and led research meetings and collaborated with peers from institutions nationwide. Our team provided programs about the latest findings in injury prevention; the classification of athletes with varying abilities in adaptive and Para sports; anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in children and adolescents; patient care and research related to the hip, foot and ankle as well as sport-related concussions.
 
Another crucial area of work for our institution is contributing to optimal pediatric pain management. From injuries to surgery, pain management impacts a large portion of our patient populations. We have transitioned our approach to anesthesia and postoperative pain management for patients undergoing surgery for scoliosis, and those results impact many other treatment protocols. Our methods, presented at the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) meeting in 2021, showed decreased pain medicine usage with patients up and walking sooner while also reporting pain scores matching prior levels. A further advancement to the postoperative regimen showed improved pain scores, an even greater reduction in needing narcotics and led to an all-time low length of inpatient stay, averaging just under two and a half days.
 
We are driven to continue finding ways to improve care, comfort and recovery. Daily patient care expertise inspires research projects that then further influence training and education, and the cycle continues — stimulating one-of-a-kind care and better outcomes for patients and their families near and far.