In this deeply moving episode of A Dose of Optimism, we explore how parents, families, children and caregivers navigate trauma, grief, and loss and what meaningful support looks like in the aftermath of a crisis.

Dr. David Schonfeld, Director at the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, shares decades of experience helping schools and communities respond to disasters, violence, and loss, emphasizing why resilience does not mean children should be left to cope alone. Emma Payne, Founder & CEO at Help Texts., reflects on how personal loss led her to create scalable, compassionate bereavement support that meets families where they are. Dr. Solfrid Raknes discusses how evidence-based digital tools, like the Helping Hand Digital Game, can help children and adolescents build coping skills, even in the most fragile and conflict-affected settings.

Together, this conversation centers on presence, care, and long-term healing, reminding us that recovery is possible when children and those who care for them are supported with intention and humanity.

Episode Resources:

Project Open Arms

The Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Wendy G Lichtenthal - Miller School of Medicine

Mary Frances O'Connor - UCLA

The Center for Good Mourning - Arkansas Children's

The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families

The Happy Helping Hand Manual - Dr. Solfrid Raknes (for teachers, psycho social staff, facilitators)

Connect with Dr. David Schonfeld:

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement Website

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement LinkedIn

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement Instagram

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement Facebook

Dr. David Schonfeld LinkedIn

Connect with Emma Payne:

Emma Payne LinkedIn

Help Texts Website

Caregiver and Grief Support for Children's Hospitals

Help Texts Instagram

Help Texts Facebook

Help Texts LinkedIn

Help Texts TikTok

Connect with Dr. Solfrid Raknes:

Dr. Solfrid Raknes LinkedIn

Dr. Solfrid Raknes Instagram

Helping Hand Digital Game

Attensi Website

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

In this episode of A Dose of Optimism, Omkar sits down with two leaders shaping the present and future of pediatric healthcare.

Paul Viviano, CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, shares a candid perspective on what it means to lead a children’s hospital during a period of unprecedented pressure. From workforce shortages and Medicaid uncertainty to research funding and equity in access, Paul reflects on the realities facing pediatric systems and the leadership principles required to navigate them with clarity and purpose.

Kyle Horne, Project Manager for CHLA’s Literally Healing program, brings a deeply human lens to hospital care. Kyle explains how books, storytelling, and literacy support can create moments of comfort, understanding, and hope for children and families during hospitalization. His work reminds us that healing is not only clinical but emotional and developmental as well.

Together, this conversation highlights how leadership, creativity, and compassion intersect to support children and families, even in the most challenging environments.

Episode Resources:

Medicaid - US health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources

Medi-Cal Insurance Coverage - California Medicaid

Literally Healing at Children's Hospital Los Angeles - an innovative reading program

Drew Daywalt - American author and filmmaker

Benson Shum - book author and illustrator

Books mentioned in the episode:

How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear?

The Little Engine That Could

Grumpy Monkey Up All Night

Guess How Much I Love You

The Day the Crayons Quit

The Book with No Pictures

We’re kicking off Season 2 by spotlighting parent-innovators who turned lived experience into action. This episode brings together founders who are reshaping pediatric mental health, literacy, and NICU care through empathy, technology, and perseverance.

Hafeezah Muhammad, founder and CEO of Backpack Healthcare, shares how her son’s mental health crisis led her to build a technology-enabled, family-centered mental health platform that serves children as young as four and supports parents, caregivers, and clinicians together. Carla Small, founder of Sprout Labs, explains how science-backed literacy tools and AI can identify dyslexia early, personalize instruction, and prevent years of academic struggle and declining self-esteem. Phil Martie, founder of Nicolette, reflects on his NICU journey as a parent of premature twins and how it inspired him to build tools that turn complex hospital data into clear, empowering insights for families navigating neonatal intensive care.

Together, these conversations highlight the power of early intervention, empathetic design, and technology that meets families where they are, before crises deepen and systems fail them.

Episode Resources:

Medicaid

Orton-Gillingham Approach

Learn more from the previous ‘’parentrepreneurs’’ episodes:

The Mighty Parentrepreneurs

Autism: Tools to help doctors and parents

Connect with Hafeezah Muhammad:

Backpack Healthcare Website

Backpack Healthcare Facebook

Backpack Healthcare Twitter

Backpack Healthcare Instagram

Backpack Healthcare LinkedIn

Backpack Healthcare TikTok

Hafeezah Muhammad LinkedIn

Connect with Carla Small:

Sprout Labs Website

Sprout Labs LinkedIn

Sprout Labs Instagram

Carla Small LinkedIn

Connect with Phil Martie:

Nicolette Website

Nicolette LinkedIn

Nicolette Instagram

Phil Martie LinkedIn

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram

Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

Pediatric healthcare is shaped by systems that are often invisible to patients and families, yet deeply influential in how care is delivered. In this episode of A Dose of Optimism, Omkar Kulkarni is joined by three leaders working at the intersection of pediatrics, informatics, and digital transformation.

Rod Tarrago, CMIO Pediatrics at Amazon Web Services, and Troy McGuire, CHIO at CHLA, share how informatics and data-driven design can reduce friction in pediatric care. Together, they discuss interoperability, clinician workflows, and the importance of building systems that support care teams without adding unnecessary burden.

Shaun Miller, CHIO at Cedars-Sinai, brings a health system perspective on clinical decision support, physician wellness, and the responsible use of digital tools. He explains how thoughtful technology implementation can improve efficiency while keeping clinicians focused on patient care.

This conversation highlights how careful system design, collaboration, and practical innovation can make pediatric healthcare more connected, more humane, and more sustainable for the people delivering and receiving care.

Episode Resources:

TEFCA - Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement

CDEC - California Data Exchange Center

RHIO - Regional Health Information Organization

LANES - Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services

K Health: 24/7 Access to High-Quality Medicine

Cedars-Sinai Connect - 24/7 world-class care without the wait

RPM - Remote Patient Monitoring - example 1 example 2

Connect with Rod Tarrago:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Website

Amazon Web Services (AWS) LinkedIn

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Instagram

Rod Tarrago LinkedIn

Connect with Troy McGuire:

Troy McGuire LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Troy McGuire

Connect with Shaun Miller:

Cedars-Sinai Website

Cedars-Sinai LinkedIn

Cedars-Sinai Instagram

Shaun Miller LinkedIn

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram

Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

Improving children’s health requires more than medical care alone. It depends on access to nutritious food, early learning support, trusted information, and healthcare systems designed around families.

In this episode of A Dose of Optimism, Omkar Kulkarni speaks with three leaders working across different parts of the pediatric ecosystem. Sam Polk, CEO of Everytable, shares how food access and affordability shape health outcomes and why he believes nutritious meals should be available in every community. Patti Miller, Director of Too Small to Fail (Clinton Foundation), discusses the role of early childhood development, media, and caregiver support in building lifelong health and learning foundations. Laura Wood, EVP, Patient Care Operations and System Chief Nurse Executive at Boston Children's Hospital brings the perspective of a nurse leader, highlighting how care delivery models, professional practice environments, and digital tools can better support children and families.

Together, they explore how cross sector collaboration can help address complex challenges in children’s health and why optimism comes from practical, people centered solutions already taking shape.

Episode Resources:

Compton Unified School District

CLA, The Laundry Association

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

California Department of Social Services

Read: Early Literacy Policy Statement

Read: Univision Communications, Inc. and Too Small to Fail

Read: Spotify launches a new Kids category with a focus on learning activities, language development

Epic Corporation

American Academy of Nursing (AAN)

Read: The CAMEO tool: Capturing the complex nature of pediatric nursing

Connect with Sam Polk:

Everytable Website

Everytable LinkedIn

Everytable Instagram

Feast Website

Feast LinkedIn

Sam Polk LinkedIn

Sam Polk Instagram

Connect with Patti Miller:

Clinton Foundation Website

Clinton Foundation LinkedIn

Clinton Foundation Instagram

Too Small to Fail

Too Small to Fail Instagram

Patti Miller LinkedIn

Connect with Laura Wood:

Boston Children's Hospital Website

Parents want fast, credible answers about their children’s health, and asynchronous care is opening a new path to get there.

In this episode, Omkar Kulkarni speaks with two leaders shaping how families access pediatric care. Ellen Da Silva, Founder and CEO of Summer Health, explains how message based pediatric support can deliver answers from real physicians within minutes. She shares how parents use text, photos, and videos to get both urgent and everyday questions addressed without needing live appointments. Then, designer and digital health leader Arna Ionescu Stoll describes how Wavely Dx is turning the smartphone into a diagnostic tool, starting with ear infection detection through sound analysis and expanding to concussion screening. Together, they explore how asynchronous care can reduce unnecessary visits, improve access, and give parents confidence in moments of uncertainty.

Connect with Ellen Da Silva:

Summer Health Website

Summer Health LinkedIn

Summer Health Instagram

Ellen DaSilva Instagram

Ellen DaSilva LinkedIn

Connect with Arna Ionescu Stoll:

Wavely Diagnostics Website

Wavely Diagnostics LinkedIn

Wavely Diagnostics Instagram

Arna Ionescu LinkedIn

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram

Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

Learn more about our sponsor:

Nabla Website

Nabla LinkedIn

Once a year, a very special group gathers in person: the behind-the-scenes innovators, operators, clinicians, policymakers, and digital health leaders shaping the future of children’s healthcare. This year, that group met in Chicago at the KidsX Pediatric Health Innovation Summit, and we recorded the entire experience.

In this unique live episode, Omkar shares highlights from the day: inspiring stories from leaders like AVIA CEO Clay Holderman, discussions on patient experience and digital tools from Stacy Zoucha, insights into pediatric AI from Ali Nasser, and conversations about policy, innovation pathways, device development, and the role of federal agencies with Stephen Konya and Dr. Juan Espinoza.

It’s a rare look at the community of “innovation enablers” working to make healthcare better for children, the people who build connections, remove barriers, and help new ideas find their way into practice.

Episode Resources:

Cancer Moonshot℠ - NCI

MAHA report

CTIP - FDA-funded MedTech accelerator

FDA Pediatric Device Consortia (PDC) Grants Program

Connect with summit speakers:

Clay Holderman - CEO at AVIA

Stacy Zoucha - Director of Digital Health and Innovation at Children's Nebraska

Ali Nasser - Manager, Insights & Advisory at AVIA

Stephen Konya - Chief, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships for the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Juan Espinoza - Chief Research Informatics Officer at Lurie Children’s Hospital

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram

Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

KidsX Summit was sponsored by:

AVIA Health Website

AVIA Health LinkedIn

Gozio Health Website

Gozio Health LinkedIn

Learn more about today’s podcast episode sponsor:

Q-rounds Website

Q-rounds LinkedIn

Learn more about our podcast sponsor:

Nabla Website

Nabla LinkedIn

Pediatric innovation has never been static, and today, children’s hospitals across the country are adopting new tools that make care more connected, supportive, and responsive to family needs. In this episode of A Dose of Optimism, Dr. Bimal Desai of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Zafar Chaudry of Seattle Children’s share how their teams are rethinking the patient and caregiver experience through digital innovation.

Dr. Desai discusses the unique realities of pediatric remote patient management, how digital check-ins are supporting medically complex children at home, and why small, high-need populations are often the biggest drivers of meaningful impact.

Dr. Chaudry then shares how Seattle Children’s is approaching AI thoughtfully (emphasizing culture, trust, and workflow) and why tools like their Minecraft hospital world are giving young patients a sense of agency during their hospital stay.

Together, they offer a grounded and hopeful look at how digital health, careful design, and cross-disciplinary collaboration can make care more supportive for families, while keeping clinicians at the center of decision-making.

Episode Resources:

Infant Single Ventricle Monitoring and Management Program (ISVMP) at CHOP

CHOP Neonatal CATCH Program

Remote patient management (RPM) at CHOP

CHOP's Compass Care

Seattle Children’s, Mojang Studios and Hive Games Partner to Craft Unique Minecraft World for Kids in the Hospital

Inside the AI-powered assistant helping doctors work faster and better at Seattle Children’s Hospital

Connect with Dr. Bimal Desai:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

LinkedIn

Connect with Dr. Zafar Chaudry:

Seattle Children’s Hospital

LinkedIn

Connect with us:

KidsX Website

KidsX LinkedIn

Children's Hospital L.A. Website

Children's Hospital L.A. Instagram

Children's Hospital L.A. LinkedIn

Learn more about our sponsor:

Nabla Website

Nabla LinkedIn