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Your Children, Their Specialty Children, Specialty
When it comes to healthcare, Memorial Hermann Medical Group (MHMG) Sugar Land Multi-Specialty and Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics (CMHP) Sugar Land are beacons in the industry offering audiology, orthopedic, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, urology and ENT (ears, nose, throat) services. With superior specialists and pediatricians in operation, together, they excel at pediatric healthcare services.
Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics Sugar Land provides access to quality primary care and the latest in treatment options, as well as secure and immediate electronic medical records, a convenient 24/7 online patient portal and virtual visits.
“Virtual visits are a great way for families to stay safe in the comfort of their home while also receiving the health care they need,” said pediatrician Dr. Gaile Vitug. “During this pandemic, our families can take comfort in the fact that we stay up to date on current research and are constantly making changes to our clinic and schedules to ensure we maintain a safe environment for our patients.”
The clinic is located on the Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital campus at 17500 West Grand Parkway South in Sugar Land, which provides a 24-hour dedicated pediatric ER staffed with pediatricians, and a dedicated pediatric inpatient unit, allowing for hospital care near home.
“Especially in these times, the ability to receive total pediatric care in the community is more than just convenient, it is vital,” said Dr. Kalpesh Thakkar, a pediatric gastroenterologist at MHMG Sugar Land Multi-Specialty Clinic. “And Memorial Hermann Medical Group and Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics are the prime choice because of the level of pediatric support and specialty services available on one campus, in the community.”
The Sugar Land Campus: 17500 West Grand Parkway South.
First-Rate Services
From jaundice, hearing issues and throat infections to tongue-tie and immunizations, Memorial Hermann Medical Group and Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics can provide care for an array of pediatric health concerns.
Practicing in pediatrics, said Dr. Kalpesh Thakkar, is a passion for him. “I have always enjoyed being around children and decided I wanted to help children through medicine,” he said.
Dr. Thakkar specializes in gastroenterology, which covers the entire gastrointestinal tract including the liver and pancreas and nutritional disorders and conditions. He performs endoscopic procedures — colonoscopy and upper endoscopy — and often treats conditions like abdominal pain, reflux, poor weight gain, chronic constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, jaundice and bleeding in the stomach.
With Dr. Thakkar, patients and their families receive customized care and the expertise of an experienced physician. “Pediatrics is unique because of the ability to prevent future health consequences and assist patients with various stages of growth and development,” he said. “I believe in using current medical evidence in combination with perspective from the patient and family to resolve or prevent gastrointestinal and nutrition-related conditions.”
Dr. Kalpesh Thakkar
While Dr. Sreekrishna Donepudi provides general otolaryngology services, including problems with the ears (pain, infection, hearing loss, ringing); nose (sinus infections, blocked breathing); and throat (throat pain, tonsil infections, hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing), he also offers balloon sinuplasty surgery, a minimally invasive procedure to address certain sinus conditions.
Dr. Donepudi typically treats patients from 6-months-old and older, but he also sees newborns for tongue-tie. “I am happy to see patients younger than 6 months for other reasons as well, but these patients may need a referral to a pediatric ENT sub-specialist after an initial evaluation.”
Honesty and education, Dr. Donepudi said, are his two guiding practice principals. “I believe in educating patients and their families on what to expect during their visit, the diagnosis, the prognosis and the treatment options,” he said. “I will always provide my honest and professional opinion regarding what should be done, but I encourage the patient to consider all the information and make an educated decision. And, I will support that decision in any way possible.” Dr. Sreekrishna Donepudi
Dr. Sadaf Momin
Dr. Sadaf Momin
Audiologist at MHMG Sugar Land Multi-Specialty
It was the experience of not being able to connect with a relative that led Dr. Sadaf Momin to the field of audiology. “I was able to see that he was having a hard time hearing us, and he wasn’t engaged in the conversation,” she said. “I was excited to talk to him, but I wasn’t able to because of his hearing loss. I wanted to help people with hearing issues or hearing loss to keep them from becoming isolated. I enjoy improving a patient’s quality of life.”
Dr. Momin, who works closely with Dr. Donepudi, typically sees patients 6-months-old and older who are experiencing hearing difficulties, balance issues, dizziness or Tinnitus (ringing in the ears). “The early years are a critical time for speech and language development for children and children are prone to ear infections. Because I work so closely with Dr. Donepudi, we can provide same-day appointments and work with one another’s schedules.
“All of this means a child will hear better, sooner.” When treating patients, Dr. Momin’s priority is creating a comfortable atmosphere. “I love children. I have years of experience with young children, children with special needs and knowing how to keep appointments fun and light for everyone.”
Dr. Gaile Vitug | Pediatrician at CMHP Sugar Land
Helping parents raise their children to healthy adults is a priority for Dr. Gaile Vitug. “After seeing younger and younger people suffer from heart disease and diabetes, I knew that I wanted to prevent that from happening, so pediatrics was the field for me,” she said. “Kids are truly amazing. They are so pure of heart and are so resilient when it comes to illness — it pushes me to work hard for them each day.”
Dr. Vitug sees patients for sick visits and preventative medicine, such as immunizations and wellness checkups, and since her interests include nutrition and developmental pediatrics, Dr. Vitug also enjoys teaching children how to live healthy lifestyles.
“It is an absolute privilege whenever someone chooses me to take care of their children,” she said. “I am dedicated to their child’s care and giving them a positive experience. It warms my heart when I hear my patients say: ‘I love coming here. I don’t want to leave!’ Or when a mom tells me that her child was finding excuses to come to the doctor. It’s the best reward at the end of the day.”
Dr. Gaile Vitug
The Best Possible Care
Being tightly integrated with physicians in the Memorial Hermann Health System throughout the Greater Houston area, Memorial Hermann Medical Group and Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics have access to a host of specialists, sub-specialists and services that allow pediatric patients to receive appropriate care promptly. “In particular,” said Dr. Donepudi, “we work closely with our fellow pediatricians at Children’s Memorial Hermann Pediatrics to ensure our pediatric patients get the best possible care.”
Library’s Podcast Club Focuses on Sleep in September
The Podcast Club at Fort Bend County Libraries’ University Branch Library will focus on “Sleep” in September. Since the library buildings are currently not open to the public, the Podcast Club meeting will take place online via Zoom/ WebEx, so listeners throughout the area can participate from the comfort and safety of home.
Similar to a book club, the Podcast Club provides an opportunity for podcast listeners to get together to discuss podcast selections from a themed podcastlistening list and share their opinions on trending topics. Each month features a different theme, along with a short list of podcast episodes.
The next meeting of the University Branch Library Podcast Club will take place on Thursday, September 24th, beginning at 7 pm. A link to the Zoom/WebEx meeting will be emailed to all who register.
A direct link to the podcasts can be found on Fort Bend County Libraries’ online calendar on the FBCL website. The playlist of podcasts from which to choose includes: • “Somnology (SLEEP), Part 1 with W. Chris Winter” – Ologies with Alie Ward (1 hour, 13 minutes). Called “The Sleep Whisperer,” neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. W. Chris Winter joins Alie for
a thrilling episode about why we need sleep, the ideal amount of it, what sleep does to the brain, insomnia, sleep stages, ideal bedtime conditions and even the historical lore around sleep paralysis. • “Dream Your Way to a Better You” –Every Little Thing (23 minutes). Listener Natalie had a dreamy question: Can you change something in your waking life by dreaming about it? Every Little Thing talked to a lucid-dream expert to find out if it is possible to optimize our snooze time. Guest: Daniel Erlacher, sports scientist at the University of Bern, Switzerland. • “The Science of Dreams & Dreaming” – Sleep Junkies (52 minutes). From the earliest civilizations to the present day, humans have been fascinated by the many mysteries of dreams and dreaming. In the 20th century, however, the discovery of REM sleep kick-started a new era of scientific inquiry in dream research. Sleep and dream researcher Dr. Antonio Zadra talks about the history of dream research, from ancient ideas to the leading modern theories of the function of dreams. • “The Science of Sleep and the Economics of Sleeplessness” – Trust Me, I’m an Expert (23 minutes). Sleep expert Melinda Jackson, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, talks about what the evidence shows about how people used to sleep in pre-industrial times and what promising research is on the horizon. • “Sleep Better with These Bedtime Rituals” – Life Kit: Health (22 minutes). How does one get a good night’s sleep? Many people have routines they use to try and reach that blissful state of slumber — from meditation to melatonin to putting on a pair of socks. Sleep scientists weigh in on what sleep rituals actually work.
The Podcast Club is free and open to the public. Registration is required; a link to the Zoom/WebEx meeting will be emailed to all who register. To register online at the library’s website (www. fortbend.lib.tx.us), click on “Classes & Events,” select “Virtual Programs” and find the program. Participants may also register by calling 281-633-5100.
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The New Leonard Scarcella Administration Building Now Open at Stafford MSD
The Stafford Municipal School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of renaming the new administration building in honor of the late Mayor Leonard Scarcella after his journey as the country’s longest serving mayor ended too soon.
“It’s an honor to be able to recognize an individual who played such an important role in the establishment and even the continued success of our school district,” stated Stafford MSD Board President Christopher Caldwell. “Naming an administration building after him is just a small token of our gratitude.”
District administrators moved into the new office space earlier this summer and have been making good use of the twostory building. The new addition is part of the $62-million bond program that passed in November 2017, and includes offices, training and conference rooms, as well as a board room for future meetings. The facility also includes a memorabilia wall where city and district history will be placed on display, in addition to a 3D model of the entire complex.
The district has plans for a ribbon cutting event and virtual campus building tours on the horizon, but these are being adjusted due to the pandemic and to accommodate community participation.
Stafford MSD Superintendent Robert Bostic and Mayor Leonard Scarcella.
