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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Leading Pediatric Orthopedics at Scottish Rite for Children with Dr. Daniel Sucato
00:15:27
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- [00:00]
A
This is Scott Becker with the Becker's Healthcare podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by a brilliant leader. We're joined today by Dr. Daniel Sacato and Dr. Sakato at Scottish Rite Hospital. Children's Hospital in Dallas is going to talk to us about some of the innovations, some of the things you're doing about his career, and a lot more. Dr. Sukato, can you take a second to introduce yourself and tell us about Scottish Rite Hospital?
- [00:26]
B
Yeah. Thanks, Scott. It's a pleasure to be here. My name is Dan Secato, as you said. I'm the chief of staff here at Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas, which is a pediatric orthopedic institution with other sort of ancillary services. It's not a full service hospital. We really stay laser focused on children and adolescents who have orthopedic conditions and challenges. We've been around for over 100 years. We've been here in Dallas and we also have a campus that's 22 miles north of us in the Frisco, which Frisco suburb, which is one of the fastest growing towns in the country. So we're very happy to serve our community not only locally, but regionally and to a certain extent nationally because of our expertise in what we do.
- [01:13]
A
Thank you so much for joining us today and telling us a little bit more about Scottish Rite. And Scottish Rite's got this brilliant reputation, but in some ways it's one of the best kept secrets in America. It's a fantastic orthopedic children's hospital. Tell us a little bit about the history and about how you ended up there. Give us a more full feeling of Scottish rites. We're so thrilled to have you on, and I do feel like it's one of the best kept secrets in America. Tell us more.
- [01:38]
B
Yeah, thanks. So, yeah, we are a small hospital that's been, like I said before, over 100 years. We started the first pediatric or the first orthopedic surgeon in Dallas was a guy named W.B. carroll, who was seeing patients and on Saturdays was seeing children and with manifestations really of polio, orthopedic manifestations of polio. And it got so busy that he said, listen, we need to start a hospital. And so over 100 years ago, in 1921, he formed Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. And it's evolved over the years to one of the busiest pediatric orthopedic practices in the country. We're an academic institution that has strong affiliations with our partners, University of Texas, Southwestern down the street, as well as Children's health. We have 20 orthopedic surgeons. We have the biggest fellowship in the country in pediatric orthopedics, and we attract folks from all over the country, not only to train but also patients. To your point, we're probably known as well nationally and internationally as we are locally and regionally because of our academic success on trying to really research and discover the, you know, the best thing to take care of patients not only now but into the future. And, you know, up until about 15 years ago, we didn't charge patients to come to Scottish Rite as completely charity. But over the last 15 years, we've had a little bit of a revenue cycle, but we still will take any child that has a orthopedic condition irregardless of their ability to pay. And that's been one of our main real selling points through the years, in addition to the expert care that we can provide.
- [03:20]
A
And take a second, I'll ask you one question, and this is a hard question, so let me know if you're ready for a difficult question.
- [03:27]
B
Absolutely.
- [03:29]
A
So here's the question, Dr. Sacato, you know, you've been in Buffalo, you've been in Dallas, More of a Bills fan or a Cowboys fan?
- [03:39]
B
Well, you know, it's an interesting question. You know, I lived through the four Super Bowls in Buffalo when I was there. So as you said, I grew up in Buffalo, very proud to be a Buffalonian. Been down here in Dallas 28 years, did all my training at a great program up in Buffalo and then came down here for my last year of training, which was my fellowship. And as I mentioned earlier, we think we have the best fellowship in pediatric orthopedics. And so I came down here and I was going to go back up and take everything I learned from Scottish Rite back up to the Northeast somewhere. And they asked me to stay and I've been here ever since. So to answer your question, I'm still a diehard Bill fan. My wallpaper on my phone is me and my family at the Cowboys game against the Bills on Thanksgiving Day about seven, eight years ago where we won. I do root for the Cowboys, though, when the Bills aren't playing. And so on Thanksgiving Day, I'll always root for the Cowboys, especially this year since they're playing the Chiefs, who is, as you know, our arch enemy in the AFC.
- [04:37]
A
So 100. So so still part of the Buffalo Bills Mafia, but a Cowboys fan as well. And one of the great pieces of TV over the last coup is the special on the on the Cowboys, the Jerry Jones special, the Documentary, which is fantastic. Tv, a different subject. And I'm off base again for a moment. But, yes, if you're a Bills fan, watching them lose four Super Bowls was brutal, but some of the best teams ever. And fantastic, fantastic stuff. Love it. Tell us what trends you're watching in orthopedic surgery and taking care of children. What are some of the big trends you're watching? And then also, what are you most focused on and excited about this coming year?
- [05:18]
B
Yeah. So, you know, I think for Scottish Rite, it's been an incredibly successful year. Research is really one of the mainstays that we do. In addition to taking great care of kids and children. And so this year, this past year, for our big meeting, so the Scoliosis Research Society, the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America, the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine, those three big meetings, we have won the best research award for each of those meetings. So we're very excited about looking into what is the future and discovery. We're also ranked number one in pediatric orthopedics in the country this year by U.S. news & World Report. So those are sort of the byproducts of what we do each and every day. And we are looking into the future. I think, obviously, AI is a big thing, and we're applying that both on the clinical side as well as on the research side, on the clinical side. And, you know, the patient interaction is really about the care team with the patient and the family and keeping the computer and electronic medical record sort of out of that interaction. And so I think with AI, we've begun to really utilize that so that the medical record, note, is really almost created entirely by the interaction that the AI is witnessing or hearing. And so we've put that into place here at Scotchrate. On the research front, AI is also very important to us. And so we're developing ways to identify, using big data, trends that are happening, really trying to use predictive analytics to say which patients are at highest risk for having some challenges intraoperatively and postoperatively. We're also using it in a diagnostic way to read radiographs and really make that process a little bit more streamlined. And, you know, the big thing in kids and children today is sort of the genetic aspect of it. And so we've always been at the forefront of molecular genetics. We were the first institution to identify a gene for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. We continue to pursue genetic research through many of our researchers. We have three current R01 grants in pediatric orthopedics here at Scottish Rite. And so I think genetics is playing a big role, not only in research and discovery, but also in treatment. And there's a lot of genetic based treatment for some of the conditions that we take care of, like spinal muscular atrophy, where children are really living a more fruitful and energetic life with greater strength. And we treat a lot of those patients who have scoliosis because of that condition. And so that's been really an interesting sort of evolution of how genetics has helped patients. And also.
- [08:03]
A
Orthopedics. Fantastic. When you look at this next coming year, what are you most focused on and excited about this coming.
- [08:12]
B
Year? Well, I think we're going to continue to do what we've always done, which is stay laser focused on kids and children. I think as the population around us here in Dallas Fort Worth area continues to increase, we continue to look for ways to get more patients in the doors at Scottish Rite. And so access is really an important thing that we're looking for. We're also looking to continue to expand our research. We do a lot of great clinical research and our basic research is strong, but we're going to continue to pursue even more on the basic and translational research side of things, as well as continue our clinical research.
- [08:52]
A
Activities. Thank you. And what about shortages in pediatric specialties? What does that look like today in terms of shortages and how is that going in.
- [09:02]
B
Pediatrics? Well, we don't really see much of that in our institution. I think in pediatrics in the primary care fields, there are some shortages with respect to those sort of primary care aspects. There's also some. We do see a little bit of it. We have a very strong pediatric rheumatology team as well as a developmental pediatrics team. And those subspecialties are hard to come by. And so, you know, they continue to train more and more to try to kind of fill the need. But those are some of the concerns and some of the things that we're watching for to make sure that we continue to fill out our team to take care of those patients who have those. Those needs that are part of the orthopedic.
- [09:51]
A
Care. Thank you. And in terms of anesthesia shortages there, or managing that, how does that.
- [09:58]
B
Look? You know, we really haven't seen much of a challenge, you know, from hiring here at our institution. I think some of that is the fact that this is one of the most attractive places to be employed and to work because of our mission and the vision of what we do each and every day. So we really haven't seen Much of a challenge with respect to anesthesia. I certainly know that more nationally there are some challenges, but we've not really seen that here in.
- [10:32]
A
Dallas. Thank you very, very much. Dr. Friedman, you've had this remarkable leadership career and remarkable career. Any advice that you would give to emerging.
- [10:41]
B
Leaders? Yeah, I think leaders. So I've been here at Scottish Rite 28 years and have evolved from a orthopedic surgeon just taking good care of patients and doing research, to, you know, taking over the leadership 14 years ago of Scottish Wright and the medical team. And, you know, I've had great mentors. You know, the person before me was Tony Herring, who's had a storied career here for 30 years and as a leader and has been here and continues to be here and serving as an educational and research role. And so, you know, leadership is about really several things. Number one, I think, is leading by example. I mean, I think each and every day, being a leader means doing the right thing almost at all costs and really making sure that you lead by example. Number two is as a leader, nobody works for you. You work for them. And if you keep that in mind, I think it's really something that will serve you well as a leader and recognizing that you're supposed to be a servant leader to those who work with you. And so that's really important. Third is really trying to make sure that everybod understands the vision and the mission, the why of the institution. And if getting those people on board to understand the whys is critically important. And then I think the fourth thing is really, you got to hire top talent, and you got to hire talent that have both the soft skills as well as the hard skills that make institutions be successful not only accomplishing really great things in medicine, but also building a culture that really is sustainable for years to come. And building on that culture every day is something that we all have to do as leaders, but also as folks in each of our.
- [12:27]
A
Institutions. Take one moment on the concept that as a leader, it's really a very mutual or reciprocal relationship. People that work for you technically on an org chart don't really work for you. You better work for them, too, if you're going to make it work in the long run. Can you talk about that for a.
- [12:48]
B
Moment? Yeah. I think it's probably the most important thing, and I think there's a. What you really have to get to is a mutual trust that they trust you, that you're looking out for them and the institution. And that doesn't happen overnight. That happens Day in and day out, and you try to build on that. And it's not always a smooth process. I mean, I think there's a lot of leadership courses out there, a lot of leadership books. None of this is easy. It's sometimes a lonely world, sometimes it's a bumpy road, and oftentimes it's a bumpy road. But as long as you're doing what you think is right for the institution, not necessarily what's right for me or what's right necessarily for an individual, but what's right for the institution, I think then that trust gets built over time, and it's really tested in the toughest of times when things are challenging and when stuff really gets difficult. I think that's the time where you really have to sort of stay laser focused on what's really important to the institution and for the success of those around you, which is really critically important as a.
- [13:55]
A
Leader. Thank you so much, Dr. Sukata. What a pleasure to visit with you. I'll ask you one more question. Josh Allen versus Dak Prescott. And can the Bills make a run this year or is this going to be a challenging.
- [14:10]
B
Year? Yeah, the Bills, it's a tough one. Josh Allen is, you know, obviously he won the MVP last year and he's. He's really good. I think their defense is. Is hurting a little bit. I wish they had a really great number one wide receiver. So they're missing a few little elements, but, you know, Buffalo's a tough, tough town and it's a. It's a really great, gritty team and, you know, I hope they make a run for it. They've had a little bumpy road here recently, but we'll see what happens. You know, the Cowboys pulled out a tough one against the Eagles the other day, but. And they got a big one up against Thursday against the Chiefs. So we'll see what happens. It'll be fun. It'll be fun to watch, no matter what.
- [14:51]
A
Happens. But I think we could all agree that we're sick of the Chiefs winning and hoping that they don't make it go.
- [14:58]
B
Deep. There's no question we can agree. You know, they're, you know, I respect them immensely, but I am glad that they are not doing that well this.
- [15:06]
A
Year. We are all on the same page and we're sad to see him pull it out the other day, but it is what it is. Anyways, Dr. Scott, what a pleasure to visit with you and also for me and our audience to learn more about Scottish. Right. What an amazing institution. Thank you for joining us in the Becker Self Care.
- [15:22]
B
Podcast. Thanks, Scott. It's great to be here, and I appreciate the opportunity.