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Mary Jo graduated from St. Luke’s School of Nursing, Davenport, Iowa, and has worked at Mercy since August 1974. She received her Bachelors degree from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. Mary Jo has an extensive background in nursing through her service as a staff nurse, I.V. nurse, neurology team member in Surgery, Presurgery Assessment and Pediatrics. Mary Jo lives in Des Moines with her husband, and has two adult children. “I love working with children. We strive to make positive changes early in the lives of the children we treat, hoping to make a tremendous impact on their future well-being.”
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Lisa Fox graduated from St. Mary’s University, Winona, MN with a BS in Human Services. She has worked in Child Life at Children’s Hospital, New Orleans, LA, and Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL, in many areas including: Hematology/Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, Pre-surgery, infants & toddlers, Intensive Care and medical-surgical areas. She has been at Mercy since May 2002. Lisa provides pre-surgery tours to patients having surgery at Mercy and provides education, activities and developmental stimulation to patients and families while in the hospital. “I enjoy working with the patients and families and helping to normalize their hospital stay by providing education and activities.”
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Jan Mackey serves the patients and families of Mercy as a pediatric social worker. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa, and master’s degree from Iowa State University. “Each and every day I feel fortunate to work with a group of people who are committed to improving the lives of children and their families.”
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Leah Woods M.A. CCC-SLP joined the Cleft Lip/Palate Team in May 2003. Previously Leah worked at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, with both adults and children, in the areas of speech, language, cognition and swallowing. As a part of the Cleft Lip/Palate Team at The Center for Craniofacial and Children's Reconstructive Surgery, Leah plays an important role in educating families and medical staff about feeding issues unique to children with cleft lip and/or palate. Children with cleft lip may demonstrate decreased ability to latch onto bottle nipples, which may interfere with the infant’s ability to generate suction to express milk from the nipple. Infants with cleft palate also demonstrate poor nipple latch, decreased suction, but also lack a barrier between the oral and nasal cavities, which results in intermittent nasal regurgitation. Various devices and adaptations are used to increase feeding success. Feeding plans are specialized to each individual based on type and severity of the cleft. General techniques used to improve feeding include feeding the infant in an upright position to decrease nasal regurgitation, directing the nipple to the more intact side of the oral cavity to increase oral stimulation and improve milk extraction, burping more frequently and allowing longer periods of time (45 minutes) for each feeding. In addition, the SLP works with parents and their infant in selecting the most efficient type of bottle. Specialized bottles including the Haberman Feeder, the Pigeon Cleft Palate Nurser and the Mead-Johnson Enfamil Cleft Lip/Palate Nurser are used to improve feeding. Some infants are fitted for a NAM, which approximate the premaxilla, alveolar ridges and lips. In addition, some infants are fitted for obturators, which are devices that assist in occluding the nasal cavity from the oral cavity. Infants with NAM devices and/or obturators may or may not need specialized bottles, but typically these devices improve feeding success. Leah often provides initial feedings for infants born at Mercy with cleft lip/palate. Her role also extends into follow-up at the Cleft Clinic, monitoring feeding progress, speech development and vocal nasality. The goal of the SLP at Mercy is to provide families of children with cleft lip/palate with medical and emotional support, thus Leah attends “Expressions,” a cleft lip/palate family support group to provide information and socialize with the amazing families of children with cleft lip/palate.
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