Funding from the Gerber Foundation fueled Dr. Christopher Russell’s research into bacterial tracheostomy-associated respiratory infections

Each year, nearly 4,000 children undergo a tracheostomy, the surgical placement of a breathing tube, and many experience bacterial respiratory infections. Despite the frequency of infections, there are no guidelines for how to prevent, diagnose or treat patients. “It was frustrating for me as an attending physician to see these children readmitted to the hospital, but also frustrating for their families,” says Christopher Russell, MD, MS, a pediatric hospitalist and Director of Research for the Division of Hospital Medicine at CHLA.

That prompted Dr. Russell to start researching bacterial tracheostomy-associated respiratory infections, but he needed support. A $350,000 grant from The Gerber Foundation in 2019 allowed him to begin building a network of collaborators across the country to determine risk factors, identify ways to improve treatment and reduce antibiotic overuse while caring for children with these infections.

With the grant from The Gerber Foundation, Dr. Russell was able to demonstrate the study’s importance and feasibility—and use the data to secure additional funding. In August 2021, he was awarded a $2.4 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to broaden the scope of his research.

“The ultimate goal is to develop clinical guidelines for a more standardized and evidence-based approach to treating these types of infections,” says Dr. Russell, who is now leading a multicenter study that also includes Seattle Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s National Medical Center and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

“If I had not received the award from The Gerber Foundation, I’m not sure that the grant application from AHRQ would have been successful,” says Dr. Russell. “I’m immensely thankful for their support.