May 10, 2016

GeneveraAllen175Dr. Genevera Allen, a Rice University professor and neuroscientist at the Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children’s, has been nominated to receive a new CAREER Development Award from National Science Foundation (NSF).

Allen is Rice University’s Dobermans Family Junior Chair of Statistics and an assistant professor in the departments of statistics and electrical and computer engineering. She is a statistician, mathematician and neuroscientist who also holds a joint appointment in pediatric neurology at the NRI.

CAREER awards support the research and educational development of young scholars who are likely to become leaders in their field. The five-year grants, which are among the most competitive awarded by the NSF, are given to only about 400 scholars per year across all disciplines.

This $400,000 five-year grant will allow Allen to develop new suite of statistical tools that can be used to tackle big biomedical datasets that will help to better understand complex medical disorders and to develop personalized therapies.

51116CancerCenternursingconference640Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers held its inaugural “No one fights alone: enhancing nursing care of the pediatric hematology/oncology patient” conference at Texas Children’s last month. The conference provided pediatric hematology/oncology nurses with opportunities for professional enrichment and to gain industry connections to help improve the overall health and outcomes of their patients.

More than 70 participants from hospitals all across the southern region of the U.S. were in attendance and educated on the current and emerging trends in care such as popular diagnostic features, revolutionary therapies and recommended symptom management.

Numerous sessions were held during the three-day event, including a presentation on the latest therapy treatment for neuroblastoma, a survivor panel and a discussion about Texas Children’s work on the inclusion of screening for severe combined immune deficiencies in the Texas state newborn screening. This newborn screening has led to early detection and successful treatment with bone marrow transplants here at Texas Children’s. Participants also enjoyed a session on symptom management for pediatric oncology patients by keynote speaker, Dr. Marilyn Hockenberry.

Hockenberry currently serves as the associate dean for research at the Duke University School of Nursing and has over 30 years of experience in pediatric oncology nursing, almost 20 of which were spent at Texas Children’s. She was the first director and pioneer of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers and introduced the NP post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) procedure team and the NP graduate fellowship program.

The conference concluded with a special, inspirational performance by Purple Songs Can Fly, a partner of the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers that provides patients the opportunity to write, record and share their own songs.

51116drweiner175Texas Children’s is proud to announce Dr. Howard Weiner as chief of neurosurgery. Texas Children’s is ranked No. 2 nationally in neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News World Report. For more information visit texaschildrens.org/neurosurgery.

“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Weiner,” said Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., surgeon-in-chief at Texas Children’s and professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. “His clinical interests and vision for the next stages of development of neurosurgery at Texas Children’s are complementary to the expertise of our team. The patients and families we treat will benefit greatly from his tremendous experience in the field.”

Weiner’s clinical interests include medically refractory epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis complex. He also treats children with brain and spinal tumors, congenital malformations, tethered cords, chiari malformations, craniosynostosis, hydrocephalus, spina bifida and spasticity. His research interests have included the biology of tuberous sclerosis complex, the role of the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway in medulloblastoma and therapeutic strategies for germ cell tumors of the central nervous system.

Weiner, who also serves as professor of surgery at Baylor, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. During residency, he was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at New York University. Following residency, Weiner was awarded the Van Wagenen Fellowship by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons to study brain development in Paris. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center.

Weiner is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons and the American Epilepsy Society.

“I also extend my thanks to Dr. Thomas Luerssen for his nine years of outstanding leadership and service as chief of neurosurgery at Texas Children’s,” added Fraser. “During his tenure, he built a truly preeminent neurosurgery team of consummate academic and clinical surgeons.”

Texas Children’s neurosurgery program is among the largest and most experienced pediatric neurosurgery units in the U.S. Expert neurosurgeons perform more than 950 surgeries annually for a broad range of pediatric neurosurgical disorders.

May 3, 2016

5416patientexperienceinside640From an Olympic-themed spring carnival on The Auxiliary Bridge to an intimate talk with our physicians and one of our patient families, this year’s patient experience week activities were both fun and insightful. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Patient Experience Survey teams hosted a spring carnival on The Auxiliary Bridge for our patients and their families. The Olympic-themed event had everything from golf to balance beam walking and water gun shooting. See photos below. Throughout the week, employees and staff took the games to the rooms of patients who couldn’t make it to the bridge.
  • Several employees and staff attended two talks about how communication is the first step to a great patient experience. The event included comments from various Texas Children’s physicians as well as one of the hospital’s patient families.
  • Throughout the week, staff and employees were asked to participate in a poster and essay contest. The recipients, along with the 2016 Caught You Caring recipients of the year, were announced at a closing ceremony that capped the week’s events.

2016 Caught You Caring recipients of the year:

  • Trinh Han
  • Linda Santana
  • Dr. Yong Han
  • Donald Wilkins
  • William Davidson

Idea Contest Winner:
Title: “Smile at Me Everyone”
By: Akachi Phillips
Area: Maternal Fetal Medicine Community Clinics

Poster Contest Winner:
Title: Our Patients Mean the World
By: Natalie Jimenez, Kim Davis, Suzanne Iniguez
Area: Respiratory Care

Poster Contest Honorable Mention:
Title: Twinkle
By: Pavilion Medical & Outpatient team
Area: Pavilion Medical & Outpatient

Poster Contest Honorable Mention:
Title: Living Compassionately
By: Danna Martinez
Area: Pavilion For Women Operating Room

Patient Experience Table Winner:
Ambulatory Surgery

5416wayfinding640When Texas Children’s Hospital opened its doors in 1954, we had 224,000 square feet of space located in the middle of the Texas Medical Center. Now, our medical complex stretches throughout the greater Houston area and consists of more than 8 million square feet of multi-floor buildings, offices and parking garages.

Such immense growth is a reflection on the quality of care we provide and has been a proven benefit to the children and families of Texas and beyond. Our continued need for expansion also has presented some challenges, one of the main ones being effective wayfinding.

Navigating our buildings and hallways isn’t easy for our patients, families and many times our faculty and employees. The frustration this creates can severely tarnish how people view the patient experience we provide.

That’s why a team of representatives from various departments throughout the organization – Administration, Ambulatory Services, Facilities Planning & Development, Marketing and Public Relations, Patient and Family Relations, Surgical Services, Women’s Services and the medical staff – have been working for two years with internal and external experts to come up with and implement both long- and short-term solutions that will help people get the right care at the right time and in the right place.

“We want to make our patient experience as seamless and compassionate as possible,” said Vice President Matt Girotto, who is helping lead the wayfinding initiative. “Eliminating some of our wayfinding hurdles to make it easier for patients and their families get to where they need to go will surely improve and enhance their experience, allowing them to focus on what is most important – their medical care.”

Assistant Vice President Jill Pearsall also is helping lead the wayfinding initiative and said the changes that are being made will arm our employees with a better knowledge of our locations, empowering them to better help patients and their families who are having a hard time finding their way around.

“We need everyone engaged in this process in order for it to truly be effective,” Pearsall said. “So, please be on the lookout for new maps, building level guides, digital directories and more.”

These items are a nod to a larger, more comprehensive wayfinding initiative that is underway. Stay tuned and remember, the best wayfinding aid is the Texas Children’s employee who asks a patient, family or visitor how they can help.

Campus Map
A new, updated map of Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center has been posted in the public elevator cabs of our patient care facilities on the Main Campus. These maps feature:
Names for all buildings and towers with changes for:

  • Pediatric Tower E = Tower E
  • Clinical Care Center = Clinical Care Tower
  • Abercrombie = Abercrombie Building
  • Feigin = Feigin Tower

Note: Tower was added to the Clinical Care and Feigin facilities to assist in eliminating the confusion of Centers being located within a Center, for example, the Texas Children’s Cancer Center in the Clinical Care Center.

Partnered with the maps in the elevator cabs is a building directory that notes the departments that are accessible from the elevator. Prints of the map have a back side listing the address of each building, a place for notes and a list of important phone numbers that patients and visitors might find helpful during their stay. These prints will be available at every information/welcome desk, each check in location of every clinic or unit, on TexasChildrens.org, Connect, and with members of Guest Services and Volunteer Services to use in their daily interaction with patients and visitors.

Building Color Assignments
Each building now has an assigned color to add another layer of identification to our locations. You will be able to easily discern between buildings not only by name, but by color.

  • Pavilion for Women = Turquoise
  • Tower E = Yellow
  • West Tower = Purple
  • Abercrombie Building = Green
  • Feigin Tower = Blue
  • Clinical Care Tower = Orange

These colors will be added to the ongoing wayfinding signage as these changes and improvements continue to be implemented.

Building Level Guide
The Building Level Guide is a visual aid to assist in showing how the medical center campus is connected. The third Floor Bridge is highlighted on the Campus Map and in the Building Level Guide to demonstrate how to travel between buildings. In addition, the Texas Medical Center Parking Garage numbers and locations are listed under each building.

Portal Paint and Carpet Transition
To make it easier to identify transition points between buildings, the surrounding walls, will be painted the building’s corresponding color. In addition, the carpet at each transition point will be updated to also include the building’s color. Work will start on the portal paint and carpet transition this week and will be completed mid-June.

Wall (Omni) Signage
Facilities Planning and Development is currently working to combine the map and building level guide into a comprehensive wall feature in the public elevator lobbies. These wall features, or omni sinage, will be in prominent, high-traffic areas and are currently scheduled to be installed soon.

Information Stations
Digital building directories have been placed in two of the busiest areas of the hospital – the first and third floors of the Clinical Care Tower. On the first floor, a 48-inch monitor has been set up next to the information desk. On the third floor, three of the same size monitors are mounted on the wall between The Auxiliary Bridge and the information desk. All three monitors are touch-screen activated and feature a map of the medical center campus, step-by-step directions to various locations throughout Main Campus, and information on our services throughout the Houston area.

With these improvements, leaders will be asked to review their scheduling scripts, webpage, Epic templates, etc., to ensure that what we are telling families is consistent with our new approach. Similar color assignments are also being made to the West Campus and built into the design of The Woodlands hospital.

Long-term initiatives include:

  • Ensuring that patient experience and wayfinding is integrated into new employee orientation
  • Increasing the number of volunteers dedicated to helping patients find their way around campus
  • Finding a wayfinding app that will guide patients to their appropriate location

“We would like to thank all of those that are involved in helping improve how patients, families and visitors navigate our campuses,” Girotto said. “We have world class providers, staff and facilities, and we are now on the path to help bring all those things together in a more easy fashion for our patients.”

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please email wayfinding@texaschildrens.org.

5416NursesWeek640This year’s National Nurses Week theme is “Culture of Safety: It Starts with You,” which perfectly describes what our more than 3,000 nurses do every day at Texas Children’s. From reducing central line infections to preventing pressure ulcers to helping a child walk down the hallway after surgery, our nurses are leading change, advocating and caring for our patients and improving their outcomes.

To celebrate our amazing nurses and their nursing colleagues around the country, May 6 through May 12 is designated as National Nurses Week. Each year during this time, we pause to recognize and applaud the successes, accomplishments and contributions that our nurses make to their patients and their profession.

The Nursing Retention Council has taken great pride in developing a schedule of events that are designed to ensure that nurses from across our system know how deeply valued they are. This Friday, May 6, will kick off an exciting week full of memorable events, activities and educational opportunities, including fun activities for nurses on their individual units.

On Tuesday, May 17, Connect will feature event highlights from Nurses Week, including special recognitions of our 2016 Nursing Excellence Awards winners as well as our nurses who have been recognized among the Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses Top 150 and Top 10.

For a complete schedule of Nurses Week activities, click here and to view the recent By the Numbers flyer spotlighting Nursing at Texas Children’s, click here.

5416MothersDay640Because of the outstanding quality of care provided at Texas Children’s, there are endless stories about how our faculty, staff and employees have changed people’s lives. These stories remind us and others how big of an impact we can make and how humbling our jobs often can be. In honor of Mother’s Day, here are two stories about Texas Children’s patients whose lives were changed by our Heart Center and Transplant Services teams.

Grandmother, mom, daughter share bond through congenital heart disease diagnoses

To say Sherry Brown, her daughter, Tracy Moore, and granddaughter, Kennedie, have a special relationship would be an understatement. Other than the quintessential bond which has grown throughout the lineage’s time together, they also share congenital heart disease diagnoses.

When Tracy was born, doctors discovered she suffered from an atrial septal defect (ASD), a “hole” in the wall that separates the top two chambers of the heart. The Palestine, Texas native and her family traveled to Houston for expert pediatric heart care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Tracy was monitored growing up and underwent surgery to repair the congenital heart defect when she was 17-years-old.

The family’s experience with congenital heart disease deepened when Tracy’s daughter, Kennedie, was diagnosed with an ASD and valve issue when she was 4-months-old. As soon as Tracy left Kennedie’s local doctor’s office, she knew there was only one heart center team equipped to care for her daughter. It was the same expert team her mom had entrusted to take care of her when she was a little girl – the cardiovascular surgeons and cardiologists at Texas Children’s.

“It’s the only place to be treated,” Tracy said. “When you’re at Texas Children’s, you not only feel grateful for the care you’re receiving, but you also feel grateful for what you have when you see what other families are going through.”

Kennedie, now 10-years-old, has undergone three surgeries with cardiovascular surgeons Dr. Dean McKenzie and Dr. Jeffrey Heinle, and is closely monitored by a pediatric cardiologist as she matures. During each of Kennedie’s surgeries, Sherry supported Tracy in a way no one else could. Ironically, Sherry was also diagnosed with congenital heart disease, but not until she was 53-years-old. In 2003, she too underwent surgery with Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., surgeon-in-chief and chief of congenital heart surgery at Texas Children’s, and had a second valve repair just last year.

Though grown adults, Sherry and Tracy continue to be cared for by doctors at Texas Children’s. Dr. Wayne Franklin, director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Texas Children’s, and his team see more than 1,800 adults like Sherry and Tracy in clinic each year. The expert team is trained in both pediatric and adult heart disease, ensuring the continuum of care from childhood through adulthood is maintained. Franklin advises patients on health and lifestyle choices for their adult needs, including physical challenges, exercise options and family planning.

Sherry cherishes the relationship she has with her daughter and granddaughter. “God has blessed me,” Sherry said. “To be able to go through something like this with my daughter as she’s having her child who also has heart disease creates one big, special bond.”

Mother donates kidney to son, gives him second chance at life

When Mary Churchman was pregnant with her son, Kyle, he was diagnosed with a posterior urethral valve. Due to the condition, he had extra flaps of tissue that grew in his urethra, causing a blockage of the normal flow of urine and damage to one of his kidneys. Doctors in New Orleans told the Churchmans Kyle wasn’t going to live an hour and if he did, he would likely need a kidney transplant by age two or three. He defied those odds.

The family moved from New Orleans to Lake Charles, La. shortly before Hurricane Katrina hit. Following the devastating storm, Kyle’s doctors scattered leaving the family in search of an expert team to care for their young son. The Churchmans discovered Texas Children’s Hospital, and Kyle has been followed by the hospital’s kidney transplant team ever since. Recently, it was determined the now 13-year-old was finally in need of a transplant.

Kyle’s dad was tested first and was a match, but due to his anatomy, wasn’t an ideal candidate for transplant. Once Mary went through the screening process and it was determined she was a match, surgery was scheduled. The Churchmans were both excited and nervous. On Feb. 4, 2016, Dr. Christine O’Mahony, surgical director of kidney transplantation at Texas Children’s, harvested Mary’s kidney and transplanted it into Kyle. Following a two-month stay in Houston for their recovery, Kyle and Mary joined the rest of the family back home in Lake Charles.

Kyle is now thriving and didn’t even realize how bad he felt prior to transplant. The family is so thankful to the team at Texas Children’s for helping Mary give her son the gift of life.

“To be able to give him this gift is amazing and a true honor, especially as his mom,” Mary said. “When I delivered him, we didn’t even know if he was going to make it and now he has another chance at life. It’s a blessing.”