August 13, 2018

Patients had the time of their lives on August 7 when eight Houston Texans cheerleaders paid them a visit and hosted their third Jr. Cheer Mini Camp at Texas Children’s Hospital’s Medical Center Campus.

After walking through a cheer tunnel with applause from on-looking employees, the event held on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women began with a brief introduction to and meet-and-greet with the cheerleaders followed by a small arts and crafts project.

The patients then were divided into groups with the cheerleaders and asked to come up with their own group cheer. After performing the cheer for everyone in the room, the ecstatic children got an opportunity to get each cheerleader’s autograph, along with their own set of pom-poms and a T-shirt. Excitement filled the room as the patients showed spirit for their hometown NFL team.

“This is the best day of my life!” said one of the patients.

Following the autograph and photo session, the cheerleaders visited patients who were unable to leave their hospital rooms. The cheerleaders brought the patients pom-poms and autographed posters.

“It is really important that we provide a normalized environment for the patients and their families,” said Child Life Department Manager Diane Kaulen, who helped organize the event. “The Texans are an integral part of our Houston culture and we want to be able to celebrate along with them for this upcoming football season.”

Texas Children’s teamed up with the Houston Texans four years ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives through camps, programs and events all year long. We are working alongside the Texans through community engagement and education programs to give Houston-area kids the tools necessary to make healthy choices throughout their lives. This week’s Jr. Cheer Mini Camp is just one of many exciting events we’ll take part in throughout the year.

Click here to view the Texans official Cheerleaders hold camp at Texas Children’s video.

On August 8, Texas Children’s Nursing Professional Development and the Shared Governance Interdisciplinary Education Council hosted Professional Day at Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

More than 500 participants attended the conference across the hospital’s three campuses – 360 at Medical Center Campus, 78 at West Campus and 128 at The Woodlands. The conference is designed to promote the enhancement of quality care and patient outcomes through evidence-based practice in the areas of pediatrics and obstetrics. The full day event included a pre-conference session, 80 podium and poster presentations, exhibitors, food and lots of fun and prizes.

“For the first time this year, the annual conference was open to the public,” said Amanda Garey, Nursing Professional Development specialist who was integral to the organization of this event. “Traditionally, Professional Day had been primarily a nursing event, but this year we expanded the event to include clinical staff from multiple disciplines who play a critical role in quality patient care and outcomes.”

Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre presented the keynote address which was shared to the community sites via telehealth platform. All of the conference speakers were acknowledged as subject matter experts in their fields and delivered the content based on latest trends and evidence. In total, 38 exhibitors and professional organizations supported this conference, which provides a platform for colleagues to collaborate, network, share knowledge and make professional connections.

“I really enjoyed the different speakers and learning more about the hospital and the different roles that people have here and the different ways I can learn from them,” said Regem Biyo, a labor and delivery nurse at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.

The event awarded contact hours for CNE/CME/Social Work/Respiratory Therapy. Amanda Garey and Jill Stonesifer were the event leaders at the Medical Center Campus. The event at West Campus and the Woodlands Campus was organized by Lauren Ivanhoe and Deborah Lee respectively.

View a photo gallery below of Professional Day at Texas Children’s.

If you missed this year’s Professional Day, make sure you mark your calendars for the next conference slated for September 19, 2019.

Dr. Ameeben Patel, January – June 2018 Physician

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Amee A Patel, DO, assistant professor of Pediatrics, board certified in general pediatrics, pediatric pulmonary, and sleep medicine – I started out as a sleep medicine fellow in 2014 and then joined as faculty.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I found out about the super star award during our monthly faculty meeting. The section chief and practice administrator announced that I had received this award with several bright shiny balloons.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
Being recognized for this honor, is empowering. I feel incredibly grateful to be part of such an institution that encompasses the value of patient care. Texas Children’s Hospital has provided several opportunities for my personal and professional goals including medical education and research. The balance of working with patients, identifying gaps in knowledge/research as well as teaching students, residents, and fellows is quite rewarding and is amazing that I am able to participate in all three areas while working at Texas Children’s.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
At Texas Children’s, everyone is a super star. We are all dedicated to our patients and their families. We strive to deliver the best possible care as a team. Therefore, being recognized for the hard work and dedication to our patients is a team effort and the entire team should be recognized.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
After working as hard as we all do and with the challenges of health care that we face every day, I still have a sense of gratification that I helped several children in a single day – it is this feeling that motivates me to keep pushing through the various barriers and challenges of practicing in health care.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Texas Children’s is recognized nationwide for the specialists as well as the research. It is an honor to be part of such a great organization/team.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
A leader at Texas Children’s is someone that puts the child and their family first and motivates and inspires others to continue to value this practice.

Dr. Nidhy Varghese has been named the new director of our Pulmonary Hypertension Program. Varghese took over for Dr. George Mallory who helped lead the program to national prominence.

“I am honored to be named to this prestigious leadership position,” Varghese said. “We are one of the few pulmonary hypertension programs in the United States dedicated to treating children. I am excited to expand our groundbreaking pulmonary programs and medical advances.”

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas Children’s Pulmonology as the best program in the country for children with lung diseases. Established in 2001, the pulmonary hypertension program is one of only a handful of pediatric hospitals nationally – and the only one in the southwest – to be named an accredited care center by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. The program has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of infants, children and teens with this rare condition.

The Pulmonary Medicine team specializes in the evaluation and treatment of complex, chronic and rare pulmonary disorders and offers services to treat children dealing with a variety of pulmonary issues. As part of its accreditation, Texas Children’s will also contribute to a national patient registry which will track diagnostic and treatment patterns and patient outcomes to help establish best practices in patient care.

Varghese will succeed Mallory in leading Texas Children’s program. During his tenure, Mallory helped the program earn national accreditation. He also served on the editorial Board of Pediatric Pulmonology for over 25 years. Mallory will continue to dedicate his time and expertise to the programs and the Pulmonology Section at Texas Children’s.

Click here to learn more about the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Texas Children’s.

August 7, 2018

On August 4, more than 500 patients and families traveled from all over the country for the 2018 Texas Children’s Newborn Center family reunion. The Texas-themed event celebrated former patients who graduated from the Newborn Center in 2017 after spending 10 days or more in our neonatal intensive care units at Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The reunion was held at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women where parents shared stories of hope and triumph with other neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) families and reconnected with the nurses and doctors who delivered life-saving care to their critically ill babies.

“The NICU reunion is one of the most special days of the year for those of us who work in the NICU,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh. “It is uplifting to see the families bring their children back to the hospital, and share the great progress their babies have made. During the reunion the families were able to visit with the employees, physicians and other families that they spent so much time with while being cared for in our NICU. On this day we also remember and pray for the families who unfortunately were unable to take their babies home. The resilience and the strength the families display during their babies’ NICU course and afterwards is admirable and inspires all of us.”

Highlights from the reunion included remarks from Suresh, Assistant Vice President of Nursing Heather Cherry, Newborn Center Family Advisory Committee (NFAC) member Ane Alfred, and Brian Brantley, the underwriter chairman for Bad Pants, an organization that has raised more than $6 million over the past 20 years to support the Newborn Center through the annual Bad Pants Open golf tournament.

The NICU reunion also offered children’s entertainment including a DJ, games, photo booth, face painting, crafts, airbrush tattoos, appearances from Minnie Mouse, SpongeBob Square Pants and Pikachu, and guests enjoyed a good old-fashioned Texas barbecue.

The Newborn Center team thanked everyone who helped organize this successful event including Texas Children’s NFAC Committee and Bad Pants.

It is that time of the year again; the end of summer means the beginning of a new school year. Texas Children’s Hospital’s Social Work Department organized a back-to-school fair to provide information to patients and their families to help them prepare for the new school year.

“Events like this provides community organization opportunities,” Social Work Manager Jackson Huynh said. “It allows them to reach and serve Texas Children’s patients and families affected by childhood illness that other community organizations will not be able to reach and serve due to a child’s hospitalization and/or rigorous outpatient treatment plan.”

On July 31, the Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Auxiliary Bridge quickly filled with tons of patients and their families waiting to take advantage of the opportunity to receive free school items.

Texas Children’s relationships and partnerships with many groups and agencies made way for a great response when it came to soliciting organizations to participate.

Below are the groups that occupied tables with information along with a few goodies for children and their parents to take with them.

  • One Step Closer Foundation – a non-profit, charitable organization whose main goal is to ease, as much as possible, the lives of those who suffer from cerebral palsy.
  • Houston Food Bank – a private non-profit organization and a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network.
  • Neuhaus Education Center – a non-profit educational foundation dedicated to promoting reading success.
  • Families Empowered – a non-profit organization founded to support the escalating number of families searching for a great school for their child.
  • Disability Rights – recognizes the varied needs of people with disabilities in Texas.
  • HEP Bookstore – a homeschool resource; a bookstore specializing in instructional materials & books for home schooling in a range of subjects.

The One Step Closer Foundation provided the DJ and decorations for the bridge. In addition the foundation, along with the Houston Food Bank, backpacks and school supplies were also given away to patients and their siblings. The fair also provided opportunities for Texas Children’s departments such as Nutritionist, School Coordinators, Animal Assisted Therapy Program, Child Life, the hospital Dieticians, and schoolteachers, to showcase their skill set so that parents and students are more confident and prepared for the upcoming school year.

There was even a photo area created for parents to take school photos of their children. This was a very popular portion of the event for families, as it creates normalization for those who are not able to leave the hospital to attend school and pictures.

The social work department’s goal has been to create an immense presence and emphasize their role in maintaining exceptional patient experience year round.

“We work with families and provide them resources for the various agencies present, so we thought it would be great to bring the agencies here to the hospital,” Social Work Clinical Specialist DeAdra Cage said. “Providing resources to help parents work with the various schools is a big part of our job as Social Workers.”

Many parents who have children in the hospital may not have the time or financial ability to purchase all the necessities needed for school. This event was able to help make the start of the school year a little easier and among all things, let parents know that Texas Children’s is there to support them and their needs.

“It’s a great feeling to be able to assist our families who already have so much going on,” Cage said. “We are very proud of the outcome. As we anticipated, we had an awesome turnout! We were focused on helping the patients and siblings who happened to be on site the day of the event.”

With a goal of helping 300 children, the actual end result was 500. The back-to-school fair was an overall success and the Social Work Department hopes to make this an annual event for many years to come.

Buffy Orndorff, April – June 2018 Leader

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Buffy Orndorff, Patient Care Manager on 12WT General Medicine/Transplant Unit. I have worked at Texas Children’s Hospital for 18 years.

What month are you Super Star for?
April, May and June 2018

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I thought I was attending a staff meeting with the Assistant Clinical Director, Mona Clark, so I knew it had to be important. She surprised me with the wonderful Super Star Leader plaque. Everyone broke out in cheers and I started to cry. It was an overwhelming rush of emotions.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
Recognition from the people you work with is the most humbling experience. I work with such amazing people. They inspire me every day to become a better leader and a better person. 12WT works as a team to amplify unity through our commitment towards positive patient outcomes. Becoming a nursing leader is a true passion, and I feel rewarded every day I come to work.

Texas Children’s Hospital cultivates an environment where people feel empowered to succeed, bring new ideas to the forefront, and invests time and resources developing them. I work with extraordinary people who support and encourage me every day. They really care for me both professionally and personally.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
A Texas Children’s super star leads tirelessly, motivates and inspires people. Being present, investing time and effort in developing one another. Believing in the people you work with and building people up. Lastly, providing excellent clinical care and an exceptional patient experience.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
My motivation for going above and beyond are the people I work with and for. I genuinely care about them both personally and professionally. I want to cultivate a work environment where people enjoy coming to work and serving our patient population. Recognizing each other for the great work we do each day and the lives we have an impact on.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
The best thing about working at Texas Children’s are the patients and families we serve. On 12WT we serve a chronic patient population so we develop lasting relationships with the patients and families. Their resilience and positive outlook on life is inspiring.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
Everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader. Every individual has a unique set of experience and talent that can impact patients, families and colleagues. Everyone can make a difference in this organization.

My leadership definition is to create a positive culture where people feel motivated and confident in the work they do. Being committed to help each other achieve both personal and professional goals, and have a positive attitude each time I walk onto the unit.

Anything else you want to share?
I want to thank everyone on 12WT and the Leadership Team. I am truly blessed to work with an amazing team!