October 3, 2017

Last week, NASA astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut from its international partners worked hand-in-hand on a beautiful art project with the bravest heroes of all, patients at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

As part of NASA’s Spacesuit Art Project and the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center, NASA astronauts Jack Fischer, Nicole Stott, Mike Foreman, Doug Wheelock and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolay iTikhonov spent the morning with the children painting on fabric pieces that will be used to create the VICTORY and EXPLORATION art spacesuits.

“The opportunity to work with NASA and its international partners on this incredible project is such an honor,” said Carol Herron, Periwinkle Arts In Medicine program coordinator at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. “For our patients to create amazing art with these amazing astronauts and then see their work in space will be truly inspiring.”

The EXPLORATION suit, the fourth spacesuit of the Spacesuit Art Project, one of the two spacesuits worked on last week, can be seen on permanent display in the following months at Space Center Houston, NASA’s Johnson Space Center visitor center.

View photos from last week’s event, including a shot of one of the spacesuits below.

The VICTORY spacesuit, the fifth spacesuit created, symbolizes the end of the cancer journey, something every staff member, patient and family at Texas Children’s Cancer Center strives for. Getting each patient to that moment where they ring the end-of-treatment bell is everyone’s goal – the ultimate victory.

The VICTORY spacesuit cover is planned to be worn on the outside of a Russian Orlan Spacesuit and is planned to be jettisoned into space from the International Space Station during a Russian spacewalk later in 2018 as the first ever orbiting art exhibit in space.

You can follow the Spacesuit Art Project’s progress on Social Media at:

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/spacesuitart/
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+SpacesuitprojectOrg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spacesuitart

More about the NASA Spacesuit Art Project:
The Spacesuit Art Project began in Houston through a partnership between NASA, the Arts in Medicine program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and spacesuit company ILC Dover to help raise awareness to the issues surrounding childhood cancer and to reveal the positive connection between the arts and the healing process. The project has grown into a global collaboration of the five international space agencies that built the International Space Station and pediatric cancer patients and hospital’s Arts in Medicine Programs from the respective partner countries in the United States, Canada, Russia, Europe, and Japan. It continues to grow globally with this Texas Children’s Cancer Center and Periwinkle Foundation event, and with more and more hospital participation around the world. The Project brings childhood cancer patients, their families, doctors, hospital staff, International scientists, engineers, astronauts and cosmonauts together through this unique endeavor. It is an amazing story of human triumph and hope by combining science, technology, the arts, and the indomitable human spirit. The spacesuits are a stunningly beautiful representation of what can happen when art, science, and the healing process unite. All of the spacesuit replicas travel to events, museums, conferences and other relevant places as a communications tool to help to raise awareness to the issues surrounding childhood cancer.

The Periwinkle Arts In Medicine program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center has been dedicated to bringing the healing power of the arts to patients throughout their cancer journey for over 20 years. To learn more about the program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center, visit txch.org/arts-in-medicine.

September 29, 2017

Patients got the chance to root for their hometown football team Friday prior to the Houston Texans’ Sunday game against the Tennessee Titans. Two of the team’s cheerleaders and the team’s mascot, TORO, were in the Child Life Zone to participate in the fun.

See photos from the pep rally below.

The Texans-Titans game is sponsored by Texas Children’s Hospital and will celebrate the National Football League’s Play 60 campaign, which encourages children to be active 60 minutes a day to help decrease childhood obesity.

The game caps off a week of Play 60 activities hosted by Texas Children’s and the Texans. One of the most popular events of the week was Play 60 at the Park. Held at Levy Park in the Upper Kirby District of Houston, the family-friendly event featured appearances by players Braxton Miller and Brian Peters, and focused on staying active and eating healthy.

Click here to watch a video from Play 60 at the Park.

Texas Children’s Hospital is the official children’s hospital of the Houston Texans football team. The goal of Texas Children’s and the Texans partnership is to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives.

September 8, 2017

Some Texas Children’s patients recently got the chance to kick off the upcoming Houston Texans season right by attending a special event near the Choo-Choo Hut just inside the entrance of the Abercrombie Building.

On the count of three, the children peeled a sheet of paper off of the large glass windows that encases the intricate model train exhibit. Behind the window was an exhibit transformed into a Texans wonderland.

See photos from the event below.

“Oh, my goodness!” screamed 8-year-old Alejandro Mendoza as he pointed to a pile of footballs inside one of the trains carriages. “Wow!”

In addition to getting an up-close-and-personal look at the train decked out in Texans helmets, flags, banners, footballs and more, patients got to visit with two Texans cheerleaders, Ana Karen and Alexys, as well as Toro, the Texans lively mascot.

Dressed in her Texans cheerleading outfit, 6-year-old Claire Kochenowermet was especially excited about seeing Toro, one of the only Houston sports mascots she hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting.

After posing for a photo with Toro, Claire bashfully nodded her head when she was asked if she was enjoying herself. Her mother, Jodie Kochenowermet, said it was nice to see her daughter smiling and having fun.

Alejandro’s mother, Maria Sanchez, said her son has been at Texas Children’s for a month and does not get the opportunity to leave his room very often. So, to see him not only get to leave his room, but to do so for such a special event “feels really good.”

Don Bozman, the professional model builder hired to construct the train at Texas Children’s Hospital, still helps manage the maintenance of the train and attended last week’s event.

“The smiles on the faces of the patients and their families is what keeps me wanting to do this,” Bozman said. “It’s great to see them all so happy.”

Come check out the train yourself! It will be decorated in Texans gear until Halloween.

August 22, 2017

Social media is a large part of almost everyone’s daily life. It’s where people connect with friends, meet new people and find out information to make important life decisions. More and more people are using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media outlets as a tool to help them decide where to get their health care. And, a growing number of patient families are using social media and the Internet to describe their experiences at Texas Children’s Hospital and make their voices heard about the patient care we are providing.

In order to reach the majority of these patient families, Texas Children’s goal is to gradually achieve superior customer engagement by strategically finding, responding and reporting on relevant conversations on behalf of the health system. This can include online reviews or direct messages about our care on Facebook, Twitter, Google, YELP or other review sites. The goal of these efforts is to improve customer service and patient experience, respond to issues in real time and drive our brand’s reputation.

“The power of social media cannot be ignored,” said Texas Children’s Senior Social Media Specialist Cara Lovan. “We have to use social media as a tool to access our patients and families, talk to them in real-time and improve the overall experience they receive when they are here. If patients feel like they are being heard and that we are actively working to solve their issues, they are more likely to recommend us to friends and family who are looking for health care options.”

Texas Children’s has made a great deal of progress in this arena over the past two years, work that recently landed the hospital’s Facebook page a “Very Responsive” distinction from the social media giant. The distinction is given to organizations that respond to 90 percent of their Facebook inquiries in under 15 minutes. The average response time for Texas Children’s is less than five minutes.

Across various Internet and social media platforms including Facebook, Yelp and Google, Texas Children’s receives an average of about 2,000 reviews a year, all of which are monitored in real time 24/7. Those involved in the review process work closely with Family Advocacy and practice administrators to close the loop on complaints. They also work with leaders across the system to share positive reviews with staff.

“We are working to move beyond just being responsive,” Lovan said. “While that is important, we hope to proactively elicit positive reviews in the future as well as directly improve patient experience.”

Part of that effort includes maintaining and improving our star ratings across various online platforms. Currently, Texas Children’s average score for its hospitals is 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. That same rating for Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Texas Children’s Urgent Care is 3.9 stars.

“Texas Children’s has a stellar reputation on and offline,” Lovan said. “We want to make sure it stays that way.”

Texas Children’s Social Media and Online Outlets

Texas Children’s Website: http://www.texaschildrens.org/
Texas Children’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TexasChildrensHospital/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/texaschildrens
Texas Children’s Blog: http://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/

July 25, 2017

In support of Patient and Family Services’ Step Up for Patients First initiative, 2,083 enthusiastic Texas Children’s employees participated in the StairWELL Challenge during the month of June. Participating employees made physical activity a priority by committing to take two to eight flights of stairs a day to improve the elevator experience for our patients and their families.

Texas Children’s Patient Experience Team received several comments from family members expressing positive feedback about the challenge.

“Thank you to all of the staff and doctors who we saw taking the stairs,” one grateful family member said. “The elevators are always crowded and wrestling for elevator space is the last thing you want to worry about when taking your child to multiple appointments. Seeing staff walk up or down just a few flights of stairs was a kind gesture to free up space.”

Director of Patient and Family Services Katie Kalenda Daggett said “because of the positive feedback from our patients and families, we learned this simple act of putting patients first when moving about on our public elevators has made a strong and positive statement about our commitment to them.”

Many employees said the challenge was a fun and healthy way to improve the experience for our patients and their families. According to a post-challenge survey:

  • 79 percent increased the number of minutes they were physically active
  • 57 percent improved their fitness level
  • 23 percent made new connections and became more social at work
  • 41 percent amplified unity to serve patients and families first
  • 66 percent expressed they had fun
  • 54 percent shared they now have a high commitment to taking the stairs

Several employees plan to continue the challenge. The Information Services team, for example, started Walk and Talk Tuesdays and Vertical Friday, which includes climbing 20 flight of stairs at the Feigin Center.

Departments across the organization amplified unity during the challenge by leading group stairwell climbs and exercise activities. Take a look at this short video to see challenge participants in action.

“We encourage all Texas Children’s employees to continue to be part of this collaborative process to reduce extended wait times at the elevators,” said Director of Benefits and Well-being Jill Fragoso. “It is important to remember Step Up for Patients First is part of a broader initiative to enhance patient experience across the hospital system.”

July 17, 2017

More than 50 Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands employees, physicians and their families loaded up on an oversized “wagon” and participated in the South Montgomery County July 4th parade. The annual event attracted more than 18,000 spectators who lined the 1.3 mile parade route through The Woodlands.

With over 150 parade entries competition was tough, but Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands came away with two top wins: “Best Youth Entry” and “Facebook Fan Favorite.”

“There’s only so many things you can do with a float, but we fell in love with the wagon idea because we use wagons all over the hospital to transport our patients,” said The Woodlands Community Liaison Jenny Hiser, adding there were many creative entries from other organizations. “And for this being our first year, we felt really honored to be able to win anything. It was totally unexpected.”

While some were riding on the “wagon,” others were walking along the side handing out patriotic pinwheels, tattoos, and fliers with information about the hospital.

“Although it was a hot day, my daughter and I enjoyed being a part of this community event with our Texas Children’s The Woodlands family,” said The Woodlands President Michelle Riley-Brown. “I am looking forward to doing it again next year!”

May 16, 2017

The moment Hellen Weberpal’s bow hit her cello, 13-month-old Kimberly Guerra was mesmerized. The little girl shot up in her seat in her inpatient room on the ninth floor of the Cancer Center and watched Weberpal as she played her instrument. During the 10-minute serenade, Kimberly smiled, giggled and clapped in joyous wonder.

Weberpal, a Houston Symphony Community-Embedded Musician, said she has had many experiences at Texas Children’s similar to the one she had with Kimberly.

“Every time I come to the hospital I enjoy it,” she said. “There’s never a day that I don’t have a good time getting to see these kids.”

Weberpal is one of four community-embedded musicians who come to Texas Children’s Cancer Center weekly as part of a partnership between the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers and the Houston Symphony. During their visits, the string players perform at the bedside of inpatients, lead a small music education class with patients and their siblings, and work with Purple Songs Can Fly to create unique scores tailored for each child.

View photos below from some of the musician’s visits.

The purpose of the partnership is to expose children to classical music and give them a sense of normalcy they often don’t get in a hospital setting, said Emily Nelson, the manager of education and community programming for the Houston Symphony.

“One of the benefits we’ve heard from the hospital staff and families is that the musical interactions give the patients a sense of control,” Nelson said. “They get to choose if they want slow music, fast music or even no music at all.”

When Weberpal visited 8-year-old Eduardo Castro’s hospital room, he asked her to play something fast, something slow and then something very specific – the music played in Star Wars when Darth Vader is on screen. Weberpal delivered Eduardo’s request without a hitch, concluding her visit with a smile and a high five.

“I’m always happy to meet another Star Wars fan,” Weberpal said.

Through observations, Carol Herron, coordinator of the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program, has noticed the encounters between the musicians and the patients are much more than a show-and-tell type performance.

“There’s a connection that these musicians make,” she said. “That is what makes these relationships so special.”

To learn more about the Houston Symphony’s Community-Embedded Musician initiative, click here. To learn more about the Periwinkle Arts and Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, click here.