July 6, 2016

7616woodlands4th640Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands was well represented Monday at the annual South County 4th of July Parade with leaders, staff and their families participating in the community’s Independence Day tradition.

Leaders and staff have been in The Woodlands community for a while now building relationships with residents in advance of the fall opening of the outpatient building of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Soon thereafter in the spring of 2017, Texas Children’s second community hospital will be ready to serve The Woodlands and beyond.

To read more about the new hospital, click here.

7616jrcheer640Children ages 7-11 who love to dance and cheer are invited to participate in the Houston Texans Jr. Cheer Program.

This Texas Children’s Hospital-sponsored event will give participants the opportunity to practice and perform with the Houston Texan cheerleaders in August. Click here to register for and to get more details about the event.

Texas Children’s teamed up with the Houston Texans last year 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.

The Houston Texans Jr. Cheer Program is just one of many of the exciting events we’ll take part in throughout the year. Click here to learn about some of the other ones.

7616ChroniclePhilanthropy250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next 16 weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

Click here to visit the Promise website.

June 28, 2016

View a testimonial from Pharmacist Margo Hanerhoff about what is like to work at Texas Children’s.

June 21, 2016

62216jjwatt640When 8-year-old Texas Children’s patient Jeston Adams woke up June 12, he could barely contain his excitement. It was the moment he had been waiting for; the day he was going to meet his hero – J.J. Watt.

Jeston, whose wide smile and personality light up a room, spent more than three hours having lunch, sharing stories, playing video games and talking about his road to a heart transplant with the larger-than-life Houston Texans defensive end.

In January, congenital heart surgeon Dr. Iki Adachi and his team implanted the HeartWare® HVAD® into Jeston’s small chest, connecting the device to his heart. A red pack filled with the VAD’s controller and battery is now a fixture on Jeston’s back, allowing him to enjoy his childhood as he awaits a much-needed transplant. He is closely monitored by pediatric cardiologist Dr. Aamir Jeewa, VAD coordinator Barb Elias, and the Heart Center’s heart failure team.

“Giving patients like Jeston an opportunity to meet a hero and be inspired by someone like J.J. is really uplifting,” said Dr. Jeff Dreyer, medical director of the Heart Transplant Program. “His positive attitude and moments like this keep him going on the long road ahead.”

After the visit, Watt had one more surprise for Jeston before they said goodbye – an Xbox. Jeston was thrilled, and without hesitation wrapped his arms around Watt’s waist for a big hug. The starstruck patient now calls Watt his brother and hopes this is just the beginning of their friendship.

“Thank you for everything!,” Jeston said grinning from ear to ear. “I hope I see you again one day.”

Jeston and his mom weren’t the only ones who had a memorable day. Watt posted a photo and video of his time with Jeston on social media and received an overwhelming, supportive response.

“He is one of the nicest, kindest, funniest kids that I have ever met. He has an old soul combined with the energy and enthusiasm of a child,” Watt wrote about Jeston. “He spoke openly about his condition and the pain that he endures, but he never complained about it or used it as an excuse. He never stopped smiling the entire day and he, without question, has inspired me to attack each day with a smile and a positive mentality.”

Click here to watch highlights from Jeston’s special day.

62216TCHPquilt640Debbie Spence, LVN, recently designed a colorful signature quilt to honor the nurses from the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) where she works as a medical compliance auditor.

“I’ve made special quilts in the past, but most, if not all, were for a specific person or to honor someone who was going through a difficult time,” Spence said. “I felt in my heart that making a quilt would honor the nurses I work with and making a signature quilt would be the best way to accomplish this honor.”

Designed with various combinations of fabrics to represent the uniqueness of our nurses, the individual quilt squares contain the name, nursing school and the year of graduation for each TCHP nurse including the nurses from The Centers for Women and Children in Greenspoint and Southwest.

“Everyone was very supportive of this project,” Spence said. ”It was such a joy to create this quilt to represent us – the Texas Children’s Health Plan.”

Spence’s quilt will be displayed in the TCHP’s new offices at 6330 West Loop South and will serve as a constant reminder of how special and dynamic our nurses are at the TCHP.

June 14, 2016

61416ChroniclePhilanthropyAd300Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next 20 weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

Click here to visit the Promise website.