November 14, 2017

On November 9, Texas Children’s dedicated the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden during a special ribbon cutting ceremony attended by more than 50 people including Texas Children’s leadership and staff, members of the Building and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees, The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital, and our external construction and design partners who helped make this vision a reality for our patients and their families.

Located outside the Abercrombie Building, a beautifully hand-painted mural greets visitors as they enter the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden which was meticulously designed to create a comfortable retreat where patients and families could get away from the stress of treatment or caring for a loved one in the hospital.

The play garden features a colorful display of child-friendly play pieces, musical instruments and plenty of shade structures, benches and lush landscape for optimal relaxation. The design of the play space allows patients – whether ambulatory or confined to a wheelchair – to easily access all of the amenities offered in the play garden.

Guest speakers at the dedication ceremony included Texas Children’s Senior Vice President Tabitha Rice, Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre, Donigan family friend Betty Lunsford, and patient family Desiree Bradley, whose daughter, Deonc, had been treated at Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit for seven months.

When Bradley delivered her daughter, she wasn’t sure how long her little girl would survive due to an extremely rare genetic disorder called Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, which affects the spine, ribs and respiratory system. Ten years later, however, Deonc, is a happy, thriving young girl who visits Texas Children’s often where she sees 13 different specialists for her condition. Bradley thanked the staff at Texas Children’s and everyone who was involved in the play garden project which will benefit our patients and their families for many years to come.

“You have done an outstanding job to make this an accessible space for all of the children, all of the patients and their families at Texas Children’s,” Bradley said. “When you enter the play garden, it’s not just about Deonc Bradley. It’s about mom and dad, the siblings, and meeting the needs of the entire family. When I am having a rough day, this is a nice space for me and my children to take a break and relax for a few minutes.”

In addition to feedback from our medical staff, employees and from our patients and families, Texas Children’s Facilities Planning and Development team collaborated with external project partners – W.S. Bellows, RVI Planning + Landscape Architecture, Smith Seckman & Reid, Walter P. Moore and muralist Sebastein Boileau – to bring this project to fruition for our patient families.

The new Abercrombie play garden was named in memory of the late Merle C. Donigan, a long-time Texas Children’s volunteer and Auxiliary member who graciously donated funds which were used to honor her legacy and support this renovation project. While she and her husband never had children of their own, they both delighted in being able to make a child smile.

“As former owners of a sandwich/candy shop in downtown Houston, the Donigans retired from business in the 1950s and thereafter, Merle brought her business acumen and love of children to volunteer at Texas Children’s,” Lunsford said. “This play garden is a symbol of Merle’s love of children and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the legacy she left us.”

To learn more about the Merle C. Donigan Play Garden, click here to watch the video.

November 7, 2017

Texas Children’s has a new website that recognizes the outstanding accomplishments and successes of our team of more than 3,000 nurses across the organization.

In collaboration with Nursing, Texas Children’s Creative Services team member Bilal Tawil designed the website that includes a welcome video with Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre and features compelling articles, pictures, videos and animated graphics that spotlight how our nurses have gone above and beyond to spearhead system-wide initiatives to improve patient care, safety and outcomes.

Prior to the website’s launch, Texas Children’s Nursing Outcomes Book was a printed publication that was distributed internally and mailed out to thousands of our health care peers including chief nursing officers of pediatric hospitals across the country and deans from U.S. News’ top 10 nursing schools.

Through this new digital communications platform, website page views can be measured easily and nursing stories and data can be updated more frequently. The site also provides another tool for nursing engagement that complements the Voice of Nursing blog, which was launched in 2014.

Each section of the site – our stories, milestones and awards – demonstrates our nursing team’s continued dedication and hard work, their leadership, and the compassion that goes into the work they do for our patients and families at Texas Children’s each and every day.

Read all about our nursing team’s achievements at www.texaschildrens.org/nursing. Share the link with friends and colleagues, and encourage them to do the same.

Physicians, administrators, former patients and community partners came together at Third Coast restaurant on October 5 for the 5th Annual Transition Medicine Reception.

The event served as an opportunity to discuss the long-term care of Texas Children’s patients and welcome a number of attendees of the 18th annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference: Transition from Pediatric to Adult Based Care, led by Dr. Albert Hergenroeder, Chief of Adolescent & Sports Medicine. Additionally, the 2017 Benjamin B. Ligums Scholar Award was presented to Dr. Mark W. Stephenson and his Conroe dental practice for his success in following special needs patients through the continuum of care.

The “Transition Medicine Road Trip” took attendees on a journey to the various components of the transition medicine process, with Texas Children’s employees, physicians and former patients at stations talking to attendees about: parent/guardian engagement, patient engagement, partnerships with adult providers, patient education, and technology.

A number of former patients, along with their families were also present to share their personal accounts and experience transitioning from Texas Children’s to adult providers. Stories reflected a wide range of challenges and opportunities that serve as a resource for improving the transition process.

Attendees also participated in a silent auction to score items ranging from Houston Texans items to work from local artists. All funds raised will be used to allot grants for future transition medicine pilots to grow and develop programs and help usher patients into the world of adult care.

October 31, 2017

Thanks to the generosity of donors far and wide, Texas Children’s Hospital has reached a significant milestone in its Promise Campaign. As of the end of September, donors had contributed $408.9 million, pushing the organization ever closer to its $475 million fundraising goal. The amount raised during fiscal year 2017 alone – $124.7 million – is a new annual high for the hospital’s fundraising team.

This record-breaking year coincides with a rebranding of the team that leads these efforts – the Office of Development is now the Office Philanthropy. “Changing the name from development to philanthropy better defines what we do, which is less transactional and more about the creation and sustainability of a strong and active base of supporters who are dedicated to advancing Texas Children’s mission,” said Amber Tabora, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Marketing and Public Relations.

“We are so grateful to our generous donors, volunteers and friends in the community, and to the Office of Philanthropy team, who are all working together to ensure the campaign’s success,” said Michael C. Linn, president of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees. Linn and his wife, Carol, serve as co-chairs of the Promise Campaign, which was launched more than seven years ago.

This major fundraising effort ensures that Texas Children’s can expand to serve even more children who need the highest quality care and can anticipate what our patients’ needs will be in 5, 10 and even 20 years. Funds raised through the campaign are being dedicated to five key initiatives:

Legacy Tower
The new Legacy Tower, scheduled to open in the spring of 2018 will add 640,000 square feet of space to our Main Campus, allowing the hospital to respond to an urgent need for the expansion of critical, surgical and cardiac care services.

Charity Care and Hospital Priorities
Funding for this area supports the advancement of Texas Children’s mission, providing care for all patients regardless of their families’ ability to pay, bridging the gap for un- and under-compensated care, and providing resources to address the hospital’s most pressing needs.

Endowed Chairs
Not a day goes by when Texas Children’s renowned physicians and scientists are not being recruited by other institutions around the world. Funding for endowed chairs enables us to recruit the brightest and best and keep them here.

Divisions and Centers of Excellence
Texas Children’s specialty services are ranked consistently in the top 10 for pediatric hospitals throughout the country. Funding for divisions and centers of excellence like allows us to enhance and expand our existing programs and develop new ones to address our patients’ ever-evolving needs.

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands
The 548,000-square-foot dedicated pediatric hospital – our second community hospital – expanded Texas Children’s footprint in The Woodlands to better serve the growing communities north of Houston.

“The success of the Promise Campaign depends not only on monetary donations, but also on longstanding relationships with people who believe in the mission of Texas Children’s,” said Linn. “These relationships are what sustain the great work that is being done at the hospital to help children from our own community and beyond.”

The Office of Philanthropy cultivates these partnerships through education, attentive stewardship and appropriate solicitation. The gifts received as a result of this work – no matter how big or small – can be life-changing for our patients, families and staff.

For more information about the Promise Campaign, click here.

October 24, 2017

Texas Children’s inches closer towards achieving its third Magnet® re-designation, which is considered the gold standard for nursing excellence. Now that the hospital’s application and written documentation for Magnet® re-designation have been approved, Magnet’s appraiser team will visit Texas Children’s for a site visit in January.

“This step marks a huge milestone in our journey towards Magnet® re-designation,” said Texas Children’s Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre’. “The site visit will provide our appraiser team with the opportunity to validate the exemplars referenced in our written documentation. I am so proud of the combined efforts of our entire nursing team which made this collaborative achievement possible. I would also like to recognize Emily Weber, Sarah Marcion, and the NAS team for their leadership.”

From January 22 to 26, 2018, Magnet® appraisers will conduct a site visit at Texas Children’s, which is one of the many required steps to obtain Magnet® re-designation. The site visit will provide an opportunity for nurses and the entire health care team to engage with the Magnet® appraisers, share their exceptional accomplishments, and highlight our great partnership, exceptional care delivery and collaboration to enhance patient outcomes.

Reaching this milestone was no easy task. The 10-month Magnet® re-designation process required tremendous collaboration among many departments across the organization including Nursing, Quality and Safety, Nursing Clinical Informatics, Human Resources, Information Services (IS), Patient and Family Services and Marketing.

“In January 2016, Mary Jo Andre in collaboration with Emily Weber, nursing, and the interprofessional team across the organization reviewed each Magnet® standard with our consultant and aligned the submitted source of evidence examples to the Magnet standards,” said Texas Children’s Magnet Assistant Director Sarah Marcion. “Every other month we had a three-day Magnet® writers workshop for our Magnet writing team who developed the Texas Children’s Hospital exemplars that contributed to our system-wide achievements. Necessary materials and documentation were included in our Magnet® website. We received support from IS and Marketing on the website development.”

Since 2003, Texas Children’s has been a Magnet-designated organization. Every four years, the hospital applies for Magnet® re-designation, which is the highest and most prestigious recognition provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and reflects Texas Children’s commitment to providing quality patient care.

Following the site visit in January, the Magnet appraisers will submit a report to the Commission on Magnet®, which makes the final decisions regarding Texas Children’s Magnet® re-designation.

“We are very confident that our organization will receive the Magnet re-designation in the spring of 2018,” Andre’ said. “Our nurses and our entire health care team have worked so hard to help us maintain this gold standard of nursing excellence.”

To learn more about the ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program®, click here.

October 17, 2017

Last week, Texas Children’s co-hosted the largest annual nursing conference in the country, along with other local Magnet® hospitals. More than 10,000 nurses and nursing executives representing more than 20 countries gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) National Magnet Conference® from October 11 to 13.

Texas Children’s Magnet team handled various parts of the coordination including registering and preparing staff volunteers to serve in a variety of roles at the conference. The team also organized a pediatric Magnet® hospital networking dinner and hospital tours for nursing leaders from pediatric hospitals across the country as well as a tour for nurses from Lebanon. The groups toured the Cancer Center, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, and Mission Control at Texas Children’s Medical Center campus.

Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre and Executive Vice President Dan DiPrisco welcomed the more than 10,000 attendees at the opening session. In addition to poster presentations, several of Texas Children’s nurses and staff delivered insightful podium presentations during the three-day Magnet Conference® including a presentation on how simulation-based design tests prior to the construction of Legacy Tower helped optimize patient care workflows to enhance patient safety, minimize risk and foster family-centered care.

“It is so motivating and inspiring to see the great works of other nurse colleagues,” said Leslie Morris, education coordinator at Texas Children’s Heart Center. “The nursing conference also provided great opportunities for networking.”

As the official annual conference of the prestigious Magnet Recognition Program®, the event recognized the accomplishments of newly designated Magnet organizations and showcased best nursing practices that organizations can incorporate in their own nursing programs.

“I think it is important for our nurses to attend the Magnet Conference® to fully understand what it means to be a Magnet nurse,” said Curt Roberts, a staff nurse in the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Texas Children’s. “When you experience all the positive changes in practice and patient outcomes that have been spearheaded by nurses, you realize that it’s a big deal to work in a Magnet institution and be a Magnet nurse.”

This year, 125 employees from Texas Children’s attended the Magnet Conference®. Next year’s conference will be held in Denver.

For nurses who were unable to attend the conference, click here to watch video highlights.

Nurses from across the country toured Texas Children’s during the week of the Nursing Conference.

As Dr. Ricardo Flores, clinical director of the Cancer and Hematology Centers at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, listened to the news about the devastation in Puerto Rico after the island was slammed with two hurricanes in less than a month, he knew he had to do something to help his homeland.

So, he and some of his friends in the area who are also from Puerto Rico did some research and joined the group, Texas United for Puerto Rico. Within a few days, they had gathered thousands of pound of supplies, including medications, and were sending them to the many people in need on their island.

Word of Flores’ efforts soon reached the City of Houston prompting Mayor Sylvester Turner to call him and ask if he could join forces with the physician. Flores agreed and before long he and a small group of city officials were on a plane to Puerto Rico with 50,000 pounds of supplies in tow.

“It was a titanic effort,” Flores said of the delivery of the supplies, which included medications and food. “Thanks to the community and to the help of so many people, we were able to distribute the entire load.”

Flores said he will continue to work to help his home recover from what he said is an awful situation that has left people without adequate food, water and medication.

“It’s definitely much worse than what people are thinking,” he said. “It’s literally like we went back 100 years in our history in the blink of an eye.”

Click here and here to watch area news coverage of Flores’ efforts in Puerto Rico.