December 6, 2018
December 4, 2018
Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus has received the prestigious Leapfrog 2018 Top Children’s Hospital award by The Leapfrog Group for the fifth year in a row. The award recognizes achievements in patient safety and quality and is widely acknowledged as one of the most competitive and exclusive honors an American hospital can receive.
“We are honored to receive the Leapfrog 2018 Top Children’s Hospital award again this year,” vice president of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, Ivett Shah said. “This award recognizes our team of physicians, nurses and employees who work tirelessly to provide the highest-quality of care, in the safest environment, for our patients. We are proud to have our work recognized by the Leapfrog Group and we will continue to provide exemplary care for our community.”
Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus received a Top Children’s Hospital distinction and was recognized nationally alongside 35 Top General Hospitals, 17 Top Rural Hospitals, 53 Top Teaching Hospitals and only 13 other Top Children’s Hospitals.
“Being acknowledged as a Top Hospital is an incredible feat achieved by less than six percent of eligible hospitals nationwide,” president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, Leah Binder said. “With this honor, Texas Children’s Hospital has established its commitment to safer and higher quality care. Providing this level of care to patients in Houston requires motivation and drive from every team member. I congratulate the board, staff and clinicians, whose efforts made this honor possible.”
The Leapfrog Group is an organization that provides the only national, public comparison of hospitals across safety, quality and efficiency dimensions. Performance across many areas of hospital care is considered in establishing the qualifications for the award, including infection rates, maternity care, and the hospital’s capacity to prevent medication errors.
To see the full list of institutions honored as 2018 Top Hospitals, visit www.leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals.
December 3, 2018
On November 2, The Woodlands’ Recognition and Rewards Committee proudly presented the first quarter Shining Star award to Robert Smith and Dr. Ruben Rodriguez.
Smith is a pharmacist known for his contagious smile and endless compassion for his job and fellow coworkers. He goes above and beyond to make sure others are taken care of, including hand delivering medications when needed.
“Robert is truly an inspiration to many,” Inpatient staff nurse Nina Riddell said. “He is very well known and when he walks through the unit his aura immediately brightens up the room!”
Rodriguez is a surgical services physician who naturally and effortlessly embraces the core values of Texas Children’s Hospital. His collaboration, collegiality, and compassion are known by all who interact with him. Rodriguez’s exemplary care and attention to his craft helps make everyone around him rise to a higher level.
“We are all fortunate to benefit from having the leadership of Dr. Rodriguez at this campus,” AD Pediatric Surgery Advance Practice Provider, Matthew Borges said. “It is my extreme honor to call attention to the shining star he casts over all who have the opportunity to work with him.”
This award honors those who go above and beyond to provide exceptional care to our patients, families and staff at The Woodlands campus. A huge congratulations and thank you to each of you for being the Shining Star!
If you would like to nominate someone, please click here.
Texas Children’s has received the 2018 “Most Wired” designation for outstanding health care-based technology from Hospitals & Health Network Magazine – the flagship publication of the American Hospital Association.
The annual Most Wired survey polls hospitals and health systems nationwide regarding information technology (IT) initiatives in the areas of infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety, and clinical integration.
The 2018 survey of 647 participants represents 2,190 hospitals – almost 40 percent of all hospitals in the United States. Texas Children’s has earned Most Wired recognition in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“Earning our fifth Most Wired designation reflects the hard work of the Information Services team and our many clinical and operational partners at Texas Children’s,” said Myra Davis, senior vice president of Information Services. “The survey results provide industry-standard benchmarks to measure IT adoption and meaningful use for operational, financial and clinical performance in health care delivery systems.”
Texas Children’s noted several IS achievements, including enhancements to patient safety, patient care and the patient experience. Notable accomplishments include:
Digitally tracking surgical instruments – Information Services helped to implement a digital tracking system for Texas Children’s operating rooms and Sterile Processing Department. Tracking surgical instruments digitally supports patient safety by preventing surgical delays, matching the patient with the correct instrument, prioritizing instruments for high risk cases and identifying obsolete instruments/sets. In addition, it supports continuity of communication (system-wide instrument pool), manages cost of lost instruments, tracks usage for additional sets for replacement or maintenance, enhances employee productivity and meets CMS/CDC/OSHA guidelines.
Improving access to care – Information Services improved the patient experience by removing a couple of issues that occasionally hindered access to care.
- Patient scheduling process – IS partnered with clinicians, schedulers and the Epic & Revenue Cycle team to generate a questionnaire template to guide scheduling staff when making appointments. The result is a consistent process that improves the patient experience and promotes access to care.
- How long will I wait? – IS updated the Texas Children’s Urgent Care (TCUC) website to display location wait times. Displaying wait times allows TCUC patients to make an informed decision and potentially save time, improving patient satisfaction. The patient retains some control over the waiting experience, giving them greater flexibility with their time.
Patient transport system intake and dispatch – Information Services upgraded the patient transport system used to document incoming and outgoing transfers. The upgrade optimized the use of tablets in the field, allowing EMS staff to collect data for reporting while providing patient care. In-house, the upgrade enabled Epic integration, supported Windows 10 deployment and brought Texas Children’s into compliance with industry reporting standards.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Information Services implemented a stringent security protocol throughout Texas Children’s that employs a layered defense to help prevent unauthorized access to organizational assets and patient information. Combining two or more independent credentials, MFA can help protect sensitive personal and health information. Data breaches can result in significant fines with regulators, impact our brand reputation and damage our patients’ trust.
“This designation shows the commitment of Texas Children’s leadership in partnership with Information Services to embrace our transformation as a digitally enabled organization,” said Texas Children’s Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Carla Giannoni. “Medical care, like other industries, are in evolution in this age of information. The opportunities are endless. Especially exciting to me is that we are now positioned to capitalize on the potential for an integrated communications platform and to develop a data strategy that uses data analytics and machine learning to provide clinical decision support at the bedside.”
A muralist’s vision to transform the concourse of Wallace Tower into a vibrant piece of art has finally come true.
With the help of the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program and an anonymous donor, the concourse is now covered in large colorful paintings of dinosaurs, hearts, unicorns, spaceships, rainbows and more.
“As cars pull up, they’re greeted with this vibrant story that’s almost like a seek-and-find,” said Carol Herron, coordinator of the Periwinkle Arts in Medicine Program. “Can you find the dinosaur? Can you find the ship? It’s just something that’s inviting and really full of life, just like the hospital is.”
Patients with Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers as well as children who have spent time on Texas Children’s Hospital’s Renal Dialysis Unit created the bulk of the artwork represented in the mural. Pediatric patients from Foundation Lenval Children’s Hospital in Nice, France pitched in too, coming up with the portion of the mural that portrays a globe with a bridge going from Texas to France.
Texan-French Alliance for the Arts Executive and Program Director Karine Parker-Lemoyne and her colleague, Marjon Aucoin, art director for the W.I.D.E. School, organized the collaboration with the patients in Nice and facilitated workshops with patients at Texas Children’s to create the artwork for the mural.
Sebastien Boileau, a French-American muralist with Houston-based Eyeful Art Murals and Designs, then took the art, and with a handful of his fellow muralists, replicated it onto the walls of the Wallace Tower concourse.
“We didn’t put our artistic ego into it,” Boileau said. “We really tried to respect their vision, copying it stroke for stroke, discrepancies and all.”
View the professional and patient artists at work below.
Boileau, who has created some of Houston’s most-famed mural art, said the vision for the project, called “The Door to Hope,” came to him five years ago when he was visiting his friend whose child just had heart surgery. During his visit, he passed through the Wallace Tower concourse, which at the time was a blank canvas.
Being a muralist who likes to decorate large spaces, Boileau said he saw a lot of opportunity and took his idea to the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts. They in turn reached out to Texas Children’s. Once funding was secure, the project was green lighted and completed in just a few months.
During the painting process, Isaac Bogani, the patient Boileau went to visit in the hospital years earlier, joined the artist and helped him replicate a heart he created for the project. The experience was special for both Isaac and Boileau.
“This project is very dear to me,” Boileau said. “I’m really excited about it.”
Both Boileau and the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts have long-standing relationships with Texas Children’s. Boileau painted the mural featured at the playground adjacent to the Abercrombie Building. The Texan-French Alliance for the Arts has worked on various projects with the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at the hospital over the past decade.
“We love working with Texas Children’s,” Parker-Lemoyne said. “This project has been amazing. It really honors the work of the children we worked with and exudes love, wonder and hope.”
The 19th Annual Reba Michels Hill Memorial Grand Rounds were held recently. Awards were given to Neonatology non-physicians who have made a significant contribution to advancing the quality to which Dr. Hill was dedicated: compassionate commitment to education, patient care, research and family.
Dr. Gautham Suresh, chief of service, Neonatology, presents Reba Michels Hill awards to Myrthala Miranda-Guzman, senior administrative assistant, Neonatology Department; Joseph Hagan, research statistician, Neonatology Department; and Sharon Wojtow, advanced respiratory care practitioner, Respiratory Care Department.
Texas Children’s Hospital is excited to welcome Dr. Anna Messner as the new chief of the Division of Otolaryngology.
“Dr. Messner has a strong, clear vision for moving the Division of Otolaryngology to the next level,” said Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier. “She is prepared to position Texas Children’s Otolaryngology clinics as a premier destination for subspecialty care.”
As chief of Otolaryngology, Messner will helm the largest group of pediatric otolaryngologists in the nation. She brings with her a collaborative, patient-focused approach to care, as well as a strong interest in training the next generation of ENT subspecialists. One of her main areas of focus will be working with each surgeon to help them develop their talents and grow in their professional career.
“Texas Children’s is a world leader in pediatric health care and I am delighted to be joining the team,” said Messner. “My goal for the Division of Otolaryngology is to be the leader in high-quality, efficient care for children with otolaryngology conditions and the premier training program for pediatric ENTs.”
Messner also plans to leverage Texas Children’s high clinical volume to develop and execute innovative new research studies around the care of children with common ENT disorders.
“The dramatic expansion of Texas Children’s Otolaryngology program in recent years creates an opportunity not only to improve patient care, but also to conduct groundbreaking research that can’t be done elsewhere,” Messner said. “We have the potential to become a national research hub that drives how children with these conditions are cared for, both now and in the future.”
Messner comes to Texas Children’s from Stanford University Medical Center, where she served as professor of Otolaryngology and Pediatrics and vice chair of the Department of Otolaryngology. She was also previously the Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and program director for the Otolaryngology Residency at Stanford University Medical School.
A nationally recognized leader in Pediatric Otolaryngology, Messner is president-elect of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO). She is also a member of the ACGME Otolaryngology Residency Review Committee and has been a guest examiner for the American Board of Otolaryngology Oral Exams.
Messner is a graduate of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency and internship. She completed an otolaryngology fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
She will begin her new role on January 14, 2019.
About Otolaryngology at Texas Children’s
Texas Children’s is home to largest pediatric otolaryngology program in the United States, providing advanced surgical and medical care for the entire spectrum of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck diseases and disorders. We are distinguished by wide range of clinical expertise across specialty areas including:
- Cleft lip and palate
- Cochlear implantation
- Complex airway surgery
- Down syndrome
- Head and neck surgery
- Laryngology
- Microtia and atresia
- Otology and neurotology
- Rhinology
- Sleep medicine
- Tracheostomy care
- Vascular anomalies
Our team of surgeons and advanced practice providers offers a comprehensive range of services at all three Texas Children’s Hospital locations, as well as five other Texas Children’s Specialty Care locations in the Houston metropolitan area. We see approximately 40,000 patients in clinic and perform more than 10,000 surgeries each year – and we’re still growing.
Learn more about Texas Children’s Division of Otolaryngology.