April 3, 2018

Now that there are officially two lively golden retrievers walking the halls of Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus, the Pawsitive Play program has become everything our president and CEO expected and more.

Bailey, the hospital’s newest service dog, was recently welcomed by Mark Wallace and his wife, Shannon. The Wallaces donated Bailey as a gift to Texas Children’s in memory of their beloved dog, Cadence, after making the rounds with the hospital’s first therapy dog, Elsa, and realizing that being a service dog was a lot of work.

“This is a massive organization, and lots of different buildings and hundreds and hundreds of really, really, sick patients,” Wallace said. “So Shannon said we need to sponsor a second Pawsitive Play service dog, and I said OK, let’s do it.”

Their generous pledge and initial $80,000 contribution to the program will enable Texas Children’s to hire more animal-assisted therapy coordinators and therapy dog teams specifically trained to provide therapeutic interventions to patients and families in Legacy Tower.

The Pawsitive Play program began in December 2015 with a generous donation from the Shackouls family.

“It is our hope that the support and love these therapy animals provide will help countless children in making their treatment and recovery journeys brighter,” Bobby and Judy Shackouls said. “We look forward to watching this program grow into something even bigger because every child, no matter their age, gender, background or health condition, deserves to feel the unconditional love and comfort these animals can provide throughout the healing process.”

Bailey, like Elsa and other therapy dogs, offers distraction and motivation to patients undergoing certain medical procedures. However, it’s not just her that aids in this process. Bailey’s handler, Adair Galanski is a Texas Children’s child life specialist who collaborates with medical teams, and physical and occupational therapists to visit with five to 10 patients each day who are having a particularly difficult time during their hospitalization.

“As much as I love my job, and think I’m good at what I do, I can never have that same connection with families that Bailey brings,” Galanski said. “Bailey is that peacemaker and that bridge for us to be able to really connect with kids who might not want to connect through words, but can connect through her.”

Although Bailey has already started seeing heart and critical care patients, she was hired to work specifically in the hospital’s newest expansion, Legacy Tower. The doors of the first phase of Legacy Tower will open to patients, families, and employees like Bailey on Tuesday, May 22.

As soon as the Wallace’s laid eyes on Bailey they knew they had made the right decision and look forward to many more furry friends joining our team in the future.

“These wonderful dogs are adding a lot to the culture of the hospital,” Wallace said.

March 27, 2018

Hundreds of children recently gathered with hospital staff at Texas Children’s Main, West and The Woodlands campuses to participate in one of the medical system’s most popular events – the annual Teddy Bear Clinic.

During the clinic, children are given the opportunity to act out the roles of various health care staff such as doctors, nurses, therapists and technicians. Children pretend to perform a variety of tests, exams and therapies to diagnosis their Teddy bear’s symptoms and heal its body.

Hosted by Child Life to celebrate national Child Life Week, the event celebrates our patients and families and how the intimate world of play is used to encourage children’s learning and support children’s coping.

This was the first year for the Teddy Bear Clinic to be held at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. On March 24, employees from more than 20 departments and units filled the hospital’s main lobby with medical equipment, games and activities. About 250 bears were handed out to children, who learned about each of the hospital’s departments. Members of the community, including Kona Ice provided by The Junior League of The Woodlands, chick-fil-A College Park, and Aon employees, joined in on the fun.

March 13, 2018

If you have noticed two furry four-legged employees around the hospital, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. At the end of February following Child Life’s explosive gender reveal, Texas Children’s new therapy dog began walking the halls and immediately putting smiles on employees, patients and visitors faces.

Bailey is an 18-month-old golden retriever that wears a green vest with her Texas Children’s badge, and a red bow attached. She is part of Texas Children’s Pawsitive Play Program that uses animal-assisted therapy to enhance the emotional well-being of pediatric patients by reducing their anxiety, perception of pain and fear of hospitalization.

Bailey offers distraction and motivation to patients undergoing certain medical procedures, but it’s not just her that aids in this process. Her handler, Adair Galanski, is a Texas Children’s child life specialist who collaborates with medical teams and physical and occupational therapists to visit with five to ten patients each day who are having a particularly difficult time during their hospitalization.

“We go and see families for a lot of different things, whether it’s medical procedures, emotional support, or maybe something even more complicated than that,” said Galanski. “The minute Bailey comes through the door, even if a family was really frustrated or if a child was crying, or if they had just received devastating news, everyone gets excited. They say, ‘Oh my gosh, is that a dog? Is it here to see me? That’s amazing!’”

Recently, Bailey took a small tour around the hospital to become more acclimated with patients and her co-workers. Her first stop was to meet Texas Children’s President and CEO, Mark Wallace. He and his wife, Shannon, recently donated Bailey as a gift to Texas Children’s Pawsitive Play Program in memory of their beloved dog, Cadence.

Their generous pledge and initial $80,000 contribution to the program will enable Texas Children’s to hire more animal-assisted therapy coordinator and therapy dog teams specifically trained to provide therapeutic interventions to patients and families in Legacy Tower.

As soon as Wallace laid eyes on Bailey he knew she was a perfect fit for Texas Children’s.

“Bailey, you come from a good family and now you’ve got a great family here at Texas Children’s,” Wallace said. “We’re going to take good care of you, and you’re going to help our patients feel better and relax, and feel loved and nurtured.”

Just like any other employee, Wallace greeted her with the warmest welcome, encouragement, and motivation to succeed in helping patients and their families.

“You’re going to help take their minds off of not feeling real good, and you’re going to be there, even to help their mommy and their daddy, maybe their grandma and grandpa, maybe their brothers or sisters,” Wallace said. “You’re an important part of this one amazing team that we have at Texas Children’s.”

After breaking the ice with the boss, Bailey’s next stop was meeting up with, what employees refer to as, her big sister. According to Galanski, normally at the beginning of most of their days, she and Bailey will visit with child life specialist and animal-assisted therapy coordinator, Sarah Herbek, and Elsa, Texas Children’s first therapy dog. This quality time allows the hospital’s canine kids to spend time with each other as well as bond more with their handlers.

“She has a great relationship with Elsa and I love that I get to work with her all the time. It’s like therapy for me too,” Galanski said. “You just can’t ever really have a bad day when you’re with her.”

Following the brief playdate, Bailey headed to spend some time with Texas Children’s patients. A normal visit with Bailey usually involves the patients taking her for a walk, playing with toys, or feeding her treats whenever she is not soothing their pain or fear. Engaging in any activity with Bailey can change a patient’s entire day.

“As much as I love my job, and think I’m good at what I do, I can never have that same connection with families that Bailey brings,” Galanski said. “Bailey is that peacemaker and that bridge for us to be able to really connect with kids who might not want to connect through words, but can connect through her.”

Although Bailey has already started seeing heart and critical care patients, she was hired on to work specifically in the hospital’s newest expansion, Legacy Tower. The doors of the first phase of Legacy Tower will open to patients, families, and employees like Bailey on Tuesday, May 22.

She will be groomed weekly and her paws will be wiped down daily. Patients who are allergic to dogs will not be consulted and the dog will not go into patient rooms without first receiving verbal permission from a guardian and the medical team.

“I love what I do, and I love her, so I want to tell everyone about her. I want everyone to experience Bailey,” Galanski said. “I want everyone to have a little piece of unconditional love that she gets to bring to everybody.”

If you see Bailey around the hospital, feel free to greet her and make her feel welcome. She loves belly rubs and snuggling with the patients, but when you come in contact with her in the halls and call her name, she’ll wag her tail enthusiastically to show her appreciation and excitement to be part of the Texas Children’s family.

It is prom season and The Child Life Department wants all Texas Children’s teens to be able to experience a night of glitz, glam, and guaranteed fun. They are hosting the first hospital-wide prom on Friday, May 11 from 7 to 10 p.m., and they need your help to pull this event off!

In order to make sure all patients have prom attire, Child Life will be collecting formal wear from Texas Children’s employees from now until Monday, May 7.

Men’s and women’s formal wear in all sizes will be accepted and must be dry cleaned before being donated. Please be sure to submit the dry cleaning receipt along with the items.

Prom is open to inpatient and outpatient kids ages 13 and up, and includes a plus one for anyone over 13 as well.

The 16th floor of West Tower will be available the day of prom for patients to get dressed to impress. Professional stylists will be available to perfect their hair and makeup, and accessories will also be provided to add the finishing touches to the patient’s ensemble.

Child Life is also working with The Glass Slipper Foundation to provide formal wear for all inpatient and outpatient kids.

The Glass Slipper Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was inspired by an adolescent who resided in a Residential Treatment Facility. The foundation is an entity of, Vessels Interceding Sowing Into Our Nation (VISION Inc.), which is an organization that supports the physical, emotional, and social needs of at-risk adolescent females.

Inpatient and outpatient children will be able to attend a shopping day to pick out their prom attire.

The outpatient shopping day will be held Saturday, April 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fifth Ward Multi Service Center, located at 4014 Market Street, Houston, Texas 77020.

The inpatient shopping day will be held here at Texas Children’s Hospital on the 16th floor of West Tower Thursday, May 10. An exact time of day will be announced soon.

Prom will be held in the third floor conference rooms in Mark A. Wallace Tower. This year’s prom theme is Hollywood Nights. There will be dancing, food, pictures, and more!

Donations will be accepted in the Texas Children’s Hospital Volunteer Services office.

February 20, 2018

IT’S A GIRL! Elsa now has a little sister. Texas Children’s first therapy dog, is not the hospital’s only female, four-legged, furry friend. A new therapy dog will be arriving at the end of the month, and Child Life just announced that it will be a GIRL.

The gender reveal was broadcast live through ZTV, or channel 19, on the hospital’s internal television station. This was the first live segment for the channel. Be sure to tune in from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday – Friday, for more exciting television shows that the Kids Zone has to offer.

November 21, 2017

On November 9, Child Life held a special event to dedicate a new art studio in the Zone for patients and their families. Texas Children’s Hospital is grateful for the generosity of Harrison’s Heroes, a local organization that will fund the art studio.

Harrison’s Heroes Art Studio will be an intimate space for patients and their families to come together and create special moments and various pieces of art. It will serve as a positive outlet and space for patients to share their feelings, perspective and build their legacy. As these patients are going through a difficult illness, the studio will offer a special time for bonding and expression for the entire family.

“We want to give our patients an opportunity to feel normal throughout their hospital experience but to also give them an avenue to tell their story by creating paintings, videos, stories, quilts and other forms of art,” said Child Life Manager Diane Kaulen. “For patients who are isolated in their room due to their illness, Harrison’s Heroes has donated mobile art carts that bring the elements of the art studio to the bedside.”

The space will be staffed by Texas Children’s child life specialists who provide developmental, educational and therapeutic interventions for children undergoing medical treatment. Child life services help children effectively cope with a diagnosis, treatment or hospital stay and provide emotional and psychosocial interventions to hospitalized children based on individual needs.

Harrison’s Heroes was named in memory of Shanoop Kothari’s son, Harrison, who passed away from his illness at the age of 2.

Click here to watch a KPRC video about Harrison’s Heroes and the new art studio at Texas Children’s Hospital, which is scheduled to open in January 2018.

October 31, 2017

The Texas Children’s Hospital Ukulele Choir cheered on our Houston Astros in the best way they know how, with the help of some very special patients!

Led by the Music Therapy Department and made up of Texas Children’s staff members, the choir led patients and staff from the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in support of the Astros’ appearance at the championship game.

The patients played and sang along with the choir demonstrating not only their enthusiasm for the Astros, but also the great strides they have made in their recovery at Texas Children’s.

Established in 2014, Texas Children’s Ukulele Choir is rooted in self-care and respite for staff members who work hard and endure much for our patients and families. It provides an opportunity for members to create positive moments and relationships within their work environment and outside of their immediate department. Since the choir is led by the hospital’s music therapists, patients and staff benefit from this form of therapeutic intervention intended to bolster positive moods and mindsets.

Once a month, the Ukulele Choir performs on inpatient units, high traffic areas of the hospital, as well as staff meetings and events. The choir also provides live environmental music throughout the hospital. Since its inception three years ago, the choir has grown from three to more than 30 staff members representing different areas of the hospital including Information Services, Nursing, Pharmacy and Child Life.