November 29, 2017

When Peggy Kellum called the Texas Children’s Office Move and Relocations Team (OMART), all she wanted was three filing cabinets moved from one side of a room to another.

“I thought they were going to tell me no, but they did it,” said Kellum, an administrative assistant with the Department of Pathology. “I was so impressed by their willingness to go above and beyond.”

OMART was created less than a year ago to handle small jobs like the one Kellum requested as well as larger office moves and relocations. In the past, Texas Children’s has outsourced such jobs, but as the organization has grown, so have the requests and in turn the cost of such services. In addition, efficiencies initially seen by outsourcing have been replaced with extended turnaround periods for surveying, quoting, scheduling and completing the requested task.

“We were given the opportunity to improve the cost and delivery of this service and I believe we have found a solution that works for everyone involved,” said Dan Samora, director of Facilities, Planning & Development. “We’ve received positive feedback from many of our clients and we are providing a cost savings to the organization.”

Since launching the three-person OMART team in April, OMART has fulfilled more than 200 requests, with an average turnaround time of five and a half days from when the initial request was made. The team’s work has saved Texas Children’s an estimated $100,000 and has the potential of saving more if the team grows and expands to areas of the system outside of the Medical Center.

Currently, OMART has the capacity to fill requests from the Abercrombie Building, Feigin Tower, the NRI, Pavilion for Women, Meyer Building, Wallace Tower and West Tower. The team will cover Legacy Tower when it opens and will look at the possibility of expanding to West Campus, The Woodlands and beyond in the future.

OMART also would like to take on larger jobs when capable. Such jobs, as well as capital projects, are still supported by outside vendors.

“We have hit the ground running and are off to a really good start,” said Patrick Hatcher, manager of the Facilities Logistics Program. “We are getting things done more efficiently and effectively, and are looking forward to growing and serving even more of the Texas Children’s system.”

To request move and relocation services submit a Request for Service via the Connect site.

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.

July 19, 2016

72016Sager640Craig Sager, recipient of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, or the ESPY Awards, gave an inspiring speech about his journey battling cancer and the comfort he’s found in the model train exhibit at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Many nights I don’t get out of the hospital until after midnight. I always take the same walking path back to the hotel. The sidewalks wind through a maze of buildings, including Texas Children’s Hospital. Many nights I would stop, pause and I’ll go inside. A few feet inside the hallway is this large model train display covered by glass. There are seven buttons on the outside. They activate the trains, the circus, the toys and the trolley. And many nights alone, in the stillness and the solitude of the hospital, I push those buttons and I watch the trains as they disappear through the tunnel and emerge full steam on the other side. I watch the trains as they pass by the town square, the dinosaur canyon, the pirates cove, Santa Land and the ice skating rink. And I sit there and I watch and l listen. I listen to the sounds of the circus, of the kids laughing and of the train chugging along. Now I don’t know why I am so brought to this train set. Perhaps it’s my life coming full circle. Maybe it’s just the kid inside all of us. Or perhaps it’s a few minutes of my life that leukemia can’t take from me.”

Sager’s full speech: http://ow.ly/2PCs302fbkg