Know a team member who exemplifies our mission and core values? Help us recognize and reward your colleague as a Super Star! To nominate, click read more.
August 3, 2021
Know a team member who exemplifies our mission and core values? Help us recognize and reward your colleague as a Super Star! To nominate, click read more.
April 6, 2021
Know a team member who exemplifies our mission and core values? Help us recognize and reward your colleague as a Super Star! To nominate, click read more.
February 17, 2020
Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here? Clarissa Gonzalez, Inpatient Staff Nurse in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). I have been in the PICU for almost five years.
Tell us how you found out you won a super star award. I was charging at work and one of our managers, Amy Hathaway, was talking to me about how the unit was doing and our educator, Emily Nguyen, asked me if I could go drop a few papers in the break room. We walked in and everyone was in the break room including my family, fellow staff, and leadership team. I was so surprised and still had no idea what was happening. Amy read Emily’s letter recommending me for the award and then presented me with the super star award. I cried and there was cake and it was a moment I will never forget.
What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals? I feel so honored. I love what I do and would keep doing the same things award or not, but feel very special to be recognized. I work with the best people and so to be selected out of all the amazing staff is incredibly humbling. Texas Children’s Hospital’s culture of compassion and service drives the sacrificial work that we all do. I feel privileged to work for an organization whose core values align with my own. Texas Children’s has supported my professional growth through an extensive graduate nurse residency, funded advanced certifications and empowered me to advance to expanded roles in the PICU.
What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star? We work long stressful hours, and everyone I see is doing super star things. We support these families while away from our own families. Everyone I work with is dedicated to providing excellent care for our patients and for fellow staff. We feel the weight of the importance of the work we get to do and that drives everyone to go above and beyond. The patient that I give chemo to now has the potential to grow up and cure cancer because of what is happening at Texas Children’s. That potential is seen by all of our staff and it means that each employee has to come to work and this be more than just a job.
What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work? The work that we get to do is the highest privilege. We meet families in the hardest moments of their lives and they trust us with their children. I cannot think of anything that demands more of a commitment to excellence than the honor of having any part in taking care of the families and being a part of their lives.
What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s? The people! And the dogs. But mostly the people. I tell everyone that Texas Children’s feels more like a family than a bunch of employees and it was so great to have my own family come and see and say the same things. My family was in awe about what amazing people I work with. They were impressed with the technology and architecture of Legacy Tower but they can’t stop talking about how kind and caring everyone in the PICU is. I always knew that I would love the patients and families but I had no idea how much I would also care about my PICU family.
What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition? I have learned something from everyone I have encountered at Texas Children’s, and to me, that is what I consider exemplifying leadership. We are called to set an example for others, and our conversations/interactions, even outside of work, set a precedent for who we are and what we represent. Texas Children’s employees are the best of the best, and we are called to be leaders not only in the institution, but in the communities and to other children’s hospitals who look to us for guidance and support.
Anything else you want to share? Emily Nguyen, our nightshift educator, nominated me. Her support and the support of the PICU leadership team has created a culture that I am so proud to be a part of. I cannot thank Emily and all of my PICU family enough or have enough words to share what PICU means to me.
October 29, 2019
Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here? My name is Mark Mazziotti and I’m an Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, and I work in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. I’ve been on staff at Texas Children’s since 2001 and joined the Baylor Faculty in 2006.
Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I was finishing clinic and the clinic staff told me that Jag Grooms, our office administrator, wanted to talk to me about a new hire in the conference room at the end of the hall. I thought that was strange but didn’t think twice and walked into a surprise. The staff, Jag, and my administrative assistant Vanessa Mose, presented me with the award.
What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals? It is a great honor to even be considered for an award that is based on the core values of Texas Children’s Hospital. I’ve been fortunate to work at one of the best children’s hospitals in the world over the past 18 years. The amazing clinical volume and the ability to attract patients from all over the United States has helped me fulfill my career goals. Although I perform the full complement of procedures of a pediatric surgeon, I focus on correcting chest wall deformities. I’ve had the privilege of treating patients from 4 different countries and ten different states. I also have the opportunity to teach medical students, residents, and fellows and this is incredibly rewarding.
What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star? To me, a Super Star always goes the extra mile and makes sure that they excel at their craft. For me, I want to make the patient experience special. I gladly add patients to my clinical schedule so they don’t have to make a second trip to the hospital. Patients and their families are anxious and need their health care problems addressed and resolved. As a surgeon, I deal with very anxious patients and parents and it’s my job to inform them, care for them, and do my best to get them back to their usual activities.
What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work? I have always had a motivation to excel at everything I do. It is an inherent motivation, but also one instilled by my parents to be the best that I can be, as well as to seek to help others. I think what helps me the most is to put myself in the shoes of those I care for – when that occurs, you almost don’t require motivation.
What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s? Without a doubt, I would have to say the people. No matter what their level of experience or their role, it’s clear that we all pull together and have common goals. It’s no wonder that Texas Children’s Hospital is always among the best places to work.
What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition? In my opinion, it means that everyone at Texas Children’s should strive to lead by example. The definition of a leader is someone that motivates and inspires others around them. I believe the best leaders influence the actions of others by demonstrating qualities such as compassion, patience, honesty, integrity, decision-making capabilities, good communication skills and accountability.
Anything else you want to share? I love art and art history. I have over one hundred published medical illustrations and I enjoy oil painting. I have historically painted a canvas for our graduating fellow, although for the past two years I have created movies.
October 8, 2019
Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here? My name is Patricia Foster, and I am a Senior Business Intelligence Analyst in the Business Intelligence Analytics department. I have worked here for almost three and a half years.
Tell us how you found out you won a super star award. I found out that I won a super star award during the BI morning stand-up meeting. My manager, Kim Battenfield, said that someone on our team won the Super Star Employee award. I was so surprised because I don’t think of myself as a super star. I think of myself as a part of an amazing team in which all team members work together to strive to go the extra step to help our customers. I consider it a huge privilege to be a part of this team. We have the opportunity to meet with our customers to understand the goals of the work that they are doing. They allow us to provide feedback regarding how we think we can help. Often they have a pretty good idea of what they need, but they don’t always know about the scope of tools that we have and analysis that we can provide to help them make decisions.
What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals? It’s humbling. I have a great manager, and I work with the best team ever. I feel like the entire team deserves an award. Each member of our team has unique talents and strengths, so we are all able to reach out to each other for help, and I feel like we all play an important role. We all rely on each other, and we all know that we can trust each other to provide high quality results.
What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star? I think what makes someone a super star is to seek out opportunities to contribute to the overall well-being of our members and patients. Something that I am very proud of on our team is that we don’t just do what is asked of us. Once we understand what someone is trying to accomplish, we brainstorm ways to go a step further. We try to anticipate the next step and offer solutions.
What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work? I truly love my job and my team. I have so much respect for my manager and my teammates, and I don’t want to let them down. I know the work that we do is very important to our members. As an Information Services employee, it can often be difficult “to see the forest for the trees,” but in BI, we have a unique opportunity to see what many others in our organization are doing and to see how the reports and maps we provide ultimately help us all to provide the best care for our members.
What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s? It’s hard for me to narrow it down to one thing that is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s, but if I had to, it would be its people. My manager, Kim, is wonderful. My Analytics teammates – Charles, Rudy, Jaennie, Henry, and Loan; the Data team – Anoop, Mike, Kavita, Sadhana, Roby, Fahd, Mani, and Avinash; John Turner, our IS director; Sarah and the FAST team; Mital, Veronica, and the Care Coordination team; RosCet and Deb and the Contracting team; the Finance team; the Member Services team; the Marketing team; my aunt Debbie, the leadership here … I love that I have the honor of working with all of these amazing people – striving to help sick children become healthy. I love that I feel like, even as an analyst, I have a voice, and that we can all make a difference.
What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition? To me, a leader is one who motivates you to do your best. I really do feel like Texas Children’s is full of leaders because we are all trying to accomplish the important goal of helping our members and patients, which, in the grand scheme of things, is great for all of us at Texas Children’s.
Anything else you want to share? I am truly blessed and honored to work with the amazing people at Texas Children’s Health Plan and Texas Children’s Hospital.
September 23, 2019
Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here? My name is Lorenzo Benavides, Social Worker, Patient and Family Services. I have worked here for two years.
Tell us how you found out you won a super star award. I was told by my leadership that I needed to give a presentation about a Texas Children’s Hospital event that happened earlier that month. I was nervous to present about this event as it was heavy in areas that were outside of my expertise. My manager also gave me an incredibly short window to present on such a complicated issue. I ran through the first few slides and was then eventually surprised by a new slide in my presentation that read “Congrats! You won the Super Star award!” In the moment, the audience (which I then came to realize was composed by the wonderful people I work with every day) all stood up and congratulated me. It was truly an amazing and wonderful experience to say the least.
What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals? It is a very humbling experience. I work with wonderful, intelligent, and compassionate people at Texas Children’s Hospital who all do amazing, wonderful work for our patients. The core values and culture of Texas Children’s Hospital have helped me become a more confident leader, team-player, and has refreshed my understanding of what providing world-class service to others looks like.
What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star? I believe working tirelessly for others, always being open to feedback, and above-all knowing the value of collaborating with other people and disciplines, makes someone a super star.
What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work? The profession of social work, by nature, is consistently involved in the most dire and vulnerable psychosocial cases. We can help one family with acquiring the most basic access to necessities, help another family address concerns and fears, advocate for a vulnerable child, and also provide comfort to another family for the loss of a different child, all in one day. I, like many other social workers, are motivated by knowing that our work is important and meaningful, and can sometimes positively change lives.
What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s? By far, the best thing about Texas Children’s Hospital is the culture and level of respect we all have for one another’s profession. It is such a unique and unifying feeling to be able to walk down the hall and be greeted by a friendly smile or nod from attendings, residents, nurses, care managers, directors, child life, janitorial staff, etc. It makes me feel that we are all part of a team that truly believes in doing better for our patients.
What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition? I believe that it pushes us to become better overall. My definition of leadership is to consistently find ways to improve yourself and your profession, while also finding the beauty and joy of where you currently are. I believe that that we all have room to grow and glow, and I find that everlasting mission wonderful because it keeps life fun and challenging.
Anything else you want to share? I want to recognize the daily hard work of my fellow social workers, the nurses on 11 West Tower, the nursing leadership, the 11 West Tower care managers, child life, activity coordinator, PCAs, unit secretary, the floor’s PA-c, all the medical teams, and all the hospital directors/assistant directors that consistently work hard for our patients and families. You guys truly make work a fun and joyful place to be.
