April 23, 2024

The expectations and motivations of our workforce have changed in the past few years, and placing a focus on holistic wellbeing is essential for a thriving workforce. An organization that supports and encourages happy, satisfied and purpose-driven employees can move boldly together toward a successful future. So, tell us where and when you feel your best at Texas Children’s! Our goal is to build upon those moments to create a culture where we all grow and thrive together.

To make this goal a reality, we’ve built an innovative new framework and survey tool to understand your perspective: Your Voices Ignite Possibilities (or V.I.P.). V.I.P. is an opportunity to use your voice to share your thoughts on the best parts of our culture to help us continue adapting and evolving.

You have an email in your inbox from Perceptyx (our survey partner) with a link to the V.I.P. survey. We are asking all Texas Children’s employees and leaders along with Baylor physicians, faculty and staff complete the survey by May 10, 2024. (Please note, new team members who started after April 1 are not eligible to participate.)

We are committed to confidentiality for our employees and Baylor partners as you answer questions and share your experiences at Texas Children’s. You can feel comfortable openly sharing your perspective in a meaningful way. We will report data in aggregate groupings of five or more responses to leaders.

Please take the time to answer the questions openly and honestly so we can continue to support our workforce in the best way possible. Your happiness, satisfaction and sense of purpose at work matters! By focusing on where we thrive, we can walk boldly into the future together.

April 5, 2023

After a successful mock survey in January, teams across the organization are anxiously awaiting the official visit from the Joint Commission. While visits are unannounced, we’re anticipating their arrival in late April or May.

To help our teams get ready, new Education Carts were rolled out across the Medical Center, The Woodlands and West Campuses and have had nearly 1,500 interactions with team members. The carts have proven to be a fun way to test and refresh everyone’s skills and knowledge and engage with leaders.

“The carts have been a big hit,” said Lindsay Meade, assistant clinical director, Perioperative Services. It’s fun way to help everyone get prepared and in the right mindset for the survey. We want to put our best foot forward and getting team members to buy in will help ensure our success.”

Be on the lookout for the Education Cart rolling in to your unit. Other ways to get prepared include reading the Tip of the Week and reviewing the Joint Commission SharePoint site.

The feedback given during the mock survey reinforced what we’re doing well and identified the biggest areas of improvement. While there are specific directives for each unit, some general trends and key areas of opportunity emerged:

  • Equipment: ability to speak to what is clean and what is dirty in the environment
  • Crash Carts: ensure logs are complete
  • Tape: Tape Removal Day is April 6
  • Medication and Sharps: secure medications and sharps
  • Inpatient Dashboard: leaders to monitor documentation to help remind and educate

The Joint Commission’s mission is to make health care a high-reliability industry by ensuring a commitment to continuous improvement in patient care. Our accreditation from the Joint Commission provides “deemed status” for CMS reimbursement, as well as shows our commitment to excel in providing safe, effective, high-quality care.

July 13, 2020

For many of us, 2020 has been an unprecedented year filled with numerous challenges. Since March, the COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted our normal way of life. Many of us are working from home. We’re social distancing ourselves from each other, and wearing protective face masks wherever we go – both at work and in public – to protect ourselves and curb the spread of this virus.

The global pandemic has been especially difficult for children and their parents. Children are having to cope with closed schools, limited social gatherings, and cancelled extracurricular activities. And with the uncertainty of whether it is safe for schools to re-open this fall, many parents are adding the new role of “teacher” to their list of parental responsibilities. These circumstances have prompted researchers to ask: What emotional and social impact is the COVID-19 global pandemic having on children and their parents/caregivers?

In collaboration with Geri LoBiondo-Wood, PhD, RN, FAAN from the UTHealth Cizik School of Nursing, two nurses from Texas Children’s – Karla Abela, PhD, RN, CPN, CCRN-K, assistant director of clinical practice in the PICU and Darlene Acorda, PhD, APRN, CNE, CPNP, clinical specialist in the PICU – are conducting a research study that will highlight the specific anxiety and post-traumatic stress-related mental health needs of children and parents. The study will also investigate the associations between parental/caregiver and child mental health during a pandemic.

“Our understanding of the impact of a global pandemic on the mental health of children and their parents is very limited,” Abela said. “We hope that our findings from this study will lead to future studies aimed at understanding these concepts better, and eventually, leading to supportive interventions for the family unit.”

Researchers at the UTHealth Cizik School of Nursing are recruiting children ages 9 to 17 years old and their parents to take part in the research study. Participation in the study involves a short, online survey with separate questions for parents and children to answer. The online survey includes questions about demographics and an assessment of anxiety and stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We encourage Texas Children’s employees and their families to participate in this secure, anonymous online survey,” said Acorda. “We encourage you to also share this flyer with anyone who may be interested in participating in the COVID-19 parent-child study.”

Once the survey closes at the end of August, the research team will analyze the findings before submitting the results for publication.

How to participate in COVID-19 parent-child study

If you are a parent or caregiver and have a child between the ages of 9 and 17, and are interested in participating in this research study, click here to complete the survey. Participation involves a short online survey for both parents and children.

If you have any questions or would like more information about this COVID-19 parent-child study, please contact Karla Abela at Karla.M.Abela@uth.tmc.edu or Darlene Acorda at Darlene.E.Acorda@uth.tmc.edu.

August 22, 2017

Since 1954, our mission has been to provide unparalleled family-centered care for our patients and their families. To deliver on this promise, we need engaged employees and physician partners working together in a collaborative and transparent environment.

This survey is one of the most powerful ways we have to measure our team members’ connectivity to Texas Children’s and where there might be gaps. Studies show employees/providers who feel connected to their mission, culture and to one another, deliver better outcomes for patients, their families, and their colleagues.

Learn more about the survey and its confidentiality by clicking here.

The survey is managed and administered by Press Ganey®. Look out for the survey link from Press Ganey in your Texas Children’s email.

If you did not receive an email, forgot, or lost your password, contact Press Ganey Client Support Desk directly at hdesk@pressganey.com. A representative will respond to your email within 24 to 48 hours. You may also call 1-800-849-2292, Option 1, between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.

May 27, 2015

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Have you ever wanted the opportunity to share your perceptions about what it’s like to work at Texas Children’s? Have you ever wanted to share your candid thoughts and ideas about how we can be more efficient and effective as an organization?

If you answered yes, now is your chance to do so in a safe and confidential way. As part of Texas Children’s commitment to open dialogue with employees, we have launched the new Your Texas Children’s Experience survey to provide constructive feedback that will help us formally measure our performance, identify gaps and effectively plan/improve through this process.

“Your voice matters here at Texas Children’s,” said President and CEO Mark A. Wallace. “Recently, I have heard from some of you about concerns and challenges, and today, I want to hear from all of you through Your Texas Children’s Experience survey.”

Administered by Press Ganey from May 18 to Sunday, May 31, Your Texas Children’s Experience survey is confidential, anonymous and takes about 10 minutes to complete. To access the survey, refer to the personalized email with login information you have received from Press Ganey. If you did not get an email or want more information about the survey, contact Press Ganey at hdesk@pressganey.com or call 800-849-2292, option 1.

Since 2003, the engagement survey has been a powerful way to measure how our organization has been upholding our core values. The survey also has served as a catalyst to affect positive changes around such issues as time off, attendance, holidays, benefit plans, the relocation of Employee Health to Main Campus and the addition of the Employee Medical Clinic.

Texas Children’s is aiming to meet or beat our last survey response rate of 83 percent for employees and 45 percent for physicians. Although your participation is voluntary, it is your opportunity to share your honest perceptions about how our organization is performing and positively impacting our culture as well as the experiences of your coworkers and our patient families.

“Response rates for previous surveys have shown that many of you do want to be heard and believe that getting involved is the right thing to do,” Wallace said. “In doing so, you are directly impacting the health of our Texas Children’s culture and our future.”

For more information regarding Your Texas Children’s Experience survey, we have included a brief overview for your reference. In addition, here are some helpful hints and reminders when taking the survey online:

  1. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is accessible via any computer with internet access
  2. The survey is confidential and anonymous and is administered and analyzed solely by Press Ganey
  3. (Rule of 5) applies – This means that results for work units with fewer than five responses will be rolled up to the next level leader or integrated into a larger work unit
  4. Review the Definition of Terms on the instruction page
  5. Click Confidentiality Pledge in the top right corner to review the Press Ganey’s Pledge of Confidentiality
  6. Do NOT use forward & back navigation buttons in your browser; navigate using buttons on each screen of the survey (Back, Save Page & Continue)
  7. Review Answers before you submit your final answers
  8. Results are not final until you click Save Page & Continue after the close ended questions
  9. Open-ended comments are transcribed and themed by Press Ganey
August 19, 2014

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Texas Children’s Hospital has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Houston for eight years in a row by the Houston Business Journal. Earning a no. 5 ranking last year was especially meaningful to me because it was based solely on your feedback. Once again, it’s survey time!

Help Texas Children’s be a 2014 contender by taking a few minutes to complete the Best Places to Work survey anytime between now and 5 p.m. Friday, August 22. Company scores are always quite close, so your voice really does matter.

As you consider each question, focus on your overall experience at Texas Children’s. To begin, click on or copy and paste this link into your Web browser: http://survey.quantumworkplace.com/bpsurvey/oc_KTGV20036. If you start the survey and need to save and complete it later, you will receive a unique survey password allowing you to do so.

No organization is perfect, but thankfully an open and honest dialogue helps Texas Children’s grow stronger. Remember, all responses are anonymous and cannot be traced to individuals. Quantum Workplace, Inc. will roll all responses into one organizational report; results will not be reported by group or leader. Company rankings will be announced in mid-October.

If you have questions or technical difficulties, please do not call the IS Service Desk; instead, call Karen Jumonville in Human Resources at Ext. 4-6656.

Thank you again for helping to remind the Houston community that Texas Children’s delivers extraordinary care because of our extraordinary people and their infinite passion for our mission.