August 30, 2016

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The walls are painted, the carpet and tile have been laid, and furniture and equipment are being arranged inside the outpatient building of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

Texas Children’s will open its doors to the facility this fall, marking a major milestone in the development of pediatric care offered to patients and families in The Woodlands and surrounding areas.

“We are putting the finishing touches on everything as we speak,” said James Yancey, manager of facility planning and development in The Woodlands. “I think everyone is going to be very pleased with the final product.”

Designed with a “spirit of the woods” theme to incorporate the lush, woodsy landscape that surrounds it, the six-floor building will house more than 20 areas of specialized care, including allergy and immunology, gastroenterology and nutrition, and sports medicine.

A dedicated medical staff will work in conjunction with the Texas Children’s system to provide top-notch medical care to the fast-growing population of The Woodlands, Kingwood, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia, Humble, Huntsville and beyond.

“We have recruited some of the best specialists pediatric medicine has to offer,” said Julie Barrett, director of Outpatient and Clinical Support Services in The Woodlands. “We are extremely proud of what this outpatient facility and its services will bring to the community.”

Located next to Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands – which is set to open in the spring of 2017 – the outpatient building offers a fresh, new kid-friendly environment to families seeking the best pediatric care for their children.

A state-of-the art sports therapy gym is on the first floor, check-in and check-out stations resembling a child’s club house are at the entrance of each clinic, and spacious exam rooms and provider work stations line many of the building’s halls.

Inside those spaces is furniture and equipment built with children and families in mind. In all of the exam rooms, the desk area where providers stand and enter their notes into a desktop computer is constructed in such a way that a provider’s back never faces the patient and their family. In most waiting areas, the chairs and couches are covered in a fabric that contains hidden treasures, such as drawings of maps, bears, guitars and binoculars. And, throughout the building’s main corridors are large windows that let in plenty of natural light and offer good views of the lush scenery outside.

“FKP Architects and Tellespen Builders have done a phenomenal job on this project,” said Dr. Charles Hankins, chief medical officer of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. “All of us are looking forward to carrying out our goal of building on a decade’s worth of relationships Texas Children’s has built in The Woodlands community through our primary and sub-specialty care at Texas Children’s Pediatrics locations and the Texas Children’s Health Center The Woodlands.”

July 19, 2016

72016WoodlandsDonation640When Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands opens its doors next year to provide dedicated pediatric care to the fast-growing population of The Woodlands and beyond, it will be the result of a tremendous team effort, including those who donated funds to support the cause.

“Over the past several years, Texas Children’s has received both big and small donations to help build and support Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands,” said the community hospital’s president Michelle Riley-Brown. “Our donors have worked behind the scenes to make this multimillion dollar effort happen and we appreciate everything they have done.”

The Wieghat family recently united to that collaborative effort when their four children pulled together a portion of their allowance money, walked into the Welcome Center in The Woodlands and presented their donation of $78 to Dr. Charles Hankins, chief medical officer of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The children – Cora, 6, Hannah, 9, Ruth, 9, and Carson, 11 – decided to give to the hospital when a group at their school had discussed making a contribution to Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

“The group decided not to donate the money, so the girls wanted to do it on their own,” said the children’s mother Sarah Wieghat, who, along with her husband, often stress the importance of giving as a way to help others. The girls decided to move forward and combine a portion of their allowance to donate. Their parents also joined in by matching the donation.

The Wieghats, who live in the Woodlands, are not strangers to Texas Children’s. They have used Texas Children’s pediatricians for more than 11 years and recently Texas Children’s physicians were able to help their youngest child, Cora, when others could not.

“She has been seen by Texas Children’s physicians in urology, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, cardiology, orthopedics and genetics,” Wieghat said, adding that having a hospital just minutes from their home will have a great impact on their family, especially Cora.

Another small but meaningful donation to the hospital will soon be made by the very people who are building it. During a recent walk-through inspection of the hospital, Tellepsen Builders Senior Superintendent John Brock, pulled Eric Allum, assistant director of Support Services, aside and indicated the construction crew and many sub-contractors had expressed a desire to pool their personal money to make a small donation to the hospital.

“In his humble way he indicated it wouldn’t be a large amount, but it was clear the money was coming directly from those who have the least to give,” Allum said. “I was blown away by the gesture but I was not surprised knowing that many of the contractors working on the Woodlands campus are proud to be involved in a project that will help so many.”

Riley-Brown said the expansion of Texas Children’s Hospital continues to remind us that our work is a collaborative effort no matter how big or small the contribution.

This fall Texas Children’s will open its doors to the outpatient building of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Soon thereafter in the spring of 2017, Texas Children’s second community hospital will be ready to serve The Woodlands and beyond.

The 560,000-square-foot complex will offer inpatient and outpatient specialty pediatric care, and facilities will include 72 outpatient exam rooms, 25 emergency center exam rooms, 28 critical care rooms, 32 acute care rooms, 12 radiology rooms and four operating rooms.

July 6, 2016

7616woodlands4th640Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands was well represented Monday at the annual South County 4th of July Parade with leaders, staff and their families participating in the community’s Independence Day tradition.

Leaders and staff have been in The Woodlands community for a while now building relationships with residents in advance of the fall opening of the outpatient building of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Soon thereafter in the spring of 2017, Texas Children’s second community hospital will be ready to serve The Woodlands and beyond.

To read more about the new hospital, click here.

7616ChroniclePhilanthropy250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. For more than 20 weeks, we will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next 16 weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

Click here to visit the Promise website.

May 25, 2016

Watch this video to see the steady progress being made on the construction of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

May 10, 2016

This fall, Texas Children’s will open its doors to the outpatient building of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Soon thereafter in the spring of 2017, Texas Children’s second community hospital will be ready to serve The Woodlands and beyond.

“Tellepsen Construction has made tremendous progress,” said Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands President Michelle Riley-Brown. “The interior building is coming along nicely with walls, door frames and above the ceiling utilities are being installed as we speak. The design of the landscape is coming along as well and will include three fountains, a court yard and our trademark colorful yard letters.”

When people finally get to walk through the doors of the hospital, Riley-Brown said they will be greeted by a facility that is inviting, open and designed with a Spirit of the Woods theme to incorporate the lush, woodsy landscape that surrounds it. Just inside the main entrance, for example, is a grand staircase that will simulate a tree house, giving the area a safe, central location for children and families visiting Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The decision to build the hospital was made after the success of Texas Children’s first community hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. The goal of the location north of Houston is to provide dedicated pediatric care to the fast-growing population of The Woodlands, Kingwood, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia, Humble, Huntsville and beyond.

“Having Texas Children’s quality care closer, fewer families will have to drive 35 miles to the Texas Medical Center to receive pediatric health care,” Riley-Brown said. “Hopefully, that will bring peace of mind to many families and parents that we are close by if they need us.”

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands will build on a decade’s worth of relationships Texas Children’s has built in the community through our primary and sub-specialty care at Texas Children’s Pediatrics locations and the Texas Children’s Health Center The Woodlands. The 560,000-square-foot complex will offer inpatient and outpatient specialty pediatric care, and facilities will include 72 outpatient exam rooms, 25 emergency center exam rooms, 28 critical care rooms, 32 acute care rooms, 12 radiology rooms and four operating rooms.

The hospital’s leadership team is in place with Riley-Brown as president of the hospital, Dan DiPrisco as senior vice president, Dr. Charles Hankins as chief medical officer and Dr. Jeffrey Shilt as chief surgical officer. The hospital’s director team also has been chosen and includes Trent Johnson, Ketrese White, Julie Barrett, and Cathy Pierantozzi. As for providers, 40 percent of the hospital’s physicians have been hired and about 20 percent of its mid-level providers are in place. “Our goal is to attract the best and the brightest,” said Riley-Brown, adding that the hospital will employee about 650 employees when we open the doors. “We hope that people find this as an opportunity and will express interest in joining the Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands team.”

To prepare for the opening of the outpatient building and the hospital, seven activation teams have been formed that comprise 130 people from across the Texas Children’s system, including hospital-based services, clinical support services and patient care services. The goal of the teams is to ensure activation planning, operational alignment, increase visibility to the project and promote committed partnerships. Leaders also will be working with Dr. Jennifer Arnold and the Pediatric Simulation Center to plan for simulation and training prior to both the inpatient and outpatient facilities opening.

“It’s pretty exciting to know that we’re making history at Texas Children’s Hospital with yet another milestone of opening a community setting for the hospital,” Riley-Brown said. “We can’t wait to open the doors!”

See below for the most up-to-date aerials of the hospital. Click here to get a snapshot of what will be offered at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

April 12, 2016

41316drshilt175Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Jeffrey Shilt as chief surgical officer. Shilt is also a member of the Division of Orthopedics.

“Dr. Shilt brings an exciting combination of academic, surgical and community practice experience which will be a tremendous asset to us as we open our hospital in The Woodlands,” said Texas Children’s Hospital Surgeon-In-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr. “I am excited to welcome him to the team and I look forward to the outstanding pediatric surgical leadership he will bring to The Woodlands community.”

Shilt comes to Texas Children’s from St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho, where he was an active pediatric orthopedic surgeon and director of the hospital’s Spasticity Clinic and motion analysis lab for children and adults. Prior to his time in Idaho, Shilt held positions as associate professor and residency program director at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. When Wake Forest established Brenner Children’s Hospital, Shilt served as the director of pediatric orthopedics where he assisted in the further development of pediatric specialty care. His research interests include management of spasticity in cerebral palsy, sports performance and the treatment of endurance sports injuries.

As a recognized leader in both academics and clinical practices, Shilt brings a breadth of experience to the Texas Children’s team. While he served as the program director of the Wake Forest University orthopedic surgery residency he participated in pioneering work in the treatment of children with spastic cerebral palsy, as well as sports medicine applications of tissue engineering. He has presented numerous lectures, both nationally and internationally, and serves on various committees and advisory boards. Additionally, he has served as the team physician for the USA triathlon team at the two world championships, two years as a team physician for a professional cycling team, and as a medical consultant for multiple World Champion athletes, Olympians & gold medalists, and multiple professional ironman and other endurance athletes.

A Missouri native, Shilt obtained his medical and undergraduate degrees at the University of Missouri – Kansas City six-year combined BA-Medical Degree program directly out of high school. He then completed his general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, as well as a year of basic science research at the Pediatric Research Institute at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. This was followed by a pediatric orthopedic fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. After completing his clinical training, Shilt took part in the personalized leadership development program at Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management’s Institute for Executive Education in Winston-Salem.

Slated to open in 2017 under the leadership of President Michelle Riley-Brown, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charles Hankins and Shilt, the 560,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is being designed specifically to serve children and families. Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands will offer inpatient and outpatient specialty pediatric care in areas including: cancer, cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, diabetes and endocrinology, urology, sports medicine, gastroenterology and nutrition, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, otolaryngology, allergy and immunology, dermatology, adolescent medicine and physical rehabilitation.

The facility will open with 25 emergency center rooms, 72 outpatient rooms, 12 radiology rooms, four operating rooms, 28 critical care beds and 32 acute care beds with plans to add up to 200 additional beds in the future to meet community needs. In addition to serving families throughout The Woodlands, Texas Children’s anticipates serving families in counties throughout Greater North Houston including Montgomery, Walker, Grimes, Liberty, Harris, Polk, San Jacinto and Hardin counties and beyond.