February 6, 2018

When a patient is admitted to Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, we not only want them to receive the best possible medical care, but also feel comfortable and supported during their stay whether that means receiving help from one of our child life specialists, learning more about their health care team or simply finding out how to park and where to grab a bite to eat.

All of this information and more can be found in a new 20-page guide to Texas Children’s Hospital. Titled “Your Guide to Texas Children’s Hospital, the book is being placed in every inpatient room by Environmental Services as they prepare the rooms for patients and their families. The guides also can be found online at https://www.texaschildrens.org/yourguide and via the Texas Children’s Wayfinding App, which is available for Android and iPhones. For more information about the app, click here.

“We are so pleased to be able to provide such a comprehensive resource to our patients and families,” said Director of Patient and Family Services Katie Kalenda-Daggett. “We want them to feel informed and empowered in their experience with us – and we want them to know that we are here to support them in any way we can.”

Available in English and Spanish, the guide includes information about the many patient and family services Texas children’s provides, as well as more details about the hospital.

Topics discussed in “Your Guide to Texas Children’s Hospital” include:

  • Important phone numbers
  • Your child’s health care team
  • Family support services
  • Tips for parents
  • Amenities and dining
  • Parking
  • Texas Children’s locations
  • Patients and family safety
  • Privacy
  • Patient rights and responsibilities
  • Billing
  • Donations

The guide also contains several phone numbers and tips on how to find additional information if needed and not included.

Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace says in the guide’s welcome letter that “Your Guide to Texas Children’s Hospital” is a good example of how we practice family-centered care, which is based on: dignity and respect, information sharing, participation and collaboration.

“You know your child best,” Wallace said. “That’s why you are an important member of your child’s health care team.”

Several guides have been used throughout Texas Children’s Hospital’s history. This edition began with Environmental Services and Sustainability Director Elex Sanchez and his former AQI team, and was published with the help of Marketing and Public Relations, Patient and Family Services, Guest Services, Translation Services, the Care First Advisory Group, Environmental Services and Facilities Operations. Guides for other Texas Children’s locations are in the works.

Supporting information such as local dining options and destinations and area attractions also can be found on the Marketing Connect site. Please feel free to download and print and use as needed.

If you have any feedback about the guide or supporting documents, please contact brand@texaschildrens.org.

August 1, 2017

When Texas Children’s Hospital opened its doors in 1954, we had 224,000 square feet of space located in the middle of the Texas Medical Center. Today, our medical complex stretches across the greater Houston area and consists of more than 8 million square feet of multi-floor buildings, offices and parking garages.

As Texas Children’s continues to expand its services and facilities, navigating the hallways and buildings of a large hospital campus can be a bit challenging for patients and their families, including our faculty, employees and staff.

“We want to make our patient experience as seamless and compassionate as possible,” said Vice President Matt Girotto, who is leading the wayfinding initiative. “Eliminating some of our wayfinding hurdles to make it easier for patients and their families to get to where they need to go will enhance their experience immensely, allowing them to focus on what is most important – their medical care.”

With the recent opening of Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands, the renaming of the Clinical Care Tower in honor of our longtime President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, and the remarkable progress being made on the Legacy Tower, new enhancements are being implemented to improve wayfinding across the system.

Wallace Tower transition

The transition process of renaming the Clinical Care Tower to the Mark A. Wallace Tower will take several months to complete and will be conducted in two phases.

  • Phase I: Signs, email signatures, patient handouts/communications, patient letters, scripts for patient calls can be edited now to include “Wallace Tower (formerly Clinical Care Tower)” until the transition phase is completed.
  • Phase II: Information Services (IS) will reprogram all Epic and IS systems to “MW” and “Wallace Tower.” This process will take six months. Once completed, the updates will go live at once across the system.
  • When Phase II is completed approximately by the end of this year, all transition references of “Wallace Tower (formerly Clinical Care Tower)” will need to be adjusted to reflect the final name of “Wallace Tower.”
  • For now, printed materials that list “Clinical Care Center” or “Clinical Care Tower” can continue to be used. They do not need to be updated until current inventory is depleted or the transition is complete, whichever comes first.
Campus maps

Updated maps of Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands are now available for download and print. Click here to download the maps.

Texas Medical Center Campus Level 3 Bridge map

A new map detailing destinations and amenities on the Level 3 bridge connecting Wallace Tower, Legacy Tower, Pavilion for Women and West Tower is now available for print, download or web linking.

Wayfinding web app

It is now easier than ever to access wayfinding information on the go. Follow these steps to create a bookmark on the home screen of your phone that links directly to wayfinding information. The app is available for Android and iPhones, and will be updated with West Campus and The Woodlands information in the near future.

Information stations

Texas Children’s will eventually have 22 digital building directories across all campuses once implemented at Legacy Tower and West Campus. All information station monitors are touch-screen activated and feature a corresponding campus map, step-by-step directions to various locations. The information stations are a self-service resource to provide real-time information to visitors.

In addition to these updated wayfinding resources, remember the best wayfinding aid is the Texas Children’s employee who asks a patient, family or visitor how they can help. If you have any map printing needs or comments about wayfinding at Texas Children’s, contact wayfinding@texaschildrens.org.

May 9, 2017

It’s appointment day. You park your car, arrive at the hospital and make a beeline to the elevators at the Wallace Tower hoping to shuttle your child to his or her doctor’s appointment on time. After dealing with traffic on your way in, you’re faced with another challenge – waiting patiently for an available elevator cab.

Based on recent Press Ganey patient satisfaction survey results, Texas Children’s Patient Experience Team has focused on several priority initiatives in FY17, one of which is to improve the elevator experience for patients and families who depend on the Wallace Tower elevators to take them to and from their clinic appointments.

“This has been a significant, on-going concern for our patient families,” said Katie Kalenda Daggett, director of Patient and Family Services. “We have partnered with Ambulatory Leadership, Facilities, Marketing, HR, Security Services and other teams from across the hospital to develop creative solutions to improve the patient and family elevator experience.”

Texas Children’s recently launched the Step Up for Patients First initiative, which encourages employees and staff to put patients and families first, from the time they arrive at work to the time they leave. This includes providing patients and families priority access to the elevators to reduce unnecessary wait times.

In the next few weeks, employees and staff will notice new, colorful wayfinding signage near the Wallace Tower elevators and stairwells, which have now been opened to patient and visitors who opt to take the stairs from Monday to Friday between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Employees may take the stairs any time, but are encouraged to take the stairs as often as possible.

“We want our patients to arrive at their appointments easily, and we encourage all Texas Children’s employees to be part of this collaborative process to reduce extended wait times at the elevators,” Kalenda Daggett said. “Step Up for Patients First is part of a broader initiative to enhance patient experience across the hospital system.”

Texas Children’s continually receives feedback from patient families about small changes that can be made across the system to promote a positive experience. Our broader initiative will include future improvement efforts, such as encouraging employees to step up for patients who are lost and need help with wayfinding.

If you have any suggestions for improvements or any additional feedback, contact the Patient Experience team at patientexperience@texaschildrens.org.

Step Up stairwell challenge begins June 1

In conjunction with Step Up for Patients First, Texas Children’s Health and Wellness will launch an organization wide Step Up stairwell challenge from June 1 to June 30 that will challenge employees and staff to Step Up for Patients First and make physical activity a priority. The Well-Being Team will be in the stairwells periodically to encourage employees on this new culture habit while handing out swag and fun incentives to celebrate stepping into good health.

Stay tuned to Connect for more details.

January 10, 2017

11117wayfinding640As part of Texas Children’s continuing efforts to improve wayfinding across our entire system, one of our top destinations in West Tower has been updated.

The West Tower Level 3 destination for Surgery Reception and the PASS Clinic is just beyond the elevator banks. The blue wall that has been used as a directional landmark for many years has now been painted purple to match West Tower’s newly assigned wayfinding color.

In May, each building on Main Campus was assigned a color to add a layer of identification to our locations, allowing employees, patients and families to be able to easily discern between buildings not only by name, but also by color.

Pavilion for Women = Turquoise
Pediatric Tower = Yellow
West Tower = Purple
Abercrombie Building = Green
Feigin Tower = Blue
Clinical Care Tower = Orange

These colors are being added to the ongoing wayfinding signage as these changes and improvements continue to be implemented.

For more information about our wayfinding efforts, click here. To view a color-coded map of Texas Children’s Hospital, click here.

May 3, 2016

5416wayfinding640When Texas Children’s Hospital opened its doors in 1954, we had 224,000 square feet of space located in the middle of the Texas Medical Center. Now, our medical complex stretches throughout the greater Houston area and consists of more than 8 million square feet of multi-floor buildings, offices and parking garages.

Such immense growth is a reflection on the quality of care we provide and has been a proven benefit to the children and families of Texas and beyond. Our continued need for expansion also has presented some challenges, one of the main ones being effective wayfinding.

Navigating our buildings and hallways isn’t easy for our patients, families and many times our faculty and employees. The frustration this creates can severely tarnish how people view the patient experience we provide.

That’s why a team of representatives from various departments throughout the organization – Administration, Ambulatory Services, Facilities Planning & Development, Marketing and Public Relations, Patient and Family Relations, Surgical Services, Women’s Services and the medical staff – have been working for two years with internal and external experts to come up with and implement both long- and short-term solutions that will help people get the right care at the right time and in the right place.

“We want to make our patient experience as seamless and compassionate as possible,” said Vice President Matt Girotto, who is helping lead the wayfinding initiative. “Eliminating some of our wayfinding hurdles to make it easier for patients and their families get to where they need to go will surely improve and enhance their experience, allowing them to focus on what is most important – their medical care.”

Assistant Vice President Jill Pearsall also is helping lead the wayfinding initiative and said the changes that are being made will arm our employees with a better knowledge of our locations, empowering them to better help patients and their families who are having a hard time finding their way around.

“We need everyone engaged in this process in order for it to truly be effective,” Pearsall said. “So, please be on the lookout for new maps, building level guides, digital directories and more.”

These items are a nod to a larger, more comprehensive wayfinding initiative that is underway. Stay tuned and remember, the best wayfinding aid is the Texas Children’s employee who asks a patient, family or visitor how they can help.

Campus Map
A new, updated map of Texas Children’s Hospital in the Texas Medical Center has been posted in the public elevator cabs of our patient care facilities on the Main Campus. These maps feature:
Names for all buildings and towers with changes for:

  • Pediatric Tower E = Tower E
  • Clinical Care Center = Clinical Care Tower
  • Abercrombie = Abercrombie Building
  • Feigin = Feigin Tower

Note: Tower was added to the Clinical Care and Feigin facilities to assist in eliminating the confusion of Centers being located within a Center, for example, the Texas Children’s Cancer Center in the Clinical Care Center.

Partnered with the maps in the elevator cabs is a building directory that notes the departments that are accessible from the elevator. Prints of the map have a back side listing the address of each building, a place for notes and a list of important phone numbers that patients and visitors might find helpful during their stay. These prints will be available at every information/welcome desk, each check in location of every clinic or unit, on TexasChildrens.org, Connect, and with members of Guest Services and Volunteer Services to use in their daily interaction with patients and visitors.

Building Color Assignments
Each building now has an assigned color to add another layer of identification to our locations. You will be able to easily discern between buildings not only by name, but by color.

  • Pavilion for Women = Turquoise
  • Tower E = Yellow
  • West Tower = Purple
  • Abercrombie Building = Green
  • Feigin Tower = Blue
  • Clinical Care Tower = Orange

These colors will be added to the ongoing wayfinding signage as these changes and improvements continue to be implemented.

Building Level Guide
The Building Level Guide is a visual aid to assist in showing how the medical center campus is connected. The third Floor Bridge is highlighted on the Campus Map and in the Building Level Guide to demonstrate how to travel between buildings. In addition, the Texas Medical Center Parking Garage numbers and locations are listed under each building.

Portal Paint and Carpet Transition
To make it easier to identify transition points between buildings, the surrounding walls, will be painted the building’s corresponding color. In addition, the carpet at each transition point will be updated to also include the building’s color. Work will start on the portal paint and carpet transition this week and will be completed mid-June.

Wall (Omni) Signage
Facilities Planning and Development is currently working to combine the map and building level guide into a comprehensive wall feature in the public elevator lobbies. These wall features, or omni sinage, will be in prominent, high-traffic areas and are currently scheduled to be installed soon.

Information Stations
Digital building directories have been placed in two of the busiest areas of the hospital – the first and third floors of the Clinical Care Tower. On the first floor, a 48-inch monitor has been set up next to the information desk. On the third floor, three of the same size monitors are mounted on the wall between The Auxiliary Bridge and the information desk. All three monitors are touch-screen activated and feature a map of the medical center campus, step-by-step directions to various locations throughout Main Campus, and information on our services throughout the Houston area.

With these improvements, leaders will be asked to review their scheduling scripts, webpage, Epic templates, etc., to ensure that what we are telling families is consistent with our new approach. Similar color assignments are also being made to the West Campus and built into the design of The Woodlands hospital.

Long-term initiatives include:

  • Ensuring that patient experience and wayfinding is integrated into new employee orientation
  • Increasing the number of volunteers dedicated to helping patients find their way around campus
  • Finding a wayfinding app that will guide patients to their appropriate location

“We would like to thank all of those that are involved in helping improve how patients, families and visitors navigate our campuses,” Girotto said. “We have world class providers, staff and facilities, and we are now on the path to help bring all those things together in a more easy fashion for our patients.”

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please email wayfinding@texaschildrens.org.

June 10, 2014

61114wayfindingtop640

It’s surgery day. You park your car, arrive at the hospital, but you’re not exactly sure where to go. Navigating the hallways and buildings of a large hospital campus can add an extra layer of anxiety to an already stressful experience for patients and their families.

“We want to create a positive experience for every single patient who walks through our doors,” said Mallory Caldwell, senior vice president of Administration at Texas Children’s. “We’re always searching for innovative approaches to ensure the delivery of superior customer service to our patients and their families.”

As part of a newly launched 4-month pilot program that started May 26, Texas Children’s Facilities Planning and Development department has designed wayfinding signs to improve navigation to the surgical suites at the Clinical Care Center (CCC) and West Tower, as well as contribute to a positive arrival experience for surgery patients.

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You’ve probably noticed the colorful, kid-friendly animal signage posted inside and outside the elevators, lobby, hallways and connecting bridges at the CCC and West Tower. The fishes, frogs and dragon flies direct patients easily to specific check-in locations for different operating room suites:

  • Fish = West Tower, Third Floor
  • Frog = Clinical Care Center, Seventh Floor
  • Dragon Fly = West Tower, 17th Floor

“To accommodate our diverse patient population, the animal signs are intended to reduce language barrier issues that arise with traditional verbiage signage when translation is often required,” said Doug Fowler, graphics program manager at Texas Children’s Facilities Planning and Development. “Patients simply follow the animal symbols to get to their respective check-in location for surgery.”

During the summer, Texas Children’s sees approximately 100 patients for surgery every weekday. The pilot is focused on those patients that arrive very early in the morning for the “first case,” as they are most in need of additional support upon arrival.

Equipped with copies of the surgery schedule, volunteers in blue vests will greet patients immediately upon arrival and will direct them to their proper surgical check-in locations. Patients are given an all new pre-surgery packet.

“We want our patients to arrive at their check-in location easily, and we encourage all Texas Children’s employees to be part of this collaborative process by becoming familiar with the signage and what it stands for,” says Dr. Larry Hollier, chief of Plastic Surgery at Texas Children’s.

The pilot program, along with feedback received from the patient experience surveys, will help us identify which areas need to be fine-tuned.