January 13, 2023

Sunday, December 4 started like any other day at our West Campus location. Patients and families passed through our doors as Texas Children’s team members provided the specialized care we are known for in the community. But this otherwise ordinary Sunday took a tragic turn as an act of violence unfolded in the West Campus parking lot.

What happened next was nothing short of extraordinary. Without hesitation – our brave and skilled care teams jumped into action to offer immediate medical care, shelter and comfort those in need, coordinate meals for first responders, and continue to care for every other patient in the hospital who needed them.

What our Texas Children’s family experienced – and how they responded – on December 4 was a shining example of humanity and leadership. This week, Texas Children’s leaders gathered with members of the West Campus team to comfort and recognize each other. With the guidance of our Employee Chaplain, Sarah Tuba Alpat, the group lifted their voices and held in their hearts what they practice every day:

Goodness is stronger than evil;
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Hope is stronger then despair.

President & CEO Mark A. Wallace joined the ceremony to support the teams and offer his heartfelt appreciation and admiration for those who gathered together.

“You can count on me, and you can count on your leaders in the moments you need us. The premium we place on the people who join our great team is what makes Texas Children’s one of the best children’s hospitals in the nation. God bless each and every one of you.”

If you need support in the wake of a crisis, employee chaplains are available to take your call. Reach out to the Employee Assistance Program at 832-824-3327.

March 16, 2022

Imagine yourself as a member of one of Texas Children’s patient families. You’re longing for someone to listen, wanting to make eye contact or needing help finding where to go the first time you visit our facilities – and that’s on top of worrying about the loved one whose illness or condition brought you there.

Now imagine the difference it would make for you to be heard, comforted and guided with compassion by your care team and other kind and considerate Texas Children’s employees.

Every member of our One Amazing Team has the opportunity to create this type of warm and welcoming environment for our patients and their families every day, contributing to the positive patient experience that is part of the latest People, Performance and Pre-eminence (P³) incentive plan goals.

“At Texas Children’s, how our patients and families experience care with us is central to establishing and continuing a healing relationship with them,” said Katie Kalenda Daggett, Director of Patient and Family Services. “Our commitment to that relationship and to patient-centered care is why patient experience is one of our organizational priorities.”

Why patient experience matters

Families often choose Texas Children’s because they know our global reputation for excellence in pediatric and women’s medical care.

What they don’t always know is whether that care will be part of an engaging and satisfying patient experience, defined by the Beryl Institute as “the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.”

Texas Children’s standard for patient experience calls for every interaction to be safe, personalized, present and compassionate.

“Caring for others is the reason many of our team members chose health care as a profession,” said Kalenda Daggett. “Providing a great patient experience is the right thing to do for our patients and their families.”

Studies show that patients who are more engaged in their health care have better clinical outcomes, and engaged team members also report higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of burnout and compassion fatigue.

‘We can all make a difference’

Through feedback on surveys and personal interactions with our Patient Experience team, patients and families have shared that one of the most important factors that affect how they feel about Texas Children’s is how well our team members work together to provide coordinated care.

“The staff was friendly and respectful to each other,” said one survey respondent. “They communicated with each other and supported each other. It gave me confidence in their ability to care for my kids.”

Every role counts – from managing the correct Epic templates for documentation to maintaining our website, scheduling appointments, screening visitors, completing registration, cleaning facilities and providing accurate billing. Even stopping to help someone lost in the hallway makes a difference.

“Doctors, nurses, support teams, administrative personnel – we can all make a difference in our patient’s lives,” said Elisa Mozley, Assistant Director of Patient and Family Services. “If something you did has the potential to make some part of a patient’s journey easier, more comfortable or brighter, you’ve done your part well.”

Jessi Carcamo, ambulatory services representative at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, is a shining example.

“Creating magic for everyone is a passion of mine. I have always found a great sense of gratification to know that I was able to help someone in any way possible, no matter how big or small,” said Carcamo. “Every morning no matter how I may feel I make an effort to make someone smile, a simple smile can turn your whole world around. Seeing someone smile and have just a little better of a day brings me the warm fuzzy feels.”

How you can help

Everyone at Texas Children’s can support patient experience. Here’s how:

  • Practice and promote safety, from washing your hands to cybersecurity.
  • Personalize the patient’s experiences by calling people by name, making connections and building rapport.
  • Be present by making eye contact, removing headphones or earbuds and being alert when walking the halls to pick up trash, help people that are lost and anticipate needs.
  • Be compassionate by taking your time with each interaction, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and communicating understanding and support.
  • Watch the video “Patient experience: What’s it like in their shoes?“ featuring our President and CEO Mark A. Wallace and think about his question: “What small thing can we do today and every day to provide outstanding patient care and superb patient services for our families?”
  • Visit the Patient Experience Resource Center for tactics and best practices for delivering safe, personalized, present, and compassionate care experiences for our patients and families, and for recognizing and praising our Texas Children’s colleagues.
December 21, 2021

As another year at Texas Children’s comes to a close, our team members recently gathered, safely, to take a brief, yet meaningful moment to celebrate the holidays. Over the years, one of our favorite holiday traditions has been Bread & Wassail, but with the changing times, we had to get creative to safely celebrate the season.

Beside our wonderful team members, the stars of this year’s event were delicious Nothing Bundt cakes in six different flavors – red velvet, classic vanilla, lemon, white chocolate raspberry and chocolate chocolate chip, as well as some tasty beverages to wash them down.

The event proved popular among team members across our campuses as we distributed more than 16,000 Nothing Bundt cakes! Even our therapy dogs got in on the fun and were doing everything they could to get a taste.

We look forward to many more fun events on the horizon as we look ahead to building our bright future Tomorrow, Together.

August 10, 2021

Food trucks, a DJ and a photo booth delighted and entertained team members at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus who gathered to recognize the Tomorrow, Together investment in our people.

The bold action, as announced by President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, includes increasing each employee salary by 2 percent and providing an additional week of highly-deserved paid time off.

About 400 staff participated in the Food Truck Jam at West Campus, which was held from 4 – 8 p.m. to give employees on day and night shifts an opportunity to enjoy the fun and festivities. Kudos to Krista Perez and Melissa Falcon, who were particularly instrumental in organizing the event.

To get a glimpse into the jamming time our colleagues had at West Campus, scroll through the gallery of photos at right. To see more snapshots from Tomorrow, Together celebrations that have taken place across the system, click here.

June 8, 2021

When children and families throughout the Houston area need expert care to evaluate, treat and manage a variety of wounds, there is only one place in the local community for them to go: Texas Children’s Wound Care Clinic.

And now – after our most recent expansion to accommodate that ever-increasing need – our patients can find service close to home at the newly opened Wound Care Clinic at West Campus.

“There is no other service like this being offered anywhere in Houston,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, who serves as Surgeon-in-Chief and holds the S. Baron Hardy Chair in Plastic Surgery. “This is a genuine value to these patients and will elevate the level of care they receive. The ease of access will clearly set this clinic apart.”

Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) nurses have provided wound care at Texas Children’s campuses for several years, treating conditions as varied as animal bites, chronic wounds, soft tissue infections, thermal skin injuries and trauma. These nurses have highly specialized skills that require intensive training, certification and experience that very few achieve, according to Anita Harris-Brown, director of Nursing Clinical Support Operations.

But just as the Texas Children’s system has grown, so has the demand for wound care services in inpatient and outpatient areas. This prompted leaders to set their sights on a new dedicated clinic inclusive of wound care nurses, physician assistants, physicians and other clinicians from a variety of disciplines. The ultimate plan is to offer wound care service on a daily basis at every campus.

Successfully opening the West Campus clinic required collaboration between teams and a constant, collective focus on meeting patient needs – even amid the challenges of the pandemic. Patients and families will find a dedicated staff focused on offering a holistic approach to wound management that allows for the best possible care, as well as the latest in wound care products and an embrace of targeted research around new wound care ideas.

Offering assistance with wound treatment and navigating the system for home care and supplies is also a priority, said Shannon McCord, director of Advanced Practice Providers and Nursing Support Services at The Woodlands and West Campus. Having clinics at all three Texas Children’s hospital campuses gives patients access to care across the continuum.

“The goal is to have a standardized, multidisciplinary approach to care to optimize patient outcomes, increase patient access and facilitate care coordination,” McCord said.

Additionally, establishing the West Campus clinic brings Texas Children’s another step closer to earning national distinction as a Pediatric Wound Care Center of Excellence. The certification is awarded to facilities that have demonstrably improved the quality of life for patients with wounds.

“It is a recognition of staff members’ compassion, dedication to optimizing patient outcomes and ongoing efforts to educate not only themselves, but their patients,” said Ryan Krasnosky, director, Surgery Advanced Practice Providers. “The goal is to highlight facilities that have developed a superior wound management program.”

Texas Children’s also stands out for its commitment to evidence-based care, an essential component of our wound care delivery model that remains part of our long-term vision – along with the Center of Excellence designation and becoming an international and national wound care leader.

To that end, McCord partnered with Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) last year to provide wound care education to nurses and providers in Africa. She developed an evidence-based practice policy and procedure for pediatric wound care, and recommended wound care products that they had or could access inexpensively. She presented the information to four countries in the sub-Saharan region.

This May, a multidisciplinary wound care team from Texas Children’s delivered a skills session on wound assessment and care at a virtual workshop hosted by Global HOPE in partnership with health ministries and universities in Botswana, Malawi and Uganda. The workshop was attended by more than 320 nurses and pharmacists from 22 different countries.

May 11, 2021

With more and more children seeking compassionate and reliable care to manage chronic pain, Texas Children’s has now opened the West Campus Pain Clinic to bring much-needed pain management services closer to home for families in west Houston and surrounding areas.

Frequently defined as lasting greater than 3 months or longer, chronic pain is recurrent, persistent and often affected by biological influences and psychological and sociocultural factors. Pain Medicine providers at Texas Children’s routinely see children and adolescents with low back pain, chronic daily headache, chronic pelvic pain, fibromyalgia and many other conditions that drastically affect quality of life.

Led by Dr. Laura Torres, the Medical Center Pain Clinic has been running at capacity for the last year. The ever-increasing number of patients prompted clinical and administrative leaders to consider how best to improve access to pain medicine, while also offering new options for segments of our patient population that had been underserved.

“Expert diagnosis and treatment for painful conditions in children is a major problem,” said Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos. “Although we have had a successful Pain Clinic at the Medical Center for a number of years, this patient population continues to grow and we needed to expand. West Campus is the perfect location for this new clinic because of the availability of space and time, and the presence of additional expertise.”

Opening new doors for pain management

The West Campus Pain Clinic is led by Dr. Henry Huang, an anesthesiologist with extensive fellowship training in Pediatric Anesthesiology and in Pediatric and Adult Pain Medicine. Huang is trained to perform some procedures not yet offered by the Anesthesiology Department, which will inevitably allow more patients to experience improved relief.

The clinic also includes a dedicated psychologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist and nursing staff to enhance the level of support provided.

“Chronic pain is commonly debilitating for families and remarkably complex to treat,” said Dr. Chris Glover, division director for Anesthesia Services at both West Campus and The Woodlands. He noted that opening a clinic at West Campus proved to be the ideal solution from multiple perspectives, including the ease of wayfinding and availability of parking.

“The clinic provides an intervention-based option along with traditional-based approaches for families, which complements the current service in the Medical Center,” Glover said. “West was an easy choice in broadening our reach.”

Endless potential for growth

As with any major undertaking at Texas Children’s, the opening of the West Campus Pain Clinic was handled with a thoughtful, patient-centered approach.

“The multidisciplinary approach to care ensures that we are caring for the whole child and not just a fraction of their concerns,” said Kara Abrameit, director of Outpatient and Clinic Support Services at West Campus. “The team quickly jumped behind this opportunity by having collaborative brainstorming meetings, thinking outside of the box and challenging one another to ensure we were able to find solutions.”

Over the course of many months, the diverse group of stakeholders worked together to better understand patient needs; recruit and align the right providers, including incorporating therapists from the Clear Lake Specialty Care; identify and secure the needed space with social distancing in mind; and resolve every decision that made the clinic a reality.

“Many of our patients have to deal with chronic pain issues and should not have to drive all the way to the Medical Center to receive treatment,” said Vice President Matt Timmons. “Offering this service at West is a huge step in serving this patient population closer to home.”

With limited pediatric chronic pain clinics in the United States, many children are unable to receive the pain management services they need – and few clinics can apply the same interventions and guidance now offered at West Campus. The team anticipates more growth and success ahead.

“This is only the beginning for Texas Children’s Pain Service,” said practice administrator Kelly Crumley. “This expansion from the Medical Center out into the greater community is the first step in our growth plans. It is our priority and responsibility to care for these children’s chronic pain needs, and we will continue to creatively enhance this service and our reach to do so.”

To make patient appointments at the West Campus Pain Clinic via Epic Inbasket, use WC PPC for scheduling. Referrals can also be placed, with sooner scheduling if referrals are directed specifically to Dr. Henry Huang. To contact the clinic by phone, call 832-227-0010.

May 4, 2021
Front row – Anita Harris-Brown. Back row (left to right) – Kathleen Ulanday, REgina Wysocki, Pippa Andrews-Brown, Lakeesha Etienne

The Smart Pump Interoperability Project recently went live at the Medical Center, West Campus and The Woodlands, thanks to a committed team that pushed forward to bring the innovative technology to Texas Children’s despite disruptions from the ongoing pandemic.

Smart pumps are known to help prevent adverse drug events, especially when linked with electronic health records. These pumps include auto-programming, which allows for specific medications to be transferred directly from a patient’s records to the smart infusion pump, and auto documentation, which allows information like start and stop times to be sent electronically.

To support the project, a total of 2,111 Texas Children’s nurses completed Alaris Interoperability training and gained the skills to improve medication safety and quality practices, and reduce infusion administration errors.

Epic Trainers, Nursing Professional Development Specialists and Clinical Nursing Informaticists collaborated to deploy the training, which was provided as part of nursing education at the system level with the support of Biomedical Engineering, Information Services and Pharmacy. The curriculum included 15 online learning modules with video demonstrations and learner engagement simulations, followed by live hands-on practice.

Additionally, more than 230 nurses served as Interoperability Skill Validators and used the Rover, Alaris pump and Epic EMR integration in an interactive training environment to prepare in-patient and Emergency Center nurses to implement the new practices in time for go-live on January 19 at the Medical Center/Pavilion for Women, and February 9 at West Campus and The Woodlands. Tabletops were conducted with various specialties to assist in preparing clinicians, and a clinical readiness training video was livestreamed with the help of the Simulation Center to give nurses a view of workflows and answer their questions.

Making the project happen

The go-live was implemented in two phases to ensure that nursing staff and those working behind the scenes at each campus would have the necessary support. During the transition at Medical Center/the Pavilion, 233 current infusions were connected to smart pump interoperability. At West Campus and The Woodlands, 35 infusions were connected within just a few hours.

At the center of the effort was the Clinical Subgroup, which drove all decisions and clinical practice. The subgroup consists of clinical nurse specialists and nurse educators from across the organization.

Also instrumental were informatics resource liaisons (IRLs), who worked along with the IS Command Center to help centralize calls surrounding the project. IRLs validated other bedside nurses with hands-on demonstrations; provided necessary feedback related to decision on workflows impacting the project; relayed necessary concerns and information from other bedside staff; and provided hands-on support while maintaining their own patient care load. As trusted liaisons, IRLs communicated problems to IS and communicated their findings and additional information back to their units.

A particular point of pride was the interaction at the unit level, which proved critical to the project’s success. Led by CVICU Clinical Specialist Lauren H. Salinas, nursing staff prepared their units by providing a worksheet to transition their current infusions. At the Pavilion for Women, High- Risk OB Clinical Specialist Tara Barrick and RNC-OB Educator Coordinator Melinda Trussell led the way in validating their staff by adopting the theme, “Operation Interop.”

Praising the project’s success

Nursing staff and vendors who supported the project had plenty had of good things to say about bringing the Smart Pump Interoperability Project to life:

  • “It was easier than I thought; we should have done this earlier.” – 14WT RN
  • “The modules made this way scarier than it truly was.” She said “I felt like I was going to forget something when it’s actually just 2 more steps to our BCMA process.” – 12WT RN
  • “So far, it’s been a smooth transition with no major issues!” – West Campus PICU RN
  • “Back association is beautiful where I never have to guess and go all the way back in the MAR then document my fluid. With back association, it all pulls in and do it right there at the bedside with another nurse.” – RN Float Nurse West Campus
  • “That is excellent work! The average pumps go live will see organizations hover at around 70% compliance for the first week, so we’re trending above that which is great news.” – Bryan K. (Epic TS)
  • “This is the best go-live I have ever supported. Expect some phone calls from our other pediatric customers.” – BD support team