June 7, 2016

6816Epicconnections640On Sunday, June 12, Texas Children’s Epic electronic health record (EHR) will receive a full system upgrade, adding hundreds of new features and updates to the tasks Epic users perform every day. The OnBase application also will receive an upgrade, beginning at noon, Saturday, June 11.

Check the resources below for a comprehensive look at the OnBase and Epic v2015 upgrades, including schedule, information, features and support.

Epic and OnBase upgrade schedule

Program downtime
OnBase: from noon, Saturday, June 11, to 4 a.m. Sunday, June 12
Epic: from 1 a.m. Sunday, June 12, to 4 a.m. Sunday, June 12

Need help?

Information resources

Epic v2015: New features and optimizations

OnBase: New features

 

42016DrOrange175Dr. Jordan Orange, January – June 2016 Physician

Dr. Jordan Orange of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star physician. “I am motivated by the patients we serve – both directly and indirectly,” Orange said. Read more of Orange’s interview below and find out how you can nominate a Super Star.

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Dr. Jordan Orange, Chief, Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology; Director, Center for Human Immunobiology, Texas Children’s Hospital; Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology and Immunology, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine. I started April 30, 2012.

What month are you Super Star for?
January – June 2016

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I was surprised so say the least. Our practice administrator and the SVP over our area had invited me to a meeting to discuss provider schedules. I always try to be on my toes for these types of meetings and was therefore a bit keyed up to begin with. I went up to the 14th floor of the Feigin Center with Kim (the PA) met Diane Scardino (SVP) in the hall outside the conference room. They said: “this one’s booked” and took me around the corner to the larger conference room which was filled with our whole division. Was I surprised! Dr. Kline was there along with my wife, Dr. Shearer and all of my closest colleagues. Honestly I still have not recovered.
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What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do?
It is strange and uncomfortable to be recognized. Honestly the greatest prize is really in just getting to do what I do. That said, the recognition is really only a reflection and recognition of the people I work with. That makes me very happy because they are amazing people and truly deserve recognition for the great work they do. This award is really about and for them. Here is the text of the email that I sent to our division after the “surprise:”

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I wanted to thank everyone for the surprise celebration today. Needless to say I was completely shocked and un-expecting. It was so very kind of so many of you to take valuable time from your day. More importantly, I wanted to thank everyone for making this “super star” award possible. It is something that I share with each and every one of you. In fact, it is only our work together that creates anything “star” worthy. Thus, while I was the one receiving some congratulations today, this is an award that is ours and would not be possible without you. You are a superstar! Thank you for being my friend and colleague and for making Texas Children’s Hospital and Immunology, Allergy, Rheumatology the best possible place to come to work every day. As Dr. Kline said, “the sky’s the limit” for what we will accomplish. The future of our patients depend upon that – let’s keep reaching for the sky. Thank you for all you do! Jordan

How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
I have actually surpassed the goals that I had for myself professionally. Thus every day now is essentially gift and work to be enjoyed and shared. I really love that and so look forward to everything that will come importantly including the successes of those I work with. As for personal goals – I have wanted to make further strides in being a husband, father, friend, colleague and citizen. The culture of gentility, respect and humanity that so deeply permeates our organization is priceless and has really helped me grow in those categories.
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What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
I am still scratching my head a bit about this one. That said I can only assume that it is someone who brings people together – someone who makes the whole a lot more than its individual parts (see below). I am not sure that’s me, but it is something I feel really passionate about and enjoy trying to do.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
Of course as a pediatrician – I am motivated by the patients we serve – both directly and indirectly. Full stop. I also love what I do. My work is my hobby, my passion and my joy. When we went around the table at home discussing what we would do if we won the billion dollar lottery – I think I was pretty clear in that I would do exactly the same thing that I do right now. It is such a true joy and honor to be surrounded by many people who feel the same.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
I subscribe very deeply to our mission at Texas Children’s and I feel very passionate about doing whatever I can to advance it. The beautiful thing about being at Texas Children’s is that the mission is in people’s hearts. It is something that everyone comes together around and really means it. I love people’s passions, and here we truly share the same passion. How lucky are we.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader?
It means that everyone makes a difference. To themselves and to others. Everyone matters and everyone can have massive impact. The fact that it is recognized and fostered as such at Texas Children’s is probably why we have an unparalleled and unprecedented trajectory in the world of pediatrics. I am confident that there is no plateau in sight.

What is your leadership definition?
This is something that I have of course thought about a lot since being here and honestly not so much prior to being here. I like to think that even though I had only started thinking about it recently, however, it has been something I have been working on for a long time. Here goes: Facilitating and fostering parts into a far greater whole and enabling individuals to be their very best in all aspects of their lives.

Anything else you want to share?
I’m really just pretty blown away by this – it was so unexpected and I am so deeply grateful to everyone I work with. I accept the recognition only in sharing it with them.

6816StephenDavis175Stephen Davis, a pharmacy operations manager at Texas Children’s, was recently honored by the Auburn Alumni Association, Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, and the Office of Development as one of 14 recipients who received an Outstanding Alumni Achievement award.

This prestigious award recognizes recipients for outstanding achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity and stature, and service to the university.

“The Auburn Alumni Association is proud to be associated with these outstanding alumni, for both their achievements in their careers and their dedication to Auburn University,” said Jack Fite, president of the Auburn Alumni Association.”

Davis, who is also the program director for the PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency, has demonstrated leadership and vision in advancing the practice and profession of pharmacy and improving patient care. He received the 2015 Pharmacy Leadership Award from the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP). He has also been active in local, state, and national organizations. During his nearly six years of service at Texas Children’s, Davis has collaborated with colleagues to improve medication dose preparation safety, reduce medication waste, and enhance pharmacy productivity to ensure quality patient care.

Recipients were honored at a dinner and induction ceremony April 9 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

6816charlenecrockett175Texas Children’s Hospital is excited to welcome Dr. Charlene Crockett to the hospital’s Ophthalmology Division.

Crockett joined Texas Children’s Hospital in March as a pediatric ophthalmologist and is currently leading the hospital’s new Urgent Care Eye Clinic, which opened in January and currently receives patients with urgent ophthalmological needs.

Prior to being brought on as a full member of the ophthalmology team, Crockett was a fellow at Texas Children’s Hospital. During her one-year fellowship, she studied pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

Crockett earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and, along with the fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital, completed an internship at the University of Texas at Houston.

In addition to her duties at Texas Children’s, Crockett is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Cullen Eye Institute and Baylor College of Medicine.

“The field of ophthalmology is fascinating,” Crockett said. “I love it and I love working with children and families.”

June 1, 2016

6116ChronicleEducationinside350Texas Children’s Hospital is proud to be a part of the Houston Chronicle’s 115th year celebration, which kicked off this week. To mark this occasion, the Houston Chronicle launched a six-month commemorative series that will tell the dramatic stories of Houston as “A City That Could.”

As part of this historic event, each daily publication of the Chronicle will feature an editorial section highlighting Houston’s iconic people, events, business, culture, medical and sciences, sports and major events.

Texas 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 was featured in the 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 22 weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

6116WCIRREV640One of Texas Children’s main objectives is to provide the right care at the right time at the right place. Fulfilling that mission just got easier with the installation of a new Interventional Radiology Suite at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Equipped with a customizable interventional X-ray imaging system from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc., the new suite will enable physicians to provide a wider range of image-guided procedures to patients and families in the West Houston area without having to send them across town to Texas Children’s in the Texas Medical Center.

“This suite gives us the ability to have a full-service radiology department at West Campus, making the future of radiology at the community hospital even brighter,” said Texas Children’s Radiology-In-Chief Dr. George S. Bisset at a ribbon cutting event for the new suite. “I’m very excited about what this new addition will bring to the hospital, our medical staff, and most importantly, our patients.”

Texas Children’s Chief of Interventional Radiology Dr. Kamlesh Kukreja said interventional radiology helps physicians keep every child they see as healthy as they can be and as comfortable as possible during their visit to the hospital or clinic.

“I’m looking forward to this service growing significantly at West Campus,” Kukreja said.

The new state-of-the-art suite is equipped with Toshiba’s Infinix-i’s C-arm design that offers conformity to any patient, allowing for optimal angulations, streamlined positioning and customizable configuration. In addition, the Infinix-i’s ergonomic enhancement improves clinician speed and precision while reducing the potential for strain and injury. Another important feature is the real-time Dose Tracking System that provides real-time data on the delivery of radiation in the form of easy-to-read color-coded human map.

“In pediatrics, radiation exposure is a key concern and dose management continues to be an important focus assuring maximum benefits under the highest safety standards for the patients,” said Sadia Nasir, assistant director of radiology at West Campus. “The Dose Monitoring System, in combination with dose management and reduction technologies, such as, Spot Fluororscopy will allow the interventionists to instantaneously monitor and minimize patient’s X-ray skin dose in real time during the procedures.”

Matt Schaefer, vice president of West Campus, said the need for additional radiology services at West Campus has continued to grow ever since the community hospital opened its doors more than five years ago.

“The opening of this new, state-of-the-art Interventional Radiology Suite is simply another step toward meeting those needs and providing patients with the highest quality of pediatric care.” he said.

To learn more about Texas Children’s interventional radiology services, click here.

6116runforreason640Texas Children’s Hospital was again chosen to be an official charity for the January 15, 2017 Houston Marathon and Half Marathon, which means you can run for a reason. You can be on the Texas Children’s Running Team and fundraise on behalf of Texas Children’s Hospital, knowing your donations will directly impact the lives of countless sick children.

Learn more and how to sign up for the team.