February 28, 2017

As part of our commitment to our employees’ health and well-being, Texas Children’s is excited to announce the opening of an Employee Medical Clinic at West Campus.

When will clinical services be available?

Beginning Wednesday, March 1, employees at West Campus, as well as in nearby Texas Children’s Pediatrics practices, can access clinical services on the first and third Wednesday of each month. To provide convenient access, the medical clinic will share office space with the Employee Health Clinic located on the second floor of West Campus. Hours of operations will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. While scheduled appointments are preferred, walk-in patients will be worked into the schedule based on availability.

What services can I receive?

Dr. Irene M. Lomeda, from our clinic in the Texas Medical Center, will be the physician on-site. In addition to primary and urgent care services, the following services will also be offered:

  • Annual physicals/well-woman/well-men exams
  • Rapid strep, flu, glucose, urinalysis, and pregnancy testing
  • Chronic disease management for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease
  • Phone consultations (for established patients) for treatment of non-emergency medical issues
  • Vaccinations (meningococcal, papilloma virus, pneumococcal and shingles)
  • Travel medicine (limited)
  • Health Coaching program

Employees enrolled in Texas Children’s medical insurance plans will have a $10 co-pay per visit. Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us; your information will be secure via confidential electronic medical records, which is hosted externally.

To learn more about the services offered at the new Employee Medical Clinic at West Campus, please click here.

February 21, 2017

More than 600 employees and staff with 12,480 combined years of Texas Children’s service and expertise were honored last week at the organization’s 29th Annual Employee Recognition Celebration.

Held on February 14 at the Bayou Event Center, Valentine’s Day provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the heart of Texas Children’s past, present and future and recognize our long-time honorees and award recipients for their continued passion and commitment to the mission of Texas Children’s.

“There is a lot of love and dedication in this room today,” said Human Resources Senior Vice President Linda Aldred. “There is more history here today than we can probably imagine when we think about the stories and the milestones we have accomplished together.”

Inside a large ballroom decked out in lavish decor, students from Houston’s Parker Elementary Chorus serenaded the crowd before the awards presentation got underway.

After lunch, each honoree was led down a red carpet and onto a stage where President and CEO Mark A. Wallace, Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline and Texas Children’s Board of Trustee member Michael Linn shook their hands and thanked them for their 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 45 years of service at Texas Children’s.

In addition to long-time honorees, the ceremony recognized recipients of the Best of the West, Mark A. Wallace Catalyst Leadership, Smiles and Super Star awards.

“All of you have been such a powerful part of Texas Children’s growth and development,” Wallace said. “Because of your infinite passion for the mission of Texas Children’s, we are able to reach more children and women beyond the Texas Medical Center and even beyond the great state of Texas.”

Christina Atiba, a nurse in the Pulmonary Adolescent Endocrine Unit, has worked at Texas Children’s for 25 years and loves her job. While she enjoys taking care of children, she admires the organization’s commitment to advancing the educational and professional development opportunities for employees.

“The hospital has a developmental plan for every employee, and the sky is the limit at Texas Children’s,” Atiba said. “You can be whatever you want to be and they support you every way they can.”

The annual event was a day to celebrate accomplishments and honor those who have done so much to carry out the values and the mission of Texas Children’s to ensure we meet the health care needs of our patients and their families.

“We will always be grateful for your commitment and hard work, and we will always recognize you,” Aldred said. “We will always celebrate you in everything we have achieved together.”

Congratulations to all of our honorees!

Click here for a copy of the event’s program, including a complete list of honorees. Click here to watch the photo gallery.

As of February 13, Texas Children’s Pediatrics Cullen is now Texas Children’s Pediatrics Palm Center. The practice’s new location is at 5400 Griggs Road, Suite 100.

The Palm Center is a community-based collaborative health and wellness project that provides an accessible medical home to children and families. Its staff of four health care providers offers ongoing community and organizational support for family-focused health services that address the broad social, health, educational and spiritual needs of children.

As part of its goal to build a community of healthy children, Texas Children’s Pediatrics Community Cares Program provides trusted, high-quality pediatric medical services for children who otherwise would seek care from emergency rooms or possibly go without care or treatment due to low family incomes and/or lack of health insurance. Regardless of the family’s financial situation, the Community Cares Program provides health care to children from birth to age 18 and offers the opportunity to develop a trusting, long-term relationship with a board certified pediatrician.

For more information about the Palm Center click here.

Dr. Michael Paldino’s paper entitled “Brain Network Architecture and Global Intelligence in Children with Focal Epilepsy” was recently selected as the 2016 Lucien Levy Best Research Article Award Winner in the American Journal of Neuroradiology (AJNR).

This award is named for the late AJNR senior editor who championed its establishment and recognizes the best original research paper accepted in 2016. The winning paper, submitted by Paldino and fellow Texas Children’s radiologists Drs. Farahnaz Golriz, Wei Zhang and Zili Chu, was published electronically on October 13, 2016 and appeared in the February print issue of the journal.

The paper was selected by a vote of the journal’s editor-in-chief and senior editors.

The Clinical Research Center/Research Resources Office will present the Clinical Research Award for First Quarter 2017 to Dr. Beth Carter, Department of Pediatrics-Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Baylor College of Medicine.

The award was established by the Clinical Research Center in collaboration with the Research Resources Office to recognize and honor individual contributions to protecting the best interest of the research subjects and compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

Dr. Carter’s research activities in the CRC focus on pediatric short bowel syndrome, intestinal failure, and the clinical treatment of these conditions. Dr. Carter is a leader in the development of new approaches to the treatment of pediatric short bowel and has been a significant contributor to the recent pediatric clinical trials of teduglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 2 analogue that is under investigation for the use in moderate to severe short bowel syndrome patients that are failing to progress in regards to enteral advances and/or TPN (total parenteral nutrition) weaning.

Texas Children Radiologist Dr. Nadia Mahmood was recently named Secretary of the Pediatric Ultrasound Community of the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine (AIUM). Mahmood will become chair of the committee in 2021.

This is a major responsibility for Mahmood, especially at the association’s annual convention in March, involving selection of topics, speakers and moderators for sessions. AIUM is a multidisciplinary medical association of more than 9,000 physicians, sonographers, scientists, students and other health care providers. Established more than 50 years ago, the AIUM is dedicated to advancing the safe and effective use of ultrasound in medicine through professional and public education, research, development of guidelines, and accreditation.

Mahmood is a board certified radiologist by the American Board of Radiology. Her clinical and research interests include lymphoma, neuroblastoma and oncology-related imaging. She also serves as one of four radiologists in the division of nuclear imaging with a focus on Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. Mahmood completed her subspecialty in Pediatric Imaging at Texas Children’s Hospital. Apart from her clinical and research responsibilities, Mahmood also serves as associate director of the Radiology Education Program as well as interim section chief of Ultrasound Imaging. She has published in numerous peer reviewed journals, with her most recent project pertaining to urinary tract infections in neonates. In addition, Mahmood is involved in multiple regional and national committees, including the one she was recently appointed to with the AIUM.

For more information about Mahmood click here.

On February 8, the March of Dimes hosted the 2017 March for Babies Citywide Kickoff Celebration at the downtown Hyatt Regency to recognize everyone who contributed to the success of the March for Babies’ fundraising campaign last year with the hopes of adding to this success again this year.

Through the generous support from Texas Children’s employees, team leaders and donors, Texas Children’s was named the 2016 Top Corporate Team in Houston. The hospital raised nearly $180,000 for the March of Dimes based on corporate sponsorship and employee and team fundraising.

Surrounded by more than 300 guests at the Hyatt Regency, the celebratory luncheon featured opening remarks from Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women Senior Vice President and Chair for the 2017 Houston March for Babies Cris Daskevich, who congratulated the Executive Leadership Team, 2016 Top 10 Teams and 2017 sponsors for their continued leadership and commitment to healthy babies.

“Each and every one of you who are serving as ambassadors and fundraisers for the March of Dimes mission are critical to the March of Dimes and the families and babies they serve,” Daskevich said. “The March of Dimes and Texas Children’s share a mission to end premature birth. Together with your support, we can give every baby a fighting chance and make a meaningful difference in their young lives.”

The luncheon also featured guest speakers including Texas Children’s and Houston’s 2017 Ambassador Family, Leanne and Kiran O’Brien, who shared their touching story and the challenges they faced as their twins were being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit at Texas Children’s for four and a half months. O’Brien was also cared for at the Pavilion for Women after experiencing potentially life-threatening complications following the delivery of her babies.

This year will be particularly exciting for Texas Children’s. The organization will serve as the 2017 Signature Sponsor for the March for Babies Walk scheduled for Sunday, April 23, at the University of Houston. This year’s goal is to raise $2.2 million for the March of Dimes!

Teams are already forming at Texas Children’s! If you would like to support the March of Dimes, be sure to register for the March for Babies Walk. Click here for more information on how to register and/or join a Texas Children’s team to help support this worthy cause.

Let’s go Texas Children’s as we gear up for another successful March for Babies Walk and campaign!