July 23, 2019

Accreditations that highlight quality and performance are frequently earned at organizations like Texas Children’s. Our hospitals and many of our clinics hold credentials that show patients we’re the best.

And now it’s The Health Plan’s turn.

Texas Children’s Health Plan is beginning efforts to earn an accreditation through the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA). NCQA surveyors will be on campus in April to see how our operations measure up.

“Our survey is in April,” said Dan Christopher, assistant director for Quality and Outcomes at The Health Plan. “However, it’s important for employees to understand that there is a “look back period”, which begins October 1. This means that we must have all of our I’s dotted and T’s crossed very shortly.”

To reach this goal, Christopher and his team have launched the Strive for Five campaign to not only rally Health Plan employees, but employees all across the Texas Children’s system.

“We are all interconnected. The quality of service that we provide Health Plan members is impacted by performance at Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas Children’s Pediatrics and all of our other partners,” Christopher added. “Earning this accreditation is a win for us all.”

Why Strive for Five?

The Strive for Five campaign name was born out of the 5.0 NCQA ranking that we are looking to achieve during the April accreditation. We currently sit at a 2.5.

How do we score higher?

NCQA surveyors will arrive one morning in April of 2020 and begin to review the quality of our operations as it pertains to our members. They will show up at the Bellaire office location and will focus on our performance in six areas. These are:

  • Effectiveness of Care
  • Availability of Care
  • Experience of Care
  • Utilization and Risk Adjusted Utilization
  • Health Plan Descriptive Information
  • Measures Collected Using Electronic Clinical Data Systems

We must do well in these areas to earn a higher score.

“An NCQA designation is important because it means we are meeting the minimum basic standards for the care of our members,” Christopher said. “Of course our goal is go beyond the minimums, but we have to reach this bar first. I know we can do it.”

Want more information?
Just sit tight. Frequent communications will be posted on Connect from now until April 2020.

Krisanne Graves recently visited Vietnam with a group of volunteers and shares how their charitable efforts brought smiles to the faces of many children in need of foster care. Read more

For parents of children struggling with epilepsy, deciding the best path for treatment can be overwhelming. Fortunately, Texas Children’s has introduced a new surgical approach to treat seizures with a less invasive procedure that is preformed through a much smaller opening in the head, which translates to less blood loss, less post-op pain, less discomfort, less swelling and a quicker recovery. Learn more by visiting our 2018 virtual Annual Report.

We all know summer in Houston is hot. Fortunately, Dairy Queen and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® are serving up the perfect way to cool down.

Thursday, July 25 is Miracle Treat Day, which raises funds for an amazing cause. For every Dairy Queen Blizzard® Treat sold on Miracle Treat Day at participating locations in the Houston area, $1 or more of that purchase will be donated to Texas Children’s Hospital to help provide life-saving treatment for children in need.

The partnership between Dairy Queen and CMN Hospitals funds projects and programs across the United States that help kids be kids, even during a hospital stay. Texas Children’s is proud to be the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospital® for Greater Houston and the surrounding area, which means fundraising activities at regional CMN Hospital retailers and partners help support Texas Children’s greatest needs in care, research and community health programs.

To learn more, visit MiracleTreatDay.com.

About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
CMN Hospitals raise funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to children across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, CMN Hospitals has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time, through the charity’s Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

July 16, 2019

Jenny Tcharmtchi shares her recent experience volunteering with her PICU colleagues at the Houston Food Bank and how their positive efforts are helping to create a healthier community for countless children and families in need. Read more

July 15, 2019

Texas Children’s Hospital is seeking an innovative solution to at-home hospital care for patients who are discharged from the health care setting but are still healing. Instead of providing patients with a binder of instructions, Texas Children’s Cancer & Hematology Center is working with a group of college and graduate students to create an interactive video game that encourages positive health habits in the home. The effort is part of the Healthcare Games Showdown™, which is going on throughout July and is being hosted by the world-renowned Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute.

“Leveraging game design to encourage healthy behaviors in the home is a great way to engage children and promote positive health outcomes,” said Business Development & Innovation Manager for Women’s Services Haley Jackson. “We are excited to learn from this innovative project!”

Jackson, Quinn Franklin, Assistant Director of the Psychosocial Division of the Cancer and Hematology Centers; and Dr. Monica Gramatges, Co-Director of the Center’s Survivorship Program, are advising the TCH student team with the support of Senior Vice President Myra Davis, Chief Quality Officer Dr. Eric Williams, Vice President Jackie Ward and Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Director, Dr. Susan Blaney.

The group is working with a team of four digital media and computer science students – Jacqueline Nguyen of the University of Texas Dallas, Carlos Puerta of the University of Houston, David Musick of the University of Houston and Jonathan Nelson of Huntington University – to develop a prototype for an augmented reality game that focuses on the importance of hand washing and oral hygiene.

The concept for the game revolves around an animated world that can be unlocked by patients, families and/or caregivers when they complete a handwashing or oral hygiene activity. Players will be sent alerts on their smart phone device when it’s time for an action to be completed. Each time the player completes a task, their animated universe becomes more complex and elaborate.

“Health care video gaming allows us to foster playfulness and learning through a medium that our patients are naturally drawn to,” Franklin said.

During the development period, patients will be viewing the game and providing feedback as it is created. Marty McMahon, our Texas Children’s Gaming Activity Coordinator funded through a collaboration with Child’s Play, is also supporting this effort as a technical mentor for the students.

A live-stream following the progress of all three teams participating in the Healthcare Gaming Showdown is being hosted weekly by comedian and voice-over actor, Scott Gibbs, together with Ink Rose and Kevin Wu. Click here to learn more about the games and how to tune in to the live-stream.

“At Texas Children’s Hospital, our mission is to create a healthier future for children,” Davis said. “Using augmented reality and video games is an excellent means with which to continue our mission.”

When Forbes asked if our employees would recommend Texas Children’s to others, so many of you answered with a resounding, “Yes!,” that it launched us onto the list of America’s Best Employers – making Texas Children’s one of only three health care organizations in the entire state to earn recognition. Now that the time has come for the 2019 Houston Business Journal Best Places to Work Survey, our One Amazing Team has another opportunity to show your enthusiasm for our organization and share why you’ve decided to build your career here.

Raise your voice, share your thoughts and help spread our special Texas Children’s story all across Houston by taking the Best Places to Work Survey by the Friday, August 9 deadline. Simply click or copy and paste the link below into your web browser to get started: https://survey.quantumworkplace.com/bpsurvey/oc_GFYX76647.

Thanks to your consistent participation in the annual HBJ survey, Texas Children’s has been mentioned among Houston’s best workplaces for more than a decade. It’s time for Houston to hear our voices loud and proud again this year!

The third-party Best Places to Work survey is administered by HBJ via Quantum Workplace, Inc. That means your participation is 100 percent confidential and your responses will be kept anonymous. If you have any questions about the survey, contact the Best Places to Work team directly at bestplaces@quantumworkplace.com or by calling 1-888-415-8302.