October 19, 2020

What’s your voting plan for the 2020 general election?

Will you vote by mail? At the polls?

On what day? At what time?

If you don’t have a plan, you are planning to fail. And with so much at stake during the 2020 election, everyone’s voice should be heard.

Early voting starts Tuesday, October 13 and ends Friday, October 30. The general election is Tuesday, November 3. During Early voting and on Election Day, more voting options will be available to you depending on your county of residence. These include 24-hour poling locations, drive-through voting, and county-wide voting.

This information along with all you will need to help make your plan to vote can be found at TexasChildrens.org/Vote. See below for additional resources.

Facebook Live event

Texas Children’s will be hosting a “Voter Plan” FB live event with the Harris County Clerk’s Office, the League of Women Voters, the East Harris County Empowerment Council and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials to discuss the voting process and the tools available to every voter during this election season. Join the conversation for helpful tips or to ask questions about create your voter plan!

Log on at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 15, using this link to the East Harris County Empowerment Council’: http://www.facebook.com/ehcec

Our providers urge you to go to the polls

Once you’re registered to vote, it’s important to make a voting plan. In this video, Texas Children’s Dr. Shubhada Hooli shares why it’s important to be prepared when you head to the polls. Whether you’re voting early from October 13 to October 30, voting by mail or in person on Election Day on Nov. 3, make sure you’re prepared and informed. Visit the League of Women Voters of Houston’s website at lwvhouston.org to find a polling location near you.

Social Media reminders

Social media is a great way to share glimpses of your life with family and friends. Engaging on social media is a part of our daily routines, so it’s more important than ever that everyone at Texas Children’s understands their responsibilities around social media use, especially as it relates to the upcoming election.

With that in mind, the Marketing/PR and Human Resources departments developed a short video about the appropriate use of social media. You can watch the video here and keep it front of mind whenever you use any social media platform.

VOTE! Then tell us about it – post a photo of yourself with your “I voted” sticker on social media, tag @TexasChildrens @OneAmazingTeam and include the following hashtag: #IVoted

Texas Children’s Time Off to Vote policy

Texas Children’s employees are expected to vote either before or after work, and encouraged to cast their ballot during the early voting period, October 13 to 30. More information available here time off for voting in section seven of the Texas Children’s Time Off policy.

Texas Children’s non-partisan voter education activities are executed in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital Association guidelines on Permissible Nonpartisan Candidate and Voter Education Activities, found here. Texas Children’s policy on non-solicitation and distribution is found here. All materials and publications associated with Texas Children’s voter education and registration activities are in no way intended to reflect an endorsement for, or opposition to, any candidate or political party.

On October 19, Texas Children’s Specialty Pharmacy celebrated another milestone with a brand new, specially designed space that will enhance operational efficiency and service to more than 1,700 patients. The Specialty Pharmacy’s call center and dispensing operations moved from the Abercrombie and Mark A. Wallace Tower buildings to its new home on the eighth floor of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI).

“Previously, the Specialty Pharmacy dispensing team worked from the Abercrombie basement in small rooms making work flow processes difficult,” said Josephine Hurtado, Director for Specialty Pharmacy. “Additionally, the operation had so many manual workflows requiring checks and balances to be in place to minimize the opportunity for error. Not only is the new space at the NRI ergonomic and lean, new technology from McKesson HVS has been implemented to improve the prescription filling process such as integrated bar code technology and workflow automation which guarantees efficiency and the safest patient care. The team is excited to embark on this new endeavor.”

Specialty Pharmacy began four years ago and serves numerous clinics including Neurology, Endocrine, Rheumatology, Pulmonary, Renal, Hematology-Oncology, Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Retrovirology, Pulmonary Hypertension, Transplant Services, Allergy and Immunology, Prader-Willi, and also serves Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The Specialty Pharmacy team provides service to many patients with complex and chronic conditions that require comprehensive, ongoing communication and management for their medications which are typically expensive. The team collaborates with physicians to manage medication-related issues as part of the plan of care. Texas Children’s Specialty Pharmacy patients have direct access to pharmacists who are dedicated liaisons to assist them in navigating the many complex aspects of specialty drugs including insurance authorization, financial assistance and therapy adherence.

For over the last several months, the Specialty Pharmacy team has been engaged in the design of the new space and have considered every aspect of the project to bring this massive undertaking to fruition.

“Every detail has been addressed in the most thoughtful manner,” said Rosemary Nguyen, assistant director of Specialty Pharmacy. “This expansion will enable us expand our patient volume and to provide the best patient care. The ability to improve our workflows allows the team to continue to focus on improving health outcomes by reducing the administrative burdens that patients typically experience with specialty medications and therefore provide an extraordinary level of service and patient experience as part of an overall plan of care.”

 

In an unprecedented year, Texas Children’s is celebrating National Health IT (HIT) Week to honor our Information Services (IS) staff. The organization salutes IS especially for their performance in meeting the multiple unanticipated challenges of COVID-19 while keeping the organization’s day-to-day operations safe and secure.

It’s also an opportunity for Texas Children’s to recognize and celebrate the amazing accomplishments resulting from partnerships between IS staff and our clinical and operational collaborators. For example:

Click here to learn how Jackie Ward, Vice President of Nursing and Dr. Eric Williams, System Chief Quality Officer, use technologies like Teams to support Texas Children’s clinical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to learn how Mark Mullarkey, Executive Vice President and President of Texas Children’s Health Plan; and Weldon Gage, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, use technologies like Teams to support Texas Children’s business operations during the pandemic.

Since 2006, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has observed National HIT Week to demonstrate the power of information and technology to transform health.

Why is managing your online privacy a concern?

Everyone can agree that privacy matters. In today’s digital world keeping prying eyes away from your private data has become a daunting task. Every time you browse, talk online, and type, your activity is being tracked, monitored and analyzed. Your personal information is being collected, siphoned off, and sold from business to business, with a plethora of aggregated data resting on severs all around the world.

What can you do to protect online privacy?

One must take a few simple steps to ensure some basic changes. There are several smart ways to help protect your privacy online. You can start by not oversharing your information on social media. Providing too much information on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram could make it easier for attackers to obtain personal information, which could allow them to steal your identity or to access your financial information. For example, could an identity thief determine your favorite color or the street you grew up on from digging through your Facebook account? If so, you may want to reconsider your answers. This information is sometimes used as security questions to change passwords on financial accounts.

When you interact online you can begin to take back control of your digital privacy to protect private data. It’s not necessary for you to have technical know-how, as anyone can do it. You will just need a little bit of time and effort to know what to look for.

Tips for online privacy
  • Protect Your Accounts with a Password Manager
  • Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi Networks with a VPN
  • Browse the Web Anonymously with a Private Browser
  • Browse the Web Securely with HTTPS Everywhere
  • Block Ads and Trackers with an Ad Blocker
  • Search the Web Anonymously with a Private Search Engine
  • Protect Your Messages and Emails with Encrypted Messaging
  • Protect Your Home Wi-Fi Network
  • Update the Privacy Settings on Your Social Media Accounts
  • Be Wary of Smart Devices
  • Check Your Phone’s Location Sharing Settings
October 13, 2020

It’s easier than ever this year to make your flu shot plan, including scheduling a car-side or one-on-one flu appointment online. Here is a quick look at the upcoming car-side events.

Medical Center, Meyer Garage, Level 2 | 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

  • Tuesday, October 13
  • Wednesday, October 21
  • Thursday, October 29
  • Monday, November 2
  • Tuesday, November 10

The Woodlands, Garage, Level 4 | 8 a.m. to noon

  • Sunday, October 18
  • Sunday, November 1

“I want to keep myself and those around me safe,” says Sr. Project Manager Stephanie Osborne. “The car-side event is a very convenient option for folks like me who are working from home.”

More than 5,000 employees have taken the lead in getting their flu shots over the past couple of weeks. If you are one of them, thank you for stepping up. If you haven’t yet gotten your shot, make a plan today and get it as soon as possible.

Click here to view a video of your colleagues getting their flu shots.

By getting vaccinated against the flu, you are helping to keep our patients and families, our workforce and our community safe. For a step-by-step guide to making your flu shot plan, visit texaschildrensbenefits.org/flu. On this site, you can:

View information on the new and convenient ways to receive the flu vaccine. These options include attending an on-site or car-side event at Texas Children’s; visiting the Texas Children’s Pediatrics practice where your child receives care; and getting your shot from your primary care provider or a retail pharmacy.

  • View our robust on-site event schedule, which includes multiple dates and locations across the system to better accommodate our team members’ needs.
  • Complete consent forms online in support of a touchless experience.
  • Review answers to the most frequently asked flu questions.
  • Upload proof of vaccination with a mobile device

Thank you in advance for receiving your flu vaccine and helping to protect the safety of our patients and their families, our entire workforce and the community we serve.

This week on Mark Wallace’s blog, he takes a look at the importance of Election Day and our opportunity to vote early. Read more

Haley Cole shares the challenges and lessons she learned caring for our COVID-19 patients and how her experience adapting to this new patient population has helped her grow as a nurse. Read more