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May 12, 2025

It was another banner year celebrating our nurses. Last week was full of treats, dress-up themes, camaraderie and celebration.

“Nurses are the lifeblood of our organization and personify excellence in ever action, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of our patients and their loved ones,” said CEO Debra Sukin in an email to team members. “To our more than 4,400 nurses, thank you!”

2025 Nursing Excellence Awards

Texas Children’s Nursing Excellence Awards are presented each year during Nurses Week to recognize exceptional nurses for going above and beyond in patient care, collaboration with team members for their overall contributions and innovations in the nursing profession.

“At Texas Children’s, the opportunities for support and growth in the field of nursing are endless,” said Dr. Jackie Ward, System Chief Nurse Executive. “Our Nursing Excellence Awards honor these individuals for their life-changing work.”

This year’s award winners are:

• Staff Nurse of the Year: Mallory Key (11WT Surgical/Ortho)
• Nurse Preceptor of the Year: Jacquetta Edward (L&D)
• Nurse Leader of the Year: Sharon Burks (Women’s Services)
• Nurse Resident of the Year: Isabel Young (Hematology/Oncology)
• Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year: Lacie Petitto (Pulmonary, West Campus)
• Friend of Nursing: Gustavo Urbina (Language Services)

Additionally, a nursing scholarship was awarded to provide financial assistance in continuing education and development:

• Flo McGee Nursing Scholarship: Anne Morphett

Every year, the Houston Chronicle recognizes and celebrates the integral roles nurses play in delivering patient care by requesting nominations from the Greater Houston community. Texas Children’s is proud to announce three of our team members were included in the Top 15 Nurses of the Year:

• Jessica Frontiero (Pediatric Neurosurgery)
• James Haffner (WC Nursing Ops Leadership)
• Cathleen Reed (WOO OR)

Congratulations are also in order for the 48 additional Texas Children’s nurses who earned recognition among the Salute to Nurses Top 200 Nurses of the Year list:

1. Mallory Alderson
2. Marelisa Amezcua
3. Jamie Andre
4. Lissette Artie
5. Heather Ausby
6. Toronda Baker
7. Melissa Campbell
8. Josephine Casaclang
9. Corina Coffman
10. Janique Forde
11. Natali Guajardo
12. Deyanara Guerra
13. Nennan Harris
14. Jennifer Hinojosa
15. Amanda Johnson
16. Karoline Kraechan
17. Paul Longoria
18. John Lott
19. Lauren Myers
20. Beldine Ndalo-Ndolo
21. Leila Noorbaksh
22. Anne Noser
23. Vincent Orion
24. Kkhoi Pham
25. Cheryl San Miguel
26. Sohrab (Alex) Sardual
27. June Schellhaas
28. Lisa Sowers
29. Kenneth Thomas
30. Kathaleen Thomas
31. Kathleen Ulanday
32. Skyler Vanderton
33. Gilberto Vega
34. Dominique Villarin
35. Michelle Wakefield
36. Shelly Brown
37. Ginger Flukinger
38. Angela Stinnett
39. Christine Piscos
40. Paul Lopez
41. Laura Arreola Boehm
42. Maria Miller
43. Amy Valdez
44. Robbye Willoughby
45. Katelynn Moll
46. Maria Jeanne Orot
47. Megan Tanner
48. Emily Hunt

Michelle Wakefield and Mallory Key are a mother daughter duo, both recognized for excellence in nursing this year. Congratulations!

Learn more about Salute to Nurses. You can also read more about how Texas Children’s is revolutionizing nursing through innovation and opportunity.

 

Thank you to everyone who made Patient Experience Week a success! Our team members leaned into the theme and made it a week of western fun for our patients and their families.

The Texas Triumph Boards were creative, informative and a true testament to our team’s dedication to quality and safety. Congratulations to the winners below:

• Med Center: PICU

• PFW: The Women’s Place Reproductive Psychiatry

• The Woodlands: Cardio and Pulmonary Team

• West Campus: OR/GI/PACU

• North Austin: EVS

TCP Westchase even came up with a fun game for the patients: They created “Wanted” signs for all the doctors and if the patients spotted them, they reported them at check out for a prize! “It was fun for them and all of us,” said manager Edgar Garcia.

Texas Children’s knows what it takes to deliver world-class patient care. Thank you for all you do to care for our patients and families!

May 8, 2025

Becker’s is delighted to recognize 52 hospitals and health systems with great innovation programs. 

These hospitals and health systems utilize progressive, visionary innovation programs to revolutionize their care provision. Innovation programs often incorporate intensive research, cutting-edge technology, community partnerships, venture arms and more. 

Click here to read the full list.

The first week of May is Maternal Mental Health week. It’s recognized to raise awareness for the difficulties new and expecting mothers can experience. According to theMaternal Mental Health Alliance,at least one in five women experience perinatal mental illness. 

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most widely-known condition. While its symptoms mirror those of clinical depression, PPD often revolves around the baby and motherhood in general.

“So for example, many moms can tell me that they’re having trouble bonding with the baby,” said Dr. Glorisel Gonzalez Viera, reproductive psychiatrist at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “It’s a lot about the thoughts that they feel as a mom, compared to general depression, where maybe it’s more related to their self-esteem as a whole.”

Click here to read the story.

May 6, 2025

The Whiteheads, from Nashville, traveled to Houston seeking life-saving care for their baby boy, Laken, who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) during pregnancy. He was very sick in Nashville, and the Whiteheads were encouraged to turn off his life support. But they refused that fate and reached out to Texas Children’s Hospital. TCH accepted him for a heart transplant, which was successfully performed.

His mom describes the moment she sought a second opinion. “I put my hand up to Laken’s hand, he was really asleep, and he latched onto my finger, and just grabbed it. There’s just no way that I could just pull the plug, and they told me that I was only doing more harm than good if I continued. In my bones, I just didn’t believe that,” says Laken’s loving mom, Whitney Whitehead. She goes on to say, “Second opinions save lives.”

Click here to watch the clip. 

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month, Dr. Stephanie Chapman, Director of Primary Care Psychology, appeared on Houston’s Morning Show on FOX26 to discuss how to support your children and their mental health. She offered ways to spot the signs if your kids are struggling and steps you can take to help them. Dr. Chapman mentioned the behavioral health providers we have at Texas Children’s Pediatrics to provide care. 

Click here to watch the clip.  

May 5, 2025

The list of people advocating on behalf of a critically ill patient is long. It includes parents, extended family, doctors, nurses and more. It also includes our school coordinators. This role is designed to set patients up for success as they reintegrate into their day-to-day life at school, and it is one that Alana Moser, PhD, LDT, CALT, CBIS, CBIST tackles with conviction.

Alana is a lifelong learner and has always loved education. She first began her career as a math teacher. After taking time off to stay home with her kids, she returned to a new opportunity, which combined English as a Second Language, Language Arts and Dyslexia. Through this, she obtained her License of Dyslexia Therapy and discovered a passion for dyslexia. She returned the next year as a dyslexia specialist and ultimately came to Texas Children’s to work as a school coordinator, assisting patients with the transition back into their homes and schools.

Her work began in the adolescent medicine and inpatient rehab units. Many of her patients on the rehab unit were recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, which became her second area of specialization. “I found a lot of similarities to dyslexia,” said Alana. She worked with Dr. Niedzwecki to create a school rubric to assess kids with TBIs and determine their needs when they return to school.

“Education is what a child does, it’s their job. So being able to support them and give them that sense that there’s a future for them. They need to know that we’re not giving up on them, that the harder they work, they’ll have something to return to. It’s so important and so valuable,” said Alana.

She works closely with the volunteer tutors who are in the trenches, assisting the short-term patients with their work, most often in math and science. Many of the volunteers are actually majors in engineering and biology and are more than happy to oblige. These volunteers also happily work with siblings or even parents seeking certifications. “We’re able to set the family up for greater success,” Alana stated.

However, the crux of what she does is ensure a smooth transition for her patients returning to school. Alana walks them through the child’s diagnosis, advising the families and faculty if the child will need a 504 or an IEP and often attends Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) meetings. “We do a lot of education with the schools, preparing them for the child returning to them. They are a very different child,” explained Alana. “We also spend a great deal of time educating the family on the new diagnosis and how to obtain educational services. This can take time because they are mourning the child that was.”

It can be challenging conveying the gravity of the situation for these children. “Some schools, it’s almost like they think they’ve been on vacation,” said Alana. “Children will have strokes, and they’re probably functioning on a first or second grade level and the school still wants them to take their end-of-course exams to graduate.”

Alana has tried to get proactive. She has emailed every district in Region 4, which is about 50, to set up presentations on traumatic brain injuries. She got one response last year. This year, she got four. Despite the uphill battle, she’s not giving up.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to see the progress they’re making and can continue to make,” said Alana of her patients. They really, really do put in a lot of work and they are so resilient. It’s just so inspiring.”