November 16, 2020

On November 4, Texas Children’s Heart Center® leaders, alongside President & CEO Mark A. Wallace, gathered for an intimate ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of the hospital’s first-of-its-kind facility for adults with congenital heart disease.

The 27,000-square-foot space, situated on the 24th floor of Texas Children’s Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower, includes a 16-bed inpatient unit, outpatient clinic, cardiac rehab gym, diagnostics lab and more.

“This is the #1 Heart Center in the world and it just got even better,” Wallace said. “Only at Texas Children’s is this possible, especially during this time and this era.”

That same day, the outpatient clinic saw its first patients in the new, state-of-the-art space.

“Texas Children’s has always been innovative in the treatment of congenital heart disease with Drs. Denton Cooley, Dan McNamara, Edward Singleton and others paving the way for this population that’s increased over time,” Dr. Peter Ermis, medical director of the Adult Congenital Heart (ACH) Program, said. “We’re picking up their mantle and carrying on their legacy, and I think it’s appropriate that we’re doing so in the Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower. We’re seeing some of those exact same patients they cared for as kids.”

The new facility is a game changer for this patient population. About 1.6 million adults currently live with congenital heart disease in the United States, but they are a rare patient within an adult hospital environment. Treatment for these patients within an adult hospital does not allow them to get the unique care they need. In a children’s hospital, the majority of cardiac patients have congenital heart disease, and these adults with congenital heart disease are not as unique.

“Until now, patients have been managed somewhat ad hoc – either in pediatric environments or in adult environments with teams that are not particularly experienced in managing congenital heart defects,” Dr. Ed Hickey, surgical director of the ACH Program, said. “That’s all changing here at Texas Children’s. This vision that we’ve realized has come from the top down. Mr. Wallace himself realized that it’s our responsibility to care for these patients irrespective of age, complexity or location.”

The two leaders are excited for the future as Texas Children’s combines the incredible facility, dedicated team and resources to provide the best possible care to adults with congenital heart disease.

The inpatient unit on the 24th floor will open in January 2021. To learn more, visit texaschildrens.org/ACH.

With COVID-19 spiking across the country, celebrating the upcoming holidays in a safe manner will be of enormous importance in keeping ourselves and our families safe during this period of heightened activity. Although social distancing from friends and family can be difficult – especially during the holiday months – it is absolutely critical that we continue the practices that have helped to mitigate the spread of this virus. To help you prepare, please take a moment to review the following holiday guidance from both Texas Children’s and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  • Potlucks, parties and social gatherings in the workplace should not be held. If individuals wish to provide individually wrapped food items for team members to enjoy, this is acceptable. However, please utilize safe options (such as grab-and-go) and only when a minimum of six-foot social distancing practices can be adhered to. Although there is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread by food, people sharing utensils and congregating around food service areas pose a considerable risk of transmission.
  • Consider other options in celebrating the holidays with your team members. While gatherings are restricted at Texas Children’s, you are encouraged to think through alternative options for celebrating with your team members. Some ideas include facilitating a card exchange or hosting a virtual holiday party via Teams.
  • If you are planning on attending or hosting a holiday gathering in the community, please be advised that the CDC offers direction, and advises that you assess current COVID-19 levels in the community prior to making a determination on whether or not to host an event. Currently, the CDC recommends hosting celebrations virtually or with members of your immediate household only. To learn more, click here.

Please remember that masks are required upon entrance to a Texas Children’s facility and should be worn at all times, including in parking garages, shuttle stops and while riding the shuttle. A mask should be worn as soon as you step out of your personal mode of transportation before entering a building, and the hospital-issued mask should remain on as you leave the building until you reach your personal mode of transportation. Masks should also be worn at all times in shared office spaces, including inside cubicles or at desks that are more than six feet apart. Individuals sitting in cubicles or shared workspaces may remove masks to eat or drink if they are the only ones present. As soon as the individual is finished eating and/or drinking, the mask must be placed back on. Keep in mind that respite rooms and private rooms are available for individuals to unmask and rest in solitude, as needed.

Lastly, always practice social distancing guidelines to ensure six feet of space between people are in place at all times. This includes in elevators, common areas and while riding the shuttle. Shared spaces, such as breakrooms and conference rooms, have limited capacity (posted online and on doors) in order to maintain social distancing.

Thank you for leading the way and setting an example for your team members, our patients, their families, your families and our community.

Texas Children’s, in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, is saving the lives of children and women across the globe.

A network of physicians, fellows and residents provide much-needed clinical support as well as training and academic leadership to underserved communities in 18 nations in Africa, Romania, Papua New Guinea and Latin America. These global efforts began in 1999 with the creation of the Baylor College of Medicine International Pediatric AIDS Initiative at Texas Children’s Hospital, also known as BIPAI.

Under the initiative, the first Children’s Clinical Center of Excellence opened its doors in Constanta, Romania. Today, there are 14 such centers and satellite centers in eight countries across the world. The care provided at these centers has saved a generation of young people with HIV/AIDS and has given BIPAI a model from which to expand its services to both children and women.

The series of stories you will see on Connect over the next few months will talk about why Texas Children’s started a global health program and why it is so important for us to maintain it, grow it and continue to support it.

The series will highlight our efforts in Malawi because members of the Corporate Communications team traveled there last summer to gather stories, video and photographs in order to better educate our internal and external audiences about our efforts overseas.

Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped travel to these areas and many of the others we serve, but Texas Children’s remains dedicated to our global health efforts and still has many clinicians on the ground across the globe. We are moving forward with capital projects that were in the works prior to the pandemic and are offering support services in any and all ways possible both to help the people in these countries overcome the pandemic and to maintain the progress that’s been made in these areas over the past 20 years.

“It’s imperative we protect the gains we’ve made,” said Michael Mizwa, chief executive officer of BIPAI. “COVID-19 has the potential to wipe out years of work in areas where we are seeing significant gains. We cannot give up on the children and women in these countries now. They need us more than ever.”

Tune in next week to learn more about when, where and how Texas Children’s global health initiatives began and why they are making such a positive impact on the children and women they serve.

As of November 13, 73.4 percent of our team members are vaccinated against the flu. Vaccination events are still available across the organization. Read more

November 10, 2020

As of November 9, 70.8% of our team members are vaccinated against the flu. Additional vaccination events are available across the organization, with some events taking place at or nearby employee screening locations. Read more

 

“Every time our nurse, Teresa, comes into the room, she always makes sure we are comfortable,” wrote a Texas Children’s patient family. “I’ve cried to her about our circumstances many times, and she comforted me. I believe she goes above and beyond her duties to make sure our time here is as nice as possible.”

This heartfelt note shared by a mother of a 9-month-old patient who was treated for an extensive brain injury at Texas Children’s shows how important it is to keep the patient family’s experience at the forefront of everything we do. A small gesture can go a long way to show just how much we care for our patients.

Every day at Texas Children’s, employees like Teresa Gomez make a positive difference. Whether for our patients or colleagues, these small acts of kindness often determine the experience we create. Gomez’s kindness not only made the stressful time less difficult for the family, but her selfless actions also caught the attention of her team members who shared her story on a Caught You Caring card.

Launched in 2015, Caught You Caring is a system wide program that allows patients, families and staff, to recognize employees who have gone above and beyond their role to provide compassion and kindness to another person. This could be in the care of a patient, service to a family or in support of a coworker.

Gomez, and six other Caught You Caring Award recipients, were recognized this year. In lieu of a formal ceremony due to COVID-19, Patient and Care Services coordinated surprise reveals for each of the winners that included a trophy and certificate presentation in the presence of their leadership teams.

Here are this year’s Caught You Caring Award winners:

  • Patricia Bratcher, Team Leader/PPCT – Specimen Management, The Woodlands. Pat is a genuine leader. Her colleagues say she always has a smile on her face and a hug for her patients if they need it. She takes the time to truly listen and consistently helps her patients, and their caregivers alike, feel at ease. A patient family described Pat in this way: “Miss Pat was the phlebotomist who took my child’s blood. She was so patient and made sure my nervous daughter was comfortable. She not only made us laugh but she also built up my daughter and boosted her esteem. We walked away from a stressful situation feeling better than we did when we arrived.”
  • Toni Davis, Lead ASR – West Campus Sleep Lab. Toni genuinely cares for people and she exemplifies that every day. If a patient, a family or a co-worker is in need, she takes the initiative to lend a helping hand. For example, when a family from out of town arrived the day before their child’s sleep study, the patient had a medical concern that needed immediate physician follow-up. The WC Sleep Lab physicians were not in clinic that day and the family was very anxious to see a physician. After making several phone calls, Toni was able to get their child evaluated by a physician at the Medical Center Campus on the same day and the family was very grateful.
  • Amanda Feilke, PA Surgical Hospitalist, The Woodlands. Amanda is a dependable and strong leader, a valuable clinical reference for her APP peers, and an advocate for her patients. A colleague recalls a time when Amanda spent countless times providing support and reassurance to a family whose child had spent several months in the NICU. During her days off, Amanda would come to the NICU to check up on her patient and the family. The consistent presence and reliable source of knowledge served as a stabilizing force for this family who had experienced a lot of chaos and uncertainty. Furthermore, Amanda arranged for a professional photographer to take pictures with the family and their baby that they ended up using for holiday greeting cards.
  • Teresa Gomez, Staff Nurse, 10 West Tower. Teresa places her patients, their families, and co-workers first in everything she does. Following discharge earlier in the week, a child’s g-tube had been accidentally dislodged and the patient’s parent was unable to reach anyone in clinic over the weekend. Teresa wasn’t charging at the time, but was quick to come to the charge nurse’s aide, volunteering to speak with the parents over the phone. She calmly coached them through the process. The family was especially grateful for Teresa’s patience with them and her willingness to pause from caring for her other patients on the unit to assist this patient family and nurse.
  • Susan Hardy-Croskey, MFM Clinical Nurse Coordinator, Medical Center Campus. As a member of the Nursing Retention Council, Susan strives to make working at Texas Children’s the best it can be. She ensures her team is providing the safest care to patients, and she makes sure to educate her patients as much as possible on the importance of prenatal care and follow up. We recently had a patient with many needs who had issues with transportation. Susan continuously checked on her via MyChart and phone when the patient could not make it to TCH due to distance. Susan helped her find assistance closer to home, and the patient was forever grateful.
  • Analisa Luedtke, Spanish Interpreter, Medical Center Campus. Analisa is professional, thorough and positive in her interactions with families, faculty and staff in the ICU, where children face complex diagnoses, medical issues and/or end-of-life issues. Her colleagues describe her as a model of politeness, calmness and grace, and no matter how busy she is caring for other patients and their families, she welcomes opportunities to help her colleagues in the most challenging situations. For example, when a patient in the PICU was nearing end-of-life and the family needed an interpreter, Analisa enthusiastically volunteered to help the family even though she was not assigned to the PICU that day. A colleague wrote, “I have always found Ms. Luedtke to be a wonderful partner to help me work with families. I am honored to call her my colleague.”
  • Steven Zack Wirt, Therapy Supervisor, PM&R. Steven demonstrates what it means to be a tireless leader. In times of high stress or difficult situations in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (IRU), Steven is problem focused and solution driven. He provides positive and constructive feedback with equal caring and compassion. When a patient with a severe brain injury was admitted to the IRU, Steven, with the medical team’s support, determined new therapeutic techniques were needed for this patient. Without his leadership, recognition of a need, and development of a solution, the outcome for this patient would not have been as positive.
Caught You Caring: How to submit nominations

Texas Children’s wants to continue to recognize those who take great pride in the work they do and encourage patients, families and employees to catch someone who is making a difference.

“Keeping the Caught you Caring program top of mind is an important part of our recognition efforts and strengthening morale across the organization,” said Saraben Turner, senior project manager for Patient and Family Services. “We are always looking for new ways to shine the light on this program, because every day is a day to celebrate our employees for going above and beyond for our patients.”

If you’d like to nominate a colleague for this award, click here to access the submission form.

There is the last week for 2021 Annual Enrollment. Please take a moment to explore our 2021 benefits offerings and make your elections safely and conveniently online at www.texaschildrensbenefits.org by midnight, Tuesday, November 17.

Thank you for participating in Annual Enrollment.