As we face the COVID-19 pandemic together, Annalyn DeMello shares her thoughts on the value of nursing in public health and how every nurse – whether a hospital nurse, educator or researcher – can make a positive impact towards enhancing patient care and outcomes in their community. Read more
Texas Children’s is excited to announce that the trauma centers at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands have been designated Level IV trauma centers by the Department of State Health Services.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment that will officially put our community hospitals on the map in terms of places trauma patients can go to receive care,” said Dr. Sohail Shah, West Campus’ chief surgical officer. “It’s a move that will ensure patients receive the right care, at the right place at the right time.”
Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, chief of community surgery, agreed, and said this tremendous effort really highlighted the collaboration between both community campuses and Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus leadership.
“Every planning meeting was the epitome of system coordination between the departments of nursing, surgery, emergency medicine, and the executives,” Shilt said. “We had a goal in mind and everyone came together to accomplish it for the greater good of our patients and their families.”
A Level IV trauma center is capable of stabilizing any trauma patient it receives, handling onsite single-system orthopedic injuries and superficial lacerations. More complex cases are stabilized and then transferred to a higher level trauma center such as our Level I trauma center in the Medical Center.
The Level IV designation sends a clear signal to first responders that our community hospitals are equipped to handle such trauma patients. West Campus and The Woodlands have been caring for such patients since the hospitals opened their doors, however the designation formalizes that process and holds the centers to certain quality and process improvement standards.
Preparation for the designation process took a little over a year and was a collaborative effort between Nursing, the Department of Surgery, Emergency Medicine and leaders at the community hospitals. During the designation process, trauma medical directors and nursing coordinators were named at each campus.
Dr. Ruben Rodriquez is the trauma medical director in The Woodlands and Shah serves as the trauma medical director, in addition to his role as chief surgical officer, at West Campus. Julie Hollan is the trauma nursing coordinator in The Woodlands and John Coley is the trauma nursing coordinator at West Campus.
“Trauma care demands committed teamwork, beginning in the Emergency Center with the physicians and staff playing a critical role in receiving trauma patients and working with the surgeons in managing their care,” said Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria, medical director of our Level I Trauma Center at Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus. “The teams at West Campus and The Woodlands are equipped and ready to serve our Greater Houston community in this very important way.”
As the world continues to fight COVID-19, Texas Children’s has implemented a number of changes to create an overall health care experience that promotes social distancing — tagged a touchless experience.
This experience strives to strike a balance between enforcing an important life-saving practice, while also maintaining the high quality care that our patients and families expect. Employees’ health and well-being is also a priority as changes around the organization are made. These are many of the new procedures in place:
For many years now, patients and families have been able to access MyChart to schedule appointments, access medical records, refill prescriptions and contact providers. But amid our current pandemic, there is an even greater emphasis on the PreCheck-In feature.
Launched last summer, this feature allows the patient to complete the check-in process online, which includes updating demographics and insurance information, signing documents, making payments, verifying meds and allergies, and answering patient questionnaires. PreCheck-In saves patients time, limits interaction with our staff, and reduces the amount of time spent at registration desks when they arrive for an appointment.
MyChart also allows patients to complete video visits depending on the specific health care need. Each patient is evaluated individually to determine qualification, but the level of convenience and effectiveness is nothing short of remarkable.
In an article previously reported in Connect news Dr. Jeffrey Kim, director of the Arrhythmia and Pacing (Electrophysiology) Service at Texas Children’s Hospital, said his patients are good candidates for video visits because they typically don’t need surgical intervention. For about a month during the pandemic, Kim said almost all arrhythmia and pacing patients were utilizing video visits.
During that interview Kim mentioned that he’d conducted an appointment with a patient while they were standing in the middle of a field on their ranch.
Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Urgent Care Centers are also using video visits. For more information about MyChart video visits, go to texaschildrens.org/mychartvideo
When video and other e-health options are not available, drive-through care is a growing option at some Texas Children’s clinics.
OB Drive-Through Clinic: The drive-through prenatal care clinic at Texas Children’s allows pregnant women who do not need to be seen in the clinic to remain in their vehicles while being assessed by a health care professional. This reduces potential patient, health care professional, and staff exposure to COVID-19.
Drive-Through Pharmacy: Texas Children’s Pharmacy Services is now offering curbside pick-up. All Texas Children’s patients are eligible for this prescription service and can pick up refills and new prescriptions at select locations.
Drive-Through Patient Express: The Dermatology Clinic at Texas Children’s also offers drive-through services in the innovate “Patient Express” line located in a section of the Wallace Tower valet line. Additional service lines and procedures from around the organization are likely to be available in the Patient Express soon.
“I am so proud of the way our organization has adapted to this demand for new health care options,” said Paige Schulz, assistant vice president for Clinical Support and Research Administration.
Schulz says Texas Children’s success during this time can largely be attributed to our spirit of innovation and willingness to embrace change. “As technology evolves and we continue to listen to the needs of our families, additional procedures may be implemented to keep our employees, patients and families safe.”
For a glimpse of what a visit to the hospital might look like, view our latest video.
When it comes to voting, the process can seem unclear. To ensure all eligible voters have the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding voting, and to help navigate the voter registration process, the Government Relations department will be providing periodic updates to help clarify voting processes and procedures.
Here are important items to keep in mind when exercising your voting rights:
Register to vote
To vote in any election in Texas, you must be registered to vote* at least 30 days before election day, so check your status as soon as possible. To check your status please visit the “Am I Registered?” section of the Texas Secretary of States’ website.
If you want to vote in the July 14, 2020 primary run-off election, you must register by June 15, 2020. To vote in the November 5, 2020, General election, you must register by October 4, 2020.
If you recently moved or legally changed your name, you must fill out another voter registration form with this updated information and mail it to Secretary of State or submit it at a county office location. Online voter registration forms from the Texas Secretary of State website can be found here.
This will ensure you’re voting in the correct precinct and voting for candidates that are representing your new community.
Make your plan to vote
Voting is the fundamental right of our democracy. If you’re voting early or on election day, be sure to think about your schedule for that day. Also, plan to research your candidates and make a list of who you want to vote for ahead of time. Below, are resources from the League of Women Voters Education Fund and the Texas Secretary of State websites, to assist you.
Acceptable forms of voter ID: http://www.votetexas.gov/mobile/id-faqs.htm
Find out who is on your ballot: https://www.vote411.org/ballot
Find your polling place here: https://teamrv-mvp.sos.texas.gov/MVP/mvp.do
Have other questions?
VoteTexas.gov is the “go-to” website for any questions you may have. This site is powered by the Texas Secretary of State and provides comprehensive information on voting in Texas.
On his blog this week, Mark Wallace takes a bold stand on the movement that has captured the world’s attention. Read more
As a nation, we are living through a pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives and a social justice movement that rivals that of the 1960s. These two events are impacting us all in monumental ways, all while we attempt to work, raise children, support family members and build communities. Our Spiritual Care Department would like to remind employees of several options for support. They are also seeking additional information that might help meet employee needs even more.
Reminders
The West Tower Chapel is open 24/7 and can be accessed for prayer and meditation. The Tree of Hope is also available for employees to write and post prayers.
If you’d like to speak directly with a chaplain, please call the main number at 832-824-0000 and ask for the Chaplain-on-Call to be paged.
If you would like to receive a daily prayer from the Texas Children’s Spiritual Care Department, send an email to Spiritca@texaschildrens.org. You will begin receiving the Nurture Notes daily email.
What else would help?
Please help the Spiritual Care Department gather even more information by sending answers to the following questions to connectnews@texaschildrens.org
Which services would you be interested in?
How often would you like to hear from spiritual care leaders?
How do you receive spiritual encouragement best?
In keeping with our broader effort to adjust our policies and procedures as needed during this pandemic, Texas Children’s is making updates to its Travel Guidelines, which are outlined below. Please note that although the summertime represents a period of heightened travel for many, the COVID-19 virus remains prevalent across our communities, and as such the CDC is still advising against any non-essential travel. Effective Saturday, June 6:
Contact information for Employee Health and Medical Staff Support Services can be found on the COVID-19 Resources site.
Thank you for all that you’ve done to adhere to these guidelines, as well as model safe practices to protect yourselves and others.