December 16, 2019

About 900 people packed into the auditorium at the University of Houston’s Student Center South on the evening of December 8 to attend Texas Children’s Second Annual Candle Lighting Ceremony, which remembers, honors, mourns and celebrates the lives of children gone from this world too soon.

Hosted by Texas Children’s Palliative Care Team (PACT), the ceremony was held in conjunction with the Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting Day, which unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour at 7 p.m. on the second Sunday in December in memory of children who have passed away. All families whose children died and were patients at Texas Children’s Hospital were invited to attend.

Prior to the event, the 700 plus family members shared a meal while the 60 plus children played in designated childcare rooms. During the ceremony, a slide show of those lost gave faces and names to those who have died, as did a display of paper hearts hung on trees at the front of the auditorium. Attendees were encouraged to write their child’s name on the hearts. Texas Children’s Vice President of Nursing Heather Cherry welcomed attendees and Jan Wheeler, a parent with Project Joy & Hope, shared an honest and encouraging reflection of her experience losing a child. Toward the end of the ceremony, five candles were lit at the front of the room – one for grief, another for courage and the rest for memories, love and hope.

Taryn Schuelke, the grief and bereavement specialist with the Palliative Care team and ceremony chair, said she is pleased so many families attended second annual candle lighting.

“We are honored to have known these children and to be able to honor them. It means the world to the families that we remember their children,” she said. “We also are thankful to have so many people who are willing to help make such a special remembrance happen.”

Some of those people and organizations include:

  • The Aleksandra Petra Mondlak Palliative Care Endowed Fund
  • Texas Children’s Palliative Care Community and Psychosocial Services Endowed Fund
  • Donor families and businesses
  • Texas Medical Center Orchestra
  • Texas Children’s Art Therapist Ashley Wood created the art used on all ceremony branding and the mural displaying the previous year’s paper hearts
  • The Palliative Care Team’s Senior Administrative Assistant Lindsey Gurganious built the ceremony mantle and poured the large ceremony candle.
  • Texas Children’s Spiritual Care Department
  • The tea light display built by Chris Jones, husband of the Palliative Care Team’s Administrative Assistant Heather Jones.
  • Texas Children’s music therapy volunteer Danh Nguyen who played guitar and lead the ceremony in song
  • Several volunteers from the Volunteer Services Department
  • Various local restaurants and florists
  • More than 100 Texas Children’s Hospital staff volunteers and their families

The Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) is an interdisciplinary team comprised of attending physicians, physicians in training, advanced practice nurses, a nurse, chaplain, social worker, grief and bereavement specialist, research coordinator and administrators who work together to provide excellent palliative care to patients and their families across the Texas Children’s Institution.

The team is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide care in either the inpatient or outpatient setting in partnership with other health care providers. The team also supports staff. Just last year, the program earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Palliative Care Certification, making Texas Children’s Palliative Care Program the first of its kind in Houston and one of only 90 across the United States to receive such a distinction. To learn more about the team, click here.

December 15, 2019

Patients and their families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women received a special visit from Santa Claus last week.

Dressed in his holiday best, Old Saint Nick brought some holiday spirit to families whose babies are in the NICU this time of year. Texas Children’s Hospital’s NICU is the largest in the nation and provides level IV care, the highest level available for premature and critically-ill newborns.

Santa’s visit was hosted by the Newborn Center Family Advisory Committee and First Memories Texas, a volunteer organization dedicated to helping families whose infants are in the NICU and CVICU at Texas Children’s celebrate, honor and tell their children’s stories through photography and album-making.

Texas Children’s kicked off the holiday season with all three hospitals hosting annual tree lighting ceremonies. The ceremonies included appearances from Santa and Mrs. Claus, caroling from local high school choirs, snow, crafts and much more. Employees also talked about what makes the holidays special in their person lives and at Texas Children’s. View more

The holidays are in full swing, and we want you to take precautions to stay healthy. Click on the graphic to see five ways you can protect yourself, your family and our patients from those dreaded bugs that circulate during the cold weather months.

As a Texas Children’s employee, it is important to make informed, thoughtful decisions about what you choose to post online. Learn more about how to be social media savvy. Read more

December 10, 2019

Hosted by Cox Media Group Houston, the two-day event will be held December 12 and 13 on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women near the Bistro Café.

Throughout the 48-hour period, people are encouraged to open their hearts and wallets in support of the radiothon while listening to radio personalities from The Eagle (106.9 & 107.5), Country Legends (97.1) and The New 93Q (92.9) interview patients, their families and many of our clinical experts.

Every dollar donated to the radiothon will help Texas Children’s continue to fulfill its mission to create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community by leading in patient care, education and research. More specifically, the money will benefit Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

For more information about the Cox Media Group Houston Radiothon, click here.

No one working in healthcare today would say that it is easy. And children’s hospitals are even more complex: we must wrap our arms around not only our patients, but their families (and teachers, school nurses, caregivers, and others). Overcoming these unique challenges yields extraordinary rewards – for kids, families, and communities – so it’s worth it. Building healthier futures is why we do what we do.

Delivering Texas Children’s-quality healthcare requires unparalleled care-coordination. As emphasized in Planning a Patient’s Care (one key element of Care Coordination), this means recognizing potential barriers to care and addressing them in advance.

“This particular element sets an expectation to look at each patient’s individual needs and take the time to understand the clinical and non-clinical resources that are required and available, “ said Dr. Katie Ostermaier, medical director at Texas Children’s Health Plan and a Care Coordination team lead. “It sounds simple, but what it really demands is that we build relationships with the right partners and deliver resources in way that is proactive and well thought-out.” Ostermaier compared care coordination to a village raising a child: “Someone in the village must be thinking in advance about everything that child will need in the future and the best way to deliver it.”

The same applies to Texas Children’s. Sterling care coordination requires:

  • Having a shared care plan that forces us to anticipate needs and potential problems.
  • Communicating with patients by explaining treatments, procedures, and follow-up care.
  • Facilitating communication between providers and caregivers by sharing complete patient stories during hand-offs.
  • Transitioning patients efficiently between areas within our system and stages of care.
  • Optimizing patient convenience by considering things like scheduling, transportation, supplies, and medications.
  • Using community resources effectively.

Both clinical and non-clinical employees are critical to this work. Care Coordination is a priority for each and every member of our One Amazing Team.

Tell us your story

Do you or someone you work with coordinate care well? Tell us how by sending a note to connect@texaschildrens.org. We want to hear from you!

Want to know more about Care Coordination? Reach out to Andrea Romay, senior project manager for Care Coordination at maromayd@texaschildrens.org or 832-824-7831.