October 29, 2019

The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) – the premier international society dedicated to the research and treatment of spinal deformities – recently honored Texas Children’s Chief of Orthopedics Dr. Brian Smith at the society’s 54th Annual Meeting, held in Montréal, Canada.

Smith received the Russell A. Hibbs Clinical Research Award, presented annually by the SRS for the meeting’s best clinical research paper. The title of the paper was “Using Proximal Humerus Ossification and Cobb Angle to Predict Progression to a Surgical Range in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients.”

The Hibbs Award is one of four main awards given by the SRS for basic and clinical research, and all are named for pioneers in scoliosis surgery. The SRS Program Committee selected nominees from submitted abstracts. Nominees were then invited to submit full manuscripts for review. The winners were selected based on a popular vote by meeting attendees and by committee scoring.

“I am very grateful to receive the 2019 Hibbs Award and to represent Texas Children’s Hospital in front of my peers in the SRS,” said Smith. “I would like to congratulate all my colleagues who did so much to make this happen, and I am looking forward to more research on this topic with my team at Texas Children’s.”

The paper was the result of collaborative research led by Smith and conducted with a team of experts at Yale School of Medicine. The team developed a classification system to assess skeletal maturity by analyzing proximal humerus ossification (the development of the bone of the upper arm) as seen on scoliosis patient X-rays. The study found that not only can skeletal development and maturity be reliably assessed using this system, but also that the system can be used in conjunction with other established methods to predict peak height velocity (the period when a child experiences their maximum upward growth) and the percentage of growth remaining with high accuracy. Coupled with scoliosis curve size, the system could be used as a means of predicting the risk of the patient’s potential curve progression to a surgical range during their remaining growth.

“Current systems that relied on X-ray imaging of the pelvis on scoliosis films to help determine skeletal maturation have not provided an accurate means of assessment for children with scoliosis,” Smith said. “This method has the potential to help us better define a patient’s maturity, which will help guide treatment choices and minimize cost and inconvenience of additional imaging to assess maturity.

Learn more about Texas Children’s Orthopedics Program, ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

October 24, 2019

When Lance McLean was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) a little over a year ago his world as he knew it stopped.

The 18-year-old football fanatic was told he had to quit the sport he loved and that he would never play it again. He also was told he would miss much of his junior year of high school, including homecoming.

“Cancer is terrible,” McLean said. “It’s uniquely hard for teenagers.”

McLean said he’s traded hanging out with friends and playing football for getting chemotherapy and going to doctor appointments. A portion of his time is dedicated to sitting in the waiting room at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, a place that’s packed with entertainment for young children but lacks an area where teenagers can hang out and relax.

“I love seeing kids watch shows like Doc McStuffins, but I’ve kind of grown out of that,” McLean joked. “I would love to have any area where I can sit back, relax and play video games.”

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Astros Foundation announced Wednesday at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers they are working toward making Lance’s wish come true. Combined, the two organizations donated $50,000 to the Cancer and Hematology Centers to fund a teen waiting area in the centers’ clinic on the 14th floor of the Mark A. Wallace Tower.

Melanie LeGrande, vice president of Social Responsibility for MLB, said the organization’s gift of $25,000 was part of the its inaugural “Fall Classic Legacy Initiative,” which provided funding for community enrichment projects to both the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals in recognition of each Club advancing to the 2019 World Series. The effort is an extension of the longstanding All-Star Legacy Initiative, which has contributed more than $90 million to enrichment projects in All-Star host communities since 1997.

“MLB is all about supporting youth,” LeGrande said. “We are extremely excited about being here today and about supporting youth at Texas Children’s.”

Reid Ryan, president of business operations for the Houston Astros, said he is confident the $25,000 gift from MLB and the additional $25,000 from the Astros Foundation will go toward creating a wonderful space for patients like Lance.

“Baseball brings community together and that is what is happening here today,” Ryan said. “I’m excited to see the space come together.”

Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Director Dr. Susan Blaney said as one of the largest pediatric Cancer and Hematology Centers in the country, we treat many teenage patients every year from across the country, and that the centers’ staff is dedicated to treating the entire patient, which includes meeting them where they are in their journey.

“By creating this teen waiting area, MLB and the Astros Foundation are helping provide a space where our teen patients can retreat and participate in age-appropriate activities centered on their interests,” Blaney said. “We can’t even begin to tell you how much this will mean to them and their families.”

October 22, 2019

On Saturday, November 2, gamers nationwide will take to their controllers and board games to support Texas Children’s Hospital during Extra Life, an online grassroots movement working to help sick children through the power of play

Extra Life was formed in 2008 to honor Victoria Enmon, a Texas Children’s patient who lost her life to acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The event has become a national fundraiser supporting 170 children’s hospitals across the U.S. and Canada that partner with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Last year more than 1,000 gamers signed up to support Texas Children’s and raised nearly $100,000 by playing games during a 24-hour marathon period.

This year, individuals, groups or teams supporting Texas Children’s can gather in the Human Resources Conference Rooms on the first floor of the Meyer Building from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, November 2. Bring table top games, video games, all games welcome. Most importantly, go to Extra-Life.org to register. For more information, contact Ryan Massey in the Office of Philanthropy at ext. 4-7868.

 

Fannin Tower will be lit up in orange throughout the World Series.

Employees are encouraged to continue to wear their jerseys and best orange. Please remember to wear khakis or similar slacks but no denim jeans. We want to show our spirit while presenting a professional appearance to our patients and their families.

Keep sharing your spirit on social media, too, using the hashtags #TexasChildrensPeople and #OneAmazingTeam.

October 21, 2019

Six Texas Children’s employees were named 2020 Mark A. Wallace Catalyst Leadership Award winners. Learn more about Hilda, Natashia, Matthew, Lindsey, Bobbie, and Dr. Niedzwecki as they embark on this rewarding and meaningful new chapter of their Texas Children’s careers! The Catalyst Leadership Award was established a decade ago in honor of Mark Wallace’s 20th anniversary as president and CEO of Texas Children’s. Every year, the program honors outstanding individuals who lead by example, make the biggest possible difference, ensure the best possible outcomes and uphold Texas Children’s mission and core values.  Read more

Due to a high demand for our expert maternal fetal medicine services and our goal to keep access open to all patients who need our care, Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women has expanded its Maternal Fetal Center.

Located on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women, the center serves high-risk obstetrical patients and also bridges access to our pediatric subspecialists for our youngest patients through our Fetal Center program.

“The unit is designed so that the majority of services and partners needed to participate in a pregnancy come to us,” said Assistant Director of Ambulatory Clinical Practices for Women’s Services Aimee Jackson. “We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for our patients and families, providing timely, comprehensive, coordinated care in one place.”

Since opening its doors in 2012, the center has seen an 11 percent increase in patient visits. Last year, the center saw 36,000 patient visits and is expected to see 40,000 this year.

To continue to provide this growing patient population, construction on the Maternal Fetal Center began in September and was completed seven months ago at the end of April. The expansion added the following:

  • Three exam rooms bringing the total number of exam rooms in the center to nine. One of the exam rooms was built specifically for fetal intervention total care patients. These patients now can have their ultrasound, clinic visit and antenatal testing visit all in one location at the center. Historically, these patients had to schedule several different appointments in several different places to get these services.
  • Two ultrasound rooms, bringing the total number to 11. One of the new can be used for clinical imaging as well as imaging research and educational training.
  • A second conference room equipped with advanced imaging display capabilities. The room will be used for team and family meetings as well as patient classes.
  • A large multi-person office space to accommodate the center’s expanded nursing and business support teams.
  • In addition, the center’s two existing reading rooms for radiology and cardiology were renovated, expanded and optimized.

“We have needed this for a long time,” said Dr. Manisha Gandhi, the center’s medical director. “Most of our patients hoped they would never need our services, therefore we want to make their stay with us as comfortable as possible. This expansion will help us do that at an even higher level than we are now.”

Dr. Wesley Lee, chief of women and fetal imaging, agreed and said the center’s care team is committed to treating, respecting, and embracing patients with a spirit of hope and perseverance.

“Having the right space to carry out this type of care is key,” Lee said. “We are thrilled to have this extra space and to be able to use it to better serve our patients.”

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women also is expanding its maternal fetal services at its community locations in the Greater Houston and beyond. Here are some of the latest developments:

Baytown: In April, the Baytown Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic moved to a larger space at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital. The clinic – which offers maternal fetal consulting and ultrasound, as well as nutrition, genetic and psychiatric counseling – opened in 2016 for just one day a week. The number of patients coming to the clinic steadily increased, prompting leadership in 2018 to keep the clinic’s doors open five days a week. Today, the clinic’s team sees 10 to 15 patients a day. The majority of those patients, 70 percent, are seen by clinicians via telemedicine. The remaining 30 percent are seen by in-house medical staff.

Medical Center: In June, the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic in Houston Methodist Hospital’s Smith Tower in the Medical Center expanded from two ultrasound rooms to three and one non-stress test chair to two. As a result, the clinic can see more patients for Maternal Fetal Medicine services as well as nutrition and genetic counseling.

Lufkin: In November, a maternal fetal medicine clinic is slated to open at CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial-Lufkin. Ultrasound and maternal fetal consults will be offered.

“Our aim with these community clinics is to provide excellent patient care closer to where some of our patients live,” said Jennifer Dalton, patient care manager for the Pavilion for Women Community Clinics. “We don’t want them to have to drive to the Medical Center unless they absolutely have to.”

Akachi Phillips, manager for the Pavilion for Women Community Clinics, said she knows a patient from Louisiana who drove weekly to the Medical Center for her visits during one of her pregnancies. During a subsequent pregnancy, she was able to have her ultrasounds in Baytown, which cut down her travel time and enhanced her overall experience.

“It means a lot to the patients to have a clinic nearby,” Phillips said.

For more information about the Maternal Fetal Center, click here.

 

It was a cold and rainy morning in 2018 when I saw what customer service really looked like. I pulled into the drive-through at Chick-Fil-A for an order of chicken minis and a cup of coffee.

As I pulled up to the screen, I was greeted by a young lady who was bundled up from head to toe. She held a tablet in her shivering hands and a bright smile was on her face. “Good Morning! What can I get for you?” I was surprised by how positive she was considering how cold she must have been.

The same scene would repeat itself as I pulled up to the window to get my food and not one—but two—friendly faces met me. One employee was inside the restaurant and one was standing outside the drive-through window on the curb. “Thank you for coming!” the young man said as he handed me my bag. Right at that moment a gust of icy wind cut across our faces. I rolled up my window even more impressed.

I thought to myself – “These people are dedicated.”

But it wasn’t over. Only a few feet away at the end of the lane, the third and final encounter with an employee took place. This young lady also had a friendly bundled-up face. She was standing outside next to a table of condiments – ketchup, jams, sauces, etc. “Would you like some ketchup?,” she said. “My pleasure,” she continued.

From start to finish, an event as simple as getting my breakfast reminded me that I was a valued customer. Valuable enough to have multiple employees outside in the cold with a smile and an aim to please.

I reflect on this rainy morning each time I’m in a meeting at Texas Children’s Health Plan and our senior leaders use the phrase “customer obsessed.” I think to myself, I know exactly what that looks like.

Building a customer obsessed culture at The Health Plan

The work that we do at Texas Children’s Health Plan is much more important than hot breakfast and coffee –it’s health care. It’s health care for families who are low-income and dealing with all the challenges that come with living at, or around, the poverty line. Our members and their families are our customers.

But one of the things that raises the expectations for Health Plan employees is that we have more than one kind of customer. In addition to our members as customers, our providers are also our customers. (Our providers are the physicians, specialists, therapists and other medical professionals that take care of our members.) And finally, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (known as HHSC) is our third customer. The HHSC provides financing to our organization for every member that we serve.

So in our efforts to become customer obsessed, there are several projects taking place to help us meet that goal. Just a few of these are:

  • A provider onboarding flowchart, which helps to navigate the start of a provider’s relationship with us
  • A newly launched “Strike Team”, which operates like a special ops task force to deal with high-level provider issues.
  • The re-configuration of Q-Next, one of our databases that informs our claims process.
  • A brand new claims processing dashboard project that provides real-time information on how we are managing our claims.
  • Intense and hands-on customer service training for our Member Services and Provider Services call center employees.
  • The revitalization of our Healthy Rewards Program, formerly known as Value Added Services. Our Healthy Rewards Program provides members with access to family-oriented activities and incentives.
  • The introduction of Epic Tapestry, an electronic medical record system that will eliminate the need for multiple databases and duplication of many processes.
  • And many others!

Putting the needs of our customers first is the number one priority at The Health Plan and we are off to a strong start. Detailed stories about each of these efforts will be featured in Connect in coming weeks. Are you a Texas Children’s employee who is involved in helping The Health Plan become customer-obsessed? I’d love to hear from you! Send me a note at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org.

Erika Alvarez (pictured above) is one of the highest performing Member Services Representatives. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of Texas Children’s Health Plan members.

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To read all about “Hayes on The Health Plan” and the top 10 things you should know about Texas Children’s Health Plan, read more at https://texaschildrensnews.org/hayes-on-the-health-plan/.