October 7, 2019

Every year from October 6 to 12, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (PAs) honors the 50-plus-year history of the PA profession, and the immeasurable contributions to health care made by PAs during that time, with a week-long celebration – National PA Week.

Texas Children’s will again be celebrating amazing PAs across the system with events and festivities throughout the week. These include:

Tuesday, October 8

  • Taco Tuesday at each of our three Texas Children’s Hospital campuses

Wednesday, October 9

  • West Campus main lobby: Poster display, games, crafts, and a chance to meet and thank PAs
  • Texas Medical Center campus, Pavilion for Women 4th-floor conference rooms: “Get It Poppin’” Snack Break

Thursday, October 10

  • Texas Medical Center campus, Auxiliary Bridge: Poster displays, games, crafts and photos

Friday, October 11

  • The Woodlands main lobby: Poster displays, games, crafts, and a chance to meet and thank PAs
Helping lead the way in health care

Over the past half century, health care delivery has changed dramatically, with emphasis no longer solely placed on the expertise of a doctor, but rather on a team of caregivers. And because of the rising demand for health care, combined with the ongoing shortage of physicians in the United States, advanced practice providers (APPs) – PAs and nurse practitioners – have become major, even indispensable, players on that team.

APPs work in most areas of medicine, from primary care, to the emergency room, to surgical subspecialties. While they do not replace a physician, they work collaboratively on the care team and perform many of the duties a doctor might, including performing minor procedures, providing routine diagnoses, delivering health care education, assisting in the operating room and writing prescriptions.

“Because of the high demand for health care, it is widely accepted that much of that work couldn’t be accomplished without the partnership of PAs and nurse practitioners,” said Veronica Victorian, assistant director of Quality and Safety. “The collaborative relationship with the physician, and the increased opportunities and diverse responsibilities, also often mean a more autonomous role for PAs, in both the clinic and surgical settings.”

It’s then perhaps unsurprising that there has been a proliferation of APPs across the Texas Children’s system over the past few years.

“When I arrived at Texas Children’s in 2011, we had fewer than five PAs,” said Ryan Krasnosky, director of APPs at Texas Children’s. “The Department of Surgery alone now has more than 130 PAs.”

In fact, surgical PAs currently outnumber surgeons at Texas Children’s, an intentional part of the department’s strategy for growth. The Department of Surgery, moreover, is an excellent example of how PAs have added immense value that has led to improved patient access and the development of several key initiatives.

“There is no way that the Department Surgery can hire enough surgeons to keep up with the clinical demand of our rapidly growing city,” said Texas Children’s Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier. “No one comes close to our surgical volume – 40,000 surgeries a year across every possible subspecialty. We rely on our PA partners to provide access at all of our locations throughout Greater Houston, so that patients and their families can be seen wherever and whenever they need help.”

PAs, along with nurse practitioners, have also proven to be key administrative leaders for the Department of Surgery, driving several critical initiatives around safety and quality, and have also been at the forefront of efforts to expand access to care in Houston, in Texas and across the southeastern United States.

“Saturday clinics, remote appointments via telemedicine and after-hours clinics have all largely been accomplished thanks to APPs, and we feel like we’re only scratching the surface,” said Kris Marsack, director of Surgical APPs.

Training the next generation of leaders

As the PA profession has evolved, so has the way Texas Children’s trains providers. One example is the Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship, which was created in 2013 and was the first of its kind in the country.

You can watch this video to learn more about the fellowship.

“Pediatric surgery is not covered in most PA schools,” said Hollier. “We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to take PA graduates and expose them to the broad diversity of pediatric surgery that exists here.”

During the intensive one-year program, fellows are fully immersed in the culture at Texas Children’s as they rotate through each surgical subspecialty service, including:

  • Congential heart
  • General pediatrics
  • Hand/microsurgery
  • Neuro
  • Ophthalmology
  • Orthopedic
  • Oto
  • Plastic/reconstructive
  • Surgical ICU
  • Surgical hospitalist
  • Trauma
  • Urology

The program also includes dedicated research time and suture, cadaver, and simulation labs. Training is provided in clinics, on the surgical floors and in the operating room, and involve pre-, intra- and post-operative care. Fellows can also participate in and help lead several community service initiatives, including the Family Fun Runs at Texas Children’s Hospital campuses in The Woodlands and Katy, the annual APP backpack drive.

Since its inception, the fellowship has grown to include eight providers, and is a valuable pipeline for talent and a unique training opportunity for providers who want to join the Department of Surgery team at Texas Children’s.

“We aim to retain every fellow and we are thrilled to see the number of applicants rise each year,” said Jackie Broda, PA-C and clinical lead of PA Fellowships.

Learn more about the Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship.

Social media is a great way to share glimpses of your life with family and friends. Engaging on social media is increasingly becoming part of our daily routines, so it’s more important than ever that everyone at Texas Children’s understands their responsibilities around social media use.

With that in mind, the Marketing/PR and Human Resources departments developed a short video about the appropriate use of social media. You can watch the video below and keep it front of mind whenever you use any social media platform.

Ultimately, every single person at Texas Children’s is responsible for how they use social media. Be sure you make informed, thoughtful decisions about what you choose to post online.

If you discover any unethical, illegal or questionable content on social media relating to Texas Children’s, please notify your immediate supervisor or call our confidential Compliance hotline at 1-866-478-9070.

 

Imagine a day where you came to work and there were no gloves to see patients, no blankets to wrap babies, or even hand soap in the restroom. Everywhere you turned you needed something and you didn’t have it.

We can all agree that our work lives would get frustrating and most of our jobs simply wouldn’t be doable. This is exactly the reality we would face without the hard work done by employees in Supply Chain.

This week is National Health Care Supply Chain Week, an opportunity to highlight the work of an unsung area in the organization. “We are one of the behind the scenes departments that is happy to support our clinical and non-clinical colleagues,” said Eric Alanis, supply chain project analyst. “We’re excited to give Texas Children’s an opportunity to learn exactly what we do.”

Learn and laugh

Employees can learn more about Supply Chain – and have a little fun – during a special event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 9, on The Auxiliary Bridge. The celebration includes games and poster education from each area within the department.

Games will be:

  • Procurement – “The Price is Right” with showcase showdown
  • Strategic Sourcing – Deal or No Deal Game
  • Value Analysis – Ball Toss Game
  • Central Distribution – Wheel of Fortune
  • Warehouse – Jeopardy Trivia Game

Supply Chain Week is a national celebration hosted by the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) to celebrate the role supply chain professionals have in delivering high-quality patient care.

Caitlin Marcellus-Vincent shares how her role as an Informatics Resource Liaison combines her passion for nursing education with technology to optimize the care we provide to our patients. Read more

October 3, 2019

Mark A. Wallace is not your typical CEO. Along with leading the serious and important work in the C-suite and executive board room, the longstanding president and chief executive officer of Texas Children’s Hospital more often than not is connecting with front-line staff and employees, as well as patients and families, to see how Texas Children’s can better serve those in need of exceptional pediatric care.

On any given day, Wallace can be seen walking the halls of Texas Children’s Hospital in the Medical Center wearing a suit, one of his signature ties and his megawatt smile. His booming made-for-radio voice can be heard from quite a distance greeting passersby with a robust “Good Morning!” or “What a great day to be at Texas Children’s!”

Wallace welcomes with energy and fervor all new Texas Children’s employees at several pep rallies throughout the year. He humbly thanks those who have served the organization for 15 years or more at an annual employee recognition ceremony. And, in 2015, he set out to reach every employee across the organization – first with seven hospital-based events, dubbed the One Mission, One Culture, One Amazing Team Event, and then on a whirlwind, 73-stop One Amazing Team bus tour.

In addition to all of this, Wallace has what many CEOs lack today – staying power. Celebrating his 30th year at the helm of Texas Children’s Hospital on October 4, he is the longest serving CEO in the Texas Medical Center. According to a recent study by Equilar, an executive data solutions company, his service to Texas Children’s is pretty extraordinary, considering the average tenure of a CEO at a large U.S. company is a mere five years.

Texas Children’s Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Linn said Wallace’s tenure is exceptional, but not surprising for two main reasons – Mark Wallace is an extremely successful businessman, and he cares deeply about the mission of Texas Children’s.

“Mark sees everyone at Texas Children’s as one big family taking care of other families,” Linn said. “In his heart, he really believes he’s doing what God wants him to do.”

“Mark also cares about our debt rating and our bottom line,” Linn said. “He understands that if we don’t have the financial wherewithal we cannot treat our patients.”

Bigger and better

When Wallace began his journey with Texas Children’s Hospital on October 4, 1989, as a bright and ambitious 36-year-old, Texas Children’s was still in its infancy. The one-building hospital was just 35 years old, a baby compared to other leading children’s hospitals in the nation, some of which have been around for more than a century.

Having just separated from St. Luke’s Medical Center, Texas Children’s Hospital, and its then 1,400 employees, were in desperate need of a leader who could help shape the growth of the organization and distinguish it from its counterparts.

Wallace, who came to Texas Children’s from Houston Methodist Hospital where he had been senior vice president, took this charge to heart and has never looked back.

“When Mark came to tell me he was leaving and that he’d been recruited to Texas Children’s, I actually tried to talk him out of it,” said Larry Mathis, former president and chief executive officer of Methodist Hospital. “I thought Mark had the talent to do something bigger and better. But, as it turned out, he went to Texas Children’s and made it bigger and better.”

During the first 10 years of his career at Texas Children’s, Wallace strengthened the organization’s position as a leader in children’s health care, taking on milestone cases, opening the first Texas Children’s Pediatrics practice and the first Texas Children’s Specialty Care Clinic. He also established Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first and now largest, pediatric health maintenance organization.

Renovations of the hospital’s original building, the Abercrombie Building, were completed during this time, and construction of what is now the Mark A. Wallace Tower and West Tower began. These two additions made Texas Children’s the largest freestanding pediatric hospital in the United States, a title Texas Children’s still holds today.

Best in nation

During his second and third decades at the helm of Texas Children’s, Wallace’s momentum, passion and dedication to the organization has continued to grow, and has spread to those around him. His vision and energy motivate people to invest in what has become one of the best pediatric health care organizations in the nation.

One of Wallace’s biggest fans is Executive Vice President Michelle Riley-Brown, who joined Texas Children’s in 1999 as an administrative fellow and steadily rose through the ranks to her current position. Over the years, Riley-Brown has seen Wallace’s leadership style grow into what it is today – strong, effective and visionary.

“Mr. Wallace is the quintessential leader,” Riley-Brown said. “He knows what’s best for Texas Children’s, and he knows how to get everyone on board to get it done.”

Riley-Brown has worked closely with Wallace to expand the reach of Texas Children’s into the greater-Houston area and beyond. She helped open the system’s two community hospitals – Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands – and grow the system’s network of Specialty Care Centers, Texas Children’s Pediatrics practices and Urgent Care Centers. Riley-Brown currently is leading Texas Children’s expansion into Austin, where the organization has opened a Specialty Care Center, an Urgent Care Center and a handful of primary care practices.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work under Mark’s leadership,” Riley-Brown said. “It has been a joy and privilege to implement his vision of expanding care into the community, and I look forward to all that is to come.”

Other major milestones under Wallace’s leadership include the expansion of the Feigin Center and the construction of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute. Two Centers for Women and Children have opened their doors, and a network of Urgent Care practices have been established. Most recently, Texas Children’s built and opened the Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower, Texas Children’s new home for heart, intensive care and surgery.

All of this and more has earned Texas Children’s a top spot in the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital ranking for more than a decade. This year, Texas Children’s was ranked No. 3 in the nation among all children’s hospitals, a ranking no other pediatric hospital in the state has ever achieved. In addition, Texas Children’s ranked in the top 10 in each of the U.S. News & World Report-recognized pediatric sub-specialties.

“I’m sure Mark is very pleased with how a tiny children’s hospital in 1989 has turned into one of the best children’s hospital in the world,” said Susan Stock, Wallace’s long-trusted executive assistant. “He sees that his determination and dedication has paid off in a big way.”

And, that determination and dedication isn’t waning, said Stock, who started working in the president and chief executive officer’s office a few months before Wallace arrived at Texas Children’s.

“I believe that even after being such an excellent leader for so many years, he’s still finding ways to make Texas Children’s even better,” Stock said.

More to come

The pace Wallace has kept all these years isn’t slowing. The tenured Texas Children’s leader has paved the way for continued growth with the purchase of the Baylor and O’Quinn Towers and expansion into the Austin, Beaumont and Tyler markets.

In the capital city, Texas Children’s is continuing to grow its outpatient strategy at a steady pace, and the Texas Children’s Health Plan has a growing membership in Beaumont and Tyler as the result of being chosen in 2016 as one of three managed care organizations to offer the STAR Kids plan, which covers children with complex medical needs.

Texas Children’s Emergency Center at the Texas Medical Center Campus is being renovated and expanded, and the list goes on. With Wallace in the driver’s seat, growth and change is inevitable. It’s part of what makes him a great leader. The one thing that doesn’t change with him though is his ability to connect with the people he serves.

Even though the number of employees at Texas Children’s has grown to 15,000, and the number of patient encounters reached 4.3 million last year, Wallace still finds time to walk the halls of the system’s ever-growing facilities, show up at pep rallies and other celebrations, and share his ongoing vision for the organization. In short, he still cares passionately about Texas Children’s and its mission to care for sick children and women.

“As the need for affordable, quality health care grows for our country, I believe Mark’s motivation grows to meet those needs,” said Shannon Wallace, Mark Wallace’s wife of 16 years. “He is incredibly gifted at finding solutions for problems, especially when those problems affect our most vulnerable citizens.

“I am overwhelmed but not surprised by Mark’s accomplishments,” Shannon added. “I have never known a more authentic, compassionate, capable person in my life.”

October 1, 2019

Texas Children’s is one of the best in the country at taking care of our patients. But we are constantly striving to be better in the coordination of that care.

So what exactly does that mean? It means that although several providers may be involved in a patient’s treatment, they each deliver care as if they are part of one big picture.

This effort – Care Coordination – is an organizational priority and is in full swing at Texas Children’s.

But why?

Many Texas Children’s patients, especially those who are medically complex, use several aspects of our services; several times throughout the year. We can take care of these families as if each one of their visits are individual occurrences; or we can actually coordinate their care so that it is more comprehensive, less frustrating and enhances value for us as an organization.

What does UNcoordinated care look like?

Before recent efforts began there were many more cases of uncoordinated care, which caused a great deal of frustration for our families.

Uncoordinated care means that patients may receive multiple phone calls with inconsistent information, they may be asked the same question when they show up in different areas of the organization, and certain duties may be duplicated by employees.

Tabitha Rice, senior vice president and administrative lead of the Care Coordination project, said she is proud of the work that has been done so far to rectify these issues. The project is already yielding measurable results. “However, high performance is in our blood at Texas Children’s and so we never want to stop getting better,” Rice said. “Care coordination is about quality and safety first. Secondly, it’s about enhancing the experience for our patients, providers and staff.”

The Care Coordination effort involves all three of our hospitals, Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Health Plan, The Centers for Children and Women and all of our partners. It is a true system-wide effort.

When care coordination is done right, we …

  • Have a shared care plan that forces us to think through responsibilities and potential problems ahead of time.
  • Communicate with patients by explaining treatments, procedures and necessary follow-up actions.
  • Communicate between providers and care givers by telling all the details of the patients’ story when performing a hand-off.
  • Transition a patient efficiently between areas within our system or between their stages of care.
  • Organize a patient’s care for their convenience by taking into consideration things like scheduling, transportation, supplies, medication, etc.
  • Use community resources effectively.

Both clinical and non-clinical employees have a role in this work. Care Coordination is a priority for the system and for thousands of members of our One Amazing Team.

A shining example of Care Coordination

Deanna Courts, Texas Children’s Health Plan service coordinator, and her work with member Mark Bowden is a shining example of exceptional care coordination.

For more than two years Courts went above and beyond to assist Mark as he battled ADHD, bipolar disorder and a cancerous tumor.

With Courts leading the way, the entire Texas Children’s system had a role in providing Bowden and his family with diagnostics, chemotherapy, food assistance, psychiatric support, social support and anything else needed to work through this trying time in life.

Today, this young man is now a cancer-free, high school graduate. Thanks to our one amazing team he is currently enrolled in college at Lamar University and doing well.

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!

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