July 15, 2019

In the spirit of living compassionately for our growing workforce, Texas Children’s entered into a partnership with ComPsych in January to launch EAP Plus, an enhanced Employee Assistance Program that offers a wide variety of new services in addition to traditional counseling. In the first three months of the new service, more than 2,000 employees utilized EAP Plus services. This service has been a valuable asset to our employees and is now available to physicians and advanced practitioners in medical staffing working at Texas Children’s locations.

How can EAP Plus help?

Suppose you want to find the perfect amusement park for your vacation. Simply call EAP Plus on Texas Children’s dedicated phone line to connect with resource specialists who will listen to your questions and research answers tailor-made to your needs. Within a few business days, you’ll have a full report of practical information and affordable alternatives that can be delivered to you via e-mail, fax or second-day air.

There is virtually no limit to what the EAP Plus specialists can research and find for you:

  • Temporary child care
  • Summer camps for sports, theater, computing or any other interest
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • College summer learning programs for teens
  • Amusement parks or resorts in your area or across the county
  • Museums, science centers, zoos and aquariums your kids will love
  • Kid-friendly destinations across the U.S. and the globe
  • Concerts or exhibits coming to your area
  • The best hiking trails in your area for little legs
  • National Parks highlights
  • Kayaking and canoeing outfitters
  • The cleanest beaches with the safest waters
  • Considerations when traveling abroad with children
  • Country-specific resources for your overseas voyage
  • Minivan or car rental options
  • Pet care and boarding services
  • Fun and creative projects you can do at home
  • Ideas for outdoor grilling
  • Tips on growing your own vegetable garden
  • Bike sales and repairs, and more

No matter what you need to pull off the perfect summer, you can count on EAP Plus for information, resources and referrals. Confidential assistance is available at no cost 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for work-life planning and more. Click here to check out family travel tips from EAP Plus, including advice for traveling on a budget, surviving a road trip with the kids, packing up the pets, adjusting to work after returning from vacation and more.

How can I access my EAP Plus benefits?
Access your EAP Plus benefits in one of two ways:

  1. By calling 833.EAP.PLUS (833-327-7587) to connect with a certified counselor 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Representantes que hablan Español están disponibles.
  2. By visiting EAP Plus online at http://www.guidanceresources.com/
    Employees should then click “register” and enter EAPPLUS as the Organization Web ID.

What can an employee expect when they call EAP Plus?
When an employee calls, they will speak with a GuidanceConsultant, a masters- or doctorate-level counselor who will collect some general information and listen to the employee’s concerns. The GuidanceConsultant will then provide a referral to a local counselor who best fits the employee’s unique needs. The employee can then set up an appointment to speak with the counselor over the phone or schedule a face-to-face visit. EAP Plus is strictly confidential.

What counseling services will EAP Plus provide?
EAP Plus provides free short-term counseling with local counselors who can help employees with emotional concerns. If the counselor determines that the issues can be resolved with short-term counseling, the employee will receive counseling through EAP Plus. However, if it is determined that the problem cannot be resolved in short-term counseling, and longer-term treatment is needed, the employee will be referred to a specialist early on, and the employee’s insurance coverage will be activated.

On his blog this week, Mark Wallace shares highlights of his visit at Texas Children’s Specialty Care Austin for the first New Employee Pep Rally in the area. Mr. Wallace officially welcomed nearly 70 new employees, physicians and staff to our one amazing team, who are excited about what we are bringing to Austin! Read more

July 9, 2019

Every team needs someone who wants to do the required tasks that no one else is willing to carryout. Calvin Haskett is that person as the waste removal unit support assistant in the Facilities Operations Department.

When he walks in at six o’clock in the morning before anything, he drinks a cup of coffee to prepare for a day of hard work, as he is known for putting his all in every day. According to Haskett after making sure his areas are clean and all of his supplies are prepped, he makes sure that his coworker is in good shape and prepared for the day as well. His highly considerate personality and drive is why his managers speak so highly of him.

“Calvin is soft spoken and pays attention to every aspect of his job,” Assistant Director of Facility Operations Lisa Green said. “Calvin recently requested off for vacation and when another employee had an emergency and needed the same days off, he later rescheduled his vacation time around his coworker’s time off to make sure the department was not short staffed. That is just one example of his unconditional dedication to our team.”

Haskett has been at Texas Children’s hospital for seven years and his urge to learn more grows every year. His mangers and co-workers have been captivated as he practices Error Prevention in his work even though he has not had the official training that is provided to managers.

His willingness to go above and beyond is shown on a daily basis. With this being his first award on the job, Haskett said he could not believe he was being recognized for his work.

“I felt shocked and did not know what to say at first,” Haskett said. “I have never gotten an award and it’s something very special that I will always remember. I love working at Texas Children’s; it’s a good company to work for with good, caring people.”

Dozens of patients and their families recently attended the 2nd Annual Complex Care Clinic Resource Fair, held at Texas Children’s Meyer Building. The event is one of several the clinic hosts throughout the year in an effort to build a community for families with children who have ongoing complex care needs.

“Medically complex children are the sun around which their entire family orbits, and it can be frustrating to see how alone and isolated these families feel,” said Amanda Harris, a medical social worker at the clinic and one of the event’s organizers. “Aside from providing helpful resources, we wanted to create an opportunity to just let these families – including siblings and grandparents – be around other people who are facing similar situations and to see that there are other people just like them.”

There were activities, such as face-painting, and canvases were set up for families and patients to create original artwork for display in the clinic. Children also had an opportunity to pet and interact with ponies that were provided by SIRE (Self-improvement through Riding Education), a local occupational therapy group that specializes in equine therapy.

There were numerous community partners present, including a school advocacy group to answer parents’ questions and offer advice on how to make requests for special accommodations at school, as well as the Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas, a group that advocates and intervenes for patients with co-occurring symptoms to help improve their quality of life.

Families also had access to internal resources, such as Texas Children’s Medical-Legal Partnership, a collaboration between Texas Children’s Hospital and Houston Volunteer Lawyers that provides low-income patient families with free legal advice and representation. There were also representatives present from Texas Children’s Autism Center and Developmental Pediatrics to talk about resources and services available, as there is often overlap between these patient populations.

About Texas Children’s Complex Care Clinic

The dedicated team of experts in the Complex Care Clinic provides comprehensive, high-quality care for nearly 1,200 of Texas Children’s most medically complex patients. These patients include:

  • Former premature infants
  • Children with complex seizure disorders
  • Patients with technology needs, such as tracheostomies or gastrostomy tubes
  • Congenital heart disease patients
  • Patients suffering from rare genetic or neuromuscular disorders

“There are so many wonderful stories people hear about the miracles that happen every day in our pediatric or neonatal intensive care units, but a lot of people might not realize those stories don’t always end when the patient is discharged,” said Dr. Heather Moore, clinic chief. “For the patients we see, that’s just the beginning of the journey, and they’re going to need ongoing, highly coordinated care.”

The clinic – located at the Texas Medical Center campus and West Campus – is a true one-stop shop for patients and families, functioning as the primary care physician (PCP) office for well visits and touch point visits for proactive preventive care. The clinic also provides all urgent care needs. In an effort to reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations among this vulnerable population, experts are available to assist families 24/7, and calls go directly to an on-call physician or nurse practitioner.

The full team includes:

  • Four physician PCPs and three nurse practitioner PCPs
  • Two masters-level medical social workers who remove barriers around transportation needs, housing, food insecurity, guardianship issues, transitioning to adult care, as well as providing assistance in instances of child or domestic abuse
  • Masters-level clinical dietitians embedded within the clinic who manage tube feeding regimens and oral feeding diets, while also assisting clinic providers to ensure access for patients who need enteral supplies and feeding therapies
  • Four clinical nurses, who triage patients for medical needs via triage line, change gastrostomy tubes and place nasogastric tubes, administer immunizations, suction and escort to the Emergency Center if necessary
  • A child and adolescent psychiatrist, providing both behavioral health and family therapy
  • A care coordination team comprising six nursing coordinators and six patient navigators (an administrative support role) that interfaces with specialists, therapists, insurance carriers, and medical supply and home nursing companies, and others to help streamline care and remove gaps or redundancies

There are plans to add new staff in the near future, including additional PCPs, a dedicated hospitalist and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctors. A planned expansion to The Woodlands is also in the preliminary phases.

“Many of our patients have special transport needs and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to get around,” said Moore. “We’re trying to provide everything our families need in one place that’s closer to home, while also reducing any gaps in care. Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive care available and to make life easier for them.”

In recognition of Patient Care Assistants (PCA) Week, Veronica Campos shares her thoughts on Sharonda Brown, who she recently nominated for an award for her above and beyond efforts. Read more

This month’s installment of Medically Speaking features Texas Children’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. John Heydemann, discussing the rising prevalence of obesity in American adolescents and the increased level of difficulty it creates in the treatment of pediatric orthopedic injuries or deformities.

To clearly relate the two, he highlights four specific treatment areas or conditions that are often exacerbated by, or that can contribute to, obesity. These are:

  • Trauma, including increased fracture rates, higher risk of loss of reduction and increased risk of complications
  • Blount’s disease, a growth disorder of the shin bone that causes the lower leg to be angled inward
  • Slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a hip condition that occurs in adolescents and teens
  • Back pain, potentially due to children leading more sedentary lifestyles

Learn more about the services provided and conditions treated by Texas Children’s Division of Orthopedics.

Fighting obesity at Texas Children’s

In addition to contributing to or complicating the treatment of orthopedic injuries, obesity drives significant health outcomes in Texas Children’s patients. Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of preventable chronic diseases and in childhood can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol, increased risk of type 2 diabetes, asthma and sleep apnea, and joint problems, not to mention the associated psychological ramifications, such as anxiety and depression.

But obesity it a health problem Texas Children’s Hospital is attacking head on.

This year, Texas Children’s included a system-wide BMI goal as part of our Fiscal Year 2019 care quality objectives. The target was to record BMI for 85 percent of the patient population, ages 2 to 19. In addition to recording BMI, an additional target was set to refer or implement counseling and/or education for more than 40 percent of patients with BMI greater than the 85th percentile.

So far this year, Texas Children’s is exceeding those goals. Through March 2019, we’d recorded BMI for more than 87 percent of our patients, and more than 73 percent of those with BMI in the 85th percentile or higher have been referred to or received the resources they need to combat obesity.

About Medically Speaking

Medically Speaking, a video series from Texas Children’s Service Line Marketing, features some of the brightest minds from several Texas Children’s specialty and subspecialty areas. The series is meant to be a helpful educational resource for parents and a convenient way for physicians and other caregivers to stay up-to-date on the latest in pediatric medicine. Viewers can watch talks on a variety of interesting topics, including advancements in surgery, breakthroughs in research, new clinical trials, and novel and back-practice treatments for specific conditions.

Don’t miss future Medically Speaking episodes featured here on Connect, or view additional episodes now.

PLEASE NOTE:
This presentation is not intended to present medical advice or individual treatment recommendations, and does not supplant the practitioner’s independent clinical judgment. Practitioners are advised to consider the management of each patient in view of the clinical information. All content is shared for informational purposes only, and reflects the thoughts and opinions of the original author. No physician-patient relationship is being created by the use of this presentation. The presentation sets out recommendations based upon similar circumstances and is provided as an educational tool. The presenters are not attorneys, and to the extent this presentation provides commentary on current laws and regulations affecting health care activities, it is not intended as legal advice.

Texas Children’s West Campus Urgent Care opened its doors in September 2018 and has served many patients since. Located next to Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, the West Campus Urgent Care opened to help manage the Emergency Center to serve patients and families in the west Houston area. Learn more by visiting our 2018 virtual Annual Report.