June 3, 2019

Theresa Mottes, pediatric nurse practitioner in Renal Services, was recently elected president of the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC), an organization established in 1987 to develop and implement certification examinations for nephrology nursing. The goal of NNCC is to promote the highest standards of nephrology nursing practice through the development, implementation, coordination, and evaluation of all aspects of the certification and re-certification process.

As part of her introduction in April 2019, Theresa was described as a dedicated leader with more than 25 years of pediatric renal replacement therapy experience and a passionate volunteer advocate for nephrology certification. Theresa also is an adjunct instructor with Baylor College of Medicine.

The NNCC is composed of nine Commissioners: eight with current experience and expertise in nephrology nursing and one public member. Officers of the NNCC include the President, President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer.

Texas Children’s Hospital recently hosted Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher for a tour of Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower. It was a first visit for Fletcher, who represents Texas’ Seventh Congressional District, which includes residents of Houston, Bellaire, Bunker Hill Village, Hedwig Village, Hilshire Village, Hunters Creek Village, Jersey Village, Piney Point Village, Southside Place, Spring Valley Village, West University Place, and unincorporated Harris County west to Katy.

After being welcomed by President and CEO Mark Wallace, Fletcher visited Texas Children’s award-winning Mission Control. There she learned from Bert Gumeringer, vice president of Facilities Operations and Support Services; Gail Parazynski, vice president of Nursing; and Deb D’Ambrosio, director of Transport Services and Mission Control how the state-of-the-art operations center uses real-time data and cutting-edge technology to simplify and streamline processes, bringing together security, facilities, code response, critical care admissions, hospital-to-hospital transfers, critical clinical alarm monitoring and room management in one central location.

Next, Fletcher visited our therapy gym on the 23rd floor, where she observed a music therapy session for some of our youngest Texas Children’s Heart Center® patients. Chief of Pediatric Cardiology Dr. Daniel Penny and Chief of Congenital Heart Surgery Dr. Christopher Caldarone then led Fletcher through some of the facilities in our best-in-the-nation Heart Center. These included our outpatient cardiac clinic, the Charles E. Mullins Cardiac Catheterization Labs and our cardiovascular operating rooms.

Following her Heart Center tour, Fletcher concluded her time at Texas Children’s with a visit to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and our neurointensive care unit on the ninth floor of Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower. In the PICU, she had an opportunity to meet the parents of 10-month-old Emmy, who recently underwent a liver transplant. She was then guided through the neurointensive care unit by Medical Director of Neurocritical Care Dr. Jennifer Erklauer. This special unit – one of the first of its kind in the country – combines the latest neuro-monitoring techniques with collaborative team-based care for patients with neurologic issues. Fletcher saw firsthand the cutting-edge monitoring technology in our continuous EEG monitoring room, where patient brain wave activity is measured and reviewed in real time, 24/7, and can be used to detect seizure activity or acute changes in the brain that may require additional evaluation or intervention. While in the unit, she met the mother of 11-month-old Kayla, who has a rare seizure disorder.

The parents of both children told Fletcher about the helplessness they’d felt watching their infant children endure such dire health issues. But because of the expertise and care they’d experienced at Texas Children’s, they were filled with confidence that they were in the best possible place to help their children.

May 28, 2019

Maria Cortez shares how her experiences at Professional Day far exceeded her expectations, and why she encourages her colleagues to participate in this year’s conference to further enhance the quality care they deliver to our patients. More

Whether it is ensuring that families are well informed and comfortable, or walking into a room with enthusiasm willing to help her co-workers when necessary, at the crack of dawn in the Surgery Department at The Woodlands campus, patients and employees count on Jennifer Grubbs to make their day.

Grubbs started her journey here at Texas Children’s in 2015, in the Emergency Center at Texas Children’s West Campus, and then moved to The Woodlands just in time for the hospital’s opening as a Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) charge nurse. She later moved into her current role as the Patient and Family Liaison nurse that requires her to be knowledgeable, compassionate, and have the ability to communicate effectively. Grubbs exemplifies these characteristics daily which is why she was nominated by for the Caught You Caring (CYC) award by her leaders.

“She is so straight forward and concise when giving parents information about the surgery process, while also maintaining a profound sense of compassion and courtesy for their child,” Nursing Manager of Perioperative Services, Betty Smith said. “Her passion for her job is palpable and I have no doubt she will continue to provide amazing, well-rounded care to patients and families in day surgery.”

Grubbs’ flexibility to charge in the PACU, work in pre-op, or even work in the PACU as a nurse when needed on top of her duties as Patient and Family Liaison., shows her commitment to the department as well as our patients. She also serves as the chair of her unit’s Patient Experience committee.

“I really enjoy the patient experience role that I have,” Grubbs said. “I love working at Texas Children’s as a whole. There are so many opportunities for growth and the support by management here is immeasurable. Everyone is open to communication, there’s honest feedback, and it feels like a family, especially working in a community setting.”

Smith recalled a time when a PACU patient had a prescription for a medication that their local pharmacy could not fill, and Jennifer took the initiative to call several locations in the area repeatedly until she was able to find a pharmacy that carried the prescription. Something that may seem small to one person ultimately removed an immense amount of stress off of the patient’s parent. This particular occurrence is an example of her willingness to go above and beyond.

“However she can assist patients, she does,” Smith said. “Often as I prepare patients for surgery I hear her clarifying any misconceptions, addressing any fears, and comforting them every step of the way. That amongst many other things is why she is so deserving of this award.”

Grubbs’ sense of urgency that she has gained in the emergency room, combined with her compassion and patience from her PACU experience, allows her to be able to communicate with all family’s that walk in to any surgery situation.

“I am honored to be recognized for what I do every day,” Grubbs said. “It’s what I love to do, just connect with families and try to ease any anxieties they may have, and make a positive impact with every encounter I can have.”

The latest in cutting-edge research from across Texas Children’s Department of Surgery was recently on display at the 10th annual Edmond T. Gonzales, Jr. Surgical Research Day. The event is an important forum for surgical faculty, post-graduate trainees, nursing personnel and operating room staff to showcase their academic efforts in an encouraging environment.

More than 120 abstracts covering a broad spectrum of research topics, from basic science to clinical and outcomes research, were submitted for consideration. Of those, 14 were chosen for oral presentation.

The day kicked off with a keynote address from Dr. Adil Haider, Dean of Aga Khan University Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan and formerly of Johns Hopkins University and the Boston-based Center for Surgery and Public Health, a joint initiative between Harvard University and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on healthcare inequities in the United States, with projects focused on describing and mitigating unequal outcomes based on gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age and socioeconomic status. Dr. Haider spoke to the audience about his groundbreaking work in trauma disparities research, a field that he has helped establish by uncovering racial disparities after traumatic injury.

2019 Awards

Dr. Emily Steen was awarded the 2019 Samuel Stal Research Award. Over the past two years, Dr. Steen has been conducting basic science research in the Laboratory for Regenerative Tissue Repair under Dr. Sundeep Keswani, surgical director of basic science research at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Steen’s work has focused on pediatric and fetal surgery, wound healing and fibrosis.

Texas Children’s Chief of Plastic Surgery Dr. Edward Buchanan received the 2019 Research Mentor Award. He was nominated by Dr. Kelly Schultz, a recent Baylor College of Medicine graduate.

“In addition to showing unparalleled commitment to his patients, Dr. Buchanan has been a strong mentor, sponsor and role model in clinical research throughout the entirety of my and many other students’ and residents’ medical careers,” said Schultz. “I’m grateful for the many hours Dr. Buchanan spent discussing research projects and imparting knowledge that would eventually pay off in the research I accomplished during medical school.”

Additionally, Dr. Yangyang Yu from Pediatric Surgery received the award for Best Poster, titled “Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Surgical Management of Infants Under 1 Year of Age with Feeding Difficulties.” And Dr. Candace Style won the award for Best Oral Presentation, titled “Citrulline Effectively Reduces the Rate and Severity of Necrotizing Enterocolitis Compared to Hydrogen Sulfide in the Premature Piglet Model.”

The event’s grand finale was the announcement of the 2019 Clayton Awards. This grant program, funded by the Department of Surgery, allows surgery researchers to generate the preliminary data necessary for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications and other extramural funding. The recipients were:

Dr. Yi-Chun Liu, Otolaryngology
Evaluation of the benefit of bone conduction hearing device in children with unilateral congenital aural atresia

Michelle Roy, PA-C, Plastic Surgery
Cleft care instructional videos and their efficacy in postoperative outcomes

Dr. Guillermo Aldave, Neurosurgery
Pilot study of oncolytic adenovirus DNX-2401 for recurrent pediatric high grade tumors

Dr. Sarah Woodfield, Surgery
Profiling and modeling extracranial malignant rhabdoid tumors

For the first time ever, Texas Children’s has been named by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston’s Healthiest Employers of 2019 in recognition of our ongoing commitment to support a healthy and strong workforce.

HBJ ranked Texas Children’s among the city’s healthiest companies with at least 5,000 employees. The journal’s survey rigorously assessed organizational culture, leadership commitment, programming and intervention efforts, and communication and marketing to determine how strongly Texas Children’s promotes and supports a healthy work environment.

Texas Children’s was recognized for the many innovative, engaging, convenient and cost-effective well-being programs and opportunities that positively impact the lives of our employees. The high volume and efficiency of the Employee Medical Clinic, 24/7 access to EAP Plus, success stories from health coaching and the many well-being initiatives were all featured in the survey responses.

“A healthy and strong workforce is essential to delivering quality and compassionate care to our patients and their families, which our employees provide every day,” said Jermaine Monroe, Vice President, Human Resources. “We are honored to be recognized as one of Houston’s Healthiest Employers and will continually advance initiatives to empower and support our employee’s physical, mental and financial well-being journeys at Texas Children’s.”

The Houston Business Journal revealed the final rankings for the 2019 Healthiest Employers list on May 23. Click here to read more about the finalists and the awards.

The National Institute of Health awarded a team of Texas Children’s scientists a $2.2 million grant in 2018 to study and develop computer and tissue-engineered models to predict the recurrence of congenital heart diseases. The study aims to change the way heart diseases are managed to improve the quality of life of children. Learn more by visiting our 2018 virtual Annual Report.