May 28, 2019

The Woodlands Recognition and Rewards Committee has announced the third quarter Woodlands Shining Star winners. Beth Pali (left), and Dr. Rachel Marek (right) were honored for their hard work and dedication.

Pali is a registered nurse in The Woodlands Outpatient Infectious Disease Clinic and was also instrumental in the opening of the Dermatology Clinic at The Woodlands. She was nominated by several of her co-workers, all of which say she constantly goes above and beyond on a daily basis to ensure patients and families receive the best possible care and attention.

“Beth is an extraordinary human being,” physician in the Department of Infectious Disease, Dr. Ankhi Dutta said. “She takes her job very seriously, and that is what I love most about her.”

Pali’s compassion and flexibility was magnified during a situation that included the transfer of a complicated patient from The Woodlands to the Medical Center Campus following their ultimately passing. During that time she personally traveled to The Medical Center Campus to help provide support for the family.

“Beth goes above and beyond to provide exceptional care to our patients, families, and staff,” Outpatient Staff Nurse, Elizabeth Dudgeon said. “She is such a positive influence who naturally promotes all the core values, in all that she does.”

Marek is the Medical Director of Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM), and was nominated for her compassion and drive for amplifying unity.

“She has been an integral part of building the hospital inpatient services,” Physician in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition Dr. Andrew Chu explained. “She exemplifies our system values as she continues to lead tirelessly.”

Marek is a natural leader who has helped implement and lead core initiatives such as faculty development workshops and lectures at The Woodlands, co-rounding in which subspecialists and PHM service round together on shared patients, and the multidisciplinary Palliative Care Committee at The Woodlands.

“Dr. Marek believes in teamwork, excellence and has demonstrated outstanding ability as a leader and a physician,” Dutta said. “She has implemented an environment of camaraderie and mutual support when it comes to patient care as well as employee satisfaction.”

Congratulations to both of this quarter’s Woodlands Shining Stars, and thank you for going above and beyond for our patients, families, and employees!

Texas Children’s Center for Childhood Injury Prevention and its Safe Kids Greater Houston Partners were recently recognized as the 2019 “Team of the Year” by the National Child Passenger Safety Board at the 2019 Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Safe Kids Greater Houston Coalition, of which the Children’s Center for Childhood Injury Prevention is the lead organization, was selected because of its unwavering commitment to child passenger safety. The coalition conducts seat check events at over 20 inspection site that span five counties, totaling nearly 2,000 miles.

“The people on this team are special,” said National Child Passenger Safety Board Chair Tammy Franks. “Their willingness to go that extra mile in an effort to educate parents and caregivers on car seat safety is extraordinary. Their work prevents unnecessary injuries and saves countless lives.”

More than 300 nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians serve on the Safe Kids Great Houston team, which is made up of health and safety experts, law enforcement, community advocates and other volunteers. Members check more than 5,000 car seats every year and distribute more than 1,000 seats to families in need. They also raise awareness among adults and children by providing lifesaving education and resources in the areas of Child Passenger Safety, Water Safety, Home Safety and Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety.

 

The Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recently hosted its Third Annual Mental Health Awareness Week Celebration. Events took place at each of our Texas Children’s Hospital campuses and were multidisciplinary collaborations between numerous Texas Children’s departments and programs, bringing together experts from:

  • Psychology
  • Trauma and Grief Center
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Autism Center
  • Social Work
  • Child Life
  • Employee Assistance Program

The theme of the day was “It’s Okay to Say …,” highlighting the importance for children to be able to acknowledge and be mindful of their feelings. Vibrant information booths were decorated to represent the different characters/emotions featured in Disney’s animated film, “Inside Out:” Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. Arts, crafts and activities were all designed to encourage children to identify and express an emotion. At the Disgust booth, for example, children could place their hands in a box, where they’d feel the squish of cold noodles or the wrinkled skin of a prune, and were then asked to describe how the sensation made them feel. At the Fear table, children were asked to draw a fearful face and decorate it while discussing different ways to cope with being afraid.

There was also an extensive parent resource table with materials from all the event’s participating programs and departments, as well as community partners outside the Texas Children’s system. These resources included information on:

  • Helping children grieve
  • Inpatient psychology
  • Depression/anxiety support
  • Finding mental health providers
  • Postpartum depression
  • Preparing children for adulthood
  • Suicide prevention
  • Support groups and other programs

At our Texas Medical Center campus celebration, the guest speaker was Marlon Lizama, poet, writer, artist, author, dancer and co-founder of Iconoclast Artists, a program that focuses on empowering youth in underserved schools and incarcerated youth through the arts. Lizama spoke to the audience about his personal journey with mental health and how through creative writing as a teenager he was first encouraged to recognize and explore his emotions. He also told the assembled workers and care givers that he had been the kind of child who they help every day and applauded the work they do to help children acknowledge and be mindful of their feelings, and to help parents recognize their children’s mental health needs.

May 21, 2019

Since joining Texas Children’s Float Team, Heidi Aghajani shares her experiences collaborating with nurses across different units and the invaluable lessons she has learned along the way that truly exemplifies what it means to be One Amazing Team. More

May 20, 2019

“I’m excited every day I walk into Legacy Tower,” said Dr. Lara Shekerdemian, service chief of Critical Care Services at Texas Children’s. “It is a wonderful environment to work in. Our patients and their families are very happy with their new spaces, and we are very privileged to be in our new home.”

It’s been one year since Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower opened its doors for the first time to care for our most critically ill patients at Texas Children’s Medical Center campus. And, in that short period of time, our patients and their families have noticed a positive difference since moving into the new tower.

“The rooms here are very cozy and very spacious,” said Eleonor Caparas, whose daughter is a PICU patient at Texas Children’s. “We have our own space here and we can stay together with my baby. I like it because I experienced the old PICU on the third floor of West Tower, and it is so different now.”

Randy Bowen, a PICU nurse at Texas Children’s for more than 25 years, recalls when critical care moved from the Abercrombie Building to West Tower. He says the move into Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower has been a huge game changer in the delivery of patient care.

“Coming into this space now, supplies us with so much flexibility and the availability of resources to provide the patient care that we’ve always excelled at doing,” Bowen said. “But I think now we’re exceeding that and it’s just been exciting be part of the whole process.”

Since Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower opened on May 22, 2018, Texas Children’s critical care, cardiology, surgical and radiology teams have been very busy caring for our hospital’s sickest patients.

To date, the new tower has had 3,839 patient admissions in the pediatric and cardiac intensive care units. More than 9,000 patients have received care at Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower’s outpatient Heart Center clinics, and over 700 catheterization and 239 intraoperative MRI procedures have been performed here.

A total of 3,455 surgeries have been completed in the tower’s state-of-the-art surgical and cardiovascular operating rooms, totaling 13,921 surgical hours. Since the tower’s helipad opened last November, Texas Children’s has had 123 landings, allowing for greater access to Texas Children’s for the sickest patients.

“We have everything under one roof to take care of all of the sickest children,” said Texas Children’s Surgeon-in-Chief Larry Hollier. “All of the diagnostic capability, the OR capability, the interventional radiology capability and then the ICU care. After visiting all of the leading children’s hospitals across the country, I can say without a doubt, no other children’s hospital has something like Legacy Tower.”

 

The nation’s top medical experts, hospital executives, pediatricians and community health leaders recently convened at Texas Children’s Hospital for U.S. News & World Report’s “Combatting Childhood Obesity” summit, addressing one of the nation’s most critical health issues.

Visiting guests were welcomed by Texas Children’s Physician-in Chief Dr. Mark Kline, who also spoke about the challenges posed by childhood obesity.

“For some time, clinicians have struggled with how to deal with obesity in a holistic and comprehensive manner,” he said. “We hope the work done here will facilitate healthy discussion and help shine light on how best to confront this ever-growing problem.”

The summit was held as part of a two-year commitment by U.S. News to put a spotlight on the nation’s most urgent public health priorities. Obesity has steadily risen as one of the gravest issues in health care: One in five children in the United States is now affected, and nearly one-third are overweight. The estimated annual cost of health care spending directly related to obesity is $149 billion. The purpose of the summit – sponsored by Texas Children’s Hospital – was to raise awareness around childhood obesity and to bring experts together to discuss ways to potentially solve the problem.

Meeting the challenge at Texas Children’s

That Texas Children’s hosted and sponsored a conference around the issue of pediatric obesity is fitting. Currently, around 22,000 children 18 years old or younger who are seen at Texas Children’s are obese, and 8,000 are 5 years old or younger. 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 psychological ramifications such as anxiety and depression.

To directly address the problem of obesity in our patients, as well as some of the underlying causes, such as poverty and food insecurity, Texas Children’s included a system-wide body mass index (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, a 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.

“Obesity drives significant health outcomes in our patients, so it was extremely important for us to include this in our FY19 quality goals,” said Dr. Heidi Schwarzwald, chief medical officer of Pediatrics for Texas Children’s Health Plan. “By collaborating across the system, and using the electronic medical record, we can provide children and their families with supportive resources and guidance to combat childhood obesity.”

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.

Stay tuned for further updates on Texas Children’s obesity goals and other FY19 organizational goals.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will highlight some of this year’s Caught You Caring Award winners and how they go above and beyond for their patients and colleagues.

Carmen Vela began working for Texas Children’s as a hospital operator. She later moved on to central scheduling and is now an Ambulatory Services Representative in the Division of Plastic Surgery. For the past 17 years she has used her compassionate communication skills to assist patients in a variety of situations.

“As a bilingual employee I know that I am able to communicate with many different patients,” Vela said. “I love knowing that I am helping out the community. I love customer service, I love helping people, I love to listen, and if I don’t have to answer I will find it.”

Caught You Caring is a recognition program offered to patients and families, as well as staff, to recognize employees who have gone above and beyond their role to provide compassion and kindness to another person. This could be in the care of a patient, service to a family, or in support of a coworker. Launched in 2015 in ambulatory surgery, the now system-wide program has recognized many employees, including the eight listed below who were honored by the program this year.

Vela was nominated for the award by the Senior Project Manager in the Division of Plastic Surgery, Betty Tung.

“Almost daily, I can hear her talking to the families trying to make appointments, and she’s so nice, helpful and professional when handling the appointments,” Tung said. “I have witnessed situations where she has to go to the clinic upstairs because the parent wants to hug her to thank her for her help. She goes way beyond her job duties to help the parents.”

Vela continues to demonstrate teamwork and compassion towards co-workers. She is known for helping patient’s parents if they call with a situation such as traffic, running late, or with questions about parking.

“Receiving this award is very gratifying,” Vela said. “I think everyone should be recognized because it is such a team effort, but for Betty to notice my hard work and how much I care about the patients, means a lot.”

Texas Children’s wants to continue to recognize those who take great pride in the work they do and encourages patients, families and employees to catch someone who is making a difference. Caught You Caring boxes and cards can be found throughout the Texas Children’s system for patients and families to fill out and recognize staff. Employees can fill out a Caught You Caring form on Connect. Cards and online submissions will be distributed to leaders for staff recognition.

Click here to learn more about the Caught You Caring Program.