December 18, 2018

On December 10, Texas Children’s Nursing Retention Council pitched in to give back to the community by volunteering at the “Be a Resource for CPS Kids (BEAR) annual toy drive.

Team members spent several hours sorting and preparing Christmas gifts for distribution to the 9,925 children in the Houston area who are in the Child Protective Services (CPS) system.

Like many Texas Children’s employees who have dedicated their time to volunteer service, identifying opportunities to make a positive impact in the community is a win-win situation. Accustomed to caring for others, supporting BEAR provided an opportunity for our nurses to extend their reach and care for thousands of foster children across Greater Houston.

“I am excited about the ways our team is serving our community,” said Texas Children’s Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre. “Volunteering makes us feel good, brings us together and further strengthens our team. The work of BEAR closely aligns with Texas Children’s mission of serving children, and I can’t think of a better organization for us to support.”

Besides their annual holiday toy drive, BEAR provides emergency supplies – like diapers, clothing, shoes, car seats, cribs and school supplies – to Harris County children in the care of CPS. The program also provides items needed for youth who are transitioning out of CPS care.

“BEARing Gifts was such a powerful experience for me, and it made me realize just how dire the situation is for children in our community,” said Nursing Retention Council Chair Sharon Moreau. “As Retention Chair, I will work to cultivate a lasting relationship with BEAResource.”

Music is not only food for the soul, but also medicine for the body when it comes to health institutions like Texas Children’s. George Robinson, the grandson of Lillie and Jim Abercrombie, has partnered with Michael Clay, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Texas Music Project, to donate a $75,000 gift from the George A. Robinson IV Foundation.

It all started when Clay realized his family ties with the Abercrombies. They were Texas Children’s first major benefactors, whose kindness and foresight helped create our nationally recognized hospital. With this in mind, he knew that reaching out to his family, whose history runs deep in the organization, would lead to a great partnership with his company. Texas Music Project is a program for students, schools, and communities, which partners with musicians to help guide students down their own unique musical paths.

“We’re a grassroots resource for the community and kids for music,” Clay said. “I’ve learned that music therapy crosses over from not just schools, but into hospitals as well.”

The money donated goes to the Child Life department’s music therapy program, to upgrade media technology. Music Therapy, Child Life Media Producer, Bio Med, IT and the Facilities Planning teams have all been working with the Texas Music Project for the past year to bring George’s vision to fruition. The upgrade includes new audio systems, lighting systems for the broadcast, and most importantly, portable capabilities.

The idea was to upgrade the audio system in a way that could be taken anywhere in the hospital. Along with the main system located in the Zone, the Child Life entertainment center for patients, there is a mobile studio that allows for an efficient assembly process so that video can be streamed lived from room-to-room, if necessary.

The last portion of this partnership consists of producing a regular concert for patients called Rockin’ Robinson. This will include different musicians performing live for patients, to entertain them and lift their spirits. With the portable technology upgrade, these shows can be produced regularly and live streamed on ZTV, an internal television channel, for patients who are not able to leave their room.

“I am really grateful for the Robinson’s gift towards the technology upgrade,” Child Life Media Producer, Ashby Gleditsch said. “I am excited about what we will be able to accomplish in the future with live programming.”

On December 12, Robinson and his daughter Blair Robinson, along with Clay and the Texas Music Project team came to the hospital to shoot the pilot of Rockin’ Robinson. Dozens of patients, their families, and employees gathered in The Zone, for a concert as Blair sang and played the acoustic guitar with her band.

Music therapy is a very important component when it comes to an individual’s recovery process, especially with children. This gift will not only ingrain a new activity into the Child Life program, but also ensure smiles on patient’s faces and music in their hearts.

“I’m so excited about putting these shows in the rooms for the kids to see,” Robinson said. “My goal is to get this into all of the Texas Children’s campuses so that we can reach as many children as possible with a few songs.”

Texas Children’s Division of Otolaryngology recently hosted the 45th Annual Meeting of SENTAC (Society of Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children), one of the nation’s oldest and most respected ENT societies. It was the largest SENTAC conference ever, with nearly 300 national and international otolaryngology experts in attendance, including the largest ever turnout of allied health professionals.

“Multidisciplinary collaboration is one of the hallmarks of SENTAC,” said Dr. Deepak Mehta, Director of Texas Children’s Pediatric Aerodigestive Center and 2018 SENTAC president. “This event is not only for physicians, but also for audiologists, speech and language pathologists and therapists, advance practice providers, pediatricians, nurses and students. This experience is unique in that it brings us all together for a common purpose.”

The four-day event covered the entire spectrum of pediatric ENT topics, including sleep disorders, swallowing disorders, tracheostomy care and hearing loss. During the conference, over 60 presentations were given, including eight by experts from Texas Children’s – two of which won awards. Jessie Marcet-Gonzalez, CPNP, won first place for best podium presentation for her paper, “Effect of Inpatient Multidisciplinary Tracheostomy Team Rounds on Timely Outpatient Follow.” Texas Children’s audiologist Dr. Barbara Novak won second place for her paper, “Improving Loss to Follow-up: A Collaborative Citywide Initiation,” a project on newborn hearing screening in collaboration with Texas Children’s audiology clinical and cochlear implant specialist Dr. Samantha Lemelle, AuD.

Other event highlights included a banquet with live music and holiday lights at the Houston Zoo, and the first annual SENTAC Pediatric Otolaryngology Academic Bowl, presented by the Young Providers Committee. Texas Children’s took home the trophy, defeating teams from Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Throughout the weekend, many said this was one of the best SENTAC conferences yet, both in terms of content and host venue.

“I feel pride in being part of Texas Children’s and all of us working together to put together such a fantastic meeting,” Mehta said. “The amazing support from Texas Children’s leadership and all the staff involved truly made it a success.”

December 11, 2018

Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans capped off this year’s fun-filled PLAY 60 Week by cheering on the Houston Texas as they played the Indianapolis Colts in the 3rd Annual Texans Kids Day presented by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Texans Kids Day highlights the National Football League’s PLAY 60 initiative, a campaign that encourages kids to be active for 60 minutes a day in order to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. Texas Children’s Hospital, the local presenting sponsor of PLAY 60, was featured throughout Sunday’s game including signage, TORO headband gate giveaways and kids jobs.

Additionally, GW McMaster, an avid Houston Texans fan and patient at Texas Children’s Hospital’s Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, served as the Honorary Coin Toss Captain. Before the game began, the 16-year-old and his family spent time on the sideline watching pregame warmups and taking in the incredible experience of his first Texans game. Shortly before the coin toss, GW met his favorite player, DeAndre Hopkins along with Houston Texans legend Andre Johnson and Houston Astros second baseman, Alex Bregman. The smile on GW’s face lit up the whole stadium.

Nine employees recognized by the Texas Children’s Caught You Caring program as well as our 2019 Catalyst Award winners, their guests and leaders got to watch the game as a thank you for their compassion and dedication to the Texas Children’s mission. The tickets to the game are one of the benefits of Texas Children’s Hospital being the official children’s hospital of the Houston Texans football team. To learn more about those Caught You Caring recipients, click here. To learn more about our 2019 Catalyst Award winners, click here.

PLAY 60 Week ran from December 3 through December 9 and was full of fun events aimed at helping further the PLAY 60 message and get children across the Houston moving. The week kicked off with Smith Legacy Tower being lit red, white and blue – the official colors of the Houston Texans. The building’s first and third floor lobby ceilings and east windows stayed lit in these colors throughout the week.

Below is a recap of some of the other events during the week. View photos from all of last week’s events below.

PRE-GAME PEP RALLY:
Last week, we hosted a pre-game pep rally at the hospital’s play garden to help get some of our patients excited about the game and remind them about how important it is to PLAY 60. Texans players Greg Mancz and Julie’n Davenport, Texans Cheerleaders and TORO were in attendance and took photos, played games and signed autographs with patients and their families. Texas Children’s Heart Center patient Taylor Berry also was at the pep rally sharing his story of being a three-time heart transplant patient and putting smiles on the faces of patients he sympathizes with so well. Click here to see a video of him interacting with patients.

PLAY 60 AT THE PARK:
On December 3, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Texans hosted the 2nd annual PLAY 60 at the Park event at Levy Park Conservancy to kick off PLAY 60 Week in Houston. As the local sponsor of PLAY 60, the NFL-led initiative, which encourages kids to get at least 60 minutes of active play per day, Texas Children’s invited the community to join in an evening of fun and games aimed at keeping kids healthy.

Special guests included Texans running back Alfred Blue and Texans linebacker Dylan Cole, Texans Ambassador Kevin Walter, TORO, the Texans Mascot, Houston Texans Cheerleaders and more.

PLAY 60 KID OF THE MONTH:
Last week, PLAY 60 Kid of the Month winners met for their special NRG Stadium experience which included Houston Texans prize packs, surprise visit with TORO, stadium tour, radio interview with the voice of the Houston Texans, Marc Vandermeer, and a walk on the field. Thank you to everyone who applied to be a PLAY 60 Kid of the Month by showing us how you get your 60 minutes of play each day.

Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Texans are two winning teams that share one goal – keeping Houston kids healthy and encouraging them to be more active. To learn more about our partnership, visit: texaschildrens.org/Texans.

We are getting ready for the holidays at Texas Children’s, and both the Medical Center Campus and the Woodlands campus hosted their annual tree lighting ceremonies to kick off the season.

On November 28, over 200 people attended The Woodlands campus’ second annual Tree Lighting event. Volunteer Services and Child Life arranged a fun filled holiday experience for patients, their families, and The Woodlands community. The event began with carols from the Caney Creek High School Choir on the lobby staircase. Moments later, everyone gazed and applauded as Santa Clause strolled down the same staircase toward the Christmas tree.

The Woodlands Vice-President, Trent Johnson, welcomed everyone and thanked the community partners for attending, and proceeded to introduce Santa, who magically lit the Christmas tree. As some kids lined up to take pictures with Santa, other played games, participated in arts and crafts, and indulged in the refreshments that included the a hot cocoa bar and tons or sweet treats.

Many Woodlands community partners helped this event come together this year, such as: The Newfield Exploration, the Panther Creek Inspiration Ranch, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Caney Creek High School Choir, The Woodlands Art Council/Woodlands Children’s Museum, The Junior League of The Woodlands, Ray Larson Realty, and Texas Children’s Hospital partner, Morrison’s catering.

“The Tree Lighting event was a fun and exciting way to start of the holiday season,” Manager of Patient and Family Services, Cynda Parrish said. “Because of our wonderful community partners we were able to provide a festive and engaging experience for our patients and families. This resulted in our attendance doubling this year! We look forward to continuing this annual tradition at our campus each year.”

The very next day, Senior Vice President of Texas Children’s Hospital, Tabitha Rice kicked off the annual tree lighting event hosted by The Auxiliary to Texas Children’s Hospital and Volunteer Services, located on The Auxiliary Bridge of the Medical Center campus. With the help of a lucky patient, the bright lights magically turned on and Santa’s HO HO HO could be heard as he and Mrs. Clause walked down the hallway. Santa also visited patients who were not able to leave their rooms, and St. John’s School’s Kantorei choir sang holiday carols to more than 50 patients and their families.

“This event has become a treasured tradition for ringing in the holidays at the hospital,” Director of Volunteer services, Paige Schulz said. “The tree lighting is so special because it brings holiday cheer to the hospital in a way patients and families might not be able to otherwise experience when caring for a sick or hospitalized loved one. It is a pleasure to sponsor the event and The Auxiliary and Volunteer Services look forward to continuing the tradition for years to come.”

With the holiday season upon us, there’s plenty of cheer left for patients, families and employees throughout the rest of the month. View photos below from both tree lighting ceremonies.

On December 10, Texas Children’s posted the 2018 Pension Plan deposit into the accounts of eligible employees. To see how much your pension plan has grown, log into your Mercer account. For new users, you may register by clicking on “Get Started.” On the Mercer website, you will also find useful tools to help you view your balance, estimate your future pension plan balance and verify/update your beneficiary information.

This pension plan is designed to provide a foundation for your retirement and is fully funded by Texas Children’s. You are automatically enrolled in the plan on April 1 or October 1 once you reach 21 years of age and have worked 1,000 hours or more during the 12 consecutive months after your initial date of hire. Contributions are vested according to the schedule shown here.

To learn more about Texas Children’s Pension Plan, visit our Benefits website or call 800-752-8230 to speak with a Mercer representative.

Texas Children’s 403(b) Savings Plan

The IRS has increased retirement contribution limits for 2019. The maximum amount an employee can contribute to their Texas Children’s 403(b) Savings Plan during 2019 is $19,000. Employees turning age 50 or over can contribute an additional $6,000 during 2019.

Texas Children’s matches 50 percent on the first 6 percent of your deferral contributions per pay period, up to a maximum of $8,400 for 2019. Employer contributions are vested according to the schedule shown here.

If you are not already enrolled in the 403(b) savings plan or not contributing at least 6 percent, you should consider doing so now. To update your contribution elections or to enroll, please visit Fidelity NetBenefits to access your online account. If you are registering online for the first time, please click on “Register as a new user” in the log-in area.

Announcing New Roth Contributions in the 403(b) Savings Plan

Effective December 1, 2018, employees can now choose to make Roth after-tax contributions through the 403(b) savings plan. Just as with a traditional pre-tax plan, you elect how much of your salary you wish to contribute. Your contributions to a Roth 403(b) and traditional pre-tax 403(b) cannot exceed the IRS limit. Highly compensated individuals who are not eligible for a Roth IRA may utilize the Roth 403(b) contributions features.

Additional features include the opportunity to roll over existing Roth accounts from former employers into the 403(b) savings plan, and also converting existing pre-tax 403(b) savings plan contributions to a designated Roth account.

To learn more about Texas Children’s 403(b) Savings Plan, visit our Benefits website or call 800-343-0860 to speak with a Fidelity representative.

Beneficiary Elections
Please remember to review and update your beneficiaries. Elections can be made online through Mercer or Fidelity. Beneficiary elections for your retirement plans are not maintained in MOLI.

A little over a year ago, Larissa Fletcher took a huge leap of faith and walked into Texas Children’s Family Fertility Center to carry out the plan she and husband made years earlier on the darkest day of their lives.

On that dark day, Larissa and her late husband John Fletcher learned he had stage four esophageal cancer, and would, at best, live another year. Knowing they wanted to give their then 1-year-old daughter, Emma, a sibling, the couple decided to freeze John’s sperm and store it at the Fertility Center’s state-of-the-art in vitro fertilization (IVF) lab until Larissa was ready to try to have another child.

Shortly after that day came, Larissa watched her embryologist zoom her microscope in on what would become the now 4-month-old Elliana “Ellie” Joy Fletcher. Using a leading-edge embryo monitoring system called the EmbryoScope, Larissa also was able to watch a video of Ellie from when she was just a few cells all the way up to the time she was ready to be transferred into her mother’s belly to develop and grow for the next nine months.

“I was in awe of all of it,” Larissa said of the video. “In that moment, everything became very real for me.”

Texas Children’s Family Fertility Center’s three EmbryoScopes bring to life what reproductive endocrinology specialists see under a microscope and then describe to their patients. The technology, which provides continuous time-lapse imaging of embryos as they grow, also enables specialists to identify the healthiest embryo to transfer to the patient, for improved IVF success rates.

Dr. Richard Cochran, the Family Fertility Center’s Laboratory Director, said he and his colleagues in the lab are looking at whether the EmbryoScope can also help improve patient outcomes. The technology, he said, allows clinicians to see how an embryo divides, which in turn gives them the opportunity to see certain abnormalities.

“Sometimes embryos will divide, and then the cells will remerge, and then re-divide,” Cochran said. “That’s very abnormal, and that’s something we would not see in a traditional incubator setting.”

In such a setting, clinicians typically look at an embryo two days after fertilization is attempted, again a day or two later and so on. What happens in-between observations isn’t captured, and could be an important predictor of developmental abnormalities. For similar logistical reasons, the EmbryoScope already has proven to be helpful at enabling specialists to identify the healthiest embryo to transfer to a patient.

“In the vast majority of laboratories, embryos are put in traditional incubators where you have to take them out and expose them to room temperatures to see them,” said Texas Children’s Chief of Reproductive Medicine Dr. William Gibbons. “With the EmbryoScope, handling of the embryos is minimized and visibility is 24/7, enabling us to ensue embryos are growing and reach the appropriate stages at the appropriate times before transplantation.”

Texas Children’s Family Fertility Center is the only location in Texas other than Dallas that is using the EmbryoScope. The center has been using the technology since it opened in 2014 and currently has three. One of the scopes is dedicated to research while the other two are for clinical use.

Larissa, a former Fertility Center patient and a pediatrician with the Texas Children Newborn Center, said her experience at the center was extraordinary from beginning to beautiful end.

“When I was eight weeks pregnant and had to move my pregnancy care from the Family Fertility Center to a traditional OBGYN, it was bittersweet,” she said. “The people there were like my second family.”

To learn more about the EmbryoScope and how clinicians with the Texas Children’s Fertility Center uses the technology, click here.

Texas Children’s Family Fertility Center has earned national and international recognition for advancing the understanding and treatment of reproductive disorders. Our reproductive endocrinology specialists are proud of the impact we have made on the lives of our patients, women and families across the globe. To learn more about our Fertility Center, click here.