A highly-regarded plastic and orthopedic surgeon, Pederson has also been appointed chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Read more
Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine launch a new clinical genomic sequencing program to help patients with undiagnosable conditions. Read more
On Mark Wallace’s blog, he celebrates International Dog Day by sharing how Texas Children’s favorite four-legged employees, Angus, Bailey, Cohen, Pinto and Pluto, make a difference for families every day. Read more
August 22, 2023
For many, the summer included a flurry of activity, including travel, dining out, going to the movies, attending camp or just relaxing with friends and family. Unfortunately, this level of activity, especially in crowded spaces, brings with it a higher risk of exposure to airborne infectious agents, including respiratory viruses and bacterial pathogens.
There has been a steady increase in COVID-19 transmission numbers in July and August. Wastewater data shows a steep increase in viral load over the past few weeks. Our teams are monitoring the data (hospital and regional) closely as this trend may continue and possibly accelerate as the new school year begins.
Please stay vigilant, and protect yourselves and our patients against COVID-19.
Helpful reminders
Stay home if you feel sick and get tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Employee Health Virtual Assistant. Access the Employee Health virtual assistant from any device, any time, on or off the Texas Children’s network for COVID-19 related guidance and support.
Hand hygiene. Clean your hands frequently and thoroughly to protect yourself and your patients. Clean your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer available at many locations in our health care system. Follow the Five Moments for Hand Hygiene ENG|ESP.
Masking. At work, especially in patient care areas, masking is encouraged. In the community, consider masking, particularly in crowded areas. Masks are strongly encouraged for those with high-risk conditions. Masks will continue to be freely available at many locations in our hospital and health care system. For questions regarding individual risk status, consult your PCP or Employee Health.
Vaccines. Stay current with COVID-19 vaccine boosters and be prepared for new vaccine formulations available this fall for influenza and COVID-19. Also, new RSV vaccines for expectant mothers during pregnancy, as well as workforce members 60 years of age and above, will be available soon. Please consult with your PCP or Employee Health if you have questions or concerns about your immunization status.
Interprofessional health care providers, presenters and exhibitors convened at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) on Aug. 3, 2023 for Texas Children’s Professional Day Summit. The enterprise-wide event led by Nursing Professional Development (NPD) offered opportunities to enhance knowledge and skill application for health care professionals, thereby improving professional practice and patient outcomes.
This year’s theme was Prioritizing Quality Care & Clinician Wellness. Dr. Angie Rangel, Jill Stonesifer and several NPD team members welcomed conference participants by sharing the purpose of the event and its significance to professional practice. System Chief Nurse Executive Dr. Jackie Ward kicked off the event with opening remarks on the value of interprofessional teamwork, lifelong learning and its impact on clinicians and patients. Keynote speaker Dr. Beth Ulrich followed with a presentation on Creating Health Work Environments to Improve Clinician & Patient Outcomes. Conference participants then broke into sessions focused on Pediatrics, Women’s Health and Professional Practice to discuss current issues and health care trends, as well as exchange ideas and share best practices.
Between sessions, registrants networked, explored featured exhibitors, participated in wellness activities and received door prizes. The event was free for Texas Children’s employees and offered continuing education credits to physicians, nurses, social workers and respiratory therapists. Auditorium presentations were also livestreamed to West Campus, The Woodlands and Austin MoPac for those who could not attend in-person. Click here to see the full agenda.
Participants shared their experiences from the summit:
“The theme echoed at TCH Professional Day Summit was ‘learning never ends.’ It was an amazing curriculum that covered a large variety of topics facing our health care industry today…I really enjoyed learning about strategies and quality initiatives from our peers across the organization. I definitely plan to apply the knowledge learned with our department.” – Rachel Gonzales, Assistant Clinical Director (Radiology)
“Every presentation I attended was thought provoking and interactive. All the presenters were engaging, and discussions with colleagues across disciplines and campuses provided fruitful dialogue to make the presentations even more thoughtful. I look forward to attending the next summit!” – Brittany Walters, Clinical Nurse Coordinator (International Office)
“Congratulations on a successful conference! I thought it was a wonderful chance as a physician to learn about a wide variety of topics from the nursing perspective. I was impressed with the keynote as well as the final talk on Nursing Ethics from Dr. Nancy Yuill, and was proud to be part of the program myself.” – Dr. Daniel Lemke, Emergency Medicine
“The topics were not only relevant, but also extremely informative. I particularly appreciated the sessions surrounding the legalities of nursing licensure and how to protect it. Professional Day Summit is an event I would definitely encourage others to attend for NCPD credits!” – Chloe Smith, Staff Nurse (Radiology)
Putting together a successful conference of this scale was possible thanks to the hard work, collaborative planning and ongoing commitment to shared learning from Texas Children’s NPD team: Yaima Aleman, Sonia Alvarado, Jana Broussard, Tori Baker, Jaime Choate, Ronda LeBlanc, Karina Moreno, Tanya Nelson-Hall, Natalie Richards, Jill Stonesifer, Jessica Ramirez, and Gayle Young. The team also extends a special thanks to Education and Professional Development Shared Governance Council partners and volunteers who helped make it happen.
Click here to learn more about this year’s Professional Day Summit, and stay tuned for its return in 2025!
Did you know 70 percent of our passwords are vulnerable to a brute force attack? According to a recent assessment of Texas Children’s password integrity, our current policy allows compromise of password in as little as seven minutes.
Weak and stolen credentials are the #1 cause of data breaches. No immediate action is needed. Wait until you receive a change password request to use the new 12-character password within 90 days of Tuesday, August 29.
What does the updated password policy mean for me?
It requires everyone with a Texas Children’s Login ID to choose a new password once a year instead of every 90 days!
It changes the minimum password length from eight to 12 characters.
Under our new policy, it will take a computer 34,000 years to crack a password!
Need help creating your new password?
Mix it up! Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Try a phrase with multiple words you can remember in your head…difficult to guess, but easy to remember.
Please register for password self-reset. If you forget your password, you can reset it without the need to call the Service Desk.
Thoughtful colleague submitted the following Caught You Caring recognition for Coordinator Clinical Support Isenia Medina.
“Isenia always goes above and beyond for our patients. There was a patient without family at the bedside and she went out of her way to the inpatient floor to bring the child toys and spend quality time with them. This small act of kindness will surely impact the child and those that stood witness to her selfless actions.”
Caught You Caring
There are countless examples of how team members make an impact every day. Through our Caught You Caring recognition program, anyone (patients, families, colleagues, vendors, volunteers or visitors) can provide a kind word about someone who went the extra mile. Even the smallest act of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Click here to submit a recognition for a colleague. The recipient and their leader will receive an email notification. Since its inception in 2015, there have been more than 30,000 recognitions submitted.
