November 7, 2017

Texas Children’s has a new website that recognizes the outstanding accomplishments and successes of our team of more than 3,000 nurses across the organization.

In collaboration with Nursing, Texas Children’s Creative Services team member Bilal Tawil designed the website that includes a welcome video with Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre and features compelling articles, pictures, videos and animated graphics that spotlight how our nurses have gone above and beyond to spearhead system-wide initiatives to improve patient care, safety and outcomes.

Prior to the website’s launch, Texas Children’s Nursing Outcomes Book was a printed publication that was distributed internally and mailed out to thousands of our health care peers including chief nursing officers of pediatric hospitals across the country and deans from U.S. News’ top 10 nursing schools.

Through this new digital communications platform, website page views can be measured easily and nursing stories and data can be updated more frequently. The site also provides another tool for nursing engagement that complements the Voice of Nursing blog, which was launched in 2014.

Each section of the site – our stories, milestones and awards – demonstrates our nursing team’s continued dedication and hard work, their leadership, and the compassion that goes into the work they do for our patients and families at Texas Children’s each and every day.

Read all about our nursing team’s achievements at www.texaschildrens.org/nursing. Share the link with friends and colleagues, and encourage them to do the same.

On paper Joyce Enochs is the scheduling optimizer for the Department of Surgery’s Perioperative Services Department. In reality, she is the face of patient experience for children and families who are faced with having a surgical procedure at Texas Children’s Hospital.

In her role, she has taken on many projects to increase the patient experience of thousands of patients and families. Her work on communication for pre-op information has decreased errors in arrival time, location of surgery, and eating and drinking instructions. And, her efforts on scheduling has decreased the daily cancellation rate on the day of surgery from 8 percent to 3 percent.

“What an impact her work has had on the patient experience to decrease the numbers of patients sent back home on the day of surgery,” said Janet Winebar, director of Perioperative Services. “Joyce’s enthusiasm has been the driving force for the team to continue to increase the experience for our families.”

Launched in 2015, Texas Children’s Caught You Caring program is a systemwide program that recognizes employees for going above and beyond to provide compassion and kindness in the care of a patient, family or co-worker. Recently, Enochs was among more than a dozen employees who received a pair of tickets to watch the Houston Texans Play 60 game on October 1, after being recognized for his acts of kindness through this program.

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.

To nominate a colleague, Caught You Caring boxes and cards can be found across the Texas Children’s hospital system for patients and families to fill out. Employees can fill out a Caught You Caring form on Connect. Cards and online submissions will be distributed to leaders for staff recognition.

For the next week, Connect will feature a series of Caught You Caring videos spotlighting several of our employees who have gone above and beyond their role in the care of our patients and their families.

To see the rest of the series, click on the links below.

Heather Eppleheimer
Keith Thomas
Donald Wilkins

Physicians, administrators, former patients and community partners came together at Third Coast restaurant on October 5 for the 5th Annual Transition Medicine Reception.

The event served as an opportunity to discuss the long-term care of Texas Children’s patients and welcome a number of attendees of the 18th annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference: Transition from Pediatric to Adult Based Care, led by Dr. Albert Hergenroeder, Chief of Adolescent & Sports Medicine. Additionally, the 2017 Benjamin B. Ligums Scholar Award was presented to Dr. Mark W. Stephenson and his Conroe dental practice for his success in following special needs patients through the continuum of care.

The “Transition Medicine Road Trip” took attendees on a journey to the various components of the transition medicine process, with Texas Children’s employees, physicians and former patients at stations talking to attendees about: parent/guardian engagement, patient engagement, partnerships with adult providers, patient education, and technology.

A number of former patients, along with their families were also present to share their personal accounts and experience transitioning from Texas Children’s to adult providers. Stories reflected a wide range of challenges and opportunities that serve as a resource for improving the transition process.

Attendees also participated in a silent auction to score items ranging from Houston Texans items to work from local artists. All funds raised will be used to allot grants for future transition medicine pilots to grow and develop programs and help usher patients into the world of adult care.

October 31, 2017

Halloween came early for several patients, families and employees across Texas Children’s and will continue throughout the week with various spooktacular events filled with fun.

At West Campus, the festivities began on October 26 with the campus’ annual Fall Festival. Dressed in their Halloween best, employees handed out goodies and played games with patients during the multi-hour long party sponsored by Child Life. A similar festival is being held on Halloween at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

The festivities continued at West Campus and in The Woodlands when members of Texas Window Cleaning Co., Inc. dressed up as super heroes and cleaned both of the hospital’s windows while waving to children inside. The company has been cleaning the windows at West Campus since 2011. This was their first year in The Woodlands.

Ghosts, goblins and ghouls also were out in full force on The Auxiliary Bridge for the annual Halloween on the Bridge event at Texas Children’s Hospital Main Campus, at the Spirit of Halloween and a new Kids Haunted House held in the Child Life Zone, and other areas across the organization.

View the photo gallery below to get a glimpse of the fun everyone had at these unforgettable events.

At Texas Children’s, we are committed to leading tirelessly in maintaining an ethical workplace. Every day, we hold each other accountable to the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior.

To recognize and promote the importance of integrity and ethics at Texas Children’s, we will be celebrating National Corporate Compliance and Ethics Week during the week of November 6 – 10.

During the week, the Compliance and Privacy Office will be hosting a series of awareness events throughout the organization. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet members of the Compliance and Privacy Office, learn more about what we do, play games and win prizes. For a complete schedule of events, click here.

Thank you for your continued support of our Compliance and Privacy programs. If you have any questions, please contact the Compliance and Privacy Office at ext. 4-2085 or compliance@texaschildrens.org.

The Texas Children’s Hospital Ukulele Choir cheered on our Houston Astros in the best way they know how, with the help of some very special patients!

Led by the Music Therapy Department and made up of Texas Children’s staff members, the choir led patients and staff from the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in support of the Astros’ appearance at the championship game.

The patients played and sang along with the choir demonstrating not only their enthusiasm for the Astros, but also the great strides they have made in their recovery at Texas Children’s.

Established in 2014, Texas Children’s Ukulele Choir is rooted in self-care and respite for staff members who work hard and endure much for our patients and families. It provides an opportunity for members to create positive moments and relationships within their work environment and outside of their immediate department. Since the choir is led by the hospital’s music therapists, patients and staff benefit from this form of therapeutic intervention intended to bolster positive moods and mindsets.

Once a month, the Ukulele Choir performs on inpatient units, high traffic areas of the hospital, as well as staff meetings and events. The choir also provides live environmental music throughout the hospital. Since its inception three years ago, the choir has grown from three to more than 30 staff members representing different areas of the hospital including Information Services, Nursing, Pharmacy and Child Life.

Thanks to the generosity of donors far and wide, Texas Children’s Hospital has reached a significant milestone in its Promise Campaign. As of the end of September, donors had contributed $408.9 million, pushing the organization ever closer to its $475 million fundraising goal. The amount raised during fiscal year 2017 alone – $124.7 million – is a new annual high for the hospital’s fundraising team.

This record-breaking year coincides with a rebranding of the team that leads these efforts – the Office of Development is now the Office Philanthropy. “Changing the name from development to philanthropy better defines what we do, which is less transactional and more about the creation and sustainability of a strong and active base of supporters who are dedicated to advancing Texas Children’s mission,” said Amber Tabora, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy, Marketing and Public Relations.

“We are so grateful to our generous donors, volunteers and friends in the community, and to the Office of Philanthropy team, who are all working together to ensure the campaign’s success,” said Michael C. Linn, president of Texas Children’s Board of Trustees. Linn and his wife, Carol, serve as co-chairs of the Promise Campaign, which was launched more than seven years ago.

This major fundraising effort ensures that Texas Children’s can expand to serve even more children who need the highest quality care and can anticipate what our patients’ needs will be in 5, 10 and even 20 years. Funds raised through the campaign are being dedicated to five key initiatives:

Legacy Tower
The new Legacy Tower, scheduled to open in the spring of 2018 will add 640,000 square feet of space to our Main Campus, allowing the hospital to respond to an urgent need for the expansion of critical, surgical and cardiac care services.

Charity Care and Hospital Priorities
Funding for this area supports the advancement of Texas Children’s mission, providing care for all patients regardless of their families’ ability to pay, bridging the gap for un- and under-compensated care, and providing resources to address the hospital’s most pressing needs.

Endowed Chairs
Not a day goes by when Texas Children’s renowned physicians and scientists are not being recruited by other institutions around the world. Funding for endowed chairs enables us to recruit the brightest and best and keep them here.

Divisions and Centers of Excellence
Texas Children’s specialty services are ranked consistently in the top 10 for pediatric hospitals throughout the country. Funding for divisions and centers of excellence like allows us to enhance and expand our existing programs and develop new ones to address our patients’ ever-evolving needs.

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands
The 548,000-square-foot dedicated pediatric hospital – our second community hospital – expanded Texas Children’s footprint in The Woodlands to better serve the growing communities north of Houston.

“The success of the Promise Campaign depends not only on monetary donations, but also on longstanding relationships with people who believe in the mission of Texas Children’s,” said Linn. “These relationships are what sustain the great work that is being done at the hospital to help children from our own community and beyond.”

The Office of Philanthropy cultivates these partnerships through education, attentive stewardship and appropriate solicitation. The gifts received as a result of this work – no matter how big or small – can be life-changing for our patients, families and staff.

For more information about the Promise Campaign, click here.