January 4, 2017

1517elsa640On December 21, Texas Children’s employees and staff got a chance to relax and de-stress by stopping by The Auxiliary Bridge to pet Elsa, Texas Children’s fun-loving pet therapy dog.

While Elsa spends a lot of quality time providing therapy to patients during their hospital stay, she is also making a positive impact on employees and staff, and everyone else she comes in contact with.

“Elsa is kind, gentle and full of love,” said Texas Children’s Chaplain Johnna Faber. “I had been dealing with some difficult issues for parents and patients that day, and being with Elsa took all of the tension and stress away from my thoughts for a few moments.”

Petting a kind animal has been known to relieve stress and help people feel more relaxed and optimistic, which was palpable from the many smiles and laughter Elsa brought to employees. Besides petting Elsa, staff also got a chance to take a selfie with the hospital’s beloved therapy dog.

Texas Children’s Health and Wellness team organized this event which was part of the 21 Days of Happiness Challenge that focuses on incorporating positive behaviors to increase happiness and life satisfaction.

1517muscal175Pediatric Rheumatologist Dr. Eyal Muscal recently served as a co-director for the inaugural International Pediatric Autoimmune Encephalitis Treatment Consensus Meeting.

Held in November at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., this meeting brought together pediatric experts from around North America to work on achieving a number of goals for children with this rare immune condition.

Goals included the standardization of diagnosis, as well as the development of treatment roadmaps, among other topics. Along with meeting co-directors from Duke and DC children’s hospitals Muscal will spearhead the development of consensus treatment plans for autoimmune encephalitides.

Muscal is a pediatric rheumatologist with a Master’s of Science Degree in clinical research whose activities include patient care, fellowship education and clinical research. His research interests include neurologic manifestation of systemic autoimmune disorders (primarily SLE, APS, vasculitis, and autoimmune encephalitis). His interest in immuno-neurology has led to a secondary appointment in the child neurology division at Baylor College of Medicine.

Muscal has received grant funding and research awards for pilot research studies. He is also the pediatric rheumatology program director and recent co-lead of a national pediatric rheumatology mentoring project. Muscal is involved in Texas Children’s Pediatrics Fellows’ College.

122716toby350pgTexas Children’s patients were recently treated to a friendly visit from a guest therapy dog named Toby. During his stay, the 160-pound white and brown fur ball let patients pet, pat and hug his thick neck. His presence garnered smiles and a lot of wows.

The St. Bernard’s owners, Stanley D. Stearns, Jr. and Judith Stearns, stopped by Texas Children’s Hospital on December 14 to share Toby with the children and to deliver the first installment of a half-a- million-dollar donation to the Cancer Center.

The Stearns family made the donation in support of the hospital’s Osteosarcoma Research Program. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive bone cancer that often times is deadly in children and adults. Texas Children’s is performing cutting edge research on osteosarcoma and has made significant inroads into better understanding the biology of this devastating disease.

“We are thrilled that Mr. and Mrs. Stearns have decided to work with us and donate to this critically important cause,” said Dr. David Poplack, director of Texas Children’s Cancer Center. “This will greatly help in our quest to perform cutting edge research for this disease.”

Toby and the Stearns live in Houston, Texas and Gig Harbor, Washington and began their interest in osteosarcoma when their last St. Bernard, Gabriel, passed away from canine osteosarcoma. To learn more about Toby and what services he provides, visit his Facebook page.

1517urgentcare640Texas Children’s Hospital is proud to announce the opening of its seventh Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinic. Located at 28070 Highway 290, Suite 100, Texas Children’s Urgent Care Fairfield offers high-quality, efficient and affordable pediatric care at a convenient northwest Houston location.

“We are very excited to open our seventh location,” said Kay Tittle, president of Texas Children’s Pediatrics. “Our Urgent Care sites provide an immense resource for the communities we serve and I am looking forward to expanding the services we offer children and families in the Cypress area.”

Texas Children’s Urgent Care Fairfield is open Monday through Friday, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. The clinic is staffed by board certified pediatricians and advanced practice providers who have privileges at Texas Children’s Hospital. Clinic staff diagnose and treat a wide variety of ailments, illnesses and conditions, including: asthma, strep throat, fever, minor burns, influenza, ear infections, allergic reactions and more. Procedures provided include: antibiotic injections, breathing treatments, fracture care and splinting, IV (intravenous) fluids, lab services, laceration repair and X-rays onsite.

Oftentimes, families turn to an emergency center after hours, on weekends or perhaps even during the day, when a significant event occurs with their child. Though the emergency center is the right place for some incidents or ailments, the majority of the time minor illnesses can and should be treated at a pediatric urgent care facility.

Texas Children’s Urgent Care accepts major insurance plans and has self-pay rates, which are less than emergency center charges, and there are no hospital fees. A complete list of insurance plans is available on our website. Texas Children’s Urgent Care specializes in after-hours care, but does not replace the need for children to have a general pediatrician. Routine physical exams and vaccinations are services that should be obtained from a general pediatrician, and these services are not available at Texas Children’s Urgent Care.

Texas Children’s Urgent Care has six additional convenient locations:

  • Cinco Ranch located at 9727 Spring Green Blvd., Suite 900 Katy, TX 77494
  • Memorial located at 12850 Memorial Drive, Suite 210 Houston, TX 77024
  • The Woodlands located at 4775 W. Panther Creek Drive, Suite C300 The Woodlands, TX 77381
  • Main Campus located at 6621 Fannin, Suite 2240 Houston, TX 77030 (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
  • Pearland located at 2701 Pearland Parkway, Suite 190, Pearland, TX 77581
  • The Vintage located at 10420 Louetta Road, Suite 104, Houston, TX 77070
December 21, 2016

122116westcampustoydonationpg640Riding on motorcycles instead of a sleigh, members of two area motorcycle clubs recently acted as Santa Clause donating a slew of gifts to Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Members of the Harley Owners Group/Mancuso Harley Davidson rode up to the hospital on December 3 to present West Campus President Matt Schaefer and Child Life Specialist Susan Eyre with several large bags of toys and a donation on behalf of Cypress Creek Christian Church.

On December 10, the Los Carnales Motorcycle Club arrived with several bags of toys for our patients. The club is comprised mostly of active duty and/or retired law enforcement officials.

Schaefer presented both clubs with framed art from some of our patients in appreciation for their generous donation.

December 20, 2016

122116trainexhibit640The Texas Children’s Choo-Choo Hut nestled into a wall at the entrance of the Abercrombie Building is decked in holiday cheer for all little boys, girls and grownups to see and hear.

The 28-foot-long display features various trains running through multiple scenes, all of which are decorated for the holidays.

Some trains are packed with presents while others are loaded down with doughnuts, cupcakes and candy. Santa can be seen waving to passersby and a snowman gripping a candy cane stands atop a hill looking down at the festive scene below.

You also can see a small sign next to another snowman that says: R.I.P. Craig Sager. The longtime Turner Sports broadcaster died Thursday after a more than two-year battle with cancer, leaving a legacy of sideline reporting and a special place in his heart for Texas Children’s Hospital.

Known as much for his outrageous wardrobe as his relationships with the NBA’s elite, Sager mentioned Texas Children’s Hospital this summer during his acceptance speech for the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at ESPN’s Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards.

During his speech, Sager talked about his journey battling cancer and the comfort he found in the model train exhibit at Texas Children’s Hospital, better known as the Texas Children’s Choo-Choo Hut.

Come see the intricate model train exhibit for yourself this holiday season. The exhibit can be viewed any time and the trains run from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Click here to read more about the history of the Choo-Choo Hut and here to read a personal account of the train’s impact on patients from one of its six original builders.

 

122116physiciansurveyinside640Texas Children’s shined in a recent survey conducted by the Harris County Medical Society to determine physicians’ perspectives and satisfaction in their relationships with local hospitals. More than 2,000 physicians took the survey, providing results for 30 hospitals in the Greater Houston area.

When asked to rate their overall satisfaction with each of those hospitals, 87 percent rated Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus at the top of their satisfaction list. Texas Children’s Hospital medical center campus was next with 83 percent of physicians giving the hospital high satisfaction marks.

Reputation is another area where the Texas Children’s system stood apart from the rest. When asked how physicians rated the overall reputation of each health system represented in the survey, 91 percent placed Texas Children’s at the helm.

“The results of this survey are incredible and speak to the superb quality of work we do across our entire system each and every day,” said President and CEO Mark A. Wallace. “They also are a testament to the relationships we have built and continue to strengthen with physicians in Houston and beyond.”

The purpose of the survey, according to Harris County Medical Society President Dr. Kimberly Monday, is to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunity for improvement in physician/hospital relationships that will create the opportunity for further discussion and will ultimately enhance collective efforts to improve patient care in the Houston area.

“These results will give physicians and hospital leaders a clear picture of the areas where the most work needs to be done,” Monday said. “These issues are too important to the quality of care we deliver to our patients to be dismissed, and we want to show hospital administrators that physicians are eager to work with them to make meaningful improvements to hospital practices and policies.”

Monday added that the impetus for the study was the decision on behalf of the federal government to tie Medicare payments to long-term patient outcomes instead of process. As physicians and hospitals become financially tied to actual outcomes, she said, doctors must know which hospitals provide a culture of quality and safety.

Conducted from May 8 to June 20, the Harris County Medical Society survey asked questions regarding:

  • Safety of medical care
  • Relationships between hospital administration and physicians
  • Hospital policies affecting care
  • Medical staff issues and bylaws
  • Electronic medical records

Texas Children’s system, Texas Children’s Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus led several categories in the survey as well and made the top 5 or top 10 list in many others, including leadership and leadership training opportunities, adequate nursing staff and quality of support staff.

“It’s good to hear our partnering physicians view us in such a positive light,” said Matt Schaefer, West Campus president. “Those relationships are extremely important to what we do, which is ensuring the best medical care to our patients and their families.”

Click the links below to view the results of the survey:

2016 Harris County Medical Society physician survey – Texas Children’s Hospital
2016 Harris County Medical Society physician survey – Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus
2016 Harris County Medical Society physician satisfaction survey