Take some time to honor the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history by promoting equity and economic empowerment. Click to learn more about this observance! Read More
January 26, 2023
Music Therapy at Texas Children’s started in 2013 with a single music therapist in the NICU and inpatient rehabilitation unit – marking the beginnings of a nationally-accredited program that celebrates a decade of changing lives through music in 2023.
Fast-forward 10 years and you’ll find a Music Therapy program at its largest and most impressive, serving more patients and families than ever before with compassionate, evidence-based practice. Texas Children’s now has three board-certified music therapists on staff at the Medical Center campus covering inpatient Acute Care, Critical Care, and Neonatal ICU, and one board-certified music therapist serving the Intensive Outpatient Program.
Harnessing the healing power of music
There are countless forms of music therapy that can facilitate therapeutic outcomes and motivate children to heal their bodies, brains, and hearts. For example, interventions like contingent singing can decrease overstimulation and positively affect weight gain and growth in critically-ill infants. This is how our Music Therapy team is leading research in the field, having recently submitted for publication the first-ever study exploring co-treatment of music therapy and occupational therapy in the NICU.
There’s no doubt that a hospital stay can be taxing both physically and mentally. Given the extended length of an average ICU admission, many patients become desensitized to normal sounds and lights due to dysregulated sleep patterns. “With structured multi-sensory stimulation, I’m able to re-introduce appropriate auditory stimulation to my patients in a calming way so that they can develop regulation,” said music therapist Hillary Gómez. “It’s also a great intervention to use with patients who are sedated or on paralytics.”
Celebrating legacy
In 2018, our music therapists joined forces with art therapy and media services to create the Child Life Department’s Creative & Therapeutic Arts Program – setting out to enrich the lives of our children and families through innovative therapies and projects like Be Like Molly Mae, an annual hospital-wide creative arts camp inspired by a former patient.
“Some of my favorite memories are from Be Like Molly Mae camp, which is filled with music, art, and media activities for all our patients to participate in,” said music therapist Maribeth Brinkley. “This past year we had a secret agent theme, culminating in a special musical performance centered around hope and the holiday season.”
The music doesn’t stop there! Our beloved staff Ukulele Choir was born out of the Music Therapy program and practices weekly to prepare for performances and annual “care-o-ling“ around the hospital, lifting the spirits of patients and visitors.
Program milestones
According to music therapist Marial Biard, the Music Therapy team is working toward being adequately staffed with the American Music Therapy Association’s (AMTA) recommended minimum ratio of one music therapist to every 100 patient beds.
When asked where she sees the program in 10 more years, Biard said “we will also be pillars of care in our West Campus and Woodlands hospitals, leading significant research efforts that recognize the efficacy of music therapy co-treatment, pain mitigation, and patient experience.”
Join us in celebrating A Decade of Song all year long with program highlights, patient stories, and blog posts from our music therapists – as well as reflections on milestones from the past 10 years that include:
2013 – Music Therapy program formed for NICU and inpatient rehab patients
2014 – Music Therapy receives NICU research grant from AMTA
2016 – Heartbeat recordings garner significant media coverage
2018 – Creative & Therapeutic Arts Program formed
2018 – $75,000 donation from Robinson Foundation to increase access to music programming
2021 – Elise’s Legacy Library published, becoming award-winning pediatric tool for mindfulness and mental wellness
2021 – First “Be Like Molly Mae” camp
2022 – Behavioral Health music therapist hired
To learn more about the Ukulele Choir or Good Grief Group, our music therapy support group for staff who experience grief in their roles, please email musictherapy@texaschildrens.org.
January 24, 2023
In four weeks, a team of Magnet® appraisers will join Texas Children’s for a virtual site visit (February 21-24, 2023). This marks the next step in the process to obtain Magnet re-designation – the highest and most prestigious recognition provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
What is Magnet?
Magnet is a credential bestowed by the ANCC, which formally recognizes an organization’s attainment of nursing excellence. By becoming Magnet-recognized, organizations empower nurses to reach their true potential.
For 20 years, Texas Children’s has been a Magnet-designated organization. Every four years, the hospital applies for re-designation and welcomes appraisers who seek to clarify, verify, and amplify the exemplars referenced in our written documentation. For the first time in our Magnet history, this year’s site visit will be conducted virtually.
Why is it so important?
Obtaining and maintaining Magnet designation is important because it benefits patients, nurses and our organization. Examples of the benefits include:
Enhanced ability to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive labor market
Improved patient outcomes, safety and satisfaction
Strengthened collaborative culture
Advanced nursing practice and robust shared governance structure
Heightened business and financial successes
How you can prepare
Nursing staff are encouraged to join our remaining 15-minute Relay to Redesignation Magnet Blitz sessions every Friday at noon leading up to the virtual site visit. Click here to learn more and watch recordings of previous Blitz sessions.
The Magnet appraisers will typically ask questions about how patient care is delivered at Texas Children’s, and how others interface with nursing staff. Brush up on your department or unit’s data for nurse-sensitive indicators, RN satisfaction and patient satisfaction. Be open and honest if you interact with appraisers, and most importantly, share what you’re most proud of.
Texas Children’s staff have an opportunity to submit comments to the Magnet Program Office prior to the site visit, click here for the Magnet Staff Notice. To learn more about the ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program,® click here.
January 23, 2023
Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays of the year among East and Southeast Asian cultures, marked by many unique traditions. Click to learn more about this 15-day celebration! Read More
January 17, 2023
From volunteering at Texas Children’s as a teenager to leading surgery APPs, DEI has always played an important role in Veronica‘s professional journey. Read More
Almost every year since 1976, the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with the Department of Neurosurgery at Karolinska University Hospital honors an international neurosurgeon for their contributions to brain or spinal cord surgery and/or research.
This year, Dr. Daniel J. Curry was awarded the 23rd Herbert Olivecrona Award, also known as the “Nobel Prize of Neurosurgery,” for his work on Stereotactic Laser Ablation and the Advance of Minimally Invasive Epilepsy Surgery in Children. Dr. Curry is the John S. Dunn Foundation Endowed Chair for Minimally Invasive Epilepsy Surgery and the director of Functional Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital. He is also a professor of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine.
Curry gave the 2022 Olivecrona Keynote Lecture “Stereotactic Laser Ablation and the Advance of Minimally Invasive Epilepsy Surgery in Children” and received the Olivecrona Award medallion at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 2, 2022. By receiving this honor, Dr. Curry joins an illustrious group of neurosurgeons whose contributions have defined the current practice of neurosurgery.
“The work Dr. Curry has contributed to the field of functional and minimally invasive pediatric neurosurgery can’t be overstated,” said Dr. Howard Weiner, chief of Neurosurgery at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“Over the last 15 years, he has fundamentally changed how epilepsy is treated surgically in children and has improved the lives of countless families,” said Dr. Weiner. “It is my true privilege and honor to work side by side with him as my colleague here at Texas Children’s at, arguably, the premier pediatric epilepsy surgery program in the world.”
The Olivecrona Award is named in honor of professor Herbert Olivecrona (1891-1980), an internationally renowned neurosurgeon and professor of Neurosurgery at Karolinska Institutet from 1935 to 1960, who was credited as being the father of modern neurosurgery in Sweden. To learn more, click here.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Curry on this incredible honor!
January 13, 2023
This week on Mark Wallace’s blog, he takes a moment to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and shares how our One Amazing Team has helped his own dream become a reality. Read more
