What to read, listen to, watch, try and know this month on our journey to a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture. Read More
Texas Children’s is committed to supporting the well-being of every employee by continually identifying ways to amplify, activate and innovate our support resources. The Workforce Well-Being Team is pleased to announce that beginning in Fall 2022, we will be expanding our team to include Workforce Chaplains to support Texas Children’s team members’ spiritual and emotional health, and overall well-being.
“As we’re listening to our teams’ needs in all aspects of well-being, we’ve heard an increased need for more joy, gratitude and a connection to something bigger,” said Suzy Harrington, Assistant Vice President of Workforce Well-Being. “We all want to feel valued and there is a great need to feel re-energized. We are happy to have our new chaplains on board to listen closer and offer their spiritual guidance.”
Workplace Chaplains will address many of these needs, commonly associated with “spiritual well-being” – finding meaning, value and motivation in one’s work beyond pay and performance.
Workforce Chaplains’ role
Many of us are familiar with the spiritual role that Support Services Chaplains play for our Texas Children’s patients and their families. They often extend their support beyond patients to many of our team members as well, who carry the heavy responsibility of caring for patients.
With their focus solely on team members, our new Workforce Chaplains will help define support areas, allowing Support Services Chaplains to concentrate more closely on providing excellent spiritual care to our patient families. Workforce Chaplains are dedicated to providing emotional support for our team members through:
Onsite grief or crisis care
Spiritual well-being sessions
Confidential, individual counseling
In support of religious diversity
Although the Workforce Chaplains may practice their own faith and religious traditions, they are committed to upholding Texas Children’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Texas Children’s team members from ALL backgrounds are welcome to seek support from the chaplains, whether the conversation is about spirituality or any other confidential matter that’s on your mind. Their goal is to help team members find meaning, connectedness and value in their work, regardless of religion or belief system.
Meet our growing Workforce Chaplain Team
At the time of this publication, we have welcomed Sarah “Tuba” Alpat and Cletus Aakol to the Workforce Chaplain team. The team will welcome one more chaplain in the near future. Be on the lookout for DEI spotlights to learn more about our amazing chaplains!
What are you most looking forward to in your role as a workforce chaplain at Texas Children’s?
“My hope is to implement the “Ministry of Presence” – I will let colleagues know that I am here, only for them, in their journey. I will walk the hallways, as they are caring for our young patients, thinking positive thoughts for safety and wellness. When I am rounding or responding to a traumatic incident, my presence may give them the opportunity to seek spiritual guidance when and if they need it. I’ll sit with them and listen to their needs, even it might be sometimes just sharing a meaningful silence. Compassionate, non-judgmental, and active listening will be on the table for team members to utilize.” – Sarah “Tuba” Alpat
What words of encouragement would you give our team members, as many deal with the stresses and worries of work and home life?
“There are answers to all life’s problems. The first step towards finding that answer is – Never give up, never be shy to share, and never doubt the possibilities that lie beneath the challenge. Team members should know assuredly that the same infinite passion – which drives the amazing success and breakthroughs here at Texas Children’s – is the same passion that holds the key to their personal success. Together, we win! No matter the challenge – Yes, we can!” – Cletus Aakol
Nurse Jeanne Orot shares why she loves working as a Gastrointestinal Procedure Suite nurse. Read more
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a bivalent booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for individuals 12 years of age and older and Moderna vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older.
The new vaccines are expected to ship next week and Texas Children’s will provide these vaccines to eligible individuals once received. We will update you when more details are available.
Texas Children’s encourages all persons, when eligible, to receive this new bivalent booster dose.
August 30, 2022
The Quality, Clinical, and Information Services (IS) teams who were among the international winners of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2022 Davies Award of Excellence are sharing highlights from their case studies presented at HIMSS’ virtual site visit in July. Excerpts from their work shows how the technologies they have pioneered are helping to identify opportunities for collaboration with clinical teams across Texas Children’s to drive improvements in the delivery of our patient care and outcomes.
Pediatric Palliative Care: Optimizing the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) to Improve End-of-Life Care in Children
Dr. Jessica Casas, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Palliative Care
Amy Jeppesen, Systems Analyst Lead, Information Services
Challenge: As an international referral center for patients with the most complex illnesses, Texas Children’s Hospital treats diverse and complex patients of all ages. Being a busy center comes with challenges, including the need to provide goal-concordant care to a wide variety of patients in all stages of the disease process. This is particularly important for seriously ill children.
Approach: The Pediatric Advanced Care team (PACT) partnered with Epic Informatics/IS and Quality Outcomes & Analytics to improve the quality of care for these seriously ill children, including end-of-life care, to ensure delivery of goal-concordant care every time for every patient. PACT led focus groups with stakeholders across the institution to learn about their needs and questions regarding caring for children at end of life. Evidence shows that end-of-life care outcomes are strongly related to communication between clinicians and patients.
Using stakeholder input, the team engineered the electronic medical record (EMR) to create a novel navigator that consolidates all end-of-life care activities: consents, advance directives, autopsy, organ donation, keepsakes, spiritual rites and bereavement. The team then carefully guided EMR users through the end-of-life navigator workflow.
Outcome: This EMR optimization minimizes unnecessary variation in end-of-life care, improves communication between teams and is improving appropriate post-mortem care. The new process elevates the care that seriously ill children receive to mirror the institution’s standards of excellence.
COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking with Integrated Medication Management Technology
Challenge: In 2020, the SARS-COV-2 pandemic brought about rapid mobilization of vaccine research, production and implementation, with Federal and state regulations mandating accuracy of vaccine inventory for institutional allocations.
Approach: The Texas Children’s Pharmacy Informatics team developed new and repurposed existing technological solutions to track procurement, distribution, administration, and vaccine waste. The team created a PowerApp named COVID19VaccTrac to track vaccine movement in the system through procurement, distribution, preparation, and waste.
Outcome: Collaboration with multiple disciplines and swift development of innovative technological solutions ultimately provided efficiency and a paramount level of care for our patients.
Improving High Blood Pressure Recognition in Pediatric Primary Care
Dr. Justin Zachariah, Associate Professor in Pediatrics (Cardiology), Baylor College of Medicine; Co-Chair of Research Operations, Texas Children’s Heart Center
Dr. Scott Watson, Pediatric Physician, Texas Children’s Pediatrics; Associate Medical Director of Clinical Informatics
Challenge: Pediatric Hypertension is often missed in primary care due to the complexity of evaluating normal blood pressure ranges for children at different ages.
Approach: Texas Children’s Preventive Cardiology and Texas Children’s Pediatrics leadership developed a plan to improve initial measurement accuracy and increase primary care recognition of high blood pressure during clinic visits. The project involved multi-step decision support tools to automate recommendation for manual blood pressure confirmation by staff members, allow for easier review and classification of blood pressure readings by physicians, and encourage American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guideline recommended initial evaluation steps for confirmed elevated readings.
Outcome: Initial data from our go-live showed clear improvement in recognition and referral rates for many previously unrecognized cases of elevated blood pressure.
Read more on Connect about HIMSS’ Davies Award and the award announcement.
Every two seconds, someone needs a blood transfusion. On Wednesday, September 7, everyone on our One Amazing Team will have an opportunity to be a hero by helping to support the need for blood in health care operations across our community. Wednesday’s Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center (GCRBC) drive will be in the Feigin Tower, first-floor conference center. Donors should make an appointment by registering here. Walk-ins are accepted based on availability in the schedule, although appointments are preferred.
Each day the Blood Center must collect 1,000 units to meet the needs of patients in 170 hospitals in their service area. As one of the Blood Center’s largest hospital clients, our team’s Commit for Life donations will make a difference for our patient’s lives. As a “thank you” for helping to save lives, donors will receive Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center themed socks.
Based on CDC guidance, the Blood Center has several safety measures in place to protect donors from COVID, including increased sanitization and placing donor beds six feet apart to maintain social distancing.
For questions or assistance, contact Christina Gligorova with GCRBC at 832-602-9350.
“Working at Texas Children’s has always been my dream,” said Elizabeth Martinez. Learn how Elizabeth took her unique background and translated that into a passion for nursing in this week’s One Amazing Team spotlight. Read more
