July 20, 2022

The excitement for the brighter tomorrow we’re building together at Texas Children’s has only continued to build this summer, sparking even more displays of gratitude for the hard work and commitment that our One Amazing Team brings to the organization every day.

To thank their team members for showing resilience and perseverance, Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center leaders Dr. Susan Blaney, Jennifer Sanders and Julio Allo recently hosted a carnival-themed and socially distanced Tomorrow, Together celebration. The festive event came complete with snacks, caricature drawings and an assortment of games that had team members bowling and bouncing with glee.

Scroll through the gallery to check out the Cancer and Hematology Center summer carnival, and to see how other teams and departments have celebrated Texas Children’s Tomorrow, Together.

A big, bold investment in our people

Texas Children’s embarked on our journey into Tomorrow, Together in May 2021. The initiative is a multimillion-dollar investment in our people and your careers with our organization – designed for and by our team members to ensure you can feel valued, included and celebrated.

After launching with a 2% pay increase and additional week of PTO for all team members, the journey has continued with even more bold action to act on your needs, including:

  • Launching the 1-2-3 Retention Program to reward team members for their loyalty and dedication. The first two bonus payments were made in September 2021 and March 2022, and a third payment is scheduled for September 2022.
  • Increasing awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in our day-to-day practice and recommitting to building an inclusive leadership team, with 98% of leaders having completed unconscious bias awareness training.
  • Completing ongoing market reviews and adjustments for all team members.
  • Hosting a series of celebrations across the organization, including popcorn parties system-wide and gatherings at the team and department level.

For more on Texas Children’s Tomorrow, Together, visit ourtomorrowtogether.org.

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July 13, 2022

Texas Children’s Department of Surgery recently acquired the Anatomage Table, a revolutionary technology that makes it possible to virtually visualize, interact with, and dissect human anatomy in 3D.

About the size of an operating table, this advanced anatomy and physiology educational tool will provide Texas Children’s team members with an in-depth look into human anatomical structures in much the same way a physical human body would. The cadavers featured in the Anatomage Table were modeled after the Visible Human Project (VHP) and the Visible Korean Human Project (VKH), a program dedicated to capturing and cataloguing detailed photographs of whole and sectioned parts of young, well-preserved human bodies for use in virtual teaching applications.

What allows the Anatomage Table to truly stand out from other imaging and virtual application systems currently on the market is its innovative radiology software and clinical content. Currently the Anatomage Table is the world’s only “fully segmented real human 3D anatomy system…allowing for exploration and learning of human anatomy beyond what any cadaver could offer.” This virtual tool diminishes the need for traditional cadavers and all that comes with them such as chemicals, unpleasant smells, facility costs and regulations.

The table has already been adopted by hundreds of the world’s leading medical schools and institutions, and we’re excited to bring this state-of-the-art technology to our One Amazing Team.

“This impressive table is truly an innovative and state-of-the-art piece of technology that I am so excited to be incorporating into our didactics and teaching here in the Department of Surgery,” said Surgeon in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier. “Not only will this allow for all providers to gain 24/7 access to anatomy and virtual dissection, the in-depth ability to visualize the anatomy in this way is like nothing we have ever had before.”

How to reserve the Anatomage Table and Terms of Agreement

Anyone at Texas Children’s is welcome to reserve the table for educational purposes after providing the proper information required regarding the educational session and attendants, as well as agreeing to the terms and conditions set for room usage.

For those interested in reserving Texas Children’s Anatomage Table room, go to Microsoft Outlook and select the option “Legacy Tower E.860.02.” After reserving the room in Outlook, you will receive an email with a mandatory form to complete and return. Upon completing the form, your request will then be accepted or denied. Please note: confirmation of your reservation is dependent on the completion and review of your form, and all requests to reserve the room remain tentative until further notice. If you have not received training on how to operate the Anatomage Table, we ask that you meet with a super user in advance of your requested educational session. If you have any additional questions related to reserving the room, please contact Maggie Gonzales at mcgonzal@texaschildrens.org.

To learn more about the table and its many features, we encourage you to watch the video detailing how the table works, and/or watch the TED Talk “On the virtual dissection table“ by Jack Choi, the founder and CEO of Anatomage.

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Texas Children’s team members now have on-demand access to a new service training powered by Disney Institute and designed with our own unique culture of compassionate care in mind.

Available via HealthStream, Creating Moments of Comfort and Inspiration uses immersive activities and impactful content to explore three key Service Principles that can help you create exceptional service experiences, strengthen connections and elevate beyond our routine tasks to deliver on a higher purpose. To access the training, click here.

The course is part of Texas Children’s collaboration with Disney, who is on a mission to deliver joy to children and families facing serious illness. Using the best of its assets and capabilities, Disney is seeking to improve the patient and family experience, help ease the stress of a hospital stay and support the great work already under way across our organization.

Research has shown that human interactions and emotional connections can have a significant impact on a patient’s overall journey and the health outcomes they achieve. Offering this training to our entire staff is an acknowledgement of the critical role every member of our One Amazing Team play in creating an environment where ordinary interactions become moments of comfort and inspiration for our patients, their families and each other.

Course participants will learn key insights and methods that drive an exceptional customer service at Disney parks and resorts, then connect those concepts to what we do at Texas Children’s – all while sharing best practices and reflecting and applying what you’ve learned to your day-to-day responsibilities.

Click here to learn more about Texas Children’s collaboration with the Disney in support of their children’s hospitals initiative, including the wide range of incredible installations and elements already in place across our campus locations. For additional questions, contact disney@texaschildrens.org.

 

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