March 23, 2022

With more than 250 patient days of using the Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine (CARPEDIEM), Texas Children’s is now proud to be the largest CARPEDIEM care center in the world. CARPEDIEM was launched at Texas Children’s in June 2021 to serve our most vulnerable patients in need of continuous kidney support therapy. Since that time it has helped to effectively support several babies with kidney injury.

At a special celebration on Tuesday, February 15 with cake, punch and cheers all around, Director of the Texas Children’s Critical Care Nephrology Program Dr. Ayse Arikan thanked the team for their leadership, care and compassion for our patients. “I am immensely proud to be part of this team,” said Arikan. “This could not have been possible without all of you. As always, when you were asked for your adaptation of a new therapy, everyone went above and beyond expectations.”

“Our labor of love has led Texas Children’s to be the largest CARPEDIEM care center in the world, with four machines on standby for infant kidney support therapy,” said Arikan.

The CARPEDIEM system was originally developed in Europe, and FDA authorization was granted in 2020. CARPEDIEM is designed for use in babies with severe acute kidney injury or fluid overload. It provides continuous renal replacement therapy to patients as small as 2.5 kilograms and up to 10 kilograms.

Texas Children’s is one of seven hospitals to have this technology, and one of five hospitals who have started using it with patients. Until now, children in need of continuous kidney support therapy were using devices designed for older children. CARPEDIEM serves as an appropriate size-based therapy for our most vulnerable babies.

Based on published studies, we know acute kidney injury can affect up to one in three premature infants in the newborn ICU, according to Renal Physician Lead for CARPEDIEM Dr. Catherine Joseph. This occurrence is even more common in babies who are born extremely premature. When kidney injury is more severe and the patient does not respond to medical treatment alone, a device like CARPEDIEM can help support the baby’s kidneys by removing waste products and fluids.

“I am passionate in the care of newborns with kidney disease and invested in ways to improve outcomes for babies affected by kidney problems,” said Joseph. “To have this platform available to help support infants with kidney injury is a dream come true.”

Children born prematurely or admitted to Texas Children’s with critical illness are in the care of our pediatric critical care or neonatology providers in our intensive care units (ICU). “We are only able to deliver this CARPEDIEM technology to the bedside with the collaborative partnerships with our colleagues in the newborn, pediatric and cardiovascular ICUs (NICU, PICU and CVICU),” said Inpatient Chronic Renal Dialysis Staff Nurse Marsha Filipp.

“I am proud to be a part of this team as we reach these important milestones,” added Filipp. “It’s a wonderful feeling knowing we are making a difference and helping give more newborns a chance at life.”

March 21, 2022

Monday, March 21, 2022: 12:30 p.m.

Potential heavy rainfall event could impact evening and morning commutes

Texas Children’s leadership and the Organizational Resilience team are closely monitoring a potential heavy rainfall event that could impact Austin, Beaumont, College Station and Houston starting this afternoon and through tomorrow morning. The team is also monitoring any potential impacts on schools, roads and utilities.

Along with the heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding, there is a chance for strong winds (30-35 mph gusts), lightning, possible hail and localized tornadoes. Widespread rainfall totals of 2-4” are expected with locally higher amounts.

For resources to monitor travel and road conditions, visit Houston Transtar and Drive Texas. For localized updates, see below:

  • Austin: Storms are expected to move through from 1-9 p.m. today with the largest line of storms this evening.
  • Beaumont: Storms will approach the area Tuesday morning, with the heaviest rainfall expected around 9 a.m. moving out well before noon.
  • College Station: The heaviest storms are expected to move into the area around midnight and move through by 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.
  • Houston: Strong to severe storms are expected starting at 9 p.m. this evening through 9 a.m. Tuesday morning with 1-3” of rain expected with higher amounts locally.

For those commuting on Tuesday morning, please follow the local news and weather for traffic and safety alerts, use caution when navigating roadways and plan for additional travel time to allow for detours around flooded areas and travel through heavy rains.

As this will occur during our morning shift change, clinical staff will conduct one-to-one hand offs. Please prepare your back-up child care plans in the case of school delays or closures. Team members at our community practices are asked to consult with their leadership about any impacts to local operations.

To sign up for emergency text message alerts, follow these instructions.

Thank you for your attention and always operating safely.

Michele Birsinger
Administrator on Call

Michelle Riley-Brown
EVP on Call

From popcorn parties to the second payout of our 1-2-3 Retention Program, Texas Children’s is making time and taking action to show our One Amazing Team that you are valued and appreciated as we build our Tomorrow, Together.

Fueled by team member feedback, Tomorrow, Together is an investment in our people and your Texas Children’s careers. The initiative rests on a commitment to make sure you are feeling supported and hopeful about the path forward.

After launching the journey in summer 2021 with a 2% pay increase and additional week of PTO for all team members, the organization started the 1-2-3 Retention Program to reward employees for their loyalty and resilience. All eligible Texas Children’s team members received the second 1-2-3 retention reward on March 18 of 2%, or 1% for new team members.

Leading up the second payout, Texas Children’s hosted a series of celebrations across the organization to express gratitude for all our team members have accomplished during this season. Relive the fun of our recent popcorn parties with this video.

To trace the steps we’ve taken in our Tomorrow, Together journey so far, visit ourtommorowtogether.org

For a personalized statement that details exactly how this investment has impacted you directly, check out the My Tomorrow, Together app here.

Your Voice Matters

Texas Children’s Tomorrow, Together commitment is also about listening and acting on your needs. Tell us what you’re most excited about as we head into the future together! Click here to participate in our latest Waggl and share your thoughts.

March 16, 2022

As you’ve seen since we began on our journey to Tomorrow, Together, building a bright future at Texas Children’s starts with listening to the thoughts and perspectives of our One Amazing Team. We know your feedback makes us better, and we’re excited to advance our commitment with another special effort to find out what’s on your mind.

Beginning Wednesday, March 16, Texas Children’s is designating 2-3 p.m. every Wednesday as protected time for culture rounding. Our executives will visit 32 areas across the organization to directly gather your thoughts on quality, safety and experience to identify and address opportunities for improvement.

Culture rounding is an evidence-based best practice that will enable our leaders to more closely engage with our teams, our patients, our members and their families, while also cultivating relationships and driving quality, safety and experience as organizational priorities.

Assistant Vice Presidents Tarra Kerr and Paige Schulz are leading the effort and plan to build on the success of an initial culture rounds pilot completed at the Medical Center campus in February. The initial pilot included four teams of two executives and a scribe who rounded weekly on a single unit for a total of four weeks. “We’ve already been able to act on the feedback that was shared, and we’re hoping for similar results in this next phase of the project,” said Kerr.

We’re listening

For the second pilot beginning this week, 16 teams will make rounds for a total of 12 weeks, ultimately covering 32 different areas. Each team will be assigned to visit 1-2 care locations for the duration of the pilot period, which will allow for relationships to form and provide an opportunity to actively track how any identified issues are resolved.

Our executives are looking forward to rounding on your teams and hearing your insights about making Texas Children’s even stronger for our Tomorrow, Together.

For more information on executive culture rounds and quality, safety and patient experience, contact Quality Specialist Kandice Bledsaw via e-mail.

After two years of serving the Texas Children’s community virtually and beyond the walls of the hospital, the next group of high school students selected for the Summer Junior Volunteer Program will soon return to in-person assignments inside our facilities at the Medical Center campus.

Applications are now open for the 2022 summer junior positions, which allow youth aged 15-17 years old to become Texas Children’s volunteers in a variety of placements around the hospital. For a detailed program overview, the application and the required recommendation form, click here.

This year, the junior volunteers will have a hybrid experience – combining unique hands-on activities in a pediatric hospital setting with virtual activities designed to spark fun and meaningful engagement. Students will also meet Texas Children’s team members who are making an impact on the organization.

“We are thrilled to be able to have summer juniors back on site,” said Volunteer Coordinator Valerie Navarro, who leads the program. “Our ultimate goal is to guide and mentor junior volunteers in becoming great stewards in community service.”

The program is both highly competitive and well-loved for the opportunity it provides young people to give back to our patients and their families. Many volunteers are former Texas Children’s patients themselves who serve to show their gratitude for the care they received. Others simply care about the community and want to make children smile.

“What is unique about this program is that you don’t have to have a passion for the medical field, but rather, a passion for helping others,” said Navarro, whose team builds life-long relationships with the students and enjoys seeing them progress through college and beyond.

Some volunteers even make their way back to Texas Children’s as members of our One Amazing Team.

“When the program is over, our hope is the junior volunteers become that much more involved within the community and find what else they’re passionate about,” Navarro said.

Rachel Lester has always had a passion for science and children. That’s why becoming a nurse was a no-brainer. Learn more about her story and what drives her towards a better Tomorrow, Together. Read More

Imagine yourself as a member of one of Texas Children’s patient families. You’re longing for someone to listen, wanting to make eye contact or needing help finding where to go the first time you visit our facilities – and that’s on top of worrying about the loved one whose illness or condition brought you there.

Now imagine the difference it would make for you to be heard, comforted and guided with compassion by your care team and other kind and considerate Texas Children’s employees.

Every member of our One Amazing Team has the opportunity to create this type of warm and welcoming environment for our patients and their families every day, contributing to the positive patient experience that is part of the latest People, Performance and Pre-eminence (P³) incentive plan goals.

“At Texas Children’s, how our patients and families experience care with us is central to establishing and continuing a healing relationship with them,” said Katie Kalenda Daggett, Director of Patient and Family Services. “Our commitment to that relationship and to patient-centered care is why patient experience is one of our organizational priorities.”

Why patient experience matters

Families often choose Texas Children’s because they know our global reputation for excellence in pediatric and women’s medical care.

What they don’t always know is whether that care will be part of an engaging and satisfying patient experience, defined by the Beryl Institute as “the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.”

Texas Children’s standard for patient experience calls for every interaction to be safe, personalized, present and compassionate.

“Caring for others is the reason many of our team members chose health care as a profession,” said Kalenda Daggett. “Providing a great patient experience is the right thing to do for our patients and their families.”

Studies show that patients who are more engaged in their health care have better clinical outcomes, and engaged team members also report higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of burnout and compassion fatigue.

‘We can all make a difference’

Through feedback on surveys and personal interactions with our Patient Experience team, patients and families have shared that one of the most important factors that affect how they feel about Texas Children’s is how well our team members work together to provide coordinated care.

“The staff was friendly and respectful to each other,” said one survey respondent. “They communicated with each other and supported each other. It gave me confidence in their ability to care for my kids.”

Every role counts – from managing the correct Epic templates for documentation to maintaining our website, scheduling appointments, screening visitors, completing registration, cleaning facilities and providing accurate billing. Even stopping to help someone lost in the hallway makes a difference.

“Doctors, nurses, support teams, administrative personnel – we can all make a difference in our patient’s lives,” said Elisa Mozley, Assistant Director of Patient and Family Services. “If something you did has the potential to make some part of a patient’s journey easier, more comfortable or brighter, you’ve done your part well.”

Jessi Carcamo, ambulatory services representative at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, is a shining example.

“Creating magic for everyone is a passion of mine. I have always found a great sense of gratification to know that I was able to help someone in any way possible, no matter how big or small,” said Carcamo. “Every morning no matter how I may feel I make an effort to make someone smile, a simple smile can turn your whole world around. Seeing someone smile and have just a little better of a day brings me the warm fuzzy feels.”

How you can help

Everyone at Texas Children’s can support patient experience. Here’s how:

  • Practice and promote safety, from washing your hands to cybersecurity.
  • Personalize the patient’s experiences by calling people by name, making connections and building rapport.
  • Be present by making eye contact, removing headphones or earbuds and being alert when walking the halls to pick up trash, help people that are lost and anticipate needs.
  • Be compassionate by taking your time with each interaction, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and communicating understanding and support.
  • Watch the video “Patient experience: What’s it like in their shoes?“ featuring our President and CEO Mark A. Wallace and think about his question: “What small thing can we do today and every day to provide outstanding patient care and superb patient services for our families?”
  • Visit the Patient Experience Resource Center for tactics and best practices for delivering safe, personalized, present, and compassionate care experiences for our patients and families, and for recognizing and praising our Texas Children’s colleagues.