February 17, 2022

After two significant concussions caused him lasting sensory deprivations, U.S. Olympic ice dancer and 2022 Winter Games competitor Jean-Luc Baker traveled from his training center in Montreal, Canada, to receive a full-body assessment at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Texas Children’s is a Team USA National Medical Center and the Official Pediatric Medicine Provider for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). That means we’re caring for the dream with our sports medicine and orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, dietitians and psychologists at the ready throughout their journeys from the “playground to the podium.”

“We are honored to provide comprehensive care across the entire medical spectrum for elite athletes through our relationship with the USOPC,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, Vice Chair of Surgery-Community at Texas Children’s, Pediatric Sports Medicine Liaison to the USOPC and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board for USA Cycling.

Baker went through 3-4 days of comprehensive testing at The Woodlands with at least a dozen highly specialized physicians, dietitians and other Sports Medicine providers to understand the source of his sensory issues and develop a tailored treatment plan to keep him at the top of his game.

“It was one of the most intense experiences of my life, but in the best way possible,” said Baker, 28, who finished 11th in ice dancing in Beijing. “Texas Children’s Hospital really helped me have a significantly better understanding of my body and how to fine-tune it to be the best athlete I can possibly be.”

The Woodlands campus is home to the Motion Analysis and Human Performance Laboratory, where athletes enjoy the support of a team of physicians, therapists, biomechanists and exercise physiologists to analyze their movement patterns, muscle activation and force generation en route to better health.

As pediatric providers often bring a unique perspective to caring for congenital conditions because of their extensive experience treating them through a patient’s childhood and teenage years, Texas Children’s also has a specialist from the renowned Adult Congenital Heart Program supporting the USOPC.

And at the Pavilion for Women, specialized providers are caring for the growing number of female athletes ranging from amateur to world-class. Under the leadership of Dr. Chimsom T. Oleka and Dr. Sara Arian, a team of women’s health experts provide comprehensive reproductive and medical care to female athletes of all ages, throughout all stages of their reproductive years – meeting the medical, psychological and athletic needs of females from birth and beyond.

February 16, 2022

NOW is a good time to schedule an annual physical check up with your health care provider. There are several ways to accomplish scheduling your physical:

  • Employee Medical Clinic. The clinic offers a comprehensive Well-Being Physical that incorporates a mental health assessment, body composition and health coaching.
  • Primary Care Provider. Schedule an appointment with your PCP or if you are covered by Cigna, utilize MyCigna to help find one.
  • Telehealth/Virtual Provider. Not enough time to see your physician in person? You may schedule a virtual physical exam by connecting with an MDLIVE virtual provider on MycCigna.com or the MyCigna app.
    • If using MyCigna.com: Click on “Find Care & Costs” > “Doctor by Type” > “Primary Care Physician (PCP)”, then click on the option to Go Virtual.
    • If using the MyCigna App: Click on “Find Care” then look for the “Talk to a doctor or nurse 24/7” option to be connected with a virtual care provider.
  • Community Well-Being Physical. This is a complimentary add onto your basic annual physical exam for employees who work at Texas Children’s Community Locations. Click here for more information.

The Active and Fit Direct program offers free digital classes. Register to access:

  • 200 on-demand workouts across several fitness categories including cardio, strength, cycling, martial arts, and more.
  • Customized options based on your current level: beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Active and Fit Direct also offers fee-based and on-site options:

  • Standard Network – Fitness Center Access & Digital Classes – $25 per month plus $25 enrollment fee (waived when choosing a gym in the standard network).
  • Premium Network – Boutique Studios & Digital Classes – New memberships start at $30 per month.

To start working out, visit the Health & Well-Being page on Connect and go to “Learn More” under Active and Fit Direct.

Engage with one of Texas Children’s Health Coaches to help you build healthy habits

The best way to create and maintain a healthy lifestyle is by incorporating healthy habits each day. Small changes add up to you feeling better and more energetic throughout your day, ultimately helping you live a healthier life. Our health coaches encourage you to try making small changes each month, such as eating more fruits and veggies or getting up 10 minutes earlier to do some easy walking around the house.

Some other simple ways to incorporate small healthy changes into your everyday schedule include: drinking water instead of soda, moving during TV commercial breaks instead of sitting still, taking walks throughout the day, cooking healthy meals together as a family and going to bed just 30 minutes earlier.

Contact one of our health coaches to start creating healthy habits today!

Our health coaches can keep you accountable for any well-being goal as well as provide nutritional advice and guidance to keep you Healthy + Strong in 2022!

Each week you have the opportunity to enrich your Black History knowledge and participate in an online activity for a chance to win a special prize. To participate, click on the link. Read More

If anyone could testify to just how much Texas Children’s has grown in the last twenty years, it would be Records Management Specialist, Earwin Carrington. Read more of his journey here in this week’s People Spotlight. Read More

Brittany Blackston and Lindsey Curry share their experience leading nursing shared governance councils. Read More

Texas Children’s furriest team members paraded through the halls of the Heart Center at the Medical Center campus to help make it a “pawsitively” lovely Valentine’s Day for our cardiology patients and their families.

Therapy dogs Elsa, Bailey, Pinto and Pluto brought holiday cards, festive beaded necklaces and even a few kisses to children throughout Legacy Tower, including stops to visit the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) and Adult Congenital Heart Program.

Six-year-old patient Kyleigh Ward said she was very excited to see her best friend Bailey during the special Valentine’s Day parade. Kyleigh has been hospitalized at Texas Children’s for nearly 150 days awaiting a much-needed heart transplant.

“We love the dogs,” said Kyleigh’s mother, Briancca. “It was very therapeutic to see them come around and spend time with the families. … I’m glad Kyleigh had a good time. I had a good time, too.”

The four golden retrievers are the heart of Texas Children’s Pawsitive Play Program, which is designed to enhance the emotional well-being of patients and families in the hospital. Along with Angus at West Campus and Cohen at The Woodlands campus, the dogs are specially bred and trained to work full-time as service dogs in a pediatric setting alongside our child life specialists.

“The Child Life Heart Center team and Animal-Assisted Therapy team came together to make the dog parade happen, and I’m so happy it went well,” said Victoria Ramos, child life activity coordinator.

“My role is to bring normalization and play to patients and families while they are in the hospital,” she said. “Bringing in the AAT dogs makes the job even more special. … What could be more fun than a parade where we come together and create fun memories for patients and their families?”

February 9, 2022

To further support making COVID-19 testing as convenient and efficient as possible for our team members, one free at-home test kit will be provided for every Texas Children’s employee, as well as Baylor faculty and staff members.

These at-home test kits – which contain two tests each – will give individuals the opportunity to immediately test themselves at home, get results and (if positive) report quickly to Employee Health for their quarantine to begin. To learn more about at-home testing, click here.

Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 9, eligible team members will be able to pick up their test kit at one of eight Texas Children’s screening locations listed below. In addition, our community Pediatric, Urgent Care, and Health Plan locations will receive their test kits later this week for eventual on-site distribution.

Eligible team members are currently allocated only one free test kit. For information on at-home test kits covered by medical insurance plans and free test kits available through the federal government, please click here.

When and where to pick up your at-home test kit. You must present your Texas Children’s-issued badge to receive a kit.

Location/Times/Dates

Feigin Center

Screening Station – 1st Floor Lobby: 6 – 11 a.m. and 6 – 11 p.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Fri, 2/11
  • Sat, 2/12
  • Tues, 2/15
  • Thurs, 2/17

Legacy Tower

Screening Station – 1st Floor Lobby: 6 – 11 a.m. and 6 – 11 p.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Fri, 2/11
  • Sat, 2/12
  • Tues, 2/15
  • Thurs, 2/17

West Campus

MOB Employee Screening Entrance: 6 – 11 a.m. and 6 – 11 p.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Fri, 2/11
  • Sat, 2/12
  • Tues, 2/15
  • Thurs, 2/17

The Woodlands

Main Information Desk: 6 – 11 a.m. and 6 – 11 p.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Fri, 2/11
  • Sat, 2/12
  • Tues, 2/15
  • Thurs, 2/17

Health Plan

Screening Station – 8th Floor: 7 – 10 a.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Tues, 2/15

Sugar Land Specialty Center

Conference Room 200: 7 – 10 a.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Tues, 2/15

The Center – Southwest

Conference Room: 7 – 10 a.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Tues, 2/15

The Center – Greenspoint

Conference Room: 7 – 10 a.m.

  • Wed, 2/9
  • Tues, 2/15

Go to our COVID-19 Operations website anytime to find additional information on our ongoing COVID-19 response.

In conjunction with vaccinations, boosters, masking and everything each and every one of us does every day, your efforts to include home test kits in your arsenal will help in our fight against COVID-19!