October 18, 2016

101916medstobedsinside640A case study of the “Meds to Beds” pilot project at Texas Children’s Hospital was featured online in the NEJM Catalyst, a health care management and strategy website from the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Meds to Beds” is a program led by the departments of Surgery and Pharmacy whereby post-surgical medications are delivered to a patient’s bedside by a pediatric pharmacist following ambulatory surgery. The pharmacist then counsels the family on the medication and answers questions the family might have.

“While we knew this program was needed and would enhance surgical outcomes for our patients, we didn’t realize the overall benefits in terms of patient experience and financial bottom line to the hospital,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, associate surgeon-in-chief for clinical affairs and surgical director of patient experience.

Ultimately, “Meds to Beds” resulted in positive patient satisfaction scores. One hundred percent of those surveyed were very satisfied with medication bedside delivery and 99 percent were very satisfied with for pharmacy education. In comparison, outside pharmacies received very satisfied scores in the 20 percent range for these questions.

“We are very proud of the service we are able to provide to our patients and families,” said Jeffrey Wagner, director of pharmacy services at Texas Children’s. “Our ability to improve patient care and experience is exciting, particularly as we look to expand our services and medication delivery program to other areas of the hospital.”

To read the case study, click here.

101916babybistro640As a nationally designated Baby Friendly Hospital, Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women offers many helpful services to patients and employees to support them during their breastfeeding journey.

For Veronika Javor, choosing to exclusively provide breast milk to her babies during their first year of life was an important commitment. To ensure her now 3-year-old daughter, Harper, and 1-year-old son, Lincoln, both born at the Pavilion for Women, continued to receive the nutritional health benefits of being fed her breast milk, she had to overcome several challenges. She credits the supportive environment at Texas Children’s as one reason why she was able to continue pumping when she returned to work.

“Having a place where you can both pump and rent a pump, right where you work, is incredible,” said Javor, a senior public relations specialist at Texas Children’s. “On numerous occasions, I have had busy days with media shoots and meetings at the hospital, and the Baby Bistro has always opened their door to me and allowed me to use one of their lactation rooms to pump between my meetings.”

Conveniently located inside the Bella Luna Boutique on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women, the Baby Bistro offers lactation support services to nursing mothers, including breast pump rentals. Employees pay a monthly rental fee just like everyone else does but they have the opportunity to get reimbursed through Texas Children’s Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) insurance provider.

Under the BCBS plan, Texas Children’s employees can select a single-user breast pump that is mailed directly to them or receive reimbursement for the rental of a hospital grade rental pump. Since the insurance plan does not cover both options, it is important to determine which breast pump is appropriate based on one’s personal preference and breastfeeding needs.

“For moms returning from maternity leave, remembering to pack a breast pump may not always be top of mind,” said Gina Marrinucci, manager of Retail and Concierge Services at the Pavilion for Women. “Our services are here to help them during their pumping journey. Besides the Baby Bistro, employees can also take advantage of several other employee pumping locations throughout the Pavilion for Women and in West Tower to meet their breastfeeding goals.”

In addition to these services, one-on-one consultations with board certified lactation consultants are available at the Baby Bistro to help new mothers learn the breastfeeding basics, how to overcome breastfeeding challenges such as latching issues, and develop strategies to achieve their breastfeeding goals. There is a fee for this service and appointments should be scheduled by calling Baby Bistro at Ext. 6-8881.

“Pumping for your baby is a huge commitment and it’s great to have access to the tools and support to make it easier,” Javor said. “I hear so many mothers facing challenges in the workplace over having to express milk and I am grateful to work for an organization that both values this important job and facilitates the process.”

Texas Children’s commitment to providing lactation support for both patients and employees is one of the many reasons why the Pavilion for Women is a Baby Friendly Hospital. This coveted designation means Texas Children’s is providing the highest level of care related to breastfeeding education, instruction and support to our patients. For a summary of our breastfeeding initiatives, including a link to Baby Friendly USA, read this Connect article.

For a list of employee pumping locations at the Pavilion for Women and West Tower, click here.

For other breastfeeding and lactation support services at the Pavilion for Women, including how to donate excess breast milk to the Mother’s Milk Bank to support critically ill babies in the Newborn Center, click here.

12016HoustonMarathon640Want to achieve a personal fitness goal and help preserve the mission of Texas Children’s Hospital? Runners can still enter the sold out 2017 marathon and half marathon races through the Chevron Houston Marathon’s Run for a Reason charity program.

Texas Children’s Hospital is an official charity for the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon, taking place on Sunday, January 15, 2017. The Run for a Reason program is a way for runners to run the race of their choice with a guaranteed entry – on behalf of a charity.

Running for Texas Children’s Hospital is not just about the race, it’s a promise to our patients. By signing up to run and fundraise on behalf of Texas Children’s Hospital, your donations will directly impact the lives of countless children. Your race will become the race for our patients who are too sick – sometimes too sick even to play outside. Your support will allow us to expand our care to even more children who need our help.

Make your promise and join the Texas Children’s Running Team today!

1. Fundraise to Run
A fundraising entry is a way for runners to secure a guaranteed entry to the race of their choice while fundraising for Texas Children’s Hospital.

The minimum fundraising milestone to receive the guaranteed entry for the full marathon is $750 and for the half marathon is $500. Please complete this form and email it to Eileen Condit in the Office of Development at runforareason@texaschildrens.org to sign up and secure your registration.

Donations will be received through February 2017. These donations can come from friends, family and employer matching programs.

2. Support the Team
To support the Texas Children’s running team with a donation, please visit our fundraising page.

Questions?
Please contact Eileen Condit at Ext. 4-6823 or runforareason@texaschildrens.org.

October 11, 2016

101216modinside640When Leanne O’Brien glances down at her healthy 18-month-old twins, Remy and Ronan, she knows their lives are nothing short of a miracle. Born nearly 28 weeks premature as a result of severe preeclampsia, her twins spent the first four and a half months of their young lives at Texas Children’s Newborn Center.

“As soon as they were born, the NICU team took care of our babies who each weighed between two and three pounds,” said O’Brien, assistant director of IS Customer Service at Texas Children’s. “They immediately went to NICU 3, then we went to NICU 4 for PDA closures to treat a congenital heart defect and then to NICU 2 until our babies were well enough to come home.”

At the time, O’Brien didn’t know much about the causes and complications of infant prematurity. After her family’s NICU journey, she decided to do something she’d never done before – participate in the March for Babies Walk with her husband and their twins, and her mom and sister on behalf of Texas Children’s to support other NICU families who have encountered similarly challenging situations.

“I wanted to use my voice and share my testimony to help pregnant women and families wherever and however I can,” O’Brien said. “Participating in the walk was a pretty emotional day for me. I thought about all of what my family and my kids went through and how blessed we are to be here today. But I also thought about the families and babies who are currently fighting and all the babies who lost their fight.”

With the generous support from O’Brien and other Texas Children’s employees and their families, Texas Children’s was recently honored as the top corporate team in Houston to raise nearly $180,000 in total funds for the March of Dimes based on corporate sponsorship and employee and team fundraising.

“Of the Top 50 participating teams, we are thrilled to see Texas Children’s Hospital take the number one spot in Houston for the first time,” said Darcie Wells, executive director of the March of Dimes Foundation of Greater Houston. “We thank Texas Children’s leaders and employees for their incredible efforts for moms and babies.”

Several months prior to the March for Babies walk, departments and units from across the organization formed their own teams to help raise money and rally support around this worthy cause. Teams hosted barbecues, designed and sold t-shirts, held bake sales, arranged bike tours and even paid to give their leaders a pie in the face to raise money and awareness. Each of the 63 teams raised an average of $1,476, all of which helped Texas Children’s exceed this year’s fundraising goal of $120,000.

“Since 1984, Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine have received more than $16 million from the March of Dimes to support research to prevent birth defects and prematurity,” said Cris Daskevich, senior vice president at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “Our long-term partnership has helped significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for some of our most fragile babies – giving hope to patients and families when there once was none.”

O’Brien encourages everyone thinking about participating in next year’s walk to help support the March of Dimes. “It is such an amazing cause, and by donating or walking, you can help give every baby a fighting chance,” O’Brien said.

The March of Dimes will officially celebrate the Top 10 Teams at a citywide kickoff of its 2017 campaign on February 8, 2017.

Click here to watch the slideshow of the 2016 March for Babies Walk.

101216wesson640Texas Children’s is pleased to announce that Dr. David Wesson joined The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio family October 1 to serve as interim Surgeon-in-Chief. Wesson will continue his duties at Texas Children’s Hospital in addition to the responsibilities of his new interim role at Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

Wesson has been at Texas Children’s Hospital for the past 20 years, beginning as the Chief of Pediatric Surgery and most recently as the Associate Surgeon-In-Chief. Wesson also serves as the Texas Children’s Chief of the Department of Surgery and is a tenured professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

Since his arrival at Texas Children’s Hospital, Wesson has built a preeminent division of pediatric surgery through surgical sub-specialization – trauma, acute care, gastroenterology, fetal, and oncology – while also guiding Texas Children’s to American College of Surgeons Level I designations for Trauma and Children’s Surgery.

“I am extremely excited about having the opportunity to be part of the incredible growth and development at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio,” Wesson said. “It is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and to bring some of the special qualities of our Department of Surgery to that historic center of surgery for children.”

Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio joined forces in 2013 to help ensure children of San Antonio and South Texas have access to world-class pediatric care. Since then, Baylor College of Medicine has recruited, employed, and overseen physicians at the hospital while Texas Children’s has provided consulting and clinical expertise.

That expertise helped CHRISTUS Health System, which owns the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, transform its downtown San Antonio campus to create the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, a world-class, freestanding hospital anchored by a broad, integrated network of community-based services and partners. Wesson’s new role at the hospital will deepen the relationship between Texas Children’s and Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and allow the South Texas hospital to continue to grow and prosper.

“His wealth of leadership experience, desire to serve as a mentor and experiences in developing departmental infrastructure will be invaluable during his time with us,” said The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio President Elias Neujahr. “We are deeply appreciative for his leadership, dedication, and his willingness to serve.”

4115Drzoghbi640The Shaw Prize Foundation awarded the 2016 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine to pioneering neuroscientist Dr. Huda Zoghbi, director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and Dr. Ralph D. Feigin professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

The award was presented jointly to Zoghbi and Dr. Adrian P. Bird, Buchanan professor of Genetics at the University of Edinburgh, during a special ceremony on September 27 in Hong Kong for their groundbreaking discovery of the genes and the encoded proteins associated with Rett syndrome.

Considered the “Nobel Prize of the East,” the Shaw Prize is an international award established in 2002 designed to foster scientific research. Awarded annually, the prize honors individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in academic and scientific research or applications and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.

“I am humbled to be honored by the esteemed Shaw Prize Foundation,” Zoghbi said. “We will use this support to continue the research into how Rett syndrome affects the brain with the hope that our research will impact future treatment options.”

Rett syndrome is the leading cause of intellectual disabilities in girls, affecting one in 10,000, and is particularly devastating as girls affected by the syndrome develop normally for the first few months of life before a catastrophic decline in neurological capabilities.

Zoghbi’s discovery that mutations in the MEPC2 gene cause this devastating neurological disorder paved the way for the development of a diagnostic genetic test for Rett syndrome.

The $1.2 million Shaw prize will be shared by Bird and Zoghbi to advance Rett syndrome research.

101316caremanagement640National Case Management Week is October 9-15, where we recognize the work of our entire Care Management team. This year’s theme for Case Management Week is “Case Management: We listen. We care. We lead.”

Texas Children’s Care Management team is comprised of care managers, access care managers, utilization review nurses, care management assistants, appeals and audit nurses, an educator, two physician advisors and leadership. There is representation at Main Campus, West Campus, and there will be a team for The Woodlands. With all campuses combined, Care Management is comprised of more than sixty staff members.

Each member of the team serves an important role in the care of Texas Children’s patients before, during and after their stay at Texas Children’s. From the beginning, access care managers work closely with the Emergency Center and Post Anesthesia Care Unit teams to make sure that each patient, upon admission to Texas Children’s Hospital, is in the correct level of care. Care from there is transitioned to the unit care managers who believe that discharge planning starts on admission, working to assess discharge needs and barriers early in the patient’s stay. They listen and collaborate daily in Care Progression Rounds, looking at the ongoing discharge needs of each patient. Using their knowledge of community resources and insurance, they assist the interdisciplinary team in coordination of complex patient discharges.

Other members of the team provide support for utilization review, appeals and denials. They advocate for the patients, which involves communicating with each patient’s insurance payer to ensure that the patient’s hospital stay is covered. Leading tirelessly, there are members of Care Management in the hospital around the clock working to meet patient needs. They help to ensure that each patient gets the best care, in the correct setting, for optimal patient outcomes.

Celebrate the contribution of the Texas Children’s Care Management team! Teams are located in A165 on Main Campus and 379.00 at West Campus.