October 20, 2015

102115healthierlunches640Cutting calories can be easier when there are healthy options. In an effort to provide both patient families and employees with a healthier meal, Food and Nutrition Services has teamed up with several of our concept partners in the Clinical Care Center food court to bring in a healthy dose of food choices.

“As a health care organization, it is very important for us to give you healthy options when you dine with us,” said Claudia Conkin, director of Food and Nutrition Services. “Our food court is used not only by patient families, but also by our employees and we are constantly looking for ways to serve both better.”

The latest changes to the food court menu come from Villa Pizza, a vendor for more than 14 years. With the help of Texas Children’s, recipes have been reformulated to cut as much as 30 percent of calories. New lighter pizzettas with fresh toppings are offered and the Pizza station now offers a classic lunch meal deal with half portion entrees and a side of salad or vegetables.

Other offerings in the food court include a chef inspired Eat Right special that offers entrees and complete meals for under 600 calories while also reducing fat and sodium. This ongoing program is offered every Wednesday. The “make-your-own” Creation Station that offers salads, baked potatoes, pastas and other make-it-yourself options throughout the week has introduced lighter toppings such as reduced-fat sour cream, low-fat cheese and low-calorie salad dressings. Soda fountains have been replaced with freestyle machines that allow more options including 70 low calorie drinks and flavored waters. Chick-Fil-A offers kids meals with a fruit cup as a replacement for French fries at the same price within the hospital.

To encourage healthier choices, look for the Beanie’s Choice symbol throughout the food court to help identify lower calorie or nutrient packed foods to add to your daily diet.

October 6, 2015

bench-and-beside-Header2Bench and Bedside is a digest of the previous month’s stories about the clinical and academic activities of our physicians and scientists. We welcome your submissions and feedback.

10615PaintingGroup300September 2

Pulmonary hypertension team hosts the painting party, proceeds benefit PHA

Physicians and staff with Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Program hosted a tile painting party on August 22 where patients transformed ceramic tiles into colorful pieces of art. The event benefited the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. Read more

September 9

Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus expands urology services

Urology services at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus have been extended to meet the needs of patients in Houston and its surrounding area. Read more

September 9

Dormans sets sights high for future of Orthopedics Department

Chief of Orthopedics Dr. John Dormans joined Texas Children’s three months ago and has already developed a plan to make the Texas Children’s Orthopedics Department one of the top programs in the world. His plan focuses on three main areas – recruitment, operations and facilities, and reputation and expertise. Read more

10615drhairaward300September 9

Hair receives 2015 Clinical Faculty of the Year Award

Dr. Amy Hair, a neonatologist and director of neonatal nutrition at Texas Children’s, recently received the Baylor College of Medicine’s 2015 Clinical Faculty of the Year Award for demonstrating “exemplary performance of activities that are above and beyond the scope of assigned responsibilities.” Read more

September 9

New program offers emotional healing for parents of special-needs children

Texas Children’s Geneticist Dr. Christian Schaaf and his colleagues developed a support program that helps parents cope with the emotional challenges of caring for children with developmental disabilities by learning to let go of things they cannot control. Read more

September 15

Clinical Research Center/Research Resources Office presents research award to Dr. Wenderfer

The Clinical Research Center/Research Resources Office presented the Clinical Research Award for Third Quarter 2015 to Dr. Scott Wenderfer, Department of Pediatrics-Renal, Baylor College of Medicine. Wenderfer’s research activities focus on Inflammatory Kidney Diseases and Lupus Nephritis. Read more

10615summercamps300September 15

Texas Children’s patients, staff create shared memories at Camp Spike N Wave, Camp Periwinkle

Every summer, Texas Children’s staff and their patients make the 90-mile trek to Camp for All, a 100-acre, barrier-free recreational facility where children with complex medical conditions experience the thrill of camping just like other kids their age. More than 185 children with epilepsy attend Camp Spike N Wave and roughly 185 patients from Texas Children’s Cancer Center go to Camp Periwinkle. Read more

September 29

Dormans presides over 50th annual meeting of SRS

Dr. John Dormans, chief of Orthopedics at Texas Children’s Hospital, completed his year as president of the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) at the 50th anniversary meeting in Minneapolis September 30 to October 3 and presented one of six special lectures titled, “Neural Complications in Spinal Deformity: Detection and Avoidance.” Read more

September 29

Dr. Swathi Bataji joins Pediatric Surgery

Dr. Swathi Balaji has joined the Pediatric Surgery Research Laboratory at Texas Children’s Hospital. Balaji also has been appointed assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Read more

September 29

ICD-10 debut: New coding system launchess at Texas Children’s October 1

On October 1, Texas Children’s and other hospitals around the world switched to the ICD-10 coding system that will allow greater detail and precision in reporting patients’ diagnoses and procedures. For more than a year, Texas Children’s ICD-10 preparedness teams worked diligently to ensure all employees were prepared for the mandatory October 1 conversion. Read more

10615PICS300September 29

Heart Center physicians perform two cases broadcasted to live audience

Heart Center physicians performed two pediatric interventional cardiac care cases for the Pediatric and Adult Interventional Cardiac Symposium. The cases, which were performed at the Main Campus, were transmitted live to the conference in Las Vegas, Nevada via satellite. Read more

September 22, 2015

92315EpicRover640More than 1 million patients are harmed each year in the United States because of medical errors. One of the most common, yet preventable medical errors involves the administration of medication.

Providing medicine to patients is more than just handing out pills or delivering drugs through an IV line. It’s a complex, multi-step process that involves meticulously checking and re-verifying that the medicine being prescribed, transcribed, dispensed and administered is going to the right patient every time.

As part of our commitment to patient safety, Texas Children’s has already begun implementing Epic Rover, a mobile software application that uses barcode technology designed to prevent medication errors and improve the quality and safety of medication administration.

Epic Rover is an extension of the electronic medication administration record (MAR) within Epic. Once this software is downloaded to an iPod Touch equipped with a scanner or sled, nurses and respiratory therapists scan the barcode on the patient’s wristband and the barcode on the prescribed medication at the patient’s bedside. The medication documentation then flows real-time into the MAR in Epic.

Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) helps our clinical staff verify the administration of medication more efficiently by assuring that the “five rights” are confirmed – right patient, right medication, right dose, right time and right route of administration.

“Medication scanning creates a significantly safer process and improves compliance with industry standards and regulations,” said Texas Children’s Clinical Informatics Director Jennifer Sanders. “It’s a safety measure for our patients and provides an additional safety net for our frontline nurses and clinical staff who are the last line of defense to prevent medication errors.”

Before Epic Rover, our nurses and respiratory therapists manually conducted the “five rights” checks. With BCMA, the entire process is done electronically. However, clinical staff must still rely on their critical thinking and judgment to ensure medication ordered by the physician matches the medication prepared and dispensed in the pharmacy before it is administered to the patient.

To help primary users adjust to the BCMA system, the Epic Rover rollout will be implemented in phases over a 9-week period with the completion of the final rollout phase on Saturday, November 21.

Epic Rover rollout schedule:

Dates          Weeks                  Grouping
9/22/15        1 and 2         PFW, Respiratory Therapy
10/6/15        3                   West Campus: 3W, PICU, EC, PACU, 5W/SIU
10/13/15      4                   Main: All EC areas, Floats
10/20/15      5                   9WT, 10WT, 11WT, 12WT, IRU
10/27/15      6                   PRCU, BMT, 14WT
11/3/15        7                   6N, 7N, 7S
11/10/15      8                   NICU 2, NICU 4, PFW NICU
11/17/15      9                   PICU, CVICU, 15WT

Mandatory training will include a Health Stream module, an Epic video and a 90-minute hands-on classroom training session. All staff must complete training before the go-live.

“Our goal is to reach 90 percent compliance in 90 days,” said Texas Children’s Clinical Informatics Supervisor Erin Davies. “We’re confident we will reach this goal because our clinical staff is committed to creating an environment of safe patient care.”

The implementation of Epic Rover would not be possible without the collaboration from several departments including Clinical Informatics, Information Services, Pharmacy, Respiratory Care, Nursing and the Nursing Professional Development team who helped create the training curriculum.

Houston Texans Randy Bullock and Ben Jones, TORO and Houston Texans Cheerleaders visited patients who are battling cancer at Texas Children’s Hospital in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The visitors donned gold pins and sported gold pompoms, symbolizing childhood cancer awareness, while participating in games and taking photos with patients. View event photos by clicking on the photo above.

September 15, 2015

91615roseparade640Peyton Richardson, a 13-year old currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) at Texas Children’s Cancer Center, has been chosen to ride on a float at the 127th Rose Parade for Northwestern Mutual, the presenting sponsor for the 2016 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, CA. The theme of this year’s parade is Find Your Adventure.

Peyton, who was diagnosed in January, is an aspiring ballerina who dreams of taking a ballet lesson from a principal dancer. Her dream will come to life as part of the float. Northwestern Mutual dedicated their float in this year’s parade to bringing awareness to childhood cancer. Peyton’s story was chosen from submissions from across the country of patients detailing their dreams. Peyton’s video speaks to her passion for dance. Her adventure will be brought to life in roses through Northwestern Mutual’s float design and the Richardson family will have the special opportunity to ride in the Rose Parade.

Northwestern Mutual is committed to raising awareness, accelerating the search for cures to childhood cancer and providing support to families battling the disease.

“We are humbled by Peyton’s passion to fight cancer and desire to share her story with others,” said John Kordsmeier, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. “Peyton’s adventure on display will be very inspiring and will drive more awareness and support for all families affected by childhood cancer.”

September 2, 2015

9315patientsafety640On the morning August 27, a Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women employee was struck by a car driving on Main Street. The individual was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The individual is recovering and expected to be okay. The driver in this incident is cooperating with police.

As always, the safety of employees, patient families and visitors is a top priority at Texas Children’s Hospital. Hospital leadership immediately took action to improve pedestrian safety at this intersection.

Starting Friday, August 28, off-duty officers will be present at the intersection of Southgate Boulevard outside of the Pavilion to assist in traffic control. These officers will be monitoring the area to help the organization as we determine the best course of action, increasing safety for both pedestrians and drivers. These officers will be present during peak traffic times in the morning and evening.

“With so many people driving in this congested area of the medical center, it is extremely important that we do our part to keep our employees and patient families safe,” said Laura Reynolds, director of Facilities Operations. “We are doing our part to increase safety and we hope our employees will practice extra caution as they drive or walk around campus.”

Employees are asked to cooperate with these traffic control officers and pay extra attention when driving around the medical center where patients, families and employees cross.

“My number one advice is for everyone to be aware of their surroundings at all times,” said Christopher Carr, operations manager for Security Services. “We are constantly looking at the campus-wide plan to enhance safety and security for all those who visit or work at our organization, we want to make sure our employees are doing their part to avoid distractions as they walk or drive.”

9315PulmonaryPaintingGroup640Physicians and staff with Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Program hosted a tile painting party on August 22 where patients transformed ceramic tiles into colorful pieces of art. The event benefited the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).

Held in the newly renovated Child Life Zone on the 16th floor of West Tower, pulmonary hypertension patients and their families painted tiles to decorate a garden bench that will be auctioned off at a PHA fundraising gala in October. The theme of the garden bench is “hope” and each tile represents a family’s idea of what hope means to them.

Special guest Dynamo Diesel entertained the children. He signed picture frames for families to keep as a memento. The tile painting party also provided a venue for families to meet and support other Texas Children’s families impacted by pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension is a health condition characterized by abnormally high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs. As a result, the heart works harder to pump blood through the lungs, which can cause breathlessness, difficulty performing physical activity and heart failure.

Over the years, Texas Children’s pulmonary hypertension team has collaborated with the PHA to sponsor fundraising events to increase awareness, promote research and educate families about this medical condition.

For more information about Texas Children’s Pulmonary Hypertension Program, click here. To visit the PHA website, click here.