October 7, 2019

Greetings everyone! My name is Erika Hayes and I am a new employee at Texas Children’s.
Well – newish.

I’m actually what Human Resources would call a boomerang. I worked at Texas Children’s Hospital from 2011 to 2014, left for five years to chase big dreams, and when the time was right I came back home.

It feels so good to be back – and this time with a new opportunity to contribute to our mission.
On June 3, 2019 I joined Texas Children’s Health Plan!

The Health Plan? What’s that?

I’m so glad you asked. Unbelievably, it’s an area of the organization that I knew very little about during my first time here. So you can imagine how excited I am to come to work every day. I get to explore, ask questions and share all of the great things going on in our world.

My title is senior communications specialist. But that’s really just a fancy way of saying that I find out what’s happening and make sure everyone knows. I report information that is positive, strategic and helpful in our efforts to meet important business goals.

The best part of my job? I learn something new every day and this series is one of the ways I’ll share what I learn.

“But why now?”

Great question. Well, in recent months Texas Children’s has undergone a reorganization that has tied Texas Children’s Health Plan and Texas Children’s Hospital closer together. Executive leadership wants both organizations to support each other and communicate better so that our business is stronger and even more successful. My job is part of those efforts.

So welcome to day one of “Hayes on The Health Plan.” As often as I can, I’m going to take you with me on this journey of learning what this very special part of our mission is all about.

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First up is the top 10 things you need to know about Texas Children’s Health Plan.

10. Texas Children’s Health Plan is an insurance plan much like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, United Healthcare, Cigna or many others. The difference is that it manages the health care of low-income families who receive government-funded insurance, such as Medicaid.

9. The purpose of Texas Children’s Health Plan is to deliver the best health care possible for its members.

8. Families who have insurance through Texas Children’s Health Plan are called members. Texas Children’s Hospital has patients and Texas Children’s Health Plan has members.

7. Texas Children’s Health Plan currently employees a little more than 800 employees.

6. These employees are located in six areas – at our office building in Bellaire, in Beaumont, in Tyler, at The Center for Children and Women (two clinics) and remotely.

5. The Center for Children and Women is owned by Texas Children’s Health Plan. The two Center locations are full-service clinics for Health Plan members only, with a few exceptions for members of other government-sponsored programs.

4. The Centers are so nice that employees often ask if they can go. (I did!) However, this is not allowed. Members only.

3. Texas Children’s Health Plan is funded by the state of Texas. We receive state funding for each member who is part of our plan.

2. Mark Mullarkey is the president of Texas Children’s Health Plan and an executive vice president for the Texas Children’s system. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him on several occasions and he is such a nice guy!

1. Texas Children’s Health Plan is Texas Children’s. It is part of the same organization that operates Texas Children’s Hospital. We are all part of the same family.

I have so many things I want to tell you through this series, but I’d love to hear from you too! Feel free to drop me a note at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org

Hayes on The Health Plan is a series written by Erika Hayes, senior communications specialist. She is a Health Plan employee, but also part of the Corporate Communications Team. Erika can be reached at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org or 832-828-1310.

Social media is a great way to share glimpses of your life with family and friends. Engaging on social media is increasingly becoming part of our daily routines, so it’s more important than ever that everyone at Texas Children’s understands their responsibilities around social media use.

With that in mind, the Marketing/PR and Human Resources departments developed a short video about the appropriate use of social media. You can watch the video below and keep it front of mind whenever you use any social media platform.

Ultimately, every single person at Texas Children’s is responsible for how they use social media. Be sure you make informed, thoughtful decisions about what you choose to post online.

If you discover any unethical, illegal or questionable content on social media relating to Texas Children’s, please notify your immediate supervisor or call our confidential Compliance hotline at 1-866-478-9070.

 

Imagine a day where you came to work and there were no gloves to see patients, no blankets to wrap babies, or even hand soap in the restroom. Everywhere you turned you needed something and you didn’t have it.

We can all agree that our work lives would get frustrating and most of our jobs simply wouldn’t be doable. This is exactly the reality we would face without the hard work done by employees in Supply Chain.

This week is National Health Care Supply Chain Week, an opportunity to highlight the work of an unsung area in the organization. “We are one of the behind the scenes departments that is happy to support our clinical and non-clinical colleagues,” said Eric Alanis, supply chain project analyst. “We’re excited to give Texas Children’s an opportunity to learn exactly what we do.”

Learn and laugh

Employees can learn more about Supply Chain – and have a little fun – during a special event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 9, on The Auxiliary Bridge. The celebration includes games and poster education from each area within the department.

Games will be:

  • Procurement – “The Price is Right” with showcase showdown
  • Strategic Sourcing – Deal or No Deal Game
  • Value Analysis – Ball Toss Game
  • Central Distribution – Wheel of Fortune
  • Warehouse – Jeopardy Trivia Game

Supply Chain Week is a national celebration hosted by the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) to celebrate the role supply chain professionals have in delivering high-quality patient care.

September 24, 2019

There’s always a LOT going on at Texas Children’s Hospital.
And because life moves fast and schedules are full, it can be hard to keep track.
Plus, with a million different things competing for our attention, when we need or want information, a lot of the time we want it quickly.

That’s why Texas Children’s Corporate Communications team has put together “Got A Minute?” – a new video series that (quickly) highlights some of the important initiatives, programs and individuals that make Texas Children’s tick.

Each new episode will focus on one of three main topics:

  • Texas Children’s annual organizational goals
  • Our culture of leadership
  • Special recognitions for staff and employees.

Episode 1 spotlights a new special feature story from Corporate Communications called Unsung Heroes, which recognizes outstanding employees from across the Texas Children’s’ system whose important roles are not widely known throughout the organization.

You can learn more about these Unsung Heroes on Connect and on our employee Instagram, @oneamazingteam, throughout the week.

September 23, 2019

Texas Children’s is implementing new technology that will enhance the way you manage and access benefits. We are excited to announce the launch of a new and improved Texas Children’s Benefits website – a centralized destination for all your benefit needs, available in both English and Spanish.

The new site offers you real-time and round-the-clock access to view, change or update your benefit elections from any desktop and mobile device. You’ll also receive more support and assistance with extended hours in our Benefits Service Center.

“Implementing this new platform will allow us to better accommodate the needs of Texas Children’s growing and diverse workforce,” said Jermaine Monroe, Vice President of Human Resources. “Our goal is to offer our amazing team members enhanced support and empowerment to manage their benefits anywhere, anytime and on any device, which are key components of leading a healthy life.”

Click here for additional details, and visit for additional details, and visit Texas Children’s Benefits today to check out all the exciting, new features for yourself!

September 10, 2019

Houston Texans Mascot TORO made a special visit to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women Labor and Delivery Unit on August 28. While there, TORO welcomed a handful of little ones to the Texans family and offered the newest members of the Homefield Advantage Texans-branded birth certificates. The visit was a nice surprise for some of the hospital’s newest additions and was made possible by the partnership Texas Children’s has with the Texans to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives.

September 4, 2019

Members of Texas Children’s Health Plan are talking back to us – and saying good things.

According to the latest Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey, the majority of families who use our health insurance are pleased with the service they receive.

The recently released 2019 results ranked Texas Children’s Health Plan in the 99th percentile of health plans when it comes to overall performance. This means that we outperformed 99 percent of comparable health plans. We also ranked in the 99th percentile for the health care performed by our providers.

The Health Plan leadership team feels optimistic and we will continue to drive improvements in our member experiences.

“I attribute these scores to the hard work of our employees and the Texas Children’s reputation as a whole,” said Dr. Lisa Hollier, chief medical officer of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Texas Children’s Health Plan. “People trust us and want us to take care of their families.”

Hollier stresses that a reputation is not about what may happen every now and then. A reputation is about what consistently takes place over a long period of time – “And excellence really is who we are at Texas Children’s,” she added.

Our areas of improvement according to the survey data are health promotion and education, coordination of care and shared decision making.

All scores from the survey will be submitted to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the same organization that the Health Plan is looking to earn an accreditation from in April of 2020.

NCQA surveyors will look at the following six areas to see how we are measuring up.

  • Effectiveness of care
  • Availability of care
  • Experience of care
  • Utilization and risk adjusted utilization
  • Health plan descriptive information
  • Measures collected using electronic clinical data systems