October 29, 2019

In our effort to continue strengthening relationships in the Middle East, Texas Children’s International Services recently hosted “Embassy Night” in Washington, D.C.

Held on September 24 at the Morgan Lewis Building, embassy physicians, staff, and referral partners joined Texas Children’s International Services team members and Texas Children’s leaders in learning more about our services and what we have to offer to both children and women.

Vice President Ivett Shah, International Services Medical Director Dr. Armando Correa, Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier, Radiologist-in-Chief Dr. Thierry Huisman, Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief Dr. Michael Belfort, and Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropoulos all attended and spoke at the event.

“This was a great opportunity to talk to referring physicians from all the Gulf embassies stationed in Washington, D.C.,” Shah said. “We wanted them to hear our physicians speak about the latest medical updates and to keep our organization top of my mind when they send patients to hospitals in the U.S.”

On average, Texas Children’s treats nearly 300 patients a year from the Middle East and – as a top-ranked pediatric hospital and one of the largest international patient programs in the nation – is a preferred partner to the embassies in the Middle East.

The Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) – the premier international society dedicated to the research and treatment of spinal deformities – recently honored Texas Children’s Chief of Orthopedics Dr. Brian Smith at the society’s 54th Annual Meeting, held in Montréal, Canada.

Smith received the Russell A. Hibbs Clinical Research Award, presented annually by the SRS for the meeting’s best clinical research paper. The title of the paper was “Using Proximal Humerus Ossification and Cobb Angle to Predict Progression to a Surgical Range in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Patients.”

The Hibbs Award is one of four main awards given by the SRS for basic and clinical research, and all are named for pioneers in scoliosis surgery. The SRS Program Committee selected nominees from submitted abstracts. Nominees were then invited to submit full manuscripts for review. The winners were selected based on a popular vote by meeting attendees and by committee scoring.

“I am very grateful to receive the 2019 Hibbs Award and to represent Texas Children’s Hospital in front of my peers in the SRS,” said Smith. “I would like to congratulate all my colleagues who did so much to make this happen, and I am looking forward to more research on this topic with my team at Texas Children’s.”

The paper was the result of collaborative research led by Smith and conducted with a team of experts at Yale School of Medicine. The team developed a classification system to assess skeletal maturity by analyzing proximal humerus ossification (the development of the bone of the upper arm) as seen on scoliosis patient X-rays. The study found that not only can skeletal development and maturity be reliably assessed using this system, but also that the system can be used in conjunction with other established methods to predict peak height velocity (the period when a child experiences their maximum upward growth) and the percentage of growth remaining with high accuracy. Coupled with scoliosis curve size, the system could be used as a means of predicting the risk of the patient’s potential curve progression to a surgical range during their remaining growth.

“Current systems that relied on X-ray imaging of the pelvis on scoliosis films to help determine skeletal maturation have not provided an accurate means of assessment for children with scoliosis,” Smith said. “This method has the potential to help us better define a patient’s maturity, which will help guide treatment choices and minimize cost and inconvenience of additional imaging to assess maturity.

Learn more about Texas Children’s Orthopedics Program, ranked in the top 10 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

October 21, 2019

Six Texas Children’s employees were named 2020 Mark A. Wallace Catalyst Leadership Award winners. Learn more about Hilda, Natashia, Matthew, Lindsey, Bobbie, and Dr. Niedzwecki as they embark on this rewarding and meaningful new chapter of their Texas Children’s careers! The Catalyst Leadership Award was established a decade ago in honor of Mark Wallace’s 20th anniversary as president and CEO of Texas Children’s. Every year, the program honors outstanding individuals who lead by example, make the biggest possible difference, ensure the best possible outcomes and uphold Texas Children’s mission and core values.  Read more

Due to a high demand for our expert maternal fetal medicine services and our goal to keep access open to all patients who need our care, Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women has expanded its Maternal Fetal Center.

Located on the fourth floor of the Pavilion for Women, the center serves high-risk obstetrical patients and also bridges access to our pediatric subspecialists for our youngest patients through our Fetal Center program.

“The unit is designed so that the majority of services and partners needed to participate in a pregnancy come to us,” said Assistant Director of Ambulatory Clinical Practices for Women’s Services Aimee Jackson. “We pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for our patients and families, providing timely, comprehensive, coordinated care in one place.”

Since opening its doors in 2012, the center has seen an 11 percent increase in patient visits. Last year, the center saw 36,000 patient visits and is expected to see 40,000 this year.

To continue to provide this growing patient population, construction on the Maternal Fetal Center began in September and was completed seven months ago at the end of April. The expansion added the following:

  • Three exam rooms bringing the total number of exam rooms in the center to nine. One of the exam rooms was built specifically for fetal intervention total care patients. These patients now can have their ultrasound, clinic visit and antenatal testing visit all in one location at the center. Historically, these patients had to schedule several different appointments in several different places to get these services.
  • Two ultrasound rooms, bringing the total number to 11. One of the new can be used for clinical imaging as well as imaging research and educational training.
  • A second conference room equipped with advanced imaging display capabilities. The room will be used for team and family meetings as well as patient classes.
  • A large multi-person office space to accommodate the center’s expanded nursing and business support teams.
  • In addition, the center’s two existing reading rooms for radiology and cardiology were renovated, expanded and optimized.

“We have needed this for a long time,” said Dr. Manisha Gandhi, the center’s medical director. “Most of our patients hoped they would never need our services, therefore we want to make their stay with us as comfortable as possible. This expansion will help us do that at an even higher level than we are now.”

Dr. Wesley Lee, chief of women and fetal imaging, agreed and said the center’s care team is committed to treating, respecting, and embracing patients with a spirit of hope and perseverance.

“Having the right space to carry out this type of care is key,” Lee said. “We are thrilled to have this extra space and to be able to use it to better serve our patients.”

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women also is expanding its maternal fetal services at its community locations in the Greater Houston and beyond. Here are some of the latest developments:

Baytown: In April, the Baytown Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic moved to a larger space at Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital. The clinic – which offers maternal fetal consulting and ultrasound, as well as nutrition, genetic and psychiatric counseling – opened in 2016 for just one day a week. The number of patients coming to the clinic steadily increased, prompting leadership in 2018 to keep the clinic’s doors open five days a week. Today, the clinic’s team sees 10 to 15 patients a day. The majority of those patients, 70 percent, are seen by clinicians via telemedicine. The remaining 30 percent are seen by in-house medical staff.

Medical Center: In June, the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic in Houston Methodist Hospital’s Smith Tower in the Medical Center expanded from two ultrasound rooms to three and one non-stress test chair to two. As a result, the clinic can see more patients for Maternal Fetal Medicine services as well as nutrition and genetic counseling.

Lufkin: In November, a maternal fetal medicine clinic is slated to open at CHI St. Luke’s Health Memorial-Lufkin. Ultrasound and maternal fetal consults will be offered.

“Our aim with these community clinics is to provide excellent patient care closer to where some of our patients live,” said Jennifer Dalton, patient care manager for the Pavilion for Women Community Clinics. “We don’t want them to have to drive to the Medical Center unless they absolutely have to.”

Akachi Phillips, manager for the Pavilion for Women Community Clinics, said she knows a patient from Louisiana who drove weekly to the Medical Center for her visits during one of her pregnancies. During a subsequent pregnancy, she was able to have her ultrasounds in Baytown, which cut down her travel time and enhanced her overall experience.

“It means a lot to the patients to have a clinic nearby,” Phillips said.

For more information about the Maternal Fetal Center, click here.

 

It was a cold and rainy morning in 2018 when I saw what customer service really looked like. I pulled into the drive-through at Chick-Fil-A for an order of chicken minis and a cup of coffee.

As I pulled up to the screen, I was greeted by a young lady who was bundled up from head to toe. She held a tablet in her shivering hands and a bright smile was on her face. “Good Morning! What can I get for you?” I was surprised by how positive she was considering how cold she must have been.

The same scene would repeat itself as I pulled up to the window to get my food and not one—but two—friendly faces met me. One employee was inside the restaurant and one was standing outside the drive-through window on the curb. “Thank you for coming!” the young man said as he handed me my bag. Right at that moment a gust of icy wind cut across our faces. I rolled up my window even more impressed.

I thought to myself – “These people are dedicated.”

But it wasn’t over. Only a few feet away at the end of the lane, the third and final encounter with an employee took place. This young lady also had a friendly bundled-up face. She was standing outside next to a table of condiments – ketchup, jams, sauces, etc. “Would you like some ketchup?,” she said. “My pleasure,” she continued.

From start to finish, an event as simple as getting my breakfast reminded me that I was a valued customer. Valuable enough to have multiple employees outside in the cold with a smile and an aim to please.

I reflect on this rainy morning each time I’m in a meeting at Texas Children’s Health Plan and our senior leaders use the phrase “customer obsessed.” I think to myself, I know exactly what that looks like.

Building a customer obsessed culture at The Health Plan

The work that we do at Texas Children’s Health Plan is much more important than hot breakfast and coffee –it’s health care. It’s health care for families who are low-income and dealing with all the challenges that come with living at, or around, the poverty line. Our members and their families are our customers.

But one of the things that raises the expectations for Health Plan employees is that we have more than one kind of customer. In addition to our members as customers, our providers are also our customers. (Our providers are the physicians, specialists, therapists and other medical professionals that take care of our members.) And finally, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (known as HHSC) is our third customer. The HHSC provides financing to our organization for every member that we serve.

So in our efforts to become customer obsessed, there are several projects taking place to help us meet that goal. Just a few of these are:

  • A provider onboarding flowchart, which helps to navigate the start of a provider’s relationship with us
  • A newly launched “Strike Team”, which operates like a special ops task force to deal with high-level provider issues.
  • The re-configuration of Q-Next, one of our databases that informs our claims process.
  • A brand new claims processing dashboard project that provides real-time information on how we are managing our claims.
  • Intense and hands-on customer service training for our Member Services and Provider Services call center employees.
  • The revitalization of our Healthy Rewards Program, formerly known as Value Added Services. Our Healthy Rewards Program provides members with access to family-oriented activities and incentives.
  • The introduction of Epic Tapestry, an electronic medical record system that will eliminate the need for multiple databases and duplication of many processes.
  • And many others!

Putting the needs of our customers first is the number one priority at The Health Plan and we are off to a strong start. Detailed stories about each of these efforts will be featured in Connect in coming weeks. Are you a Texas Children’s employee who is involved in helping The Health Plan become customer-obsessed? I’d love to hear from you! Send me a note at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org.

Erika Alvarez (pictured above) is one of the highest performing Member Services Representatives. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of Texas Children’s Health Plan members.

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To read all about “Hayes on The Health Plan” and the top 10 things you should know about Texas Children’s Health Plan, read more at https://texaschildrensnews.org/hayes-on-the-health-plan/.

October 15, 2019

Stop for a minute and let’s go back in time. Let’s travel back to 1989. Where were you? What were you doing? What were you planning and hoping for?

It may take you some time to remember; but for Mark Wallace, our president and CEO, the memories are vivid. That was the year he took leadership of our organization and started living out his destiny to make Texas Children’s one of the best hospitals in the nation.

In celebration of that year, we thought it would be fun to flash back and relive what was going on in the world. Reading these fun facts might trigger a few memories of your own.

Memorable events of 1989

  • The Berlin Wall came down
  • The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize
  • Toyota launched its luxury brand – Lexus
  • The World Wide Web was born
  • The Nintendo “Game Boy” personal gaming device came out

The cost of living in 1989

  • Average income per year – $27,450.00
  • Average monthly rent – $420.00
  • 1 gallon of gas – 97 cents
  • US Postage Stamps – 25 cents

Most popular movies of 1989

  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
  • Coming To America
  • Good Morning Vietnam
  • Crocodile Dundee II
  • Big
  • Three Men and a Baby
  • Die Hard
  • Cocktail
  • Moonstruck
  • Beetlejuice

Most popular television shows of 1989

  • The Cosby Show
  • Roseanne
  • Cheers
  • A Different World
  • America’s Funniest Home Videos
  • The Golden Girls
  • 60 Minutes
  • The Wonder Years
  • Empty Nest

Top 10 Songs of 1989 (Billboard Hot 100)

  • Look Away – Chicago
  • Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Poison
  • Straight Up – Paula Abdul
  • Miss You Much – Janet Jackson
  • Cold Hearted – Paula Abdul
  • Wind Beneath My Wings – Bette Midler
  • Girl You Know It’s True – Milli Vanilli
  • Baby, I Love Your Way / Freebird – Will To Power
  • Giving You the Best That I Got – Anita Baker

Quotes/Sayings that entered pop culture in 1989

  • “If you build it, they will come.” – Field of Dreams
  • “I’ll have what she’s having.” – When Harry Met Sally
  • “This is your brain. And this is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” – Partnership for a Drug Free America commercial

It was a busy year and these are just a few snapshots of what happened. Did you enjoy your trip down memory lane? To learn what was going on at Texas Children’s in 1989 and all the ways we’ve grown since, check out the special microsite honoring Mr. Wallace at https://www.markawallace30years.org/

Make sure to visit the Guest Book and post a note of congratulations!

Anesthesiologist-in-Chief Dr. Dean Andropolous is routinely one of the first people in line at the earliest scheduled Employee Health flu vaccine event, and this year was no different. A short time after the Employee Health team started giving out flu shots on The Auxiliary Bridge, Andropolous rolled up his sleeve and stepped up to the plate to get his vaccine.

“I come down every year and get my shot so that I can protect our patients and myself from getting the flu, an illness that for anybody is a really bad experience, but for many of our patients, can be life threatening,” Andropolous said, adding that Texas Children’s makes it extremely easy for employees to get the flu vaccine. “It took me less than three minutes, and it didn’t hurt a bit.”

More than 5,000 employees have taken the lead in getting their flu shots so far this year. Employees who receive their flu vaccine by November 1, 2019, will be entered into a drawing to win one of 25 Nutri Ninja Pro Blenders. Employee Health will notify the winners via email on Friday, November 8. To view the Employee Health flu vaccine event schedule, click here.

Flu program overview

Employee Health will administer flu vaccines at no cost to Texas Children’s employees; Baylor College of Medicine employees working at Texas Children’s facilities; Morrison, Crothall, or Compass contract employees; and volunteers at Texas Children’s. Upon vaccination at Texas Children’s, staff will receive a 2019-20 flu season sticker to affix to their badges.

To reduce wait times at the flu vaccination events, employees are recommended to complete their Flu Vaccine Consent Form online via the Employee Health & Wellness Portal prior to attending the event.* Click here to view a quick video tutorial on how to access the Flu Vaccine Consent Form online. Click here for instructions on how to log in to the portal or click here to view step-by-step instructions.

Employees at Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Urgent Care, and Texas Children’s Specialty Care Centers may be vaccinated at their respective practices, please speak to your leader for more information. Employees who work remotely may be referred to a designated occupational health clinic by Employee Health, or can receive their vaccine covered at 100 percent through Texas Children’s medical plan when administered by an in-network pharmacy under medical coverage.

View photos of your colleagues getting their flu shot below.

Employees who receive their flu vaccine outside of Texas Children’s must submit their attestation and proof of vaccination via this online form.

Employees who decline the flu vaccine for approved exemptions may be required to use protective medical equipment, such as gloves and masks, when providing direct patient care services for the duration of the flu season. For more details, see Required Influenza Vaccination Policy #317 and Procedure #4218.

If you have questions about the Flu Program, contact Employee Health at 832-824-2150, option 2.