May 3, 2016

42716cornynzika640On April 22, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas listened to Texas Medical Center doctors and Houston city officials break down research efforts on the Zika virus as mosquito season gets underway. The roundtable discussion was held at Texas Children’s Hospital and included a tour of the lab where research is being done and where Texas Children’s and Houston Methodist Hospital developed the nation’s first hospital-based rapid test for the Zika virus.

The virus, which has spread rapidly through Central and South America in the last year, is transmitted between humans primarily through mosquito bites. People may not realize they’ve been infected with Zika virus because the majority of people will develop an asymptomatic or mild flu-like infection. However, the virus has heightened concern among pregnant women since it may increase the risk of microcephaly, a rare neurological birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.

While there is no vaccine to protect against Zika infection, doctors are encouraging people, particularly pregnant women, to refrain from traveling to areas where the outbreak is growing. The only way to prevent infection is to avoid getting mosquito bites.

Cornyn said what he learned from the roundtable discussion was that the risk of under reacting to the Zika virus is too high and that the virus will be a problem in the United States if it is not stopped in Central and South America. As a result, he said he will recommend to Congress that action continue to be taken and that dollars continue to be allocated to taking a look at what needs to be done to stop what he called a devastating virus.

“We need to make sure we remain vigilant,” Cornyn said. “And, thanks to the great scientists and medical professionals we have here in Houston, Texas and around the country, I’m confident we will be at the cutting edge of new discoveries that will help public health across the globe.”

Click here to read excerpts from the roundtable discussion and here for more information on the Zika virus.

When was the last time you helped patients navigate our hallways? Did you look them in the eye when you talked to them? Did you greet them with a smile and a friendly handshake?

Patient and family experience at Texas Children’s is more than the medical care we provide at the bedside. It’s a reflection of how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call us to schedule an appointment to the moment they leave our care.

Recently, Texas Children’s employees and staff at the Pavilion for Women got a chance to put themselves in the shoes of their patients by walking into the Galleries of Parallel Truths. Two rooms, named Gallery A and Gallery B, were decked out with posters, statistics and compelling stories, one showing the positives and one the negatives of patient experience at Texas Children’s.

“The galleries were organized by our nursing leadership in collaboration with Ambulatory Services,” said Kim Holt, assistant director of nursing at Texas Children’s Cancer Center The Woodlands campus and the project’s team leader. “We felt it was necessary to re-engage our staff around the importance of consistently creating a positive patient experience, which will help to improve our Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores at Texas Children’s.”

When staff entered Gallery A, the atmosphere was cold and uninviting. The walls were plastered with shocking statistics and disturbing complaints from patient families and employees who had left the organization.

“It looked like we were walking into a dungeon of the unknown,” Felicia Cruise said. ”There was trash everywhere and employee badges were scattered on the floor. It was dark and a place that I didn’t want to be in.”

“The phone was ringing constantly,” Delores Metoyer recalled. “I wanted to say, “Somebody get the phone! Get the phone!”

Next door in Gallery B, the atmosphere was bright and inviting. A red carpet was rolled out onto the floor symbolizing superior customer service we deliver to our patients and their families. The walls were decorated with pictures of happy employees and volumes of awards, recognitions and stories showcasing outstanding employee achievements in patient care and patient experience.

“The purpose of the galleries was for employees to remember the impact and the experience they felt going through the negative and the positive room,” said Oluwakemi Orogbemi, one of the nurses who helped organize the event. “Employee engagement is very important to positive patient experience. We want our employees to know their happiness, their positive experience here at Texas Children’s will translate into a positive experience for our patients and their families.”

The employee feedback gathered from these sessions will be sent to the Patient Experience Committee where staff will collaborate on strategies to resolve the issues raised by employees and patient families.

The Galleries of Parallel Truths started in January 2016 and has been presented to employees at the Pavilion for Women, West Campus, and several of the health centers in the community.

To find out when the next Galleries of Parallel Truths will be presented, contact Kim Holt at Ext. 8-9265 or kpholt@texaschildrens.org.

Patient Experience Week

Employees, patients and their families will also get a chance this week to learn more about Texas Children’s efforts to make the patient and family experience here the best it can be. Events will be held at Main and West campuses. Click here for a schedule of events.

42716PoplackandPizzo640The 12th Annual Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers Research Symposium on April 7 offered faculty and trainees the opportunity to present their latest research and reunited the editors of the leading textbook on pediatric oncology.

The 7th edition of “Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology” is co-edited by Dr. David Poplack, professor of pediatrics at Baylor and director of Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers, and Dr. Philip Pizzo, former dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine and founding director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute.

Pizzo, whose career focus has been on the treatment of childhood cancer and infectious complications in children whose immune systems are compromised by diseases such as cancer and AIDS, was the keynote speaker at the symposium’s morning session. He offered a reflection on his career and participated in a question-and-answer session moderated by Poplack.

Dr. Peggy Goodell, professor of pediatrics at Baylor and part of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, delivered the afternoon keynote. The symposium also included a dozen oral research presentations and many more poster presentations.

Oral Presentation Winners:

1st place: Ifigeneia Tzannou, instructor, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Administration of most closely HLA-matched multivirus-specific T cells for the treatment of EBV, CMV, AdV, HHV-6 and BKV post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant

2nd place: Jacob Junco, postdoctoral associate in pediatric oncology
Leukemogenesis in down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia

3rd place: Frank Lin, assistant professor of pediatrics – oncology
Diagnostically and therapeutically relevant alterations in rare pediatric CNS tumors revealed by integrated sequencing

Poster Presentation Winners:

1st place: Paibel Aguayo-Hiraldo, clinical postdoctoral fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology
Adoptive T cell therapy for the prevention and treatment of parainfluenza virus 3 infections post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant

2nd place: Vijetha Kumar, research assistant in pathology
Clinical validation of a next-generation target RNA sequencing assay for detection of fusion genes in pediatric and solid tumors

3rd place: Arpad Szoor, postdoctoral associate in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
T cell activating mesenchymal stem cells as a biotherapeutic for HCC

April 26, 2016

42716texansautograph640The NFL Draft is this week, and pre-season games only a few months away. So football season is right around the corner, and Texas Children’s wants to help you gear up for it.

Over the next two weeks, all Texas Children’s employees will have the chance to be selected to attend an exclusive autograph and photograph session with two Houston Texans players: Charles James II, the Texans cornerback who rose to a fan favorite in last season’s Hard Knocks on HBO; and Devon Still, defensive end and recipient of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award for his daughter, Leah’s, courageous fight against cancer. Two Texans cheerleaders also will be in attendance.

To win a chance to attend the event, you must submit your definition of leadership. As you know, Mark Wallace’s Leadership Maxim no. 4 is that “We all should have our personal definition of leadership.”

We will use the leadership definition submissions to randomly select participants for the Houston Texans autograph/photograph session. We also will share some of the leadership definitions on Mr. Wallace’s On the Mark blog.

Submissions will be accepted here until Tuesday, May 3. We will select 400 people from the submissions to attend the autograph and photograph session. Those selected will be contacted by Wednesday, May 11.

Transportation to and from the stadium will not be provided, and only employees can attend. Exempt employees who are scheduled to work that day must obtain leader approval. Non-exempt employees who are scheduled to work that day must obtain leader approval and badge in and out.

“We hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to meet two Houston Texans players and learn more about our partnership with Houston’s hometown football team,” said Lisa Yelenick, director of Service Line, Community and Brand for the Marketing and Public Relations Department. “Good luck and Go Texans!”

Texas Children’s entered a partnership with the Houston Texans more than a year ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives. The two organizations have since reached thousands of Houston-area children through camps, school programs, special hospital appearances and other events that combine fun with education.

The partnership also includes involvement from players, cheerleaders and TORO in the community and at hospital events hosted by the Texans and Texas Children’s Hospital. Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans will continue identifying ways to grow the partnership and extend its reach even further within the local and regional communities.

To learn more about the partnership, go to texaschildrens.org/texans. For questions about the event, contact Kimberly Vetter at mkvetter@texaschildrens.org.

42716kidstriathlon640Thousands of families and friends gathered on April 23 and 24 at NRG Stadium to cheer on the 3,000 plus participants of the 2016 Houston Texans Kid’s Triathlon.

The Houston Texans and Texas Children’s Hospital joined forces to organize the event aimed at building a generation of healthy, active responsible children.

Click here to watch a video of the event and here to read a first-person account of the triathlon from 10-year-old participant Will Gillette. Gillette had heart surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital when he was born and has now completed two Houston Texans Kid’s Triathlons.

To learn more about the partnership, go to texaschildrens.org/Texans.

April 19, 2016

42016surgerygroupinside640Texas Children’s Department of Surgery is excited to announce three new positions at Texas Children’s: Associate Surgeon-in-Chief for Academic Affairs, Associate Surgeon-in-Chief for Clinical Affairs and Surgical Director of Basic Science Research.

Dr. David Wesson will serve as Associate Surgeon-in-Chief for Academic Affairs. In his new role, he will focus on growing and improving the department’s academic programs, including the processes for faculty development and promotion, as well as our educational programs. In addition to his new role, Wesson will continue to serve as Head of the Texas Children’s Hospital Department of Surgery.

Dr. Larry Hollier is the new Associate Surgeon-in-Chief for Clinical Affairs. In this new role, Hollier will help lead in the development of all aspects of clinical care delivery, both inside, and out of the operating rooms. He will focus on coordinating and improving all aspects of care in our increasingly complex system, including patient experience, staffing, efficiency, and value. Additionally, he will be the Medical Director of Advanced Practice Providers and will continue to be Surgical Director of Operating Rooms and Surgical Director of Patient Experience.

Dr. Sundeep Keswani will assume the role of Surgical Director of Basic Science Research. In this new role, Keswani will guide efforts beyond his own research on regenerative wound healing and matrix biology, and share his expertise to the greater surgical enterprise.

42016DrOrange175Chief of Immunology, Allergy and Rheumatology Dr. Jordan Orange was recently named president of the Clinical Immunology Society (CIS). Orange will serve the CIS as president for a one-year term, during which he plans to focus his initiatives around advocacy for patients and immunologists.

CIS was established in 1986 and is devoted to fostering developments in the science and practice of clinical immunology. CIS works to facilitate education, translational research and novel approaches to therapy in clinical immunology to promote excellence in the care of patients with immunologic/inflammatory disorders.