March 23, 2020

As part of our COVID-19 preparedness efforts, Texas Children’s is establishing mandatory screenings for all employees and staff beginning Monday, March 23.

What do i need to do?

Refer to the list of checkpoints below for your designated screening location. Plan to arrive at your designated screening location at least 15-30 minutes early. Some locations will have lengthy lines as our screeners and employees become more accustomed to this process. Allow yourself some additional time to get through screening and report to your normal work location as required. Employees will not receive compensation for any screening wait times.

If you are cleared to work, please place your wristband as soon as it is received.

Screening process

Check your own temperature and symptoms before reporting to work. Do not come to work if you are sick. Your temperature will be checked as part of your screening and if you present symptoms consistent with COVID-19, you will not be allowed on site and will be provided information as to when you are able to return to work.

Each day that you are cleared to work, you will receive a different wristband each day to indicate you have been cleared. Be sure to wear your wristband and remind others to do the same.

Designated checkpoints

Medical Center (includes Meyer building)
Feigin Circle for walkers and drop-offs
Garage 11 – Entrance
Garage 19 – Level 1 through 8
Legacy Tower – B3, B4 elevators only

West Campus
Back MOB entrance near service elevators

The Woodlands
MOB second-floor bridge

Health Plan
Main Lobby entry

Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Urgent Care
Upon entry to the practice/site

Specialty Care
Bellaire: near service elevators
Clear Lake: rear employee entrance
Cy-Fair: rear employee entrance
Sugar Land: first floor lobby by rear parking lot entrance

Reminders and recommendations

Maintain social distancing. Keep a safe distance (approximately 6 feet) between yourself and others while waiting in line to be screened and encourage your colleagues to follow suit. Stay in touch with your leader. We know it will take time to get used to being screened as part of your routine. Reach out to your leader for support and guidance throughout this process. Be mindful of Texas Children’s travel guidelines. You will be asked to answer travel questions as part of our screening. Remember: Any workforce member (employees, Baylor faculty or staff members) who has traveled greater than 150 miles cannot report to work at Texas Children’s until the 15th day following your return from travel. If you have returned to work already, you will be sent home until you meet this criteria.

Guidelines – Workforce screening and community exposure

To provide additional guidance and clarity about how Texas Children’s is assessing and clearing team members for on-site or remote work, click here to view these guidelines. Note, these will be updated as the situation evolves.

As we approach the end of the My Nutrition Challenge, your Texas Children’s Well-Being team wants to help our participants finish strong and make building healthier, more balanced meals a lifelong habit. In the last week of the challenge, focus on including 2 tablespoons of healthy fat with your meals.

Healthy fats do more than add flavor to our food. They can also help regulate blood sugar, decrease inflammation, increase satiety and lubricate joints.

Cigna Health Coach and Registered Dietitian Staci Tobolowsky Astrein shows us how to fatten up our meals the right way in the final video of our challenge series.

March 17, 2020

Once you submit the form, you will be notified if you are cleared for work or will be contacted directly by Employee Health for further evaluation (based on your travel history). Complete the form here.

Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre shares the proactive measures we are taking to ensure the safety of our patients and care teams as we adapt and respond to the COVID-19 situation. Read more

On his blog last week, Mark Wallace shares how the evolving situation around COVID-19 proves the sturdiness of our organization as we work together with our community partners. Read more

We’ve made it past the halfway point of the My Nutrition Challenge and your Texas Children’s Well-Being team is here to support and encourage our participants to keep adding healthier food options into your day-to-day routine. This week, focus on filling one-quarter of your plate with carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates sometimes get a bad rap, but they’re an important source of energy and fiber – you just have to pick the right types and amounts.

Cigna Health Coach and Registered Dietitian Staci Tobolowsky Astrein shares more helpful insights on carbohydrates in this video.

March 12, 2020

On March 7, Texas Children’s Fetal Center held a successful patient reunion at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. Families from around the country traveled to Houston to reconnect with Fetal Center physicians, nurse coordinators and staff.

Since its inaugural event in 2007, the reunion provides an opportunity for physicians and staff to reunite with patient families who received life-saving medical and surgical care at our Fetal Center.

“Many of these families spent extended periods of time with our Fetal Center staff and in our neonatal intensive care unit,” said Texas Children’s Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief Dr. Michael Belfort. “This reunion is a memorable opportunity for our team to reconnect with these wonderful families from across the country that we have positively impacted, and we cherish the opportunity to see these patients, who overcame tough challenges in their young lives, grow and thrive.”

Chloe Villarreal, who traveled six hours from her family’s home in San Juan, Texas, joined other patient families to celebrate the lives of these precious miracle babies who were cared for by our maternal fetal medicine and NICU staff, and who have since then, reached incredible milestones along the way.

“We are grateful to Texas Children’s and all of the doctors and the entire medical team who gave us hope and reassurance, and took such great care of our baby,” said Villarreal, whose daughter Charlotte underwent fetoscopic repair surgery to treat spina bifida. “When our daughter turned 18 months old, she walked for the very first time. Texas Children’s will always be a part of our family, and that’s why I make it a point to attend the fetal reunion. It makes me feel so good that all of these children are doing wonderful.”

The Fetal Center Reunion, which occurs every two years at Texas Children’s, included a delicious lunch and plenty of fun activities for the families, including a craft corner where children got a chance to build their own Golden Retriever comfort dog and take their new furry friend home with them.