February 20, 2023

This week, a Magnet® appraiser team will join Texas Children’s for a virtual site visit (February 21 – 24, 2023), marking a huge milestone in the hospital’s journey towards achieving our fourth re-designation.

Since 2003, Texas Children’s has been a Magnet-designated organization. Every four years, the hospital applies for re-designation, which is the highest and most prestigious recognition provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) that reflects our commitment to providing quality patient care.

What to expect during the virtual site visit

The Magnet appraisers will be virtually accompanied by a staff nurse escort at all times, touring each clinical area (unit or clinic) where nurses practice. The Magnet appraisers will typically ask questions about how patient care is delivered at Texas Children’s, and those who interact with the appraisers are encouraged to reference exemplars (see our written documentation) that ladder up to the core Magnet model components:

  • Transformational Leadership
  • Structural Empowerment
  • Exemplary Professional Practice
  • New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements
  • Empirical Outcomes
Brush up on hot topics

Nursing staff are invited to join our remaining 15-minute Magnet Blitz sessions on Tuesday at noon and Friday at noon. Click here to access recordings of the previous Blitz sessions.

Our Magnet teams have been hard at work preparing rigorously to ensure readiness for this site visit, and now we’re off to the races! Clinical team members are encouraged to wear and lace up their best sneakers on Monday, February 20 as we sprint to the finish line of our Relay to Redesignation.

Texas Children’s staff have the opportunity to meet individually with the appraisers during an Open Session from 3:25 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21 at the following locations:

  • Feigin Center (Medical Center) – C.0235.02
  • West Campus – WC.310.40
  • The Woodlands – WL110.54
February 15, 2023

To meet the needs of international families and partners, Brittany taps into her love for traveling. Click to learn more about her journey and what Black History Month means to her. Read more

On February 6, tragedy struck with two 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes in Southeastern Turkey and Northern Syria claiming precious lives and causing devastating damage. As the death toll surpasses more than 36,000 with tens of thousands injured, they continue to search for survivors amidst the freezing temperatures.

It’s hard not to feel a range of emotions watching people go through this type of tragedy. It’s hitting home for so many of our Texas Children’s colleagues, especially those watching what’s unfolding in their home country.

Dr. Serife Uysal in Pediatrics, Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Woodlands Campus shares her thoughts on what is happening in her home country of Turkey. “The amount of pain and suffering is immense and humanitarian needs are enormous. People have lost their lives, their loved ones, houses and jobs, and recovery will take years. My heart breaks for them. So many people are in need for food, water, shelter, medical supplies, as well as mental and emotional support as they cope with these events. Outside help is essential to their survival.”

Serpil Tutan, Director, Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics comments on the tragedy and appreciation for the support. “No words can describe the pain and devastation I feel after one of the largest and deadliest earthquakes hit Turkey, my home country, and Syria. It is frustrating to see this much destruction and chaos. Hopefully, something good can come out of this as a lesson to be learned for everyone on how to be better prepared to survive and act fast to save lives in the future. All we can do now is play our part in supporting a quick recovery for affected regions. I am grateful for the outpouring of love and support we are receiving from the rest of the world.”

Ipek Kose, Research Administration Specialist stresses the importance of coming together in aid. “This is a big tragedy in Turkey and Syria. The earthquake took many lives and continues to do so and the damage is bigger than anyone can imagine. But thanks to you, we can touch lives with a little help and be the hope to leave these devastations behind. We need your help and anything you can provide through the links below would be appreciated as recovery will be a long journey. Please spread the word. Thank you!”

Elif Dundar, Research Coordinator encourages people to think globally. “Survivors of the catastrophic earthquakes in Syria and Turkey are in need of global support. In the midst of harsh winter storms, families are urgently seeking access to shelter, food and clean water. Incredible efforts have been underway over the last week to rescue people from the rubble and provide housing to displaced survivors. Children are in particularly vulnerable positions without their usual support frameworks and will need dedicated attention to psychosocial support and schooling. As the humanitarian response scales up, it is imperative we sustain this outpouring of global support to rebuild these regions together as a global team. With a unified response, we can reduce the toll on families and give them a chance to rebuild their lives with dignity and hope.”

Serpil, Elif and Ipek researched and vetted non-profit organizations collecting donations, including Turkish Philanthropy Funds and American Turkish Association Houston. They have offered this flyer to post in your area if interested.

In addition, there are several large organizations collecting donations. The following are trusted partners of Texas Children’s.

UNICEF
Global Giving
IFRC
Save the Children
Doctors Without Borders
CARE

Child Life hosted a fun-filled Valentine’s Day party for patients in The Zone with goodie bags, cookie decorating and a visit from Pluto and Bailey! Check out the photo gallery.

February 8, 2023

Throughout the pandemic, our teams have adjusted and adapted quickly to the changing landscape of patient care. Rapidly standing up telemedicine operations provided an opportunity for us to offer our world-class care in a safe manner to our patients. Even as we return to more regular operations and in-person patient care, telemedicine remains a valuable option for many.

In our last fiscal year, 12% of our outpatient specialty appointments were completed via telemedicine and over 225,000 appointments across the hospital, TCP/UC and the Centers were completed via video. And many other areas of the organization have adopted video workflows as a vital component of their care.

In mid-April, we will retire the current system, VidyoConnect, and migrate to the native Epic video client. Providers and patients can expect a similar experience with Epic and the familiar workflow of clicking on the green camera icon within an encounter will remain unchanged. Some workflows, such as adding a video interpreter to the visit, will change slightly.

“Moving this service to a trusted partner in Epic provides benefits we can pass along to our providers and patients,” said Dr. Robert Ball, medical director of eHealth. “They will deliver a level of customer service we expect to help us react quickly to questions and challenges, as well as provide more opportunities to develop new functionality and enhancements.”

In the coming weeks, updates and training materials will be available to help users get familiar with the system before launch. Similar education will be extended to patients and their families.

If you have any questions about this migration, please contact Dr. Robert Ball, Grace Karon or Paul Zuniga. You can also call 832-822-0220 or email ehealthsupport@texaschildrens.org, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Please refer to the eHealth SharePoint site for the latest in news about the migration.

February 7, 2023

Being prepared for a crisis – either sudden or forecasted – is the key to staying calm and staying safe. Texas Children’s is refining our best practice when it comes to emergency preparedness, and we all have a role to play.

Everbridge Event Management Platform

When emergencies happen, Texas Children’s will rely on the Everbridge platform to keep you informed. Whether through text, phone and/or email, team members can be reached in seconds when a critical event takes place.

We know messages received on your personal device can be a distraction, and that’s why we are committed to using this channel only when necessary to protect people and property.

Be sure you’re on the list:

  • If your contact information is correct in Voyager, you’re on the list. If you’re not getting messages, please review your information, paying particular attention that your mobile number is in the correct field.
  • If you have previously opted out, we strongly encourage you to opt back in by texting the word “RESUME” to 89361.
Employee Disaster Roster (EDR) Enrollment is Open

Another important element of preparedness is understanding the role you play in keeping our system running when disaster strikes.

All team members must re-register annually for the Employee Disaster Roster – electing to be part of the Prep Team, Ride-Out Team and/or Relief Team. Details for each team are listed in the form, and you should work with your leader to agree on the appropriate role for you. Note, if you’re on the ride-out team, you can use this easy checklist to pack your at-work disaster bag with 5-7 days of essential supplies.

Deadlines

  • Friday, March 24 – all EDR registrations must be complete.
  • Friday, March 31 – Leader validation must be complete.

Visit the Department of Organizational Resilience SharePoint site for contact information and links to websites to help you create an emergency preparedness plan of your own.

After a 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Texas Children’s is excited to return to the saddle for Rodeo 2023! The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) will take over NRG Park Tuesday, February 28, through Sunday, March 19. As has been done in the past, we will provide Texas Children’s employees an opportunity to purchase tickets for the different rodeo events, including must-see musical performances.

Click here for details on entering the Rodeo Concert Ticket Drawing and participating in HLSR’s first-ever Community Day – featuring free admission and purchase options for other Rodeo festivities.

Break out your boots, hats and belt buckles! Let’s Rodeo!