Today is the last day for 2021 Benefits Annual Enrollment! Please make your elections safely and conveniently online at www.texaschildrensbenefits.org by midnight tonight.
If you do not plan to have medical, dental and vision benefits through Texas Children’s, please log into our Benefits website and waive coverage. Otherwise, your current elections will carry over to 2021.
To participate in either the Healthcare or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) in 2021, you must make an election during Annual Enrollment.
Thank you for participating!
With COVID-19 spiking across the country, celebrating the upcoming holidays in a safe manner will be of enormous importance in keeping ourselves and our families safe during this period of heightened activity. Although social distancing from friends and family can be difficult – especially during the holiday months – it is absolutely critical that we continue the practices that have helped to mitigate the spread of this virus. To help you prepare, please take a moment to review the following holiday guidance from both Texas Children’s and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Potlucks, parties and social gatherings in the workplace should not be held. If individuals wish to provide individually wrapped food items for team members to enjoy, this is acceptable. However, please utilize safe options (such as grab-and-go) and only when a minimum of six-foot social distancing practices can be adhered to. Although there is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread by food, people sharing utensils and congregating around food service areas pose a considerable risk of transmission.
Consider other options in celebrating the holidays with your team members. While gatherings are restricted at Texas Children’s, you are encouraged to think through alternative options for celebrating with your team members. Some ideas include facilitating a card exchange or hosting a virtual holiday party via Teams.
If you are planning on attending or hosting a holiday gathering in the community, please be advised that the CDC offers direction, and advises that you assess current COVID-19 levels in the community prior to making a determination on whether or not to host an event. Currently, the CDC recommends hosting celebrations virtually or with members of your immediate household only. To learn more, click here.
Please remember that masks are required upon entrance to a Texas Children’s facility and should be worn at all times, including in parking garages, shuttle stops and while riding the shuttle. A mask should be worn as soon as you step out of your personal mode of transportation before entering a building, and the hospital-issued mask should remain on as you leave the building until you reach your personal mode of transportation. Masks should also be worn at all times in shared office spaces, including inside cubicles or at desks that are more than six feet apart. Individuals sitting in cubicles or shared workspaces may remove masks to eat or drink if they are the only ones present. As soon as the individual is finished eating and/or drinking, the mask must be placed back on. Keep in mind that respite rooms and private rooms are available for individuals to unmask and rest in solitude, as needed.
Lastly, always practice social distancing guidelines to ensure six feet of space between people are in place at all times. This includes in elevators, common areas and while riding the shuttle. Shared spaces, such as breakrooms and conference rooms, have limited capacity (posted online and on doors) in order to maintain social distancing.
Thank you for leading the way and setting an example for your team members, our patients, their families, your families and our community.
As of November 13, 73.4 percent of our team members are vaccinated against the flu. Vaccination events are still available across the organization. Read more
November 10, 2020
As of November 9, 70.8% of our team members are vaccinated against the flu. Additional vaccination events are available across the organization, with some events taking place at or nearby employee screening locations. Read more
There is the last week for 2021 Annual Enrollment. Please take a moment to explore our 2021 benefits offerings and make your elections safely and conveniently online at www.texaschildrensbenefits.org by midnight, Tuesday, November 17.
Thank you for participating in Annual Enrollment.
November 3, 2020
Following a global communication last week about the need to stay vigilant in the face of rising large-scale and coordinated ransomware attacks targeting health care systems across the country, Texas Children’s continues to closely monitor this significant threat. To keep our team members further informed, below is a brief Q&A on what is taking place, how it could potentially impact Texas Children’s and what you can do to help.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware locks a computer system to prevent the owner or organization from accessing data until they pay a ransom. If a ransomware attack were to impact Texas Children’s, it could potentially have significant impacts across our digital systems, including PeopleSoft, EPIC, Microsoft Office (i.e., email, Teams, OneDrive, etc.), and more.
What do we know about this latest ransomware attack?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a warning about a significant, “imminent and credible” ransomware threat to hospitals and health care providers being perpetrated by cybercriminals based in Eastern Europe, including one called UNC 1878. The threat appears to involve a combination of phishing, Trickbot malware and Ryuk ransomware, which were recently deployed against dozens of health care organizations, including Universal Health Services.
What is being done nationwide at this time?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and DHS issued bulletins about this threat on October 29. The FBI and the DHS-Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have also issued a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory report. To learn more, click here.
What is being done at Texas Children’s?
The federal government has recommended that hospitals and health care providers implement the necessary security measures as soon as possible, and Texas Children’s is working diligently to do just that. Additionally, given that our response may escalate quickly in the event of an attack, we have asked our senior leaders to review their business continuity plans with their teams to ensure we are prepared for any potential network disruptions. Although our Information Services (IS) team has worked diligently to keep Texas Children’s secure during these types of malicious attacks, every employee shares a responsibility to protect our digital environment.
What can you do to help?
Help protect Texas Children’s by heightening your awareness of external emails from unknown senders, and by carefully considering before clicking on website links and opening email attachments. In particular, pay close attention to any unusual email that engages you to click over to a file sharing site, such as Google Drive. Putting this vigilance into practice in the workplace could also help you avoid potential phishing scams and ransomware attacks sent to your own personal email.
What do I do if I receive a suspicious email?
While there are several ways ransomware can be transmitted across an organization, the most common is email, where an employee may be deceived into clicking a link or opening an attachment from a fraudulent account. If you receive a suspicious message, refrain from opening the email or any attachments, and do not click any links. Simply delete the message from your inbox and notify IS Security by emailing isservicedesk@texaschildrens.org.
If you have any questions about information security or phishing, please call the IS Service Desk at 832-824-3512.
How do I sign up for emergency alerts through Everbridge?
In the event that Texas Children’s is impacted by a ransomware attack, our IS team may be required to shut down all or parts of our network, including email. Should this happen, Everbridge emergency text messaging would serve as a primary means of communicating with our workforce.
If you are not currently receiving emergency text communications from Everbridge, please sign up for alerts by following the instructions below:
For TCH employees: Add your mobile phone number to your profile in MOLI to begin receiving these messages. Upon logging in to MOLI, simply click on “Personal Information” and then “Phone Numbers.” From there, you will see an area to add your mobile phone.
For BCM employees: To opt-in for emergency text messages, please click here and then log in with your username and password. From there, you will be prompted to submit a mobile phone number.
November 2, 2020
Halloween came early for several patients, their families and employees at Texas Children’s. While the COVID-19 pandemic changed this year’s Halloween celebrations, Child Life teams at our three hospital campuses organized several spooktacular activities while keeping safety and social distance in mind.
At Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, the festivities began on October 10 in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where our hospital’s tiniest patients celebrated their first Halloween dressed up in costumes that ranged from lady bugs, butterflies and fruit, to super heroes and Disney characters.
Texas Children’s NICU Child Life and Music Therapy team organized the Halloween celebrations with support from the Newborn Center Social Work team and NICU leadership. Due to COVID-19, this year’s celebrations were organized differently to maintain social distancing. Instead of hosting costume decorating parties where parents gathered in a room to make their babies’ costumes, kits were distributed to families so they could make their own Halloween costumes individually.
“We provided materials to create felt layover costumes so that all NICU patients, no matter their medical needs, could participate,” said Child Life Specialist Teaghan Robinson. “Several families used the kits to create costumes for their babies, while other families purchased their own costumes for the occasion. Since the hospital environment can be a difficult place for NICU patients and their families, our team wanted to normalize their experience as they celebrated their baby’s first Halloween.”
For siblings who were unable to visit their newborn brother or sister in the NICU due to hospital visitation restrictions, the NICU Child Life and Music Therapy Team provided Halloween themed picture frame decoration kits for parents to take home with them so their children could also join in on the fun.
Video: Halloween highlights at Texas Children’s
The Halloween festivities didn’t stop there. There were plenty of other Spooktacular events in October:
Child Life Zone Halloween Party: Spirit of Halloween donated costumes to patients and their families for this special occasion. Activities included pumpkin painting, witches slime making, a photo booth, and games. Patients from each floor came up to the Child Life Zone on their designated day to allow for social distancing. Staff from other departments volunteered the event and dressed up in their Halloween best.
Reverse Trick or Treating: Complete with music, games, a photo booth, and COVID-19 friendly trick or treating, a decorated cart filled with Halloween goodies made its way to each patient floor in West Tower. Patients, dressed up in their costumes as they waited eagerly in their room to trick or treat with staff.
Halloween at West Campus: Patients received Disney-themed bags filled with fun activities based on the individual’s age/developmental level. These bags included stuffed animals, Halloween/Autumn coloring or sticker activities, Disney pen and journal, Disney playing cards and books to read.
Halloween at The Woodlands: The Woodlands Campus celebrated Fall Fun Day where staff handed out over 400 bags of fall themed toys and activities to our inpatients and outpatients. Inpatients were able to participate in socially distanced pumpkin painting. The NICU patients were also able to have their First Halloween pumpkin pictures by the Child Life team with the support of First Memories Texas equipment and supplies. The bags and items were generously donated by community partners including: Clariant Oil Services, Junior League of The Woodlands, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The Woodlands Fire Department, Klein Cain Mu Alpha Theta, Modern Woodmen of America, National Charity League – Woodlands Chapter, Chick-Fil-A College Park and 501st Legion – South Texas Squad of Star Garrison.
View the photo gallery to get a glimpse of the fun everyone had at these unforgettable events.
