From COVID-19 to Hurricane Laura, Chief Nursing Officer Mary Jo Andre shares a message of appreciation and support to our nurses for their continued dedication, courage and preparedness in keeping our team and patients safe, while adjusting to what has become our new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
The 2020-21 flu season has arrived and it’s time for our One Amazing Team to step up, make a plan and take action against the spread of the flu.
Starting this week, 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 contract employees; and volunteers at Texas Children’s.
Getting your flu vaccine is the first and most important step you can take to prevent transmission of the flu and protect yourself and others – and it’s even more critical this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing and health care systems around the country closely conserving resources.
It’s also easier than ever this year to make your flu shot plan. We’ve launched a new external website at texaschildrensbenefits.org/flu with all the workforce-related flu resources and information you need to get prepared. On this site, our team members can:
By getting vaccinated against the flu, you are helping to keep our patients and their families, our entire workforce and our community safe. For a step-by-step guide to making your flu shot plan for this year, visit texaschildrensbenefits.org/flu.
The 2020 Annual Required Training (ART) course is now live in HealthStream and available to all Texas Children’s employees, contractors and volunteers, who must complete the mandatory training no later than Friday, October 30.
To access ART, simply log into HealthStream and find the training on your “To Do” tab. Then, click on the “Start” link next to the course titled, “Texas Children’s 2020 Annual Required Training.” To receive credit, all required workforce members must review all course slides and sign the attestation to confirm they have completed the course as directed.
Are you registered to vote?
Are your co-workers registered?
How about your family members or neighbors?
The 2020 General Election is November 3, 2020, and the deadline in Texas to register to vote or update your voter information is October 5, 2020. Texas Children’s Government Relations department is leading our System efforts to make sure the answer to all of these questions is, “YES!”
Posters will soon appear at various locations around the organization with QR codes to help you with the following:
1.) Check your voter registration status.
2.) Update your voter information, or
3.) Register to vote. As our adherence to COVID-19 precautions prevent us from hosting in-person campus voter registration events, sharing this news story and its important links with your co-workers, family, and friends via text or email is especially important this year.
Every U.S. citizen has a right to vote, and here are some things to consider to get ready to participate in this year’s general election. First, check your voter information as soon as possible by clicking here. Next, have you (or a member of your family) recently moved or changed addresses? Unless you want to vote in your old voter precinct on election day, you must update your voter registration to reflect your current residence.
If you can’t find your voter registration information, you can complete an online mail-in voter registration webform by going here.
To assist with successfully completing the web form:
1. Print the form and
2. Address the envelope to the registrar address indicated in the top right of the printed form.
3. Fill out the form and review the application carefully
4. Stamp and seal the envelope and place the filled out form in the convenient United States Postal Service mailbox.
5. To confirm your voter registration was received and processed, visit this website and click on “Am I Registered?”
Finally, besides voting for our next president, not sure who else is on the ballot? Go here and look up your county’s candidates for each race on the November 3, 2020 ballot.
For more details on the voting process and creating your personal plan for early voting or voting on election day, click here.
Texas Children’s non-partisan voter education activities are executed in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital Association guidelines on Permissible Nonpartisan Candidate and Voter Education Activities, which can be found here. All materials and publications associated with Texas Children’s voter education and registration activities is in no way is intended to reflect an endorsement for, or opposition to, any candidate or political party.
You can always access the latest voting details by visiting this page on the Texas Children’s site.
Tara Barrick reflects on the proactive and collaborative steps that our Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women nursing team took to prepare themselves for the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Tara Paulose’s pregnancy with twins was not easy and the pandemic made it even harder with safety precautions preventing her husband from attending her many visits to the Pavilion for Women to see her doctor and get updates on her babies’ progress.
At one point, Paulose said she was put on bedrest except for trips to the hospital and even then she was told to limit the time she spent on her feet. On those trips, her husband would drive her to her appointment, help her out of the car and into a wheelchair, wheel her through the screening process and then, per hospital safety protocols, send her on her way.
Paulose then would wheel herself to the patient screening table where she would not only be checked for COVID-19 symptoms but befriend Sharla Weindorff, a 22-year Texas Children’s employee charged with leading a small, tight-knit team of people responsible for screening and helping patients coming to the Pavilion for Women.
“Sharla graciously wheeled me to many of my appointments and she did so with kindness and a smile,” Paulose said. “That might seem like a small thing but it’s not. It gave me a lot of comfort during a very trying time.”
After Paulose gave birth to her two healthy babies and returned home from a brief stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, she reached out via email to Weindorff to thank her and send her a picture of her new bundles of joy. The email and picture meant the world to Weindorff, who said she teared up and got goosebumps while reading Paulose’s message.
“It reminded me why I’m here right now,” Weindorff said. “I’m extremely grateful to have an opportunity to be here at the hospital helping whenever, wherever and however I can.”
Other members of the screening team have had similar experiences with patients and many have said that working together to keep people safe has offered them a chance to meet new people, create new friendships, and be useful in uncertain times.
“It makes me feel so good that I can help somebody,” said Mel Cardenas, a member of the screening team. “I believe this is an experience I won’t forget.”
Cardenas, Weindorff and the team of three other screeners and one elevator operator was formed in June when Pavilion leadership decided they wanted the people screening their patients to be Pavilion employees who knew the building well and could easily answer patient’s questions.
Four members of the team – Cardenas, Patti Lambert, Andrea Savannah and Weindorff – all are administrative assistants in the Pavilion. Yajaira Mancia from International Services joined the team via Labor Pool and liked it so much she requested a regular shift with the team, and Samuel Gil is the team’s elevator operator keeping everyone safe by helping to enforce the hospital’s social distancing rules. Since they started working together, the team has screened more than 30,000 patients.
“I am so impressed with this team and what they’ve been able to accomplish together for the good of our patients, families and each other,” said Michele Birsinger, assistant vice president for Women’s Services. “They are doing an incredibly important job with remarkably positive attitudes.”
Lambert said the experience has been eye-opening because it has exposed her to more patients and the issues they are dealing with when they come to the hospital seeking care. She said many of the women she’s encountered are experiencing high risk pregnancies and that telling them their loves ones can’t accompany them to their appointment is hard but the right thing to do under the circumstances.
“Most of them are very kind and understanding,” Lambert said. “But, we understand it’s disappointing and difficult, and try to help make their experience as comforting as possible.”
Savannah said she’s learned a lot about Texas Children’s safety protocols by working with the screening team and that the knowledge she’s gained makes her feel proud of the organization’s efforts to keep everyone healthy and safe.
“I am very happy that we have been given the opportunity to be the gatekeepers that protect the hospital,” she said. “We work really well together.”
Mancia agreed and said the past few months have been some of her best at Texas Children’s.
“I’ve never felt so comfortable at my job,” she said. “I will never forget being part of something so great during such a hard time.”
Each year in September, Texas Children’s Hematology Center celebrates Sickle Cell Awareness Month and Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) Awareness Month. Our Hematology Center, directed by Dr. Jenny Despotovic provides the most advanced care to patients with these and other blood disorders.
The Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemia Program at Texas Children’s Hematology Center, co-directed by Drs. Titi Fasipe and Venée Tubman, is the largest in Texas, serving more than 1,000 children a year. Our program offers the latest treatments for these inherited red blood cell disorders and conducts some of the top research in the field. The program’s multidisciplinary staff is made up of board-certified pediatric hematologists, hematology-trained nurse practitioners and physician assistants, research staff, as well as social workers and child life specialists. A few of our providers, including Dr. Fasipe, live with sickle cell disease themselves, giving them a unique perspective in caring for their patients.
In this Connect article, Dr. Fasipe and Nurse Practitioner Precious Uwaezuoke share why they chose to dedicate their profession to caring for children with sickle cell disease and how living with this disease has allowed them to better connect with patients and their family members who have sickle cell disease.
“I have the privilege of taking care of children with sickle cell disease and seeing them face their disease so bravely,” said Fasipe. “When I see the strength and resiliency of our patients, I realize that we can get through any challenge or any struggle because we are here for each other and we support each other.”
Dr. Tubman, who cares for patients with sickle cell disease here at Texas Children’s, also works with our Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) Team to improve the prognosis of children with blood disorders in sub-Saharan Africa and is involved in sickle cell disease-related research.
“At Texas Children’s, I am thrilled to be part of a team of clinicians passionate about providing optimal care for children with sickle cell disease regardless of where in the world they live, as well as part of a collection of researchers dedicated to using basic science techniques to advance understanding of the biology of sickle cell disease and to develop new therapies. It’s truly exciting to be able take such a comprehensive approach to sickle cell disease care for today and for the future.”
Also, during the month of September, our Hematology Center team will help raise awareness about ITP (immune thrombocytopenia), an immune-related blood clotting disorder of platelets that can lead to excessive bruising and bleeding.
Approximately 60 to 70 new patients with ITP are seen at Texas Children’s Hematology Center every year. ITP, an immune disorder that results in low platelets, is caused when the immune system becomes dysregulated or confused. The normal function of the immune system is to defend the body against foreign invaders, such as infections. However, when it becomes dysregulated it can make antibodies that attack normal, healthy cells. In ITP, these antibodies are directed against the platelets, which lowers the platelet count and can lead to bruising and bleeding.
“We are actively pursuing research seeking to better understand the causes of ITP in children, and we are active collaborators on clinical trials and other research studies,” said Despotovic. “Our team is also involved in several studies related to the efficacy and safety of novel ITP treatment approaches for children as well as expanding treatment options for refractory patients to improve long-term outcomes.”
Throughout September, Texas Children’s Hematology Center encourages staff to participate in virtual activities to help shine the light on sickle cell disease and ITP.
The Cancer and Hematology Centers’ outpatient team is hosting a variety of colorful activities throughout the month to honor each of the patient populations impacted by the diseases/disorders being honored in September.
ITP Awareness Month
Sickle Cell Awareness Month
Click here to learn more about Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers.
