September 15, 2015

91615roseparade640Peyton Richardson, a 13-year old currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) at Texas Children’s Cancer Center, has been chosen to ride on a float at the 127th Rose Parade for Northwestern Mutual, the presenting sponsor for the 2016 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, CA. The theme of this year’s parade is Find Your Adventure.

Peyton, who was diagnosed in January, is an aspiring ballerina who dreams of taking a ballet lesson from a principal dancer. Her dream will come to life as part of the float. Northwestern Mutual dedicated their float in this year’s parade to bringing awareness to childhood cancer. Peyton’s story was chosen from submissions from across the country of patients detailing their dreams. Peyton’s video speaks to her passion for dance. Her adventure will be brought to life in roses through Northwestern Mutual’s float design and the Richardson family will have the special opportunity to ride in the Rose Parade.

Northwestern Mutual is committed to raising awareness, accelerating the search for cures to childhood cancer and providing support to families battling the disease.

“We are humbled by Peyton’s passion to fight cancer and desire to share her story with others,” said John Kordsmeier, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. “Peyton’s adventure on display will be very inspiring and will drive more awareness and support for all families affected by childhood cancer.”

SSTamilaHolland175Tamila Holland from the Child Protective Team is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star employee. “If I can somehow put a smile on a child’s face, or bring comfort to a parent’s heart and mind: that is my constant motivation at work,” said Holland. Read more of Holland’s interview, and find out how you can nominate a Super Star.

Q&A: Tamila Holland, July 2015 Employee

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Tamila Holland, LVN with the Child Protective Team for seven years.

What month are you Super Star for?
July 2015

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
My boss, Lisa Creamer, and the Child Protective Team masqueraded a mock meeting to present me with the award.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?
It was truly hard to be recognized, because I absolutely have a passion for what I do and it doesn’t ever seem like hard work to me. This organization (CPT Team) is such a positive influence and motivator in my professional goals and endeavors. This team is constantly pushing and encouraging educational improvement as well as personal skills to increase my aptitude in this profession.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
I honestly feel we all are “Super Stars.” The dedication and devotion I see each and every day with my peers and how they interact with our young patients are a continual reminder of how special and super our staff is.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
If I can somehow put a smile on a child’s face, or bring comfort to a parent’s heart and mind: that is my constant motivation at work.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
Texas Children’s Hospital has provided me with ongoing opportunities and incentives to learn, develop and grow. I work with an awesome team and great mentors.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader?
While the formal definition of leader is: “one who leads or commands a group, organization or company.” I am inclined to believe that Texas Children’s employs leaders because this organization continues to be an inventive and constantly has a new and improved vision.

What is your leadership definition?
Concluding that a leader is one whom creates an inspiring vision of the future, leadership motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision.

Anything else you want to share?
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for endowing me with this grand acknowledgement as Super Star. It is so hard to obtain this award without sharing it with the grand persons I work with every day. I am on a great team, and this is a great place to work.

91615drscottwenderfer175The Clinical Research Center/Research Resources Office will present the Clinical Research Award for Third Quarter 2015 to Dr. Scott Wenderfer, Department of Pediatrics-Renal, Baylor College of Medicine.

The award was established by the Clinical Research Center in collaboration with the Research Resources Office to recognize and honor individual contributions to protecting the best interest of the research subjects and compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

Dr. Wenderfer’s research activities focus on Inflammatory Kidney Diseases and Lupus Nephritis.

Congratulations to Dr. Wenderfer.

September 9, 2015

Texas Children’s employees and their families recently celebrated the organization’s 20th anniversary with a day of fun at Regal Ranch in Stafford.

In between feasting on hotdogs, cupcakes and snow cones, the more than 600 guests slid down a giant water slide, enjoyed a hay ride, played putt-putt golf, ping pong and volley ball, and visited with friends and coworkers.

“The mood was very festive and fun,” said Texas Children’s Pediatrics President Kay Tittle. “It’s been really nice to celebrate with the families of our staff.”

Texas Children’s Pediatrics turned 20 years old on August 1, launching what is now the largest pediatric network in the nation with more than 200 board-certified pediatricians and more than 50 practices throughout the greater Houston area. Each year, the group cares for more than 400,000 patients and completes more than 1.2 million visits.

Recently, the organization opened its first three urgent care centers and started a pilot program called Texas Children’s Pediatrics Walk-In-Now (W.I.N.) at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Cy-Fair. Both programs offer additional access to quality pediatric care any time of the day or evening. Additional urgent care and W.I.N. locations will be opening soon.

A few months ago, Texas Children’s Pediatrics launched the ParentAdvice Center, a new mobile health management app available for free on iTunes and Google Play that will help families make smart decisions about what level of care is needed for their child and how to provide symptom relief for minor illnesses or injuries at home.

And, for years Texas Children’s Pediatrics Community Cares Program has provided trusted, high-quality pediatric medical services for children who otherwise would seek care from emergency rooms or possibly go without care or treatment due to low family incomes and/or lack of health insurance.

Regardless of the family’s financial situation, the Community Cares Program provides health care to children from birth to age 18 and offers the opportunity to develop a trusting, long-term relationship with a board certified pediatrician. The program also collaborates with community partners to assist families with other needed health care services.

“Our top priority is taking care of patients and their families,” Tittle said. “That is what we do best and what we will continue to do for years to come.”

91015drhairaward640Dr. Amy Hair, a neonatologist and director of neonatal nutrition at Texas Children’s, recently received the Baylor College of Medicine’s 2015 Clinical Faculty of the Year Award for demonstrating “exemplary performance of activities that are above and beyond the scope of assigned responsibilities.”

Baylor colleagues nominated Hair for this prestigious award. In addition to exemplifying strong leadership and mentoring skills in her field, Hair was recognized for her ability to encourage teamwork and foster a culture of respect, integrity and excellence in patient care.

Fulfilling her clinical duties in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) – like providing superior care to her patients, leading weekly rounds with the NICU intestinal rehabilitation team and collaborating with dietitians to meet the nutritional needs of premature infants – Hair also devotes much of her time to advancing neonatal nutrition research to improve patient outcomes in the NICU.

A groundbreaking study led by Hair and published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that adding a human milk-based cream to the exclusive human milk diets of premature infants significantly improved their growth outcomes in the NICU. As a result of Hair’s findings, Texas Children’s is the first hospital in the world to add human milk-based cream to the diets of premature babies weighing less than 3.3 pounds.

Besides publishing her research studies in numerous premier scientific journals, Hair continually demonstrates her commitment to her tiniest patients by delivering presentations at pediatric research conferences worldwide promoting the health benefits of exclusive human milk feeding, which has significantly reduced the rate of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in our NICU by 77 percent. Potentially life-threatening, NEC is a neonatal condition that causes intestinal inflammation.

An active member of several professional organizations – Academy of Pediatrics, Texas Pediatric Society, Texas Medical Association and Harris County Medical Society – Hair also serves as a scientific advisor to the NEC Society, a non-profit organization where she helps promote community awareness about the life-saving benefits of human milk, while encouraging more mothers to donate their breast milk to protect babies from NEC.

“I am extremely humbled to receive this award,” said Hair, who added that being nominated by her peers is an honor that is extremely validating. “Receiving feedback from my colleagues is one of the best forms of positive reinforcement. It demonstrates the work that I am doing has a profound impact on everyone, including the patients and families I serve. I love my job and I am fortunate to work with an excellent multidisciplinary team in the Newborn Center at Texas Children’s.”

September 2, 2015

9315SSSantanaGibbsMarks175Santana Gibbs-Marks from Diabetes/Endocrine Care Center is the latest Texas Children’s Super Star employee. “The best thing about working at Texas Children’s is the compassion of my fellow coworkers and to see the children smiling even when they are sick,” said Gibbs-Marks. “That puts a smile on my face, and it makes me remember how thankful I am.” Read more of Gibbs-Marks’ interview, and find out how you can nominate a Super Star.

Q&A: Santana Gibbs-Marks, June 2015 Employee

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?

Santana Gibbs-Marks, Lead Ambulatory Service Representative in the Diabetes/Endocrine Care Center. I started at Texas Children’s Hospital in 2008 has a contractor, and on June 15, 2009 I became a permanent employee. As of June 15 I’ve been at Texas Children’s six years.

What month are you Super Star for?

The month of June.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.

We had a graduation ceremony for our fellows and right afterwards they said we had a mandatory meeting. My director Ryan Breaux came in and start talking about AIDET and then walks in my mom and husband. I was very surprised when he announced that I had won the Super Star award for the month of June.

What does it mean to be recognized for the hard work you do? How has the organization helped you achieve your personal and professional goals?

The Super Star recognition means to me that the work that I do daily is noticed and that someone sees a bigger picture of me and I am all so grateful. This organization has contributed to my success in so many ways. I am thankful for my leaders who have helped me reach some of my goals and going. I’m not finished. This is only just the beginning.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?

Consistently going above and beyond without being asked to do so. Thinking outside of the box and having a strong passion and love for what you do every day.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?

My motivation for going above and beyond is seeing these beautiful kids and their families smiling at the end of their visits. I am most of the time the last person they see before they leave our clinic I LOVE to see a sense of ease, and that they have been well taken care of at the end of the day.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?

The best thing about working at Texas Children’s is the compassion of my fellow coworkers and to see the children even when they are sick smiling. That puts a smile on my face and it makes me remember how thankful I am.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?

To me it means everyone plays a part in leadership because in some form we all have someone looking up to us and we are guiding each other. A leader in my opinion is one who leads by example, so that others are motivated to follow.

Anything else you want to share?

I would like to thank my leaders and coworkers in my department and all the doctors for believing and trusting in me.

August 27, 2015

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Congratulations are in order for Texas Children’s esteemed President and CEO Mark A. Wallace for winning Houston Business Journal’s (HBJ) inaugural Best Not-for-Profit CEO and Executive of the Year awards.

Wallace accepted both awards at HBJ’s C-Suite Awards dinner on Thursday, August 27,  at the Hilton Post Oak.  He was one of six finalists in the Best Not-for-Profit CEO category. He then went on to win the overall Executive of the Year award, beating out the winners of five executive categories from across a wide variety of industries in Houston.

The packed house gave Wallace a standing ovation, and true to form, he gave all the credit back to the organization and to the patients and families we serve. He attributed both honors to Texas Children’s “one amazing team.”

“I was honored to receive both awards, but really what I thought about most was how much it would mean to the employees,” Wallace said. “I knew they would be excited and that it would just instill even more pride within the organization.”

The HBJ awards recognized this year’s top C-level executives of for-profit and non-profit companies who are innovators, trailblazers, role models, standard-setters and leaders in the Houston area. A panel of judges scored each nominee based on their contribution to company success, civic involvement and career achievement.

In addition to Wallace’s recognition, HBJ awarded the top executives in the following roles:

  • Chief Executive Officer (For-Profit): Edna Meyer-Nelson,  The Richland Cos.
  • Chief Financial Officer: Daniel Molinaro, Now Inc.
  • Chief Operating Officer: Ed Gay, US Med-Equip
  • Chief Information or Technology Officer: Lori Kittle, Landry’s Inc.
  • Chief Marketing Officer: Scott Brown, The Company of Others

Click here to read The Business Journal interview with Mark Wallace, C-Suite Executive of the Year