October 8, 2018


Dr. Jenny Despotovic, director of the Immune Hematology program at the Texas Children’s Hematology Center, served as editor of the recently published textbook Immune Hematology: Diagnosis and Management of Autoimmune Cytopenias. The textbook provides a concise yet comprehensive overview of the most common autoimmune cytopenias affecting adults and children.

This is the first textbook dedicated exclusively to immune cytopenias. Despotovic worked with several of her colleagues to develop, write and edit the content in the textbook, which had over 2,000 downloads in the first two months since publication.

The book is divided into four sections, each of which focuses on a major autoimmune cytopenia. The first section features background, pathophysiology, presentation, evaluation, and treatment strategies for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), the most common cause of antibody-mediated platelet destruction. The second section reviews common forms and treatment strategies for autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), including a chapter dedicated specifically to Evans Syndrome. The third section comprehensively reviews the pathophysiology, diagnosis and current management approaches to thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a potentially life-threatening autoimmune syndrome. The book concludes with a final section on autoimmune neutropenia. Each section includes a review of common underlying systemic autoimmune conditions and immune deficiency syndromes that can accompany or cause autoimmune cytopenias.

“It was a privilege to be part of the creation of this very important textbook,” Despotovic said. “It is an important addition to the body of literature available to guide providers in the diagnosis and management of these challenging disorders, and will hopefully positively impact the care of patients with these complex conditions.”

Those in the Hematology Center who contributed to the effort include:
Dr. Alicia Chang
Dr. Clay Cohen
Dr. Jenny Despotovic
Dr. Amanda Grimes
Dr. Taylor Olmsted Kim
Dr. Jacquelyn Powers
Dr. Shawki Qasim
Dr. Sarah Sartain

October 4, 2018

According to a recent Physicians’ Choice survey conducted by Medscape, Texas Children’s Hospital was recognized as one of the nation’s top three hospitals for the treatment of pediatric conditions.

Between May 17 and August 13, Medscape surveyed more than 11,000 U.S. physicians to get their opinions on which hospitals they would send family members to for specialty care. Texas Children’s ranked in the top three for pediatric care along with Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Medscape identified 10 clinical conditions or procedures and asked, “Suppose you or someone in your family were diagnosed with a complex or difficult case of (condition). Assuming no barriers to treatment at the hospital you prefer, what hospital would you choose for treatment?”

Based on this survey, doctors felt the most important part of choosing a hospital was expertise followed by a hospital’s reputation among other physicians. Additional factors in choosing a hospital included: having leading technology available, low error and infection rates, and treatment and studies published in respected medical journals.

“We are honored that our hospital was recognized by physicians as one of the best pediatric hospitals in the nation,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark Wallace. “This is a testament to the exceptional quality of work we do across our system every day, and indicative of our hospital’s reputation in pediatric care.”

October 2, 2018

The Legacy of Motown Gala on September 29 at Revention Music Center topped the philanthropy charts, raising more than $83 million and making it the highest-grossing fundraising gala in Texas. The event was underwritten by The Lester & Sue Smith Foundation, whose commitment to match funds raised inspired others to generously give.

But the biggest hit of the night was the announcement of the naming of Texas Children’s latest expansion project – the Lester and Sue Smith Legacy Tower. The Smiths, who have dedicated their private wealth for public good, generously pledged $50 million to Texas Children’s to support Legacy Tower, the hospital’s new home for heart, intensive care and surgery, as well as to support patient care and research at Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

“I am incredibly grateful to Lester and Sue for this transformational gift,” said Mark Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s. “Their unwavering commitment to our patients and families over the years is unmatched, and this is another shining example of their extraordinary generosity and compassionate care for others.”

Drawing from a place of gratitude for the life-saving care Lester received during his battles with cancer, the dynamic couple has dedicated more than $150 million to support research at numerous institutions including Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine and Harris Health System. Following the Disco Legends event in 2012, which benefitted Texas Children’s Cancer Center, the clinic was named in their honor as the Lester and Sue Smith Clinic.

“Giving to others is our guiding philosophy,” said Lester and Sue Smith. “There is nothing more precious than a child, and we hope this gift will help support the incomparable patient care for which the hospital is known. It is truly our honor to leave a legacy of support for generations to come at Texas Children’s.”

Legacy Tower adds 640,000 square feet to Texas Children’s sprawling Texas Medical Center campus. In May, the first phase of the tower opened with six technologically advanced operating rooms for neurosurgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, transplant and pediatric surgery – one with intraoperative MRI – and 84 ICU beds, including dedicated surgical, neurological and transitional ICU rooms. The second phase of Legacy Tower opened last week and serves as the new home for Texas Children’s Heart Center®, ranked No. 1 nationally in pediatric cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report. This milestone will help Texas Children’s continue to provide the highest-quality care possible to patients and families, particularly those children who are critically ill.

To learn more visit legacytower.org.

Texas Children’s Cancer Center is consistently ranked as one of the best cancer programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It is the largest pediatric cancer center in the nation and the destination for children from more than 35 states and 26 countries to receive individualized, state-of-the-art cancer care. Additionally, more than 91,000 outpatient visits occur in the Lester and Sue Smith Clinic each year.

To learn more visit texaschildrens.org/cancer.

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands has marked another significant milestone with the recent Level III designation of its 14-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The designation by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) comes as a result of legislation passed in 2013 requiring Texas to establish and implement neonatal and maternal level of care designations by March 1, with the intent of ensuring that neonatal intensive care units have the resources and expertise to provide high-quality patient care that leads to the best outcomes for newborn patients and their families.

Texas is one of the first states requiring NICUs to undergo a site visit by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ NICU Verification Program to verify the level of care provided to patients meets the Neonatal Levels of Care classifications as defined in the Texas Administrative Code. Completing the designation process is a requirement to receive Medicaid reimbursement for neonatal services.

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands underwent its first site visit in April. The Level III NICU designation was announced this month.

“This is an impressive accomplishment in our 17 months of operations and validates our commitment to providing world-class pediatric care to The Woodlands community and beyond,” said Ketrese White, director of Patient Care Services in The Woodlands. “The surveyors emphasized how impressed they were with our accomplishments to date and how well our team performed during this rigorous process.”

A level III NICU designation must provide care for mothers and comprehensive care of their infants of all gestational ages with mild to critical illnesses or requiring sustained life support, provide for consultation to a full range of pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists, have the capability to perform major pediatric surgery on-site or at another appropriate designated facility, among many other criteria. View the full list of level III Neonatal Levels of Care classifications here.

“Babies born prematurely and those who are critically ill require highly-specialized resources and 24/7 multidisciplinary care in order to have the most optimal outcome,” said Dr. Lisa Owens, medical director of The Woodlands NICU. “This designation helps ensure neonates are treated in the right level of NICU and thereby receive high-quality care.”

Susan Romero, assistant clinical director of the NICU in The Woodlands, said receiving the designation was a true team effort that involved team members from across the hospital.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be associated with such a wide-range of expert care,” she said. “Such an accomplishment shows a tremendous amount of work and planning.”

To learn more about Texas Children’s Newborn Center, please visit www.texaschildrens.org/newborn.

Julia Sigren, July – September 2018 Leader

Your name, title and department. How long have you worked here?
Julia Sigren, BSN, RN, CPN; Patient Care Manager in Cardiology Patient Care Unit (CPCU). I have been at Texas Children’s Hospital for six years.

Tell us how you found out you won a super star award.
I was returning to the unit after a walkthrough in Legacy Tower to meet other members from my team for a monthly meeting. I stepped into our Conference Room to find that they had orchestrated a surprise party to celebrate the announcement. I was in complete shock! Our staff and leaders from the Heart Center were present. They had even managed to have my husband come for the surprise. It was a wonderful event.

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 is an incredible feeling and a tremendous honor to be recognized by those who you admire and respect every day. I work with an amazing team not just in CPCU, but also in the Heart Center. Everyone has incredible passion and resilience; it is joy and privilege to get to lead here at Texas Children’s each day.

Ever since I stepped foot at Texas Children’s as a nursing student I knew that the organization was and always will be committed to growth, development and excellence. The abundance of opportunities here, such as Shared Governance and Nursing Professional Development, inspired me to take on committee positions and unit roles. This preparation (and inspirational leaders) eventually led me to apply as a patient care manager. With Texas Children’s always being a vanguard to innovation and to superior patient care, I am able to help with amazing initiatives such as being a liaison for Legacy Tower.

What do you think makes someone at Texas Children’s a super star?
A Texas Children’s Super Star leads with unwavering compassion and resilience. They see the greatest qualities in their teams and work to build them up to their strongest capabilities. A Super Star takes every opportunity to provide help and guidance, all the while acknowledging the greatness in others. They live by the Texas Children’s core values and inspire others to achieve dedicated patient care.

What is your motivation for going above and beyond every day at work?
My biggest motivation for going above and beyond is by far the patients and families of Texas Children’s Hospital. Their incredible journeys and awe-inspiring strength are at the center of my inspiration every day. If I can just make one difference in their lives, no matter how big or small, I consider it to be an unbelievable achievement.

What is the best thing about working at Texas Children’s?
The culture and vision of Texas Children’s is just outstanding. It is admirable how clinical excellence is held to an upmost standard all the while holding the patient experience at heart. Also, as exemplified one year ago during Harvey, the comradery that all the employees have here is magnificent. The staff and leadership team I have the pleasure to work with are absolutely remarkable! But, first and foremost, the patients we get to serve every day are what makes working at Texas Children’s Hospital spectacular.

What does it mean to you that everyone at Texas Children’s is considered a leader? What is your leadership definition?
Everyone has the ability to be an influence to the great work that is achieved at Texas Children’s Hospital. There is great respect for every role and anyone can be an advocate.

I believe being a leader is the ability to be a catalyst for the change you want to see in the world while concurrently empowering others to achieve their aspirations and attain positive results.

Anything else you want to share?
Thank you to my CPCU family and to Texas Children’s Hospital for this great recognition. You all are the best!

Texas Children’s Hospital Hygiene Work Group for the Central Line Acquired Bloodstream Infection, Hospital Acquired Conditions (CLABSI HAC) recently spearheaded a poster competition on the five moments of hand hygiene.

“Performing proper hand hygiene is our first line of defense in preventing hospital acquired infections,” said Mona Clark, assistant clinical director of Nursing (General Medicine and operational lead for the Hygiene Work Group. “Our organizational goal for hand hygiene is equal to or greater than 95 percent. Through collaboration with our infection control department and nursing, all ancillary care providers received education and training on the five moments of hand hygiene.”

To further engage and capitalize on the momentum of awareness and compliance for hand hygiene, the system-wide poster competition was created. Across the system there was a total of 28 outstanding posters submitted from Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Posters were placed at entrances to the units and clinical areas to be viewed by both staff and visitors.

Senior executive leaders from all campuses graciously participated as judges for the competition – Mark Mullarkey, Mary Jo Andre, Jackie Ward, Bert Gumeringer, Dr. Judith Campbell, Dr. Paul Sirbaugh and Dr. Jeffrey Shilt.

A first place winner was selected at each campus:

Medical Center Campus – 12WT General Medicine Transplant Unit poster “Now Showing the 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene”
West Campus – Emergency Center “Hand Hygiene Challenge”
The Woodlands Campus – Emergency Center “Be Incredible – They wash their hands”

“This fun competition further engaged our teams in working together to ensure we all perform proper hand hygiene for the safety of our patients and families,” Clark said. “Thank you all for participating. Our hand hygiene scores clearly reflect your dedication and hard work.”

Bert Gumeringer, Vice President, Facilities Engineering & Support Services, is now the Texas Children’s Environment of Care Safety Officer. In accordance with Texas Children’s policy #331 as the EOC Safety Officer, Bert Gumeringer is authorized to take action necessary to assure a safe working and patient care environment in this capacity, he has full access to all personnel and facilities in order to identify and correct safety hazards.

The EOC Safety Officer will take immediate and direct action to alleviate conditions that pose an immediate threat to life or health, or a threat of damage to equipment or buildings for Texas Children’s’ Hospital and/or designee of senior management before taking any action which will prevent or interrupt the delivery of patient care according to policy #331.