November 22, 2016

112316drmarybrandt175Pediatric Surgeon Dr. Mary Brandt has been reappointed to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as the Governor-at-Large representing ACS fellows in the ACS South Texas Chapter. This is the second three-year term for Brandt.

In her position as a Governor-at-Large, she will facilitate communications between ACS Fellows and members of the Board of Governors. Brandt’s duties include attending local meetings, participating in the Surgical Training Workgroup and attending national leadership meetings.

Brandt is director of the Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program and director of the Anorectal Malformation Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is also a professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

November 15, 2016

111616wcveteransday640Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus honored its veterans on Veteran’s Day, November 11, with a photo tribute displayed across the campus.

Veteran’s Day is a time our country pays fitting tribute to our military veterans. The holiday coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries to mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. The United States previously observed Armistice Day before renaming it Veteran’s Day in 1954.

Texas Children’s thanks all its veterans for their service.

November 8, 2016

11916drhollierpressganeyinside640Improving the experience for every patient and family who comes to Texas Children’s Hospital for surgery is a top priority for Dr. Larry Hollier, associate surgeon-in-chief for clinical affairs and chief of plastic surgery at Texas Children’s. Over the past two years, he has led the charge at the hospital to ensure every family feels there is no better place for their children to receive surgical care.

To honor him for his work in improving the patient experience at Texas Children’s, Press Ganey, a leading provider of patient experience management solutions, presented Hollier with the 2016 Physician of the Year award at the annual Press Ganey National Client Conference.

Members of the Ambulatory Surgery Patient Experience Workgroup and leaders throughout Texas Children’s nominated him for the award.

“Dr. Hollier is very passionate about the patient experience, and he embraces all of the different touch points that comprise a patient and family’s care experience,” said Sarah Maytum, assistant vice president of patient and family services at Texas Children’s. “In leading the Ambulatory Surgery Team, he not only sought input from front line staff, he listened, acted on their input and empowered staff members to take ownership of project implementation.”

Hollier has been responsible for leading patient experience innovations within the Department of Surgery including: same-day surgery consultation appointments, standardized pre-surgery materials, the surgery greeter program, direct scheduling for Texas Children’s Pediatrics providers and for Texas Children’s Emergency Center; surgical patient ingress/egress patterns; and a physician communication course, called Breakthrough Communications, aimed at enhancing the conversation between patients, families and caregivers. He has also been instrumental in advancing the hospital’s expertise in caring for patients with a range of complex conditions while simultaneously becoming a leader in outcomes measurement and patient experience.

Recently, the Meds to Beds program, which delivers post-surgery medications to a patient’s bedside before discharge, was highlighted in NEJM Catalyst as a highly innovative program. Meds to Beds not only enhances the surgery experience for patients and families, but has also resulted in improved pharmacist and OR staff satisfaction.

“We in the Department of Surgery are extremely proud of the extraordinary work being done at Texas Children’s to optimize the care experience of our patients and their families,” said Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr., Texas Children’s surgeon-in-chief. “Dr. Larry Hollier has been an outstanding and visionary leader for the surgery service in partnering with Sarah Maytum and the Patient Relations team. His recognition by Press Ganey is a testimony not only to his enormous contributions, but to the effective team spirit we are so proud of in the Texas Children’s Hospital family.”

Hollier holds the S. Baron Hardy Endowed Chair in Plastic Surgery at Texas Children’s and serves as professor and chief of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. In addition, he is chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of Smile Train, an international children’s charity that provides free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care worldwide, and serves on the board of the Duke Global Health Institute focusing efforts on reducing health disparities. Hollier has authored more than 190 articles for scholarly and professional publications, written 37 book chapters and sits on the editorial board of numerous journals. His surgical specialties include craniofacial conditions, cleft lip and palate, and microsurgical hand repair.

11916compliancelancelightfoot175At Texas Children’s, doing what’s right is of the utmost importance to maintaining the quality of care we provide our patients, their families, and our Health Plan members. That’s why the role of the Compliance and Privacy Office is integral to our organization’s health and success.

The office’s team is committed to maintaining the highest ethical, legal and professional standards by providing leadership and oversight of all Texas Children’s business practices. Areas of prominent interest to the office include:

  • Safeguarding protected health information
  • Adhering to private payer billing standards
  • Complying with all state and federal laws and regulations as well as Texas Children’s policies and procedures

“At Texas Children’s, we are committed to leading tirelessly in maintaining an ethical workplace,” said Texas Children’s Vice President and Compliance and Privacy Officer Lance Lightfoot. “By upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior, we enable Texas Children’s to better fulfill its important mission of creating a healthier future for children and women.”

To recognize and promote the importance of integrity and ethics at Texas Children’s, the Compliance and Privacy Office will be celebrating National Corporate Compliance and Ethics Week (Monday, November 7 – Friday, November 11) by hosting a series of awareness events throughout the organization. These events are wonderful opportunities to meet members of the Compliance and Privacy Office team, learn more about what they do, play games and win prizes.

The events also offer a chance to keep your personal information secure as well as our patients’ and our Health Plan members’. Twice during National Corporate Compliance and Ethics Week, the office is providing employees a free, safe and secure opportunity to destroy any confidential personal documents that are ready for disposal. The Shred Days will be held Tuesday, November 8 at West Campus, and Friday, November 11 at Main Campus. For a complete schedule of this week’s events, click here.

For more information about the Compliance and Privacy Office click here and if you have any questions, please call the office at Ext. 4-2085 or send an email to compliance@texaschildrens.org.

How can you help?
Unethical, illegal or questionable activity should be reported to one of the following sources:

  • Your immediate supervisor
  • The Compliance and Privacy Office at Ext. 4-2085
  • The Texas Children’s Confidential Hotline at 1-866-478-9070 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Retaliation for voicing concerns made in good faith is a violation of Texas Children’s policy.

11916marshallthomas175Marshall Thomas, patient transporter for Patient Escort-Facilities Operations Division, died October 31 at the age of 58.

Marshall joined Texas Children’s Hospital in 1998 and provided excellent patient care for the next 18 years. He was known for his dependability and hard work – always the one who was more than willing to share his knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual advice with others on the job.

Everyone who has known Marshall will miss his understanding smile, distinctive calm, peaceful demeanor, and remarkable humility.

He is survived by his wife of 14 years, Sharon; daughters, Rasheba Telford and Michelle Thomas; son, Marshall Glenn Thomas Jr.; sisters, Roslyn Donaie, Shelia Thomas and Debbie Ben and four grandchildren.

Upcoming services

Saturday, November 12
Viewing: 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
Funeral service: 10 a.m.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
4600 Reed Road
Houston, TX 77051-2857
713-738-2311

Tuesday, November 15
Memorial service: 2:30 p.m.
Texas Children’s auditorium, Abercrombie Building, B1 Level

November 1, 2016

As Madisyn Thompson sat in her hospital room at West Tower, all she could think about was her surgery the next day. Her mind swept through a flood of conflicting emotions and thoughts until she got a surprise visit from a furry visitor.

“I was so happy to see her and interact with her,” Madisyn said, as she combed her fingers through the soft fur behind Elsa’s ears. “She made my day because she is really lovable and sweet.”

Madisyn is one of several Texas Children’s patients already benefitting from the hospital’s new facility dog program that launched this month. The program uses animal-assisted therapy to improve the emotional well-being of pediatric patients by reducing their anxiety, perception of pain and fear of hospitalization.

“We knew having a facility dog here full time, Monday to Friday, would allow us to really target that patient population who could really benefit and show enhanced outcomes through work with a therapy dog,” said Mary Tietjens, assistant director of Child Life and Social Work.

Elsa and her handler Sarah Herbek begin their shift bright and early around 8 a.m. After Herbek reviews the consults for the day, she and Elsa begin seeing patients in West Tower from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break in between patient visits.

“We provide goal-oriented therapeutic interventions to patients who have been hospitalized due to a traumatic event such as victims of abuse or patients who have chronic pain,” said Herbek, a Child Life specialist and animal-assisted therapy coordinator. “We also work alongside physical and occupational therapists to provide a little bit of encouragement and motivation to patients who are rebuilding their motor skills or who need to ambulate after surgery.”

For Madisyn, spending a few minutes with Elsa helps her focus less on her illness and more on the unconditional love and comfort that a therapy dog provides.

“It takes your mind off things and it distracts you from everything going on and the stress and all the feelings that go through your head when you have some spare time to sit and think,” Madisyn said.

Madisyn’s mother couldn’t agree more as she tearfully recalls the heart-warming moment when Elsa walked in to her daughter’s room.

“You see your child and you see the light going out of their eyes,” Jessica Thompson said. “When Elsa walked in, my daughter’s face lit up. She’s been excited about the whole experience.”

When Michelle Guerrero and her husband welcomed their daughter Olivia on November 8, 2012, at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, their excitement quickly gave way to anxiety. Soon after Olivia was born, she had trouble breathing and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for observation.

Olivia had developed pneumothorax, her lung had collapsed and she needed a chest tube and breathing tube. As a parent, Guerrero worried about her daughter’s lung condition, but having cared for premature and critically ill infants in the Newborn Center, she knew Olivia was in the best place for treatment.

“My daughter spent three weeks in the NICU, and I am grateful for the exceptional care she received,” Guerrero said. “As a nurse, I am also proud of the incredible work we do every day to improve the outcomes of our babies in the Newborn Center.”

For Guerrero and her NICU colleagues, there’s yet another reason to be extremely thankful.

On October 20, the 19th annual Bad Pants golf tournament donated $375,000 that will support life-saving programs and services for the tiniest patients at Texas Children’s Newborn Center who are in need of premier medical treatment. Each year since 1997, the turnout at the annual golf outing continues to soar.

“As a grateful parent and a representative of the presenting sponsor, it’s very exciting to see how much the tournament has grown over the years,” said Les Fox, Bad Pants Open committee member and managing director of RBC Wealth Management. “We filled three golf courses with nearly 400 golfers wearing some really bad pants to raise funds that will directly support the care of premature babies and their families. I can’t wait to celebrate our 20th year in 2017!”

The event included a check presentation to the Newborn Center where the proceeds will advance innovation and excellence in the research, treatment and care for the more than 2,500 critically ill and premature infants who are treated at the Newborn Center each year.

Crystal Cruz, the recipient of the 2016 Bad Pants NICU Nurse of the Year award, says this generous donation will go a long way to improve patient outcomes.

“Giving is an act of charity and every year, the Bad Pants golf tournament helps our organization continue to make miracles happen,” Cruz said. “I am extremely grateful for this event and all that is donated to help us continue to help save these precious, tiny lives we are entrusted to care for.”

View a photo gallery of the 2016 Bad Pants Open.