October 5, 2022

October is Cybersecurity Month. Learn what events are available where you can learn more while having fun at the same time. Read More

September 27, 2022

September 14, 2022

Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control authorized bivalent COVID-19 booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. The COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force recommends all eligible persons receive either of these bivalent boosters. Texas Children’s now has appointments available to administer the booster doses. Details are below.

Pfizer
  • Individuals 12 years of age and older
  • At least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine
Moderna
  • Individuals 18 years of age and older
  • At least two months since they have completed primary vaccination or have received the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent COVID-19 vaccine
Bivalent boosters

The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, or updated boosters, include an mRNA component of the original strain to provide an immune response that is broadly protective against COVID-19 and an mRNA component in common between the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages to provide better protection against COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant.

If you are eligible and would like to receive a booster through Texas Children’s, please click here.

Additional Guidance
  • Texas Children’s strongly encourages, but does not require a bivalent booster vaccine if you have already received a monovalent vaccine booster.
  • For more information on boosters, please refer to this FAQ document on the Texas Children’s website.
Contact

If you have questions related to this new guidance, please contact our Vaccine Employee Support line at 832-VACCINE (832-822-2463).

September 8, 2022

Texas Children’s is committed to supporting the well-being of every employee by continually identifying ways to amplify, activate and innovate our support resources. The Workforce Well-Being Team is pleased to announce that beginning in Fall 2022, we will be expanding our team to include Workforce Chaplains to support Texas Children’s team members’ spiritual and emotional health, and overall well-being.

“As we’re listening to our teams’ needs in all aspects of well-being, we’ve heard an increased need for more joy, gratitude and a connection to something bigger,” said Suzy Harrington, Assistant Vice President of Workforce Well-Being. “We all want to feel valued and there is a great need to feel re-energized. We are happy to have our new chaplains on board to listen closer and offer their spiritual guidance.”

Workplace Chaplains will address many of these needs, commonly associated with “spiritual well-being” – finding meaning, value and motivation in one’s work beyond pay and performance.

Workforce Chaplains’ role

Many of us are familiar with the spiritual role that Support Services Chaplains play for our Texas Children’s patients and their families. They often extend their support beyond patients to many of our team members as well, who carry the heavy responsibility of caring for patients.

With their focus solely on team members, our new Workforce Chaplains will help define support areas, allowing Support Services Chaplains to concentrate more closely on providing excellent spiritual care to our patient families. Workforce Chaplains are dedicated to providing emotional support for our team members through:

  • Onsite grief or crisis care
  • Spiritual well-being sessions
  • Confidential, individual counseling
In support of religious diversity

Although the Workforce Chaplains may practice their own faith and religious traditions, they are committed to upholding Texas Children’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Texas Children’s team members from ALL backgrounds are welcome to seek support from the chaplains, whether the conversation is about spirituality or any other confidential matter that’s on your mind. Their goal is to help team members find meaning, connectedness and value in their work, regardless of religion or belief system.

Meet our growing Workforce Chaplain Team

At the time of this publication, we have welcomed Sarah “Tuba” Alpat and Cletus Aakol to the Workforce Chaplain team. The team will welcome one more chaplain in the near future. Be on the lookout for DEI spotlights to learn more about our amazing chaplains!

What are you most looking forward to in your role as a workforce chaplain at Texas Children’s?

“My hope is to implement the “Ministry of Presence” – I will let colleagues know that I am here, only for them, in their journey. I will walk the hallways, as they are caring for our young patients, thinking positive thoughts for safety and wellness. When I am rounding or responding to a traumatic incident, my presence may give them the opportunity to seek spiritual guidance when and if they need it. I’ll sit with them and listen to their needs, even it might be sometimes just sharing a meaningful silence. Compassionate, non-judgmental, and active listening will be on the table for team members to utilize.” – Sarah “Tuba” Alpat

What words of encouragement would you give our team members, as many deal with the stresses and worries of work and home life?

“There are answers to all life’s problems. The first step towards finding that answer is – Never give up, never be shy to share, and never doubt the possibilities that lie beneath the challenge. Team members should know assuredly that the same infinite passion – which drives the amazing success and breakthroughs here at Texas Children’s – is the same passion that holds the key to their personal success. Together, we win! No matter the challenge – Yes, we can!” – Cletus Aakol

Connect with Workforce Chaplains

Team members may reach our Workforce Chaplains at 832-824-3327 or by email at
Sarah “Tuba” Alpat: stalpat@texaschildrens.org
Cletus Aakol: ckaakol@texaschildrens.org

August 23, 2022

While human connection and bonding are crucial to the health, growth, and early development of children, babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can have a hard time making that connection to caregivers. The NICU Little Listeners program was founded by Pediatrician Dr. Christina Wong a few years ago, as one of the ways to help encourage parent and baby bonding in the Texas Children’s NICU through verbal communication, such as reading and talking aloud.

“Because early reading is critical for language, speech, and brain development, one of my initial goals at Texas Children’s was to help build the Little Listeners program and library in our NICU,” shares Dr. Wong. “It’s understandable for parents to feel stressed while their baby is in the NICU. They can sometimes forget that there are things they can do to help normalize the experience, such as reading and talking to their baby. We wanted to establish a program to support them.”

Dr. Wong, along with Library Coordinator and Child Life team member Catherine Zdunkewicz, and the Newborn Center Child Life and Music Therapy team – Emma Page, Maribeth Vain, Olivia Priolo and Anna Boucher – have combined their passions for children and literacy to take the program to the next level by creating the NICU Little Listeners Reading Initiative.

The NICU Little Listeners Reading team strives to help normalize the experience for NICU babies by providing parents with educational classes and books they can read to their babies. They also encourage Nursing team members to speak to babies by their name and model good verbal communication and gentle touch stimulation for parents.

Little Listeners Read-A-Thon coming in September

The Little Listeners team is excited to launch their first major event at Texas Children’s – a Read-A-Thon where NICU families will receive a new book on each day during the week-long celebration September 19-23, in honor of National Literacy Month and NICU Awareness Month. All Texas Children’s team members are encouraged to participate – watch for more information!

How the Little Listeners Reading program works

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the NICU Little Listeners Reading team encouraged parents to borrow books from the Pi Beta Phi Book Nooks located throughout the NICU to read to their child in the NICU, and siblings during visits. Post-pandemic, the team shifted to donating books to every family who arrives at Texas Children’s NICU, allowing them to keep the book and build their child’s library at home.

Upon arrival, the team provides families with the book Read Baby, Every Day by pediatrician Dr. John Hutton, along with their admission packet. The team also donates educational books to NICU families such as Calm Baby, Gently and Sleep Baby, Safe and Snug, also by Dr. Hutton. The books, reviewed by parents and Texas Children’s CPR educators, help educate families about safe sleep and promote injury prevention. Because admission is often prolonged, The Newborn Center Child Life and Music Therapy Team gives more books to families bi-monthly, along with a bookmark featuring tips and benefits of reading to your baby. Families receive about six books throughout the year, available in both English and Spanish.

Zdunkewicz has purchased a remarkable 2,860 books for the CPR educational class and admission packets with funds donated by the Houston Pi Beta Phi Foundation. The Little Listeners Reading team has also purchased more than 1,200 books for bimonthly Little Listeners book distribution.

“What we’d like everyone to remember is that no baby is too small or too sick to benefit from being gently read to or talked to,” Dr. Wong shares. “No matter how scary the situation is, or how scared you are by the machines and everything else going on, you can still read and talk to them. Reading and talking to your baby are two of the best things you can do for them in life.”

Literacy awareness resources

You can learn more about Texas Children’s libraries and library resources on the Child Life Department webpage, and we encourage you to explore Read Aloud, a website dedicated to promoting the benefits of reading by providing fun educational tips, flyers and other tools for literacy advocates.

April 15, 2022

April is the month for recognizing the deaf community; raising awareness of autism acceptance; celebrating and sharing Native culture; and ushering in spring and the beauty of new life, rebirth and growth through major religious holidays.

Is there a cultural observance this month that has special meaning to you? We want to hear about it! Send a note to Texas Children’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team via e-mail.

You can also learn more about Texas Children’s DEI commitment on our website, which features a wide range of resources and inspiring team member stories to watch, read and explore.

April 7, 2022

As we build our bright future Tomorrow, Together, we will continue to offer and improve our best-in-class patient care, service for our members and elite programs for our workforce. We’re already off to an amazing start for the year as the three Texas Children’s Hospital Surgery PA Fellowship Programs become the first and only pediatric-focused programs to receive national accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Prior to this recognition, there were only seven Clinical Postgraduate PA programs in the U.S. to have received accreditation. What an incredible achievement!

“The PA Fellowship Programs have factored enormously into the growth of our surgical APP program and have raised our profile across the country,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, surgeon-in-chief and chair of the Department of Surgery and medical director for the Surgical PA Fellowship Programs. “These accreditations will certainly make our PA Fellowship Programs some of the most sought-after opportunities for recent graduates and experienced generalists interested in specialization. We are incredibly proud of how this program has evolved over the last decade.”

The newly accredited programs are:

  • Texas Children’s Hospital Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship Program
  • Texas Children’s Hospital Orthopedic Physician Assistant Fellowship Program
  • Texas Children’s Hospital Community Surgery Physician Assistant Fellowship Program

“These programs are truly one of a kind,” said Jordan Rodriguez, chief administrative officer for the PA Fellowship Program. “It is such an honor to see each class of fellows arrive and grow not only as clinicians but as well-rounded providers. The opportunities they get to experience throughout the year amazes me, and I am so happy we can proudly say we are accredited.”

New applicants can be assured that Texas Children’s provides a well-rounded education program to prepare them with a strong foundation of skills for the future. The programs can accept a combined 10 fellows each year to learn the ins and outs and to work in each surgical subspecialty. It is a unique opportunity that most providers never experience.

“The medical knowledge and interpersonal skills our PA fellows develop during their training becomes invaluable as they progress in their career,” said Kris Marsack, director of Surgery APPs and academic director for the Surgical PA Fellowship Programs.

The accreditation could not have been possible without the dedication and tireless efforts of the planning committee who worked for the better part of a year completing applications, planning in person and virtual site visits. Amazing team effort by the accreditation planning committee members below.

  • Dr. Larry Hollier, Medical Director
  • Kristina Marsack, PA-C, Academic Director
  • Ryan Krasnosky, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, DrPH Assistant Director
  • Jackie Broda, PA-C, Program Director
  • Jordan Rodriguez, Chief Administrative Officer
  • Magda Gonzalez, Program Coordinator