Following the severe storms that hit the Houston metro area last night, Texas Children’s Hospital campuses are fully operational today, and we thank our dedicated workforce for providing uninterrupted patient care through such challenging weather events.
Our Organizational Resilience team has been fully engaged to ensure we were prepared for the weather event. There may be power outages at some Texas Children’s Pediatrics locations, but they are making the necessary adjustments to ensure continuity of care. If you have any questions about your location, please consult your leader.
As always, the safety and wellbeing of our team members is our priority, and our Human Resources and operational leaders have been closely coordinating efforts throughout the night and today to support you. We know many employees and members of our medical staff are enduring unexpected power outages and commuting challenges. Please stay in touch with your leaders and let them know if you need any special assistance.
Employee Financial Assistance Fund
Texas Children’s employees whose income or homes were impacted by the May 16 thunderstorms in Texas may be eligible for disaster relief through the Texas Children’s Employee Financial Assistance Fund (EFAF).
Established and managed by the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), EFAF provides confidential financial help to eligible employees experiencing unexpected, unforeseen or unavoidable emergencies. Grant funds are available for emergency needs only.
To be eligible for an EFAF grant related to the recent winter weather event, employees must meet the requirements outlined in Employee Financial Assistance Fund Policy #1475 as well as the following criteria:
- Must be able to verify their emergency and demonstrate that it is a basic need.
- If requesting assistance with loss of income, employees will need to provide documentation such as late household bills to show financial hardship.
- Must use existing resources (within reason) or plan to use them given the need is so much greater than the resources available.
- Must contact insurance first before EFAF can assist with repairs.
- In the application process, employees must be able to show either an insurance denial or an insurance reimbursement/payment verification.
- If available, employees must apply for assistance from FEMA.
- Any repairs must be related to basic needs, such as the roof, water or electricity.
- Some home insurance will cover the cost of relocating to a hotel.
- When the home is not livable due to damage and the employee does not have other options for shelter, relocation expenditures are covered under emergency EFAF.
- When food loss is due to electricity outages or damage to a refrigerator has occurred, HEB gift cards can be provided.
To learn more about the EFAF process, including how to submit a confidential EFAF application, please click here or call the EAP at 832-824-3327. Our Employee Assistance Program provides confidential consultation and counseling to all Texas Children’s employees and eligible dependents. In addition to financial assistance, they are here to help employees cope with stress, trauma, crisis management and grief. For more information on EAP services, please click here.