June 12, 2018

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel just announced an exciting basketball game he will play right here in Houston – and you’re invited! On Saturday, June 16, Kimmel will face off against Senator Ted Cruz at Texas Southern University in a one-on-one charity basketball game benefiting Texas Children’s. Tough questions will be asked, ring ball will be played and Kimmel will interview Cruz live on the court.

Tickets to the event are free, but attendees are encouraged to donate to Texas Children’s.

Details can be found at www.kimmelvscruz.com. Support the hospital and show your spirit by wearing a Texas Children’s shirt to the game!

The famous quote “creativity takes courage” exemplifies the all-around essence of 20-year-old Jailyne España, a bone marrow transplant patient at Texas Children’s. She has used her artistic ability to soothe her physical pain during the treatment process, as well as uplift other patients.

“It was very therapeutic, I felt rotten during treatment,” said España. “To do something beautiful and see it come to life on paper, made this so much better.”

On June 1, España was approached by the unit’s child life specialist about allowing her work to be presented in the bone marrow transplant unit. Upon her agreement, over a dozen meticulous original pieces of her art were placed on the walls with a small description, to inspire other outpatients, their families and employees.

On a table just as you walk through the doors of the hall were color pencils and paper, available for patients to show their drawing skills; but most importantly, take their minds off any negativity or pain that they have or will encounter.

“I did this because I wanted them know that they are not alone, and so they can feel validated,” she said. “I want them to focus on positive energy. It doesn’t necessarily have to be art, they just should choose something they can focus on.”

España was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on April 20, 2016, and had a bone marrow transplant in July of the following year.

“I’ve relapsed twice,” said España. “But today I am very happy to say that I’m 100 percent cancer free.”

She started drawing at a young age, stopped when she became a teen, and then regained her love for art around the time she was diagnosed.

“Throughout my treatment I use art as an outlet for all the emotions that I can’t put into words,” she said. “I use art to turn something painful into something beautiful.”

Last year, she submitted one of her pieces to Making A Mark, and eventually her dreams came true when she was announced as the recipient of the purple ribbon recognition.

Making A Mark is an exhibition of art and creative writing by children touched by cancer and blood disorders at Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer and Hematology Centers. This widely cherished project is presented by The Periwinkle Foundation, an organization that develops and provides programs that positively change the lives of children, who are challenged by cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

The purple ribbon pieces are selected by a panel of judges from the art and business community. The judges are asked to select pieces that they feel carry a message of positive awareness of childhood cancer and blood disorders.

Diana Sanchez is a visiting artist who works with Texas Children’s patients to help them express their feelings in a creative method that is, at times, highly therapeutic. She met España a year ago and has been incredibly impressed with her talent.

“Quickly I realized that her creative intelligence was evident in her imagery and painting techniques,” said Sanchez. “She has been able to access from her soul to transform her feelings and words into forms, figures, and colors. Her honesty and humility shines through in her and in her art. She is a true artist.”

In the Fall España will be embarking on another pivotal journey as she starts her college matriculation at The University of Houston, as a music major and visual arts minor.

May 16, 2018

It’s prom season and for the first time inpatients and outpatients at Texas Children’s Hospital were able to experience this monumental occasion on-site at the Medical Center Campus. Friday was a night to remember as West and Wallace Tower floors were turned into a Hollywood Night’s themed extravaganza for the hospital-wide prom.

The Child Life department, hosted the prom for all Texas Children’s teens to be able to experience a night of glitz, glam, and guaranteed fun.

“I was so excited to see the joy on these kids’ faces, and have a normal high school opportunity that they wouldn’t get ordinarily,” said Zoe Williamson, Child Life activity coordinator. “It was great seeing them celebrate that here with their friends they met at the hospital, and to just be teens for the night.”

Certain floors across the hospital were designated for patients to get dressed to impress. A local salon called Dry Bar styled the female patients’ hair, while the males got their hair transformed at the in-hospital salon. Kendra Scott, a popular jewelry and accessories boutique, also provided beautiful stones and chains so that the patients would be able to create their own jewelry set to match their outfits for the night. Lastly, international cosmetic company, Sephora, came on-site to apply makeup adding the finishing touches to their appearance. Child Life also partnered with several donors, to provide formal wear for all patients who participated.

After patients were finally dressed in their prom best, it was time to walk the red carpet towards the mesmerizing lights and exhilarating music. The first stop down the red carpet was the photo booth, where patients were able to take pictures with their dates and families. Just down the hall, double doors opened to a room with refreshments for attendees to partake in as well.

Parents said their goodbyes as most of them either left and came back when the event was over, or waited in a designated area. One parent, Betty McGee, stayed with her son to make him more comfortable and soothe his nerves about the night. However, his reaction to the music, dancers, and several kids his age enjoying themselves, made her rethink her decision as she was stunned by how enjoyable and ultimately therapeutic this night was for him.

“This has really made my night,” said McGee. “I have been crying, I’m overjoyed, it’s a miracle, because he would stand, but he would never stand this long.”

The Child Life department knew how much this night would mean to patients and their families at the beginning of the planning stages. Their goal was to provide normalization for them, and according to many patients they were successful.

“I am actually missing my school prom, so I was really excited at the opportunity to go still,” said Ella Ware. “The music was great and it’s just a great opportunity for the patients to be able to come and have fun, in a setting where they don’t really have to be embarrassed.”

For four hours they danced to resounding, kid-friendly tunes that even drew in on-lookers such as nurses and doctors who wanted to witness the excitement themselves. The event turned out to be much more of a success than expected and has paved the way for a more extravagant event for years to come.

“We hope that the amount of participants doubles next year, and grows and grows every year,” said Williamson.

May 15, 2018

One week before Texas Children’s Legacy Tower opens on Tuesday, May 22, employees and patient families will notice several new changes to our food services at Texas Children’s Medical Center campus. Additional enhancements are underway at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands to provide more meal options for our employees, staff, patients, and their families as well.

“After receiving constructive feedback from our employees, we wanted to take a proactive approach to improve the food service and dining experience for them as well as our visitors and patient families,” said Senior Vice President Tabitha Rice. “We are very excited to offer these new lunch and dinner options across our three hospital campuses to better serve the needs of our employees and patient families.”

Texas Children’s Medical Center Campus

Starting on May 14, The Fresh Bistro at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women will extend its hours of operation. Instead of closing at 4 p.m., the Bistro will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Working late or just too exhausted to cook dinner? The Bistro now offers take-home meal kits available in the On the Go cooler Monday through Thursday. The meal kits offer a protein, starch, and a vegetable for two for $14 plus tax. The items are fully cooked and all you need to do is pop it in the microwave.

The Coffee Corner across from The Fresh Bistro is another convenient place to grab a quick bite to eat. Opened Mondays through Fridays from 6 a.m. to midnight and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the Coffee Corner serves fresh coffee, pastries, paninis, soups, salads and On the Go meals.

If you enjoy good old fashioned barbecue, Liberty Street BBQ will be coming to the food court at Mark Wallace Tower beginning in July. Liberty Street BBQ will serve smoked in-house meats, fresh sides, and of course, delicious desserts like banana pudding. The concept will change each month to offer our families and staff a larger variety of food choices.

West Campus and The Woodlands Campus

West Campus and The Woodlands Campus are offering more meal options to enhance the food service experience for our employees, patients and their families.

A Kids’ Corner will provide kid-friendly snack options including fruit and cheese snacks, animal cookies, squeezable apple sauce, string cheese, milk, bottled water and fruit juices.

From barbecue picnics to Louisiana cuisine to South American treats like papusas, the Monthly Chef specials will provide a variety of meals from different parts of the U.S. and around the world.

Meyer Market

Earlier this month, the Meyer Market on the first floor of the Meyer Building, began offering more lunch options for employees. Freshly prepared meals are now available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A calendar menu is posted in Meyer Market and in the first floor lobby of the Meyer Building.

The hot meal options were added to the current point of sale system. Employees can pay by credit card or use their current Meyer Market account. The Fresh Bistro at the Pavilion for Women provides the meals.

For questions related to this article, please contact Michelle Roane at maroane@texaschildrens.org.

Almost 130 children, ages 8 to 12 years old, recently attended “Camp Pump It Up,” a camp for patients with cardiac disease and their siblings.

In existence for almost 20 years, the camp has grown allowing more children to experience a weekend away with other children with heart disease. For many the camp is their first time away from home due to medical concerns, which can be managed by the medical team at camp, but would be an issue at other camps without a specialized medical team.

“Having been the physician for many of them, it is very evident how much this weekend means both to the patients but also to their families,” said Dr. Heather Dickerson, camp director and Texas Children’s cardiologist. “What this camp does for these children has kept me coming back and supporting camp for all of these years.”

During the three-day camp, campers experience horseback riding, zip lining, canoeing, fishing and archery, among other activities, for the first time, giving them to the opportunity to forget for a short time about medicines, clinic visits, tests, surgeries and all else that is involved with having a chronic disease. Long-term friendships often are formed they find out they’re not alone and that there are other children with the same issues.

Staff attending the camp were from the following departments:

Cardiology
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
Congenital Heart Surgery
Child Life
Social Work
Occupational and Physical Therapy
Respiratory Care
Perfusion
Biomedical Engineering
Pediatric Radiology
Residents, patients and friends of Texas Children’s
Baylor College of Medicine staff members

May 1, 2018

This year’s Patient Experience Week celebration lived up to its theme, “A Magical Experience,” as patients and their families participated in fun and engaging activities at Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.

Patient Experience Week was held from April 23 to 27. New this year, the Patient Experience Team launched the Compassion Challenge. Each day during Patient Experience Week, employees and staff across the organization completed a challenge that focused on the concepts of compassion, communication and connectedness. Completed Compassion Challenge forms are due Tuesday, May 1, to patientexperience@texaschildrens.org to be eligible for the prize drawing of Houston Dynamo tickets.

The week began with an inspiring speech from Houston business owner and community leader Jim McIngvale, also known as Mattress Mack. In front of a packed auditorium in the Abercrombie Building, McIngvale shared his insight about the importance of serving others and how he builds his business on these core values.

“Helping people is what I was put on this earth to do. It is what we all were made to do,” said McIngvale. “No one helps children like Texas Children’s Hospital. It is beyond amazing how you do it.”

The week also included a speech from Kelly Fuhlman from the Disney Institute who shared the magic behind the customer experience created at Disney parks and resort locations throughout the world.

Hundreds of people attended patient and family experience events across Texas Children’s three campuses. The events provided many fun children’s movie themed activities along with sweet treats and photo booths.

“These kids go through so much every day, and when we have an opportunity to make them laugh and smile, it’s exciting,” said Nazish Ahmad, West Campus Ambulatory Clinic manager. “Especially as leaders, we don’t normally have that face-to-face interaction all the time, so to be in such a fun environment and make the kiddos smile just makes the day.”

Caught You Caring (CYC) Awards ceremonies were also held at the Medical Center Campus, West Campus and The Woodlands Campus to recognize our 2018 recipients who have gone above and beyond to show compassion to our patients, families and co-workers.

The CYC program’s idea was brought to life after a physician read a heartfelt letter written by the mother of one of our patients. She described the care and compassion her whole family received during her son’s admission. Since then, CYC was conceptualized, piloted in our surgery areas in 2015, and has been launched system-wide with more than 6,000 CYC cards received. CYC boxes are located throughout all campuses so that anyone can recognize a staff member or a colleague.

A panel of judges scored each nomination to select the top employees and this year’s winners received a CYC award, a T-shirt, and the highlight of the ceremony – tickets to an upcoming Houston Texans event.

Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus:
Hilda Andrade, Lead Tech for Environmental Services
Yaneth Arrue, Unit Support Assistant in Abercrombie
Shatovia Cerf, Patient Care Assistant on 14 West Tower
Krista Miller, Staff Nurse in Labor and Delivery
Sandy Rodriguez, Front Office Specialist in Partners in OB/GYN at the Pavilion for Women
Erick Talamantes, Surgery Patient Liaison in West Tower

Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus:
Rosy Alvarado, Ambulatory Services Representative in the Urology clinic
Melissa Starner, Staff Nurse for West Campus 5th floor inpatient

Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands:
Lisa Carr, Staff Nurse in the Woodlands Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Melanie Johnson, Ambulatory Services Representative in the Neurophysiology department

Overall, the Patient Experience events were a success at reminding employees, patients and families that care at Texas Children’s goes beyond the bedside. It has to do with how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call to schedule an appointment with us to the point they leave our care.

April 17, 2018

Shaquille O’Neal made a special visit to Texas Children’s Cancer Center April 9 prior to being honored at the Marriott Marquis Houston for the 13th annual An Evening with a Legend.

During the one-on-one room visits, O’Neal enjoyed shooting hoops, playing games and talking with patients about their cancer journeys. As someone who has had such a unique and successful journey on and off the court, O’Neal offered words of encouragement and let the families know they are not alone.

Later that evening, the 7-foot-1-inch tall NBA legend was honored at the annual An Evening with a Legend event benefiting Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

Nearly 500 guests enjoyed the unforgettable evening kicked off by University of Houston cheerleaders rallied and followed by a beautiful seated dinner, exciting “Slam Dunk” paddle raise and an intimate conversation with O’Neal.

Moderated by NBC’s American Ninja Warrior host Matt Iseman, guests were given an inside look at how O’Neal achieved incredible basketball accolades, as well as his success and unique journey off the court. His larger-than-life personality and powerful athleticism have made him a household name and legend in both sports and entertainment. His individual accomplishments include seven MVP awards, two scoring titles, 15 All-Star game selections and much more. O’Neal is one of only three players in history to win NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP in the same year. He led his teams to four NBA Finals championships during his career and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Co-chaired by Julie Bergen and Kathy Zay, the event raised more than $700,000 for Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Monica and Kevin King and Stephanie and Brad Tucker served as honorary chairs for the event.