Need to recharge your mind and body? Try mindfulness, a practice of training your mind to focus on the present nonjudgmentally. It can help reduce stress and control anxiety.
Find a 5-minute meditation and additional stress management resources recommended by Employee Health, the Employee Assistance Program and Well-Being on the COVID-19 Resources site under “Employee Assistance.”
All employees have access to EAP Plus for 24-7 counseling services, solutions for child, elder and pet care, guides for maintaining your emotional and psychological health on the front lines, tips for working from home and much more to help you navigate this challenging situation.
Find more information on the COVID-19 Resources site under “Employee Assistance,” including instructions for contacting EAP Plus by phone or visiting online.
You can use Cigna Virtual Care by Amwell to talk with a doctor or nurse any time, day or night, via secure video on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
This service is available at no cost through Sunday, May 31, to Texas Children’s employees and their dependents enrolled in a Texas Children’s medical plan.
Visit the COVID-19 Resources site and follow the “Employee Health” link for the different ways to get connected and more information on telehealth options.
The Employee Financial Assistance Fund (EFAF) can assist eligible employees with monetary grants, gift cards for basic needs and priority on labor pool shifts.
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) team can also provide a list of other needed resources that may be applicable to your situation.
EFAF eligibility requirements, instructions for submitting a confidential application and more details are available on the COVID-19 Resources site under “Employee Assistance.”
If your working hours have been temporarily changed because of how our operations have been impacted by this pandemic, your Texas Children’s benefits coverage still remains the same.
Hit the “What’s New” button on the front page of the COVID-19 Resources site for the latest information and updates on available benefits and community resources, including your:
You can also access your benefits online to review your elections 24/7 from any desktop or mobile device.
For many Texas Children’s employees, gone are the days of the morning commute.
Our efforts to fight COVID-19 through the practice of social distancing has required more than 1,000 staffers – and counting – to work from home. But what does it take to make this work?
Teresa Tonthat, assistant vice president for Information Services, says there are multiple factors to consider. Her department has spent the past few weeks ensuring that employees who are asked to work remotely can do so in a seamless way.
This includes assessing the current technologies, equipment requirements, and available network capacity to effectively support these employees; all while continuing to serve our patients and caregivers.
The good news is that we now have a well-defined plan in place.
Be prepared for bumps in the road, this is GLOBAL.
However, digital technology is never 100 percent available – even on the best days.
“As millions of people and organizations shift to remote working, our internet networks will be tested. We are experiencing a mass human behavior change across the globe,” Tonthat said. “The internet’s infrastructure will be strained and will be felt in the networks inside employee’s homes, and the internet services (i.e., Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon) that these networks rely on.”
Many remote workers will share the same internet connections throughout the day with household members. Household members could be using data-intensive applications and that surge in internet access could strain home networks.
Overall, as entities around the globe are moving to remote work environments to promote social distancing, local commercial and residential internet and telecommunication infrastructures (i.e., WebEx, Zoom, Teams, Video, etc.) are seeing increased traffic load. While our cloud telecommunication vendors are doing their best to increase capacity to mitigate availability issues, our local internet service providers may also experience issues with the high demand…
Just last week, virtual cloud platform vendors such as WebEx and Teams reported infrastructure capacity issues. Many organizations across the nation felt the disruption to virtual online meetings. And this is just the beginning.
For additional questions, please contact your manager or supervisor for support and guidance.
Texas Children’s greatest priority throughout our response to COVID-19 has been protecting the health and safety of our patients and our people. As part of this effort, we are working hard to provide our team members with resources and support for navigating this evolving situation both professionally and personally – including assistance with the child care needs that many of you may have at this time. To help you meet those needs, Texas Children’s has partnered with the YMCA of Greater Houston to provide temporary child care for our employees.
Beginning Thursday, March 26, several YMCA locations began providing child care services for the following age groups:
Children: Ages 5 to 12 Years
Program will run from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily
45 spots available per site on a first-come, first-served basis (see below for locations across the Houston area)
Various fun enrichment activities such as arts, crafts, games, literacy, STEA(rts)M program in partnership with the Children’s Museum and more
Lunch and afternoon snacks to be provided by the Houston Food Bank
If the Houston Food Bank is unable to provide meals, you will be notified in advance to provide necessary meals for each child daily
For additional information, please email daycamp@ymcahouston.org
Children: Ages 3 to 4 Years
Infants: Ages 12 Months to 35 Months
Care will be provided at YMCA sites designated for early care (see below for locations)
Program will run from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily
45 spots available per site on a first-come, first-served basis
For additional information, please email childrensacademy@ymcahouston.org
Who is eligible?
All Texas Children’s employees and our Baylor partners based at Texas Children’s can participate in this temporary child care option.
Where are the YMCA child care locations?
Below are a list of current YMCA child care locations. YMCA will continue to assess community needs and may potentially open new sites in the future.
Children: Ages 5 to 12 Years
Houston Texans YMCA
5202 Griggs Road
Houston, TX 77021
713.748.5405
D. Bradley McWilliams YMCA
19915 SH 249
Houston, TX 77070
281.469.1481
The Woodlands Family YMCA @ Shadowbend
6145 Shadowbend Place
The Woodlands, TX 77381
281.367.9622
Fort Bend Family YMCA
4433 Cartwright Road
Missouri City, TX 77459
281.499.9622
Vic Coppinger Family YMCA
2700 YMCA Drive
Pearland, TX 77581
281.485.6805
Weekley Family YMCA
7101 Stella Link Blvd
Houston, TX 77025
713.664.9622
Mark A. Chapman YMCA
1350 Main Street
Katy, TX 77494
281.665.1213
Lake Houston YMCA
2420 West Lake Houston Parkway Kingwood, TX 77339
281.360.2500
(Opens Monday, March 30)
Children: Ages 3 to 4 Years
Infants: Ages 12 Months to 35 Months
The Woodlands Family YMCA @ Shadowbend
6145 Shadowbend Place
The Woodlands, TX 77381
281.367.9622
Texas Medical Center YMCA
5614 H. Mark Crosswell, Jr.
Houston, TX 77021
713.747.2173
Wendel D. Ley Family YMCA
15055 Wallisville Rd.
Houston, TX 77049
281.458.7777
Houston Community College
3214 Austin St.
Houston, TX 77004
713.718.5437
D. Bradley McWilliams YMCA @ University Park
11144 Compaq Center W. Dr.
Houston, TX 77070
281.257.6600
Huntsville Family YMCA
2906 Old Houston Road.
Huntsville, TX 77340
936.295.8009
M.D. Anderson Family YMCA
705 Cavalcade
Houston, TX 77009
713.697.0648
How do I know my children will be safe?
To support a safe and hygienic environment, the YMCA has implemented the following measures:
How much are the child care services?
Children
Infants
Please note you will make payment directly to the YMCA during the registration process.
How do I register?
To sign up, click here to select the location(s) you are interested in to view available spots. To complete your registration, you can either log into your current YMCA account, create a new one or check out as a guest.
When you check out as a guest, please select the Program Member option so you do not need to purchase a membership.
How do I check in on-site?
To verify you are a health care provider, please be prepared to show your Texas Children’s badge ID as proof of employment.
Questions?
Please email YMCA at daycamp@ymcahouston.org for school-age care or childrensacademy@ymcahouston.org for early care.