October 24, 2017

Heather Eppelheimer is a child life specialist with Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. While she is quick to offer support in any way she can, Heather’s primary responsibility is to work closely with expecting families who have lost a child.

Heather helps these families cope with their loss and create lasting memories of their child. She offers the same type of support to her colleagues who might be going through a stressful time, consistently rising above and beyond as a supportive teammate.

“Heather has become a staple of support and mentorship for our Child Life Department,” said Saraben Turner, a child life manager. “She approaches each day with a mission to provide optimal, compassionate care to her patients and families, while also ensuring that her colleagues and teammates are feeling supported in the exceptional work they do.”

“She truly exemplifies living compassionately and amplifying unity in her every day work,” Turner continued. “She is continually provided with Caught You Caring awards and other recognitions highlighting the strong work she provides to patients and their families, her team and Texas Children’s Hospital.”

Launched in 2015, Texas Children’s Caught You Caring program is a systemwide program that recognizes employees for going above and beyond to provide compassion and kindness in the care of a patient, family or co-worker. Recently, Epplelheimer was among more than a dozen employees who received a pair of tickets to watch the Houston Texans Play 60 game on October 1, after being recognized for his acts of kindness through this program.

Texas Children’s wants to continue to recognize those who take great pride in the work they do and encourages patients, families and employees to catch someone who is making a difference.

To nominate a colleague, Caught You Caring boxes and cards can be found across the Texas Children’s hospital system for patients and families to fill out. Employees can fill out a Caught You Caring form on Connect. Cards and online submissions will be distributed to leaders for staff recognition.

For the next three weeks, Connect will feature a series of Caught You Caring videos spotlighting several of our employees who have gone above and beyond their role in the care of our patients and their families.

October 17, 2017

“One thing I enjoy most about Texas Children’s is meeting the families, and having a positive interaction with the patients and the families as a whole,” said Keith Thomas, an ambulatory services representative at Texas Children’s Autism Center and a 2017 Caught You Caring Award recipient.

When Jennifer Evans interviewed Keith nearly two years ago, she knew right away that she wanted him to be part of her team at the Autism Center. From the moment Keith walked into the office, he has improved the whole dynamic of everything at the front desk.

“Keith is the first person that patients and families see when they come into our office,” said Evans who nominated Keith for the Caught You Caring award. “He is a very genuine person, and makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome whether they are a patient, staff member or provider.”

“Keith gives every family the individual attention that they deserve, and that’s what makes such a big difference,” said Ambulatory Service Representative Yvette Gonzales. “He is always going above and beyond for the patients and parents. He is wonderful and definitely deserving of the Caught You Caring award.”

Launched in 2015, Texas Children’s Caught You Caring program is a systemwide program that recognizes employees for going above and beyond to provide compassion and kindness in the care of a patient, family or co-worker. Recently, Keith was among more than a dozen employees who received a pair of tickets to watch the Houston Texans Play 60 game on October 1, after being recognized for his acts of kindness through this program.

Texas Children’s wants to continue to recognize those who take great pride in the work they do and encourages patients, families and employees to catch someone who is making a difference.

To nominate a colleague, Caught You Caring boxes and cards can be found across the Texas Children’s hospital system for patients and families to fill out. Employees can fill out a Caught You Caring form on Connect. Cards and online submissions will be distributed to leaders for staff recognition.

For the next four weeks, Connect will feature a series of Caught You Caring videos spotlighting several of our employees who have gone above and beyond their role in the care of our patients and their families.

February 9, 2016

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The Patient Experience team kicked off the system-wide launch of the Caught You Caring program with Frozen-themed events at Main Campus and West Campus. View the photo gallery of the events and be sure to recognize your colleagues who are caught caring.

January 26, 2016

When two patient families came through the Texas Children’s doors looking lost and confused, Feba Payne from Facilities wanted to help. Neither family spoke English, but Payne wasn’t about to point them in the direction of their clinics and leave them to figure out the rest on their own. She stopped what she was doing in the lobby and personally accompanied each family through the hospital to their appointments.

Every day at Texas Children’s, people like Payne take time to make a difference. Whether for our patients or colleagues, these small acts often determine the experience we create. Payne’s kindness not only made the stressful time less difficult for the families, but also caught the attention of one of her team members who shared the story on a Caught You Caring card. With the launch of Caught You Caring, Texas Children’s aims to recognize the work we all do to make a difference.

Caught You Caring is an organization-wide initiative to recognize those every day acts of compassion. The program began in ambulatory surgery and has been incredibly successful among staff and physicians, recognizing hundreds who have gone above and beyond.

“It’s so easy to tell stories or complain about what went wrong,” said Erica Diaz, a child life specialist. “We thought maybe a way to change our culture is to change our conversation.”

Patients, families and employees are encouraged to catch someone who is making a difference. Boxes and cards will be placed throughout all Texas Children’s sites for patients and families to recognize staff. Employees can fill out a Caught You Caring form on Connect. Cards and online submissions will be distributed to leaders for staff recognition.

“I’ve had a chance to write a lot of thank you cards to the recipients of Caught You Caring and I can’t tell you how surprised these individuals are, how happy they are, and that has a ripple effect on those around them,” said Chief of Plastic Surgery Dr. Larry Hollier.

Join the Caught You Caring launch events at Main Campus from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 27 on The Auxiliary Bridge, and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, January 28 at West Campus on the first floor near the cafeteria.

Will you get caught caring?