November 22, 2016

“Our son was supposed to be born on Christmas Day but he decided Election Day was more fun,” said Whitney Kubik whose son was born six weeks early at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “I was honored that Kemp was chosen to be the first one to walk through the door. I am very excited because he gets to go home soon.”

In recognition of World Prematurity Day on November 17, Texas Children’s Newborn Center and the Pavilion for Women leadership unveiled a symbolic green doorway that represents the end of a family’s NICU journey and the beginning of a new chapter when they get to bring their baby home for the first time.

“Whether you’re in the NICU for two months or two years, it can be tough on families,” said Desiree Bradley, a NICU mom and member of Texas Children’s Newborn Family Advisory Committee. “We thought about different concepts and came up with the idea of a discharge door to mark this momentous milestone.”

Bradley and her Newborn Family Advisory Committee members Shannon Essex and Ane Alfred presented their design sketch to Texas Children’s Facilities Operations team who recreated what was in the hearts and minds of these mothers and children.

On World Prematurity Day, Texas Children’s was one of three hospitals nationwide that partnered with the March of Dimes to promote its national “Give Them Tomorrow” initiative to raise local, national and global awareness of prematurity, the number one cause of death for babies in the U.S. and around the world.

More than 380,000 cards and letters – one for each premature birth in the U.S. annually – were created by families across the country. With the help of representatives from the University of Houston men’s basketball team, stacks of inspirational cards were delivered to Texas Children’s NICU families in honor of this significant day.

“I’m very glad that we had patient families here, community representatives, our physicians and nursing leadership who came out to show their support,” said Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh. “Because it is only with partnerships amongst all the stakeholders that we can make a dent in the rate of prematurity and improve the outcomes of premature babies and their families.”

During this special occasion, Texas Children’s was named the top corporate sponsor of the 2017 March for Babies in Houston – the No.1 March for Babies in the country.

Cris Daskevich, senior vice president of the Pavilion for Women, will serve as the chair of the walk which rallies support from across the Houston community to combat prematurity. Michelle Riley-Brown, executive vice president and president of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, will be chairing the Montgomery County March for Babies event in May and Information Services Senior Vice President Myra Davis, Assistant Vice President of Women’s Services Ivett Shah and NICU Vice President Judy Swanson will co-lead the Texas Children’s system-wide campaign.

“We are proud to partner with the March of Dimes in these efforts and grateful for their many decades of support to Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine,” Daskevich said. “Over the last 10 years, the March of Dimes has provided more than $16 million in grants more than all other Houston area institutions combined.”

November 1, 2016

When Michelle Guerrero and her husband welcomed their daughter Olivia on November 8, 2012, at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, their excitement quickly gave way to anxiety. Soon after Olivia was born, she had trouble breathing and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for observation.

Olivia had developed pneumothorax, her lung had collapsed and she needed a chest tube and breathing tube. As a parent, Guerrero worried about her daughter’s lung condition, but having cared for premature and critically ill infants in the Newborn Center, she knew Olivia was in the best place for treatment.

“My daughter spent three weeks in the NICU, and I am grateful for the exceptional care she received,” Guerrero said. “As a nurse, I am also proud of the incredible work we do every day to improve the outcomes of our babies in the Newborn Center.”

For Guerrero and her NICU colleagues, there’s yet another reason to be extremely thankful.

On October 20, the 19th annual Bad Pants golf tournament donated $375,000 that will support life-saving programs and services for the tiniest patients at Texas Children’s Newborn Center who are in need of premier medical treatment. Each year since 1997, the turnout at the annual golf outing continues to soar.

“As a grateful parent and a representative of the presenting sponsor, it’s very exciting to see how much the tournament has grown over the years,” said Les Fox, Bad Pants Open committee member and managing director of RBC Wealth Management. “We filled three golf courses with nearly 400 golfers wearing some really bad pants to raise funds that will directly support the care of premature babies and their families. I can’t wait to celebrate our 20th year in 2017!”

The event included a check presentation to the Newborn Center where the proceeds will advance innovation and excellence in the research, treatment and care for the more than 2,500 critically ill and premature infants who are treated at the Newborn Center each year.

Crystal Cruz, the recipient of the 2016 Bad Pants NICU Nurse of the Year award, says this generous donation will go a long way to improve patient outcomes.

“Giving is an act of charity and every year, the Bad Pants golf tournament helps our organization continue to make miracles happen,” Cruz said. “I am extremely grateful for this event and all that is donated to help us continue to help save these precious, tiny lives we are entrusted to care for.”

View a photo gallery of the 2016 Bad Pants Open.

October 11, 2016

101216modinside640When Leanne O’Brien glances down at her healthy 18-month-old twins, Remy and Ronan, she knows their lives are nothing short of a miracle. Born nearly 28 weeks premature as a result of severe preeclampsia, her twins spent the first four and a half months of their young lives at Texas Children’s Newborn Center.

“As soon as they were born, the NICU team took care of our babies who each weighed between two and three pounds,” said O’Brien, assistant director of IS Customer Service at Texas Children’s. “They immediately went to NICU 3, then we went to NICU 4 for PDA closures to treat a congenital heart defect and then to NICU 2 until our babies were well enough to come home.”

At the time, O’Brien didn’t know much about the causes and complications of infant prematurity. After her family’s NICU journey, she decided to do something she’d never done before – participate in the March for Babies Walk with her husband and their twins, and her mom and sister on behalf of Texas Children’s to support other NICU families who have encountered similarly challenging situations.

“I wanted to use my voice and share my testimony to help pregnant women and families wherever and however I can,” O’Brien said. “Participating in the walk was a pretty emotional day for me. I thought about all of what my family and my kids went through and how blessed we are to be here today. But I also thought about the families and babies who are currently fighting and all the babies who lost their fight.”

With the generous support from O’Brien and other Texas Children’s employees and their families, Texas Children’s was recently honored as the top corporate team in Houston to raise nearly $180,000 in total funds for the March of Dimes based on corporate sponsorship and employee and team fundraising.

“Of the Top 50 participating teams, we are thrilled to see Texas Children’s Hospital take the number one spot in Houston for the first time,” said Darcie Wells, executive director of the March of Dimes Foundation of Greater Houston. “We thank Texas Children’s leaders and employees for their incredible efforts for moms and babies.”

Several months prior to the March for Babies walk, departments and units from across the organization formed their own teams to help raise money and rally support around this worthy cause. Teams hosted barbecues, designed and sold t-shirts, held bake sales, arranged bike tours and even paid to give their leaders a pie in the face to raise money and awareness. Each of the 63 teams raised an average of $1,476, all of which helped Texas Children’s exceed this year’s fundraising goal of $120,000.

“Since 1984, Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine have received more than $16 million from the March of Dimes to support research to prevent birth defects and prematurity,” said Cris Daskevich, senior vice president at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. “Our long-term partnership has helped significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for some of our most fragile babies – giving hope to patients and families when there once was none.”

O’Brien encourages everyone thinking about participating in next year’s walk to help support the March of Dimes. “It is such an amazing cause, and by donating or walking, you can help give every baby a fighting chance,” O’Brien said.

The March of Dimes will officially celebrate the Top 10 Teams at a citywide kickoff of its 2017 campaign on February 8, 2017.

Click here to watch the slideshow of the 2016 March for Babies Walk.

October 4, 2016

10516badpants640On September 22, nurses from Texas Children’s Newborn Center were recognized for their hard work and dedication at the annual Bad Pants Day celebration at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women.

Nurses traded in their scrubs for creative, yet cringe-worthy pants that probably wouldn’t get the nod of approval from Giorgio Armani or Gianni Versace: orange and yellow striped pants, polka dot pants and red slacks with stitched pom poms.

For nurses at Texas Children’s Newborn Center, Bad Pants Day was more than just dressing up in whacky attire. It was their day to shine and know how much they are appreciated for their efforts to enhance the outcomes of critically-ill infants in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Rebecca Schiff, assistant clinical nursing director in the Newborn Center, and her husband, Mike, shared their NICU journey when their twins, Jonah and Elliot, were born 24 weeks premature. They expressed their gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff who took such great care of them.

“I am reminded of what the doctors and nurses in this room gave to me and to my family,” Mike said. “These people invest themselves into such a heavy burden daily, as a matter of routine. While today is about fun, about celebrating contributions and paying tribute, we should honor these heroes not just for the rewards of their heroism, but the burden of that heroism on their capable but often weary shoulders. Each of us owe and readily give our thanks to them.”

Several NICU patient families attended the celebration including NICU Vice President Judy Swanson, NICU Nursing Director Heather Cherry and Rob Cooksey and Les Fox from the Bad Pants Committee. Several members from the local media served as judges for the Bad Pants fashion show. The contest winners from first to fourth place were Sara Somers, Stephanie Lopez, Jessica Gomes and Judy Swanson.

Bad Pants Day also marked the official kick off for the 19th annual Bad Pants Open scheduled for Thursday, October 20. Proceeds from the golf tournament will support Texas Children’s Newborn Center. Click here to register.

September 20, 2016

92016chroniclenewbornad250Texas Children’s is the honored sponsor for every Tuesday’s “Houston Legends” series. We will showcase the legendary care Texas Children’s has provided since 1954, and focus on milestone moments in our unique history. Also, a complementary website offers a more detailed look at our past, our story and our breakthroughs.

On the right is the Texas Children’s ad that is featured in this week’s Chronicle. Click the ad to visit our companion website at texaschildrens.org/legendarycare. The website will change weekly to complement the newspaper ad, which will be published in section A of the Chronicle on Tuesdays for the next several weeks. We also will spotlight this special feature weekly on Connect, so stay tuned to learn and share our rich history.

August 16, 2016

On August 6, more than 400 patient families traveled from all over the country for the 2016 Texas Children’s Newborn Center family reunion. The reunion celebrated former patients who graduated from the Newborn Center in 2015 after spending 21 days or more in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The reunion was held at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women where parents shared stories of hope and triumph with other NICU families and reconnected with the nurses and doctors who delivered life-saving care to their critically ill babies.

“The families were so grateful to be able to come back and share the great progress their babies have made,” said Judy Swanson, vice president of nursing for the Newborn Center. “It gave them the opportunity to visit with the employees, physicians and other families that they spent so much time with while in the NICU. It was heartwarming to see them making so much progress.”

Highlights from the reunion included remarks from Swanson and Texas Children’s Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh, Newborn Center Nursing Director Heather Cherry, guest speakers Katy Haynes and Desiree Collins-Bradley, and blessings from Texas Children’s chaplain Kirsten Springmeyer.

The NICU reunion also offered exciting entertainment for the children including coloring, face painting, inflatable pony races, appearances from Minnie Mouse and SpongeBob SquarePants, and the guests enjoyed a good old-fashioned Texas barbecue.

August 9, 2016

81016smithvisit640On July 11, Executive Commissioner Charles Smith of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) met with executive leaders at Texas Children’s Hospital and toured several areas of the hospital’s medical center campus to learn more about how we strive to provide the best care to women and children in the Greater Houston community and throughout Texas.

In his new role as THHSC executive commissioner, Smith will oversee the operation of the state’s 58,000 employees across four health care agencies, including the Medicaid/CHIP division and many health care services that impact the care that children and women receive at Texas Children’s.

Dr. Mark Shen, who serves as the chairman of the Children’s Hospital Association of Texas board and is president of Dell Children’s Medical Center, along with Stacy Wilson, president of the Children’s Hospital Association of Texas, also joined the visit and highlighted the collaboration that occurs among all freestanding children’s hospitals in Texas.

Chief of Neonatology Dr. Gautham Suresh, Vice President of Nursing Judy Swanson and NICU Nursing Director Heather Cherry toured the group through the Level IV NICU where they met with several patient families and heard their touching stories. As the state of Texas undergoes its process to designate NICU levels of care, the tour allowed our subject matter experts to educate the commissioner regarding the extensive differences between a Level 1 and Level 4 NICU.

The group also met with Dr. Christian Niedzwecki, medical director of the inpatient rehabilitation unit, and Shelley Ellison, director of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. During their tour of Texas Children’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the group discussed the concerns shared by physicians and patient families regarding Medicaid therapy rate cuts, which will impact this service line and the care provided to Texas Children’s patients with rehabilitation needs following a physical injury or medical condition.