March 21, 2017

Lois Gabriel, Clinical Product Coordinator role in Supply Chain, died March 13, 2017 at the age of 71 after an extended illness.

Lois joined Texas Children’s Hospital May 15, 1978. She worked for many years as a nurse manager in the Texas Children’s Newborn Center. In later years of her career she moved in to the Clinical Product Coordinator role in Supply Chain before retiring in 2014.

For those that knew her she was a gem with such a calming presence and a mentor and friend to many. Lois is truly missed.

Please keep her son and family in your prayers.

March 14, 2017

Texas Children’s recently celebrated the opening of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) E Pod, a newly designated 9-bed infant acute cardiac care unit at West Tower. Since opening on February 22, NICU E Pod has helped to significantly reduce the occurrence of cardiac case cancellations.

“Over the last six months, we were seeing an alarming increase in the cancellation of surgical cases and cath procedures due to a lack of inpatient bed capacity,” said Matt Timmons, director of Cardiology at Texas Children’s Heart Center. “During the last 18 days since the unit opened, we have had no cardiac case cancellations, which is a huge step forward in improving the care and experience we deliver to our patients and families.”

To create additional Heart Center capacity, Texas Children’s physician and nursing leadership teams from the Heart Center, Critical Care and Newborn Center – and many other subspecialties and support services across the organization – collaborated to expedite the successful opening of the new unit.

“We were fortunate to have the NICU E Pod available,” said NICU Nursing Director Heather Cherry. “After meeting with several subspecialty leadership teams, we collectively decided to open the NICU E Pod to provide additional bed capacity for our acute cardiac care patients. This collaborative decision allowed us to support an additional nine patients needing our care.”

Recently, acute care nursing partnered with the Heart Center to successfully add capacity for cardiac patients in the four-bed cohort on 10 West Tower. While this has been extremely helpful, the need for additional capacity still existed. The NICU E Pod provides an extension to 15 West Tower for acute cardiac care patients under 12 months of age. While the cardiology team oversees the treatment of these acute care patients, the NICU E Pod is staffed by the Newborn Center nursing team.

For patient families like Randal and Sabrina Pemberton from Lubbock, Texas, the opening of the unit could not have come at a better time. Since the first day the NICU E Pod opened, they have been with their daughter Aaliyah, who at just 8 days old, had surgery to repair an aorta and two holes in her heart.

“We’ve had a wonderful team of doctors who are taking great care of our daughter and the nurses have been fabulous as well,” Sabrina Pemberton said. “Overall, given our circumstances, it’s been a great experience at Texas Children’s Hospital. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Besides collaboration from clinical staff, reaching this milestone so quickly – in a matter of one week – would not have been possible without the help from Texas Children’s support services which included Information Services, Facilities, Epic, Biomed, Supply Chain, Pharmacy and Environmental Services.

“This unit was a great example of collaboration by multiple subspecialties and departments, and shows how we are all “One Texas Children’s Hospital,” said Chief of Cardiology Dr. Daniel J. Penny. “The ability to open this unit so quickly and safely exemplifies our commitment to our patients and their families.”

With Texas Children’s anticipated growth, the Pediatric Tower – which is slated to open in August 2018 – will house 126 beds for pediatric and cardiovascular intensive care patients, which will provide additional bed capacity and even more opportunities to serve our patients and their families in the future.

“The Pediatric Tower is the long-term solution for our Heart Center’s rapid growth,” Timmons said. “The NICU E Pod and the 10 West Tower cardiac cohort are successfully bridging the gap until we move into the new tower.”

On February 27 and 28, Primary Nurse Planner Amanda Garey, MSN, RNC-OB, and Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women hosted the 34th Annual Kaleidoscope Perinatal Nursing Conference at the Galveston Convention Center in collaboration with the March of Dimes and Houston Area Collaborative Perinatal Program.

The Kaleidoscope Conference planning committee included 33 perinatal experts and consisted of teams representing the Pavilion for Women and Nursing Professional Development.

The conference featured 52 podium speakers and 17 poster presentations from 13 different organizations throughout the greater Houston area. These presentations highlighted the latest nursing topics related to neonatology, obstetrics and professional practice. Of these presenters, 28 presentations were delivered by Texas Children’s employees or physician partners.

The two-day conference attracted a historic 347 participants and 50 vendors from across the United States. Attendees enjoyed a fun and interactive drawing from sponsorship donations.

The Texas Children’s planning committee members worked tirelessly to make this a unique and memorable event. Special thanks to:

  • Committee Chair Amanda Garey, MSN, RNC-OB, C-OB, C-EFM
  • Lynda Tyer-Viola, PhD, RN, FAAN
  • Nan Ybarra, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC
  • Elizabeth Bolds, MBA, RN, NEA-BC
  • Kina Foster, MBA, BSN, RNC-MNN
  • Dionne J. Walker, MSN, RNC-OB
  • Tara Barrick, BSN, RNC-OB
  • Denisse Gonzalez, BSN, RNC-MNN
  • Glenda Patrick, MSN, BN, RNC-OB
  • Jenny O’Dowd, BSN, RNC-MNN
  • Leslie R. Williams, BSN, RN, CCRN
  • Delinda Castillo, BSN, RN
  • Angie Rangel, MSN, RN, CCRN, LNC
  • Jaime Choate, BSN, RNC-OB
  • Sharon Demel, MSN, CNS, RNC-NIC
  • Megnon Stewart, MSN, RN
  • Lindsay Gregory, MSN, RN, CPN
  • Tanya Nelson, BS, RN, RNC-NIC
  • Sonia Alvarado, Administrative Assistant
  • Emily Lamport, Marketing
January 17, 2017

11817CNOR640For the third year in a row, Texas Children’s Hospital has been named CNOR Strong by the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI).

To achieve this recognition, more than 50 percent of a hospital’s operating room (OR) nurses’ must undergo a rigorous process that involves mastering high standards of perioperative practices before nurses can earn their individual CNOR certification.

“Words cannot express how proud I am to be the leader of an OR that is CNOR strong for the third year in a row,” said Amanda Austin, manager of Surgical Services at Texas Children’s. “It has been amazing to watch the dedication and drive grow amongst the OR nurses who worked extremely hard to achieve this milestone. They are showing their passion for what they do.”

While obtaining the CNOR designation is not an easy task and requires lots of study and preparation, this nationally recognized certification exemplifies Texas Children’s commitment to being the best of the best in the delivery of safe patient care.

“It all goes back wholeheartedly to being patient advocates that set the highest bar for the care we provide to our sleeping patients,” said Nakeisha Archer, director of Perioperative Services at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and president of the Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses. “We are proud of being designated as a whole, and putting the Pavilion for Women on the map as the first women’s hospital to become CNOR strong internationally.”

Research shows that nurses who earn the CNOR credential have greater confidence in their clinical practice. A team of CNOR certified nurses who have mastered the standards of perioperative practice furthers a culture of professionalism and has been correlated to improved outcomes in surgical patients.

In a recent study published in the journal of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, hospitals with high rates of specialty nursing certifications saw significant lower rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections among surgery patients. The study also found that a 10 percent increase of CNOR’s and other support certified nurses resulted in an 8 to 16 percent reduction in surgical infections.

“I am honored to be involved with an institution and perioperative departments that have a commitment to excellence,” said Janet Winebar, director of Perioperative Services at West Tower. “I commend the individual OR RNs who have worked so hard to achieve this honor and their leaders for supporting them.”

January 10, 2017

11117clabsi640Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) 2 nursing team has a big reason to celebrate – they reached 365 days and counting with zero central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), which demonstrates the value of team work and our hospital’s commitment to cultivating an environment for safe patient care.

In November 2015, NICU 2 reported three CLABSI infections. Since then, the rate of CLABSI occurrences has dropped to zero.

“Last fall, we were concerned about the number of CLABSIs we were having not only in the NICU but across the organization,” said NICU Clinical Nurse Specialist Alex Luton. “Together, with our infection control counterparts in education and vascular access, we implemented a massive educational initiative that trained more than 2,000 nurses across the organization on several key skills in central line care.”

Besides opening dialogue with the bedside nurses and care providers to identify and close any gaps observed around central line care, current hospital policies and practices were reviewed against national standards to identify areas of care that could be standardized to reduce CLABSI occurrences.

“Prior to this initiative, units had their own way of accessing and maintaining the central line,” said NICU Education Coordinator Rachel Leva. “Now, all nurses follow the same standard procedure for central line maintenance across the hospital system which has significantly helped us reduce our CLABSI rates in NICU 2.”

Creating the new role of central line resource nurses (CLRNs) has also provided an added layer of support for CLABSI prevention. To help bedside staff focus on other important patient care responsibilities, the CLRNs round on all patients with central lines during every shift.

“By providing central line care support and education, we’ve been able to address concerns early before they potentially manifest into a bloodstream infection,” said Ivy Lynn Ersan, a CLRN in NICU 2. “For instance, if a patient sweats a lot or has a lot of secretions, we may need to check on the patient more frequently per shift and change the dressing sooner than later to ward off an infection.”

Other strategies implemented in NICU 2 to reduce CLABSI include:

  • Central Line Champions Program – Specially trained to observe and audit central line care practices, these champions serve as coaches to ensure compliance with proven CLABSI prevention strategies. While all NICU staff are trained in CLABSI prevention, central line champions undergo more intensive training and must attend monthly educational sessions.
  • Hand Hygiene – NICU 2 nurses participated in a house-wide hand hygiene competition and posted signs in the unit as a visual cue to keep hand hygiene top of mind. NICU 2 leadership worked closely with Facilities to ensure ample supply of free standing hand sanitizer in the unit.
  • Weekly CLABSI meetings – Meetings are held every Tuesday to review and share information on CLABSI occurrence and identify any gaps in practice that need to be addressed. Attendees at these meetings include members from the vascular access, infection control and CLRN teams. A representative from Facilities also attends to ensure the working environment is conducive to safe patient care.

NICU 2 Assistant Clinical Director Tanya Williams says one important aspect that helped NICU 2 nurses achieve this milestone was their questioning attitude.

“Our nurses are not afraid to ask questions when something doesn’t seem right,” Williams said. “I think fostering this culture of a questioning attitude is how we were able to get this far. I am so incredibly proud of our nurses and our CLABSI partners for helping us achieve this patient safety milestone.”

December 13, 2016

121416beckywhiteaward640Becky White, a former neonatal nurse and now patient care coordinator at Texas Children’s, recently won the Patients’ View Institute (PVI) Partners in Healing Award during a national ceremony in Washington, D.C. co-sponsored by The Leap Frog Group. Chief Quality Officer Dr. Angelo Giardino also accepted this award on behalf of Texas Children’s.

Each year, this award honors a patient’s story that demonstrates how a partnership between a patient or their loved ones, and their hospital care team, achieved a healing health care event or experience.

When White was pregnant with her son, Wade, doctors told her that her child may not survive due to medical complications. Miraculously, Wade pulled through but his road to recovery would be a difficult one. Born with complex health issues, Wade would undergo more than 50 surgeries before he turned 5.

As the mother of a son with special needs, White struggled trying to communicate effectively with her son’s medical team, at times feeling like she wasn’t being heard. So, she decided to go back to school to become a pediatric nurse, hoping that her medical background could help overcome this communication barrier.

“My experience as a NICU nurse helped me to communicate more effectively with my son’s doctors,” said White, a patient care coordinator at Texas Children’s. “It also gave me the opportunity to connect with hospital executives to help them relate data and patient outcomes to the actual patient experience.”

These opportunities emerged after White read a blog post from Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace about customer service and what every employee can do to ensure patients and their families have an exceptional experience at Texas Children’s. Touched by this blog, White emailed Wallace to share her thoughts and experiences as a parent of a Texas Children’s patient and as a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse.

“I was very appreciative that our CEO took the time to respond to my email,” White said. “After our initial meeting, Mr. Wallace invited me to shadow him for one day so I could experience firsthand what our administrative leadership team does behind the scenes to support our frontline staff and employees.”

Wallace also shadowed White in the NICU where he met with patient families and Texas Children’s NICU leadership and nurses who shared the remarkable improvements their teams have made to improve patient safety and enhance the overall NICU experience for patients and their families.

“My experience with Becky was just another reminder that whether we work at the bedside or behind the scenes, everyone matters and everyone’s perspective has value,” Wallace said. “Everyone’s work is essential at Texas Children’s, and when we all share this same intense passion for the mission, we drive it forward.”

So far, more than 40 hospital executives have accompanied Becky in the NICU, which prompted leaders to create an organization-wide Executive Rounding Program to be implemented in other areas of the hospital. The program has helped improve communication and empathy with patients and their families.

By advocating for her son, becoming a nurse, and helping health care administrators to better understand patient and family issues, Becky’s story represents an important patient perspective – one that others on both sides of the bedrail can learn from.

Click here to read White’s Voice of Nursing blog about her experience shadowing Mr. Wallace. Click here to read Mr. Wallace’s perspective of his experience rounding with White in the NICU.

December 6, 2016

113016juliekuzin175Julie Kuzin, a nurse practitioner at Texas Children’s Heart Center, recently received the 2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence. This prestigious award is given annually to a dedicated nurse practitioner in each state who demonstrates excellence in their area of practice.

“Since joining the cardiology team in 2004, Kuzin has cemented her place as a smart and thorough clinician who delivers safe, effective, and efficient care to our patients and their families,” said Angela Gooden, a pediatric nurse practitioner and manager of Advanced Practice Providers in Cardiology, who nominated Kuzin for this award. “We applaud Julie for the outstanding contributions she has made to the APRN practice at Texas Children’s Hospital and across the state of Texas.”

Kuzin was recognized for a number of achievements, including her leadership in advancing professional standards and practice guidelines across the organization. In partnership with Texas Children’s, Kuzin was instrumental in developing a post-master’s Acute Care PNP certification program at Texas Tech University School of Nursing in 2014 to meet professional practice needs for increased access.

Kuzin has been an active participant in efforts to reform NP practice in the state of Texas. She has travelled to multiple legislative sessions and has disseminated key information from those visits. Her fervent commitment to advancing the scope of practice at Texas Children’s was most inspiring by her colleagues when she served as the first assistant director of Acute Care Advanced Practice Providers prior to taking on faculty duties with Texas Tech. Also, Kuzin has served as a model and mentor to providers with her participation in evidenced-based practice and research.

“Many of our APRNs are unsung heroes in their practice, doing what is ordinary to advanced nursing practice but is seen as extraordinary to patients and families,” said Charley Elliott, director of Advanced Practice Providers at Texas Children’s. “We congratulate Julie for achieving this prestigious state award of excellence.”