May 24, 2016

Dressed in their favorite Houston Texans gear and toting some of their most prized Texans paraphernalia, about 250 Texas Children’s employees recently attended an exclusive autograph and photograph session with two Houston Texans players at NRG Stadium.

One by one, the employees filed into the Chairman’s Club overlooking the football field and munched on popcorn while they awaited their chance to meet Charles James II, the Texans cornerback who rose to a fan favorite in last season’s Hard Knocks on HBO; and Devon Still, defensive end and recipient of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award for his daughter, Leah’s, courageous fight against cancer.

“I am super excited to have this opportunity to come and meet some of the players,” one employee said as she waited to get a Texans banner signed by James and Still. “I love Texas Children’s; there are so many benefits to working here.”

In addition to the football players, employees also got the opportunity to meet and take pictures with two Texans cheerleaders.

“I’m so glad I work at Texas Children’s Hospital and that we are partners with the Texans,” another employee said. “It’s awesome!”

Texas Children’s entered a partnership with the Houston Texans more than a year ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives. The two organizations have since reached thousands of Houston-area children through camps, school programs, special hospital appearances and other events that combine fun with education.

The partnership also includes involvement from players, cheerleaders and TORO in the community and at hospital events hosted by the Texans and Texas Children’s Hospital. Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans will continue identifying ways to grow the partnership and extend its reach even further within the local and regional communities.

Texas Children’s sponsored the recent autograph and photograph session to better educate employees about the partnership. All employees were given the chance to win a chance to participate in the session by submitting their definition of leadership. We used the leadership definition submissions to randomly select participants for the event. We will share some of the leadership definitions soon on Mr. Wallace’s On the Mark blog.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to get to know our partner and Go Texans!

May 10, 2016

51116TCHCoupon640Between now and Saturday, May 28, Texas Children’s employees can get 20 percent off items at the Houston Texans’ official team store, the Go Texan Store, at NRG Stadium. Employees are getting this exciting offer/opportunity since we are the Houston Texans Official Children’s Hospital.

The offer is valid on all in-store items except for sale items, publications, customizations, jerseys and other special items.

Click here or above to print out your coupon, which must be shown at time of purchase.

The Go Texan Store is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Shoppers can park in the Blue Lot 18, which is accessible for free from Gate 9 at the intersection of Kirby and Westridge. Fans can find everything from new Nike jerseys and fresh New Era/47 Brand hats to miscellaneous team memorabilia, women’s apparel and accessories, youth merchandise, tailgating necessities, and much more.

Enjoy and Go Texans!

April 26, 2016

42716texansautograph640The NFL Draft is this week, and pre-season games only a few months away. So football season is right around the corner, and Texas Children’s wants to help you gear up for it.

Over the next two weeks, all Texas Children’s employees will have the chance to be selected to attend an exclusive autograph and photograph session with two Houston Texans players: Charles James II, the Texans cornerback who rose to a fan favorite in last season’s Hard Knocks on HBO; and Devon Still, defensive end and recipient of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award for his daughter, Leah’s, courageous fight against cancer. Two Texans cheerleaders also will be in attendance.

To win a chance to attend the event, you must submit your definition of leadership. As you know, Mark Wallace’s Leadership Maxim no. 4 is that “We all should have our personal definition of leadership.”

We will use the leadership definition submissions to randomly select participants for the Houston Texans autograph/photograph session. We also will share some of the leadership definitions on Mr. Wallace’s On the Mark blog.

Submissions will be accepted here until Tuesday, May 3. We will select 400 people from the submissions to attend the autograph and photograph session. Those selected will be contacted by Wednesday, May 11.

Transportation to and from the stadium will not be provided, and only employees can attend. Exempt employees who are scheduled to work that day must obtain leader approval. Non-exempt employees who are scheduled to work that day must obtain leader approval and badge in and out.

“We hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to meet two Houston Texans players and learn more about our partnership with Houston’s hometown football team,” said Lisa Yelenick, director of Service Line, Community and Brand for the Marketing and Public Relations Department. “Good luck and Go Texans!”

Texas Children’s entered a partnership with the Houston Texans more than a year ago to inspire children to lead healthier, more active lives. The two organizations have since reached thousands of Houston-area children through camps, school programs, special hospital appearances and other events that combine fun with education.

The partnership also includes involvement from players, cheerleaders and TORO in the community and at hospital events hosted by the Texans and Texas Children’s Hospital. Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans will continue identifying ways to grow the partnership and extend its reach even further within the local and regional communities.

To learn more about the partnership, go to texaschildrens.org/texans. For questions about the event, contact Kimberly Vetter at mkvetter@texaschildrens.org.

42716kidstriathlon640Thousands of families and friends gathered on April 23 and 24 at NRG Stadium to cheer on the 3,000 plus participants of the 2016 Houston Texans Kid’s Triathlon.

The Houston Texans and Texas Children’s Hospital joined forces to organize the event aimed at building a generation of healthy, active responsible children.

Click here to watch a video of the event and here to read a first-person account of the triathlon from 10-year-old participant Will Gillette. Gillette had heart surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital when he was born and has now completed two Houston Texans Kid’s Triathlons.

To learn more about the partnership, go to texaschildrens.org/Texans.

April 5, 2016

When a patient comes to Texas Children’s looking for an answer to their medical woes, lab work plays a big part in the diagnosis and treatment of that patient and their family.

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine has highlighted the need for improved diagnosis in healthcare. We at Texas Children’s want to continue to lead in that effort and build on our wide range of consultative services on clinical tests that are vital in guiding the diagnosis and therapy of patients.

That’s why we have partnered with Quest Diagnostics to provide outpatient reference lab services to our patients receiving care at our locations or any Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center in the greater Houston area. Hospital patients will continue to utilize the Texas Children’s Pathology department for lab services.

“Many providers have been frustrated with the idea of dealing with 60-plus reference labs and trying to figure out how to provide the best possible care and quality to our patients,” Executive Vice President John Nickens said. “We took this as an opportunity to look at the market as one entity, as one Texas Children’s experience.”

As a result of our partnership with Quest Diagnostics, a pediatric trained phlebotomist will be available at most Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Health Centers, and The Centers across the Houston area. The partnership will allow Texas Children’s to take advantage of the company’s technical expertise and pair it with our medical knowledge to improve the quality of testing for our patients.

“As we look ahead in the 21st century, we know we’re going to need to be even more accurate and more refined in terms of diagnosis so we can deliver the very specific treatment each patient needs and deserves,” Pathologist-in-Chief Dr. James Versalovic said. “This partnership will allow us to do that and to foster innovation in a way we weren’t able to do before.”

If you would like more information or have questions about the partnership between Quest Diagnostics and Texas Children’s, please contact Cindy Beckley, project manager, at chbeckl2@texaschildrens.org or Ext. 4-5115.

March 8, 2016

21016KidsTriathlon250Want to help build a generation of healthy, active responsible children? Sign them up for the 2016 Houston Texans Kids Triathlon and Texas Children’s Hospital will pay their registration fee.

As the event’s sponsor, the hospital will foot the bill for 25 children to participate in the event slated for April 23 and 24 at NRG Stadium.

Drawing more than 3,000 participants ages 6 to 15, the event is expected to be the largest USATriathlon sanctioned kids triathlon in the world.

Click here for more information and email mkvetter@texaschildrens.org if you are interested in receiving the registration discount.

 

February 16, 2016

21716KidsTriathlon640Want to help build a generation of healthy, active responsible children? Sign them up for the 2016 Houston Texans Kids Triathlon. Presented by Texas Children’s Hospital, the event will be April 23 and 24 at NRG Stadium.

Drawing more than 3,000 participants ages 6 to 15, the event is expected to be the largest USATriathlon sanctioned kids triathlon in the world.

Click here to register and here for more information.