On October 13, Texas Children’s patients were treated to a surprise appearance by Batman at the eighth annual Spirit of Halloween party in The Zone. What patients, families and staff didn’t know was the man in the cape was none other than Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. After taking off his mask, Watt spent time at the party painting pumpkins, playing foosball, taking photos, signing autographs and bringing smiles to everyone he met.
The surprise and party was featured on the Today Show. Click here to watch the story.
Each year, Spirit Halloween brings the fun and fantasy of Halloween to children at the hospital who otherwise might not be able to enjoy it. Spirit Halloween also supports our Child Life team throughout the year.
August 25, 2015
Texas Children’s is committed to providing the highest quality patient care, a critical component of which is how our patients and their families experience that care. As we continue to grow, it is our responsibility to ensure we provide a consistently exceptional experience system wide.
Recognizing the importance of the patient experience and its integral role in quality patient care, we have created several teams to drive improvements in our patient and family experience. During the past 10 months, hundreds of leaders, physicians, and employees on those teams have reviewed the feedback we receive on our patient satisfaction surveys and helped implement more than 25 projects aimed at improving the patient and family experience throughout Texas Children’s.
The patient satisfaction survey is administered by Press Ganey to patient families on all three of our campuses (Main Campus, West Campus and the Pavilion for Women). Every patient encounter is eligible for a survey, including the scheduling process, the courtesy of our staff members and our billing procedures.
We track our performance in 14 clinical areas across the system and our scores are compared to those of similarly sized children’s and women’s hospitals across the country. This year, we set our goals to ensure we perform better than at least half of the other hospitals surveyed by Press Ganey. This goal is aligned with our organizational goal to raise satisfaction score performance system wide.
We survey families throughout the year, therefore families you encounter each and every day will be surveyed about their experience. We need to work together to ensure they receive the best possible experience. According to our patients who are surveyed, two things we need to focus on are: showing concern for their needs and keeping them informed about any delays that might occur. If you have not participated in one of the many improvement projects this year, talk to your leader about the efforts in your area targeted to enhance the patient and family experience.
In the words of Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace: “If our care is absent of compassion, we are not fulfilling our promise to our patients and their families. From the moment a family member calls to schedule an appointment, their experience with us begins, and every single thing that happens thereafter will leave a lasting impression.”
We encourage all employees and physicians to watch Mr. Wallace’s video on this subject and think about how you and your teams can improve the experience starting now.
May 5, 2015
Employees, patients and their families got a chance this week to learn about Texas Children’s efforts to make the patient and family experience here the best it can be.
Hundreds of people attended patient and family experience events at Main and West campuses. The events offered up a lot of information and a lot of fun.
Employees dressed as jungle animals passed out information on ambulatory surgery’s patient and family experience efforts. Other Texas Children’s workers offered up scoops of ice cream and encouraged passersby to play a variety of games.
Overall, the events were a success at reminding employees, patients and families that care at Texas Children’s goes beyond the bedside. It has to do with how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call to schedule an appointment with us to the point they leave our care.
Read more about patient and family experience here.
April 28, 2015
Three years ago, Jamie Platt gave birth to what she and her husband thought was a healthy baby boy. Six days later, surgeons at Texas Children’s Hospital were operating on her son’s heart.
Since then, Texas Children’s has become the family’s second home. Logan is doing well but needs extensive therapy and medical care to manage his heart problem and other health conditions.
For the most part, the Platts have had a phenomenal experience here. Their doctors, nurses and medical staff have provided excellent medical care. However, there have been times when Jamie and her husband, Jeremy, wish they had been treated with more compassion.
“When that bedside manner isn’t there, it makes the whole experience different,” Jamie said.
Patient and family experience is more than the medical care we provide. It has to do with how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call to schedule an appointment with us to the point they leave our care.
During that time, did we help them navigate our halls? Did we look them in the eye when we spoke to them? Did we greet them with a smile?
Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine Dr. Roger Nicome said everyone knows we provide the best possible medical care at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“What we want is for people to feel their care was given in a compassionate manner that not only focuses on curing their illness, but also improving their well-being,” Nicome said. To accomplish that goal, Nicome, who is very involved with patient experience initiatives at Texas Children’s, said he treats his patients like they were members of his family.
“If I do that, I know I will go the extra mile,” he said.
For the past six months, employees across the organization have unified forces to focus on improving the patient experience at Texas Children’s. Four core teams – Ambulatory Surgery, Inpatient, Medical Practice and Outpatient – are leading the effort and working on more than a dozen projects that will enhance patient experience. Employees can learn about those projects and how they can help at two upcoming patient experience events:
Patient Experience Bridge Event, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, The Auxiliary Bridge, Main Campus
Patient Experience Event, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, West Campus
On a daily basis, employees can:
Introduce yourself and extend a greeting
Commit to sit during patient/family interactions
Make eye contact when appropriate
Avoid use of personal electronic devices in common areas and find a family to assist
Knock before entering an exam room
Acknowledge visitors at 15 feet by making eye contact, smiling, nodding, etc. and greet them at 10 feet
“It is essential that all of us consistently demonstrate the Texas Children’s value of living compassionately and put the patient at the center of everything we do,” said Elisa Mozley, assistant director of Patient and Family Services. “If we accomplish that,” she said, “everything else that shapes a positive patient experience should follow.”
On October 13, Texas Children’s patients were treated to a surprise appearance by Batman at the eighth annual Spirit of Halloween party in The Zone. What patients, families and staff didn’t know was the man in the cape was none other than Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. After taking off his mask, Watt spent time at the party painting pumpkins, playing foosball, taking photos, signing autographs and bringing smiles to everyone he met.
