November 18, 2019

Texas Children’s Health Plan host flu-focused events for member families.

Influenza is definitely something to fear. Every year it results in several million Americans becoming extremely ill. That’s exactly why “Boo to Flu” is an annual Halloween event that Texas Children’s Health Plan employees host to protect member families. Both events take place at The Centers.

The Center for Children and Women – Greenspoint

Nearly 800 member families attended the event on October 12.

The Center for Children and Women – Southwest

More than 1,000 member families attended the event on October 19.

Both events provided:

  • Children’s flu shots
  • Adult flu shots
  • Full vaccines
  • Medicaid Application Assistance
  • Anywhere Care downloads

Still need to get your flu shot?
As a Texas Children’s employee it is extremely important to keep you and your family safe with a flu vaccination. If so, visit the Employee Health Clinic.

Medical Center Employee Health

Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Location: Employee Health & Wellness Center, 5 Tower by the yellow elevators | Phone: 832-824-2150

West Campus Employee Health

Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Location: West Campus, Human Resources and Employee Health, 2nd floor | Phone: 832-227-1365

The Woodlands Employee Health

Hours: Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Location: The Woodlands Hospital, Employee Health, 2nd Floor – Blue Wall WL. 0260 | Phone: 936-267-5287

October 21, 2019

 

It was a cold and rainy morning in 2018 when I saw what customer service really looked like. I pulled into the drive-through at Chick-Fil-A for an order of chicken minis and a cup of coffee.

As I pulled up to the screen, I was greeted by a young lady who was bundled up from head to toe. She held a tablet in her shivering hands and a bright smile was on her face. “Good Morning! What can I get for you?” I was surprised by how positive she was considering how cold she must have been.

The same scene would repeat itself as I pulled up to the window to get my food and not one—but two—friendly faces met me. One employee was inside the restaurant and one was standing outside the drive-through window on the curb. “Thank you for coming!” the young man said as he handed me my bag. Right at that moment a gust of icy wind cut across our faces. I rolled up my window even more impressed.

I thought to myself – “These people are dedicated.”

But it wasn’t over. Only a few feet away at the end of the lane, the third and final encounter with an employee took place. This young lady also had a friendly bundled-up face. She was standing outside next to a table of condiments – ketchup, jams, sauces, etc. “Would you like some ketchup?,” she said. “My pleasure,” she continued.

From start to finish, an event as simple as getting my breakfast reminded me that I was a valued customer. Valuable enough to have multiple employees outside in the cold with a smile and an aim to please.

I reflect on this rainy morning each time I’m in a meeting at Texas Children’s Health Plan and our senior leaders use the phrase “customer obsessed.” I think to myself, I know exactly what that looks like.

Building a customer obsessed culture at The Health Plan

The work that we do at Texas Children’s Health Plan is much more important than hot breakfast and coffee –it’s health care. It’s health care for families who are low-income and dealing with all the challenges that come with living at, or around, the poverty line. Our members and their families are our customers.

But one of the things that raises the expectations for Health Plan employees is that we have more than one kind of customer. In addition to our members as customers, our providers are also our customers. (Our providers are the physicians, specialists, therapists and other medical professionals that take care of our members.) And finally, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (known as HHSC) is our third customer. The HHSC provides financing to our organization for every member that we serve.

So in our efforts to become customer obsessed, there are several projects taking place to help us meet that goal. Just a few of these are:

  • A provider onboarding flowchart, which helps to navigate the start of a provider’s relationship with us
  • A newly launched “Strike Team”, which operates like a special ops task force to deal with high-level provider issues.
  • The re-configuration of Q-Next, one of our databases that informs our claims process.
  • A brand new claims processing dashboard project that provides real-time information on how we are managing our claims.
  • Intense and hands-on customer service training for our Member Services and Provider Services call center employees.
  • The revitalization of our Healthy Rewards Program, formerly known as Value Added Services. Our Healthy Rewards Program provides members with access to family-oriented activities and incentives.
  • The introduction of Epic Tapestry, an electronic medical record system that will eliminate the need for multiple databases and duplication of many processes.
  • And many others!

Putting the needs of our customers first is the number one priority at The Health Plan and we are off to a strong start. Detailed stories about each of these efforts will be featured in Connect in coming weeks. Are you a Texas Children’s employee who is involved in helping The Health Plan become customer-obsessed? I’d love to hear from you! Send me a note at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org.

Erika Alvarez (pictured above) is one of the highest performing Member Services Representatives. She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of Texas Children’s Health Plan members.

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To read all about “Hayes on The Health Plan” and the top 10 things you should know about Texas Children’s Health Plan, read more at https://texaschildrensnews.org/hayes-on-the-health-plan/.

October 20, 2019

In celebration of Customer Service Week, Texas Children’s Health Plan ushered in their new Healthy Rewards Program, formerly known as the Value Added Services.

Employees gathered for lunch, catered by local restaurant Maria’s Kitchen, in celebration of all they do for our members. They also had a chance to learn more about the healthy rewards that members can receive through the revitalized effort.

What are healthy rewards?

As part of the insurance coverage that health plan members receive, they also have access to a variety of perks. These include:

  • Education classes, such a New Mother 101, breastfeeding, car seat safety and child birthing.
  • Diabetes management services
  • Asthma allergy pillow covers
  • Free sports and school physicals
  • Exercise classes
  • Transportation assistance
  • And more!

To learn more about the Healthy Rewards Program visit healthyrewardsprogram.org. To learn more about the Health Plan’s dedication to becoming customer-obsessed read the latest edition of “Hayes on The Health Plan.”

October 7, 2019

Greetings everyone! My name is Erika Hayes and I am a new employee at Texas Children’s.
Well – newish.

I’m actually what Human Resources would call a boomerang. I worked at Texas Children’s Hospital from 2011 to 2014, left for five years to chase big dreams, and when the time was right I came back home.

It feels so good to be back – and this time with a new opportunity to contribute to our mission.
On June 3, 2019 I joined Texas Children’s Health Plan!

The Health Plan? What’s that?

I’m so glad you asked. Unbelievably, it’s an area of the organization that I knew very little about during my first time here. So you can imagine how excited I am to come to work every day. I get to explore, ask questions and share all of the great things going on in our world.

My title is senior communications specialist. But that’s really just a fancy way of saying that I find out what’s happening and make sure everyone knows. I report information that is positive, strategic and helpful in our efforts to meet important business goals.

The best part of my job? I learn something new every day and this series is one of the ways I’ll share what I learn.

“But why now?”

Great question. Well, in recent months Texas Children’s has undergone a reorganization that has tied Texas Children’s Health Plan and Texas Children’s Hospital closer together. Executive leadership wants both organizations to support each other and communicate better so that our business is stronger and even more successful. My job is part of those efforts.

So welcome to day one of “Hayes on The Health Plan.” As often as I can, I’m going to take you with me on this journey of learning what this very special part of our mission is all about.

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First up is the top 10 things you need to know about Texas Children’s Health Plan.

10. Texas Children’s Health Plan is an insurance plan much like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, United Healthcare, Cigna or many others. The difference is that it manages the health care of low-income families who receive government-funded insurance, such as Medicaid.

9. The purpose of Texas Children’s Health Plan is to deliver the best health care possible for its members.

8. Families who have insurance through Texas Children’s Health Plan are called members. Texas Children’s Hospital has patients and Texas Children’s Health Plan has members.

7. Texas Children’s Health Plan currently employees a little more than 800 employees.

6. These employees are located in six areas – at our office building in Bellaire, in Beaumont, in Tyler, at The Center for Children and Women (two clinics) and remotely.

5. The Center for Children and Women is owned by Texas Children’s Health Plan. The two Center locations are full-service clinics for Health Plan members only, with a few exceptions for members of other government-sponsored programs.

4. The Centers are so nice that employees often ask if they can go. (I did!) However, this is not allowed. Members only.

3. Texas Children’s Health Plan is funded by the state of Texas. We receive state funding for each member who is part of our plan.

2. Mark Mullarkey is the president of Texas Children’s Health Plan and an executive vice president for the Texas Children’s system. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him on several occasions and he is such a nice guy!

1. Texas Children’s Health Plan is Texas Children’s. It is part of the same organization that operates Texas Children’s Hospital. We are all part of the same family.

I have so many things I want to tell you through this series, but I’d love to hear from you too! Feel free to drop me a note at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org

Hayes on The Health Plan is a series written by Erika Hayes, senior communications specialist. She is a Health Plan employee, but also part of the Corporate Communications Team. Erika can be reached at eehayes1@texaschildrens.org or 832-828-1310.

October 1, 2019

Texas Children’s is one of the best in the country at taking care of our patients. But we are constantly striving to be better in the coordination of that care.

So what exactly does that mean? It means that although several providers may be involved in a patient’s treatment, they each deliver care as if they are part of one big picture.

This effort – Care Coordination – is an organizational priority and is in full swing at Texas Children’s.

But why?

Many Texas Children’s patients, especially those who are medically complex, use several aspects of our services; several times throughout the year. We can take care of these families as if each one of their visits are individual occurrences; or we can actually coordinate their care so that it is more comprehensive, less frustrating and enhances value for us as an organization.

What does UNcoordinated care look like?

Before recent efforts began there were many more cases of uncoordinated care, which caused a great deal of frustration for our families.

Uncoordinated care means that patients may receive multiple phone calls with inconsistent information, they may be asked the same question when they show up in different areas of the organization, and certain duties may be duplicated by employees.

Tabitha Rice, senior vice president and administrative lead of the Care Coordination project, said she is proud of the work that has been done so far to rectify these issues. The project is already yielding measurable results. “However, high performance is in our blood at Texas Children’s and so we never want to stop getting better,” Rice said. “Care coordination is about quality and safety first. Secondly, it’s about enhancing the experience for our patients, providers and staff.”

The Care Coordination effort involves all three of our hospitals, Texas Children’s Pediatrics, Texas Children’s Health Plan, The Centers for Children and Women and all of our partners. It is a true system-wide effort.

When care coordination is done right, we …

  • Have a shared care plan that forces us to think through responsibilities and potential problems ahead of time.
  • Communicate with patients by explaining treatments, procedures and necessary follow-up actions.
  • Communicate between providers and care givers by telling all the details of the patients’ story when performing a hand-off.
  • Transition a patient efficiently between areas within our system or between their stages of care.
  • Organize a patient’s care for their convenience by taking into consideration things like scheduling, transportation, supplies, medication, etc.
  • Use community resources effectively.

Both clinical and non-clinical employees have a role in this work. Care Coordination is a priority for the system and for thousands of members of our One Amazing Team.

A shining example of Care Coordination

Deanna Courts, Texas Children’s Health Plan service coordinator, and her work with member Mark Bowden is a shining example of exceptional care coordination.

For more than two years Courts went above and beyond to assist Mark as he battled ADHD, bipolar disorder and a cancerous tumor.

With Courts leading the way, the entire Texas Children’s system had a role in providing Bowden and his family with diagnostics, chemotherapy, food assistance, psychiatric support, social support and anything else needed to work through this trying time in life.

Today, this young man is now a cancer-free, high school graduate. Thanks to our one amazing team he is currently enrolled in college at Lamar University and doing well.

Tell us your story

Do you or someone you work with coordinate care well? Tell us how by sending a note to connect@texaschildrens.org. We want to hear from you!

September 16, 2019

Texas Children’s Health Plan insures the medical needs of some of the sickest children. But what happens when these children grow up healthy and are ready to contribute to society?

For most members, this isn’t an issue. However, for children who have significant disabilities, this is a top concern.

This concern is what sparked Texas Children’s Health Plan to form a partnership with Project Search, a national organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities find employment. Project Search makes it possible for an annual class of interns to earn valuable work experience each year.

Seeking new opportunities at Texas Children’s Hospital

For the past three years all of those internships have been within the walls of The Health Plan. But this year the program’s leaders are looking to offer more opportunities at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“Our main goal is to ensure that our students complete their time with us and are able to land a job,” said Aracely Olmeda, project search program coordinator. “As the host site, we work hard to teach hands-on skills here at The Health Plan, but we are also interested in expanding our offerings and would love to partner with departments at the hospital. The more robust and inclusive an experience we can provide, the higher quality our program will be.”

The class of interns are ready to work and are capable of a variety of tasks; including but not limited to:

  • Data entry and other basic computing
  • Filing and organizing
  • Food service
  • Front desk responsibilities

Olmeda says that Houston Independent School District instructor Lisa Mangum and Texas Workforce Commission job coach and job skills trainer Daphne Wills, lead the efforts and offer full support to Texas Children’s employees who provide opportunities to the interns.

If your department is interested in partnering with a project search intern, please reach out to Aracely Olmeda at anolmeda@texaschildrens.org. Job coaches will train the students on the skills needed for the position.

Want to know more about project search?

Home

September 4, 2019

Members of Texas Children’s Health Plan are talking back to us – and saying good things.

According to the latest Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey, the majority of families who use our health insurance are pleased with the service they receive.

The recently released 2019 results ranked Texas Children’s Health Plan in the 99th percentile of health plans when it comes to overall performance. This means that we outperformed 99 percent of comparable health plans. We also ranked in the 99th percentile for the health care performed by our providers.

The Health Plan leadership team feels optimistic and we will continue to drive improvements in our member experiences.

“I attribute these scores to the hard work of our employees and the Texas Children’s reputation as a whole,” said Dr. Lisa Hollier, chief medical officer of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Texas Children’s Health Plan. “People trust us and want us to take care of their families.”

Hollier stresses that a reputation is not about what may happen every now and then. A reputation is about what consistently takes place over a long period of time – “And excellence really is who we are at Texas Children’s,” she added.

Our areas of improvement according to the survey data are health promotion and education, coordination of care and shared decision making.

All scores from the survey will be submitted to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the same organization that the Health Plan is looking to earn an accreditation from in April of 2020.

NCQA surveyors will look at the following six areas to see how we are measuring up.

  • Effectiveness of care
  • Availability of care
  • Experience of care
  • Utilization and risk adjusted utilization
  • Health plan descriptive information
  • Measures collected using electronic clinical data systems