Take a look at the continued work that’s being done to finalize our medical complex in The Woodlands.
December 13, 2016
When Desiree Bradley delivered her daughter, she wasn’t sure how long the little girl would survive due to an extremely rare genetic disorder called Jarcho-Levin Syndrome, which affects the spine, ribs and respiratory system. Nine years later, however, Deonc Bradley is a sassy, joyful girl who can periodically be seen bouncing down the halls of Texas Children’s Hospital, where she sees 13 different specialists for her condition.
“If Deonc was cared for anywhere else but Texas Children’s Hospital, I truly believe she would not be here,” Desiree said. “So anything I can do to help Texas Children’s be the best place it can be, I’m willing to come out here and do.”
The Bradley family was one of several patient families that participated in the 2016 Texas Children’s Radiothon. Hosted by Cox Media Group Houston, the two-day event was held December 1 and 2 on the third floor of the Pavilion for Women near the Bistro Café.
Throughout the 48-hour period, people opened their hearts and their wallets donating $655,039 to the radiothon while listening to radio personalities from The Eagle (106.9 & 107.5), Country Legends (97.1) and The New 93Q (92.9) interview patients, their families and many of our clinical experts.
Texas Children’s employees gave $4,000 to the cause. Executive leadership matched those donations and added their own bringing the total amount given by Texas Children’s employees to $7,000. The Snowdrop Foundation – which was started by Kevin Kline with The Q Morning Zoo on The New 93Q, made a donation of $150,000. The foundation is dedicated to assisting patients and families at Texas Children’s Cancer Center through funding for continued research to eliminate childhood cancer and scholarships for college bound pediatric cancer patients and survivors.
“This event makes a huge difference, and it tells our story,” said Jennifer Smart, a manager in the Office of Development and the program director for the hospital’s Children’s Miracle Network Program. “We couldn’t do it without them, so of course, we’re very appreciative of that.”
View a photo gallery from the event below.
Every dollar donated to the radiothon will help Texas Children’s continue to fulfill its mission to create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community by leading in patient care, education and research. More specifically, the money will benefit Texas Children’s Cancer Center, the Pediatric Tower expansion and the new campus Texas Children’s is building in The Woodlands.
Christi Brooks with the New 93Q and Country Legends 97.1 has participated in the radiothon since its inception and said she’s met so many families over the years who have been touched by the “miracles” that happen every day at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“Thank God we have a facility like Texas Children’s Hospital here in our back yard,” she said. “This really is truly an amazing place of miracles.”
Desiree agreed and said Texas Children’s is her and Deonc’s home away from home.
“It’s a very special place, and until you step in these walls, you don’t understand just how special this place really is.”
On December 1, more than 250 revelers gathered at the home of Judy and Glenn Smith for the inaugural Ambassadors for Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Holiday Party.
Catered by Jackson & Company, guests were welcomed to the fête by an abundance of holiday décor capturing the season’s spirit. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were passed before guests made their way outside to a lavish, heated tent adorned with chandeliers and greenery for remarks and dinner.
Michelle Riley-Brown, president of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, welcomed attendees and shared the success of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands’ outpatient services thus far. Following personal remarks from Glenn Smith, a check for more than $1 million was presented to Riley-Brown on behalf of Ambassadors for Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands.
The hospital’s inpatient services, including the emergency center, will open in April 2017.
November 22, 2016
Simulations test readiness of new Outpatient Facility in The Woodlands
Ready, set, go!
“Are you OK?” a nurse asks a patient who stumbled to the ground after an unsteady walk to an exam room at the new Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Outpatient Facility. “Help!”
A slew of medical staff come rushing to the girl’s aid, some comforting the patient’s mother and others tending to the girl’s lethargic condition. During what looked like controlled chaos, medical staff rolled equipment into the exam room, ran up and down hallways to gather more help and within what was just a few minutes stabilized the patient.
This was one of 11 scenarios played out during a three-day simulation at the Outpatient Facility before its doors opened for business on October 4. The purpose of the simulation was for medical staff to test their new environment, not their clinical abilities. Were there enough supplies? Is medical equipment in the right place? Is the room set up properly?
“Architects are great at creating these beautiful environments but are they friendly to the providers who are actually seeing patients,” said Julie Barrett, director of outpatient and clinical services in The Woodlands. “Testing those environments to see if we’re able to provide high quality patient care is what we hope to learn from simulation.”
Jeanette McMullin, a nurse in the surgery clinic at the Outpatient Facility, participated in the exercise and said it gave her a good feel for her new clinical space.
“It really took me through the process of what we would do for a patient given the situation and the supplies on hand,” McMullin said. “For me, the outcome was clear and that is we are able to function very well in this new environment.”
Barrett said a robust simulation is planned prior to the hospital opening in April. These efforts will be tailored to inpatient providers and will be led by many of the same simulation team leaders, all of whom are based in The Woodlands and have been trained at the Texas Children’s Simulation Center at Main Campus.
“The staff, providers and leaders have done a wonderful job,” she said. “I am amazed at how vitally important this simulation has been. It’s been a great learning opportunity.”
For more information about the Outpatient Facility, click here.
October 11, 2016
National Case Management Week is October 9-15, where we recognize the work of our entire Care Management team. This year’s theme for Case Management Week is “Case Management: We listen. We care. We lead.”
Texas Children’s Care Management team is comprised of care managers, access care managers, utilization review nurses, care management assistants, appeals and audit nurses, an educator, two physician advisors and leadership. There is representation at Main Campus, West Campus, and there will be a team for The Woodlands. With all campuses combined, Care Management is comprised of more than sixty staff members.
Each member of the team serves an important role in the care of Texas Children’s patients before, during and after their stay at Texas Children’s. From the beginning, access care managers work closely with the Emergency Center and Post Anesthesia Care Unit teams to make sure that each patient, upon admission to Texas Children’s Hospital, is in the correct level of care. Care from there is transitioned to the unit care managers who believe that discharge planning starts on admission, working to assess discharge needs and barriers early in the patient’s stay. They listen and collaborate daily in Care Progression Rounds, looking at the ongoing discharge needs of each patient. Using their knowledge of community resources and insurance, they assist the interdisciplinary team in coordination of complex patient discharges.
Other members of the team provide support for utilization review, appeals and denials. They advocate for the patients, which involves communicating with each patient’s insurance payer to ensure that the patient’s hospital stay is covered. Leading tirelessly, there are members of Care Management in the hospital around the clock working to meet patient needs. They help to ensure that each patient gets the best care, in the correct setting, for optimal patient outcomes.
Celebrate the contribution of the Texas Children’s Care Management team! Teams are located in A165 on Main Campus and 379.00 at West Campus.
October 4, 2016
Texas Children’s unveiled the Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Outpatient Building last week during a private welcome celebration that included breakfast, comments from organization leaders and tours of the six-floor, 209,973-square-foot facility. The building will be open for service to patients and families on October 4.
“This is one of the best projects we’ve done at Texas Children’s Hospital and it’s all about the kids,” said Texas Children’s President and CEO Mark A. Wallace to a crowd of about 500 community members, employees, supporters and friends. “We are coming to The Woodlands to make sure we take care of all of the kids who need our care.”
As the only dedicated pediatric hospital north of Houston, Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, which is scheduled to open in April 2017, and the Outpatient Building will serve children and families in The Woodlands, Kingwood, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia, Humble and communities in surrounding areas.
“On any given day, there are 150 children from these communities who receive care at Texas Children’s Hospital Main Campus, which is 35, 40, 50 miles or more from their homes,” said Michelle Riley-Brown, president of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands and executive vice president of Texas Children’s Hospital. “Estimates indicate that there are about 380,000 children and adolescents in this area right now and each and every one of them needs and deserves the best medical care.”
Designed with a “spirit of the woods” theme to incorporate the lush, woodsy landscape that surrounds it, the new Outpatient Building will house almost 20 areas of specialized care including cardiology, sports medicine, neurology, hematology/oncology. A dedicated medical staff will work in conjunction with the Texas Children’s system to provide top-notch medical care.
The Outpatient Building will be connected to the hospital on floors one and two and offers a fresh, new kid-friendly environment to families seeking the best pediatric care for their children. A state-of-the art sports physical therapy gym is on the first floor, check-in and check-out stations resembling a child’s club house are at the entrance of each clinic, and spacious exam rooms and provider work stations line many of the building’s halls.
Level 1 – two radiology rooms, 10 exam rooms, sports physical therapy gym and motion analysis, gait lab
Level 2 – six speech therapy rooms, four feeding therapy rooms, swing gym, spasticity clinic, tricycle track, developmental therapy gym
Level 3 – six eye exam areas, 18 exam rooms, two audiology sound booths
Level 5 – six infusion rooms, plus open living room, 28 exam rooms
Level 6 – two pulmonary function testing rooms, 12 exam rooms, three ECHO rooms, one fetal ECHO, one EKG/holter room, and a cardiology stress test lab
During his time at the podium, Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Chief Surgical Officer Dr. Jeffery Shilt incredible technology that will be used in the building and thanked the unwavering support of The Woodlands community during the planning and construction of the facility.
“Everyone always jokes that everything in Texas needs to be the biggest and the best, and the entire organization of Texas Children’s certainly checks off being the biggest,” he said. “But I believe The Woodlands community exemplifies being the best.”
Chief Medical Officer of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Dr. Charles Hankins agreed and said the community is part of the Texas Children’s family.
“It’s all about family now,” he said. “We are family to each other and we will be family to your families; that’s our commitment to you.”
Hankins, Riley-Brown and Shilt were named part of The Woodlands leadership team last year. The rest of the hospital’s administrative leadership team includes:
Julie Barrett, director of Outpatient and Clinical Support Services
Dan DiPrisco, senior vice president
Hillary Griffin, senior project manager
Bobbie Jehle, senior project manager
Trent Johnson, director of Business Operations and Support Services
Cathy Pierantozzi, director of Human Resources
Ketrese White, director of Patient Care Services
September 20, 2016
For non-English speaking families like Argelia Diaz, she knows that when she comes to Texas Children’s, she can always count on a Spanish-speaking interpreter to help her communicate with her daughter’s medical team.
“I don’t know what I would do without them,” Diaz said through her interpreter. “They give us all the information that the providers want to tell us and help break down the medical terms for us. They are very kind and are always there whenever we need them.”
As an internationally recognized referral center, Texas Children’s cares for many international patients including those here at home who do not speak English. These patient families rely solely on the skills and expertise of Texas Children’s Language Services Department to bridge the communication barrier.
“Language barriers have the potential to adversely impact patient care and outcomes,” said Language Services Manager Alma Sanchez. “Issues like misdiagnosis, lack of compliance, medical errors and readmissions can all be further compounded when a patient has limited English proficiency. Communicating with them in their preferred language ensures everyone is on the same page regarding the care and treatment of the patient.”
Being an interpreter at Texas Children’s is more than just speaking a foreign language fluently. As the primary liaison between the physician and patient, interpreters ensure accurate and seamless communication is delivered to both parties during every phase of the health care process. Specially trained in diverse areas including medical terminology, modes and standards of interpretation, standards of ethics and intercultural communication, interpreters also serve as a cultural broker in the communication of information since there are many factors that may impede a patient or family’s clear understanding of a medical diagnosis or treatment plan.
“While speaking in the family’s native language, we explain their child’s diagnosis and ensure they understand all of the instructions provided by their care team,” said Violeta Riccio, project analyst at Language Services. “We also help the providers understand the patient’s concerns or questions in order to resolve any potential issues.”
On average, the Language Services Department receives 12,000 language requests per month – 4,000 are in-person interpretations, 7,000 are telephonic and 1,000 are through a mobile video system called My Accessible Real Time Trusted Interpreter (MARTTI) where an external interpreter can be contacted via live video. These capabilities enable Texas Children’s to provide interpretations in about 170 different languages.
To meet the growing demand for this service, Texas Children’s has 28 interpreters dispersed across several campuses – 17 at Texas Children’s Main Campus, five at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, four at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and two interpreters at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Spanish is the most requested language for interpretation followed by Arabic, Vietnamese and Chinese-Mandarin.
Just like our patient families, Texas Children’s health care teams benefit greatly from this service too.
“Having an interpreter physically present is crucial to effective communication particularly in stressful situations when children are undergoing procedures or when critical information is being conveyed,” said Dr. Larry Hollier, chief of plastic surgery at Texas Children’s. “Having an onsite interpreter in the ambulatory surgery area has been transformative in terms of family satisfaction and the efficient and safe flow of children through the area.”
To learn more about Language Services, drop by their office located on the third floor of West Tower across from the gift shop. Click here to watch a video spotlighting a day in the life of interpreters at Texas Children’s.
On December 1, more than 250 revelers gathered at the home of Judy and Glenn Smith for the inaugural Ambassadors for Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands Holiday Party.
National Case Management Week is October 9-15, where we recognize the work of our entire Care Management team. This year’s theme for Case Management Week is “Case Management: We listen. We care. We lead.”
For non-English speaking families like Argelia Diaz, she knows that when she comes to Texas Children’s, she can always count on a Spanish-speaking interpreter to help her communicate with her daughter’s medical team.