From cookies delivered by a Houston Texans cornerback to self-care sessions and themed t-shirt days, Texas Children’s celebrated National Nurses Week with a variety of activities to honor our more than 3,700 nurses across the system and show how deeply valued they are.
Given how our dedicated nurses go above and beyond every day to ensure our patients and their families have the best experience and best possible outcomes in our care, it is hard to contain Texas Children’s annual celebration of the nursing profession to just May 6-12.
The Nursing Retention Council packed the week with a series of festive events and moments of recognition to express appreciation for our nurses’ hard work and resilience, including partnering with Spiritual Care for a Blessing of the Hands and Employee Well-Being for self-care sessions.
As a surprise, Houston Texans cornerback Terrence Brooks kicked the week off with visits to several units in West Tower, the Heart Center and the Emergency Center at the Medical Center campus, where he thanked our nurses and passed out boxes of cookies.
There were also “Show Your Pride” days where our nurses could wear their favorite t-shirts representing themes like TCH Family Day, Sports Teams Day and Wild West Day, and the council arranged for grab-and-go breakfasts and late-night ice cream treats.
Check out the photo gallery for snapshots from Nurses Week 2022!
Congratulations, scholarship recipients!
During Nurses Week, Texas Children’s recognized the 2022 recipients of several different nursing scholarships. Read on for more on the scholarship winners, and scroll through the gallery to see their photos.
Molly Mae LeBlanc Nursing Scholarship
Named in memory of Molly Mae, a beloved former patient at Texas Children’s, the scholarship provides tuition assistance to patient care assistants (PCAs) and RNs who are pursuing BSN or MSN nursing degrees. The first scholarship was awarded in 2018. Since then, several scholarship recipients have graduated from their degree programs and are now working as nurse practitioners.
- Ashlee Knapp is a staff nurse in the Legacy Tower PICU. She started at Texas Children’s in October 2020 and is enrolled in the MSN program at Texas Tech University. She plans to graduate in May 2024.
- Schennel Pereira is a PCA at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. She started at Texas Children’s just over a year ago and is enrolled in the BSN program at Chamberlain University. She will be graduating in December 2022.
David and Polly Roth Nursing Scholarship
Established by Dr. David Roth and his wife, Polly, the scholarship provides tuition assistance to Texas Children’s employees in certain roles (like PCA, medical assistant) that are pursuing professional nursing/BSN degrees. The first scholarship was awarded in 2017. Several previous scholarship recipients work as RNs at Texas Children’s today.
- Tiffany Clark is a surgical tech at The Woodlands campus and has been with Texas Children’s since April 2018. She is enrolled in Chamberlain University’s BSN program and plans to graduate in early 2024.
- Jacqueline Gutierrez is a UCA at the Medical Center campus. She began at Texas Children’s in December 2015 and plans to graduate in May 2023 from the BSN program at the University of Texas at Arlington.
- Brenda Orellana is a PCA at The Woodlands campus and has worked at Texas Children’s since April 2018. She will be graduating from the Chamberlain University BSN program in May 2024.
Len Slusser Nursing Scholarship
This scholarship provides tuition assistance to Texas Children’s registered nurses who are pursuing an advanced nursing degree (DNP or PhD), or financial assistance to registered nurses to attend a professional nursing conference.
- Elise Whalen is a nurse practitioner for the Pulmonary Department at the Medical Center campus and has been with Texas Children’s since 2015. She is enrolled in the DNP program at the UTHealth Houston Cizik School of Nursing and plans to graduate in 2023.
- Simone Chov is a staff nurse in the Women’s Services Department at the Medical Center campus. She joined Texas Children’s in 2009 and plans to attend the Association of Women, Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Texas State Conference this year.
Flo McGee Nursing Scholarship
Recipients of this scholarship – the newest at Texas Children’s – will receive assistance in the form of tuition assistance towards attaining an advanced professional degree (MSN for RNs), or financial assistance towards virtual/in-person attendance at a professional nursing conference.
- Thomas Torres is a staff nurse at Texas Children’s Specialty Care Sugar Land. He plans to graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington with his MSN in 2024.
- Erika Guillen is a staff nurse at the NICU at the Medical Center campus. She joined Texas Children’s in 2009. She is enrolled in the MSN program at Houston Baptist University and plans to graduate at the end of this year.
- Amy Cole is an education coordinator at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and has been with Texas Children’s since 2019. She plans to attend the ANCC Magnet Conference later this year.
- Brenda Morales is a staff nurse at the NICU at the Medical Center campus and has been part of the Texas Children’s family since 2016. She is excited to attend the National Association of Neonatal Nurses Conference later this year.
Additional awards and recognitions
Texas Children’s also recognized during Nurses Week the recipients of the Nursing Excellence Awards and our Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses honorees, four of whom were honored as Greater Houston’s Top 15 Nurses of the Year.
For a complete list of these award recipients, click here to read the first story on Nurses Week.
