Patient Experience Week 2019 sailed off effortlessly with more than 600 patients, families and employees in attendance. From April 22 to April 26, these fun and engaging nautical-themed activities at Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus, Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands were specifically designed to celebrate and emphasize our focus on patient experience as we continue to strive for excellent patient-centered care.
At the beginning of the week for the second consecutive year, the Patient Experience team opened the Compassion Challenge to employees. During Patient Experience Week, staff and providers across the organization completed a challenge that focused on the concepts of compassion, communication and connectedness. Amongst the 348 employees that registered and completed the compassion challenge, Mary Hatchett and Elyssa Blum were chosen as the winners of two tickets aboard a lunch cruise on The Boardwalk FantaSea, a luxury yacht located in Kemah, Texas that sails off later this summer.
The first portion of the Patient Experience Week celebration was the Caught You Caring (CYC) Awards ceremonies held at each hospital to recognize our 2019 recipients who have gone above and beyond to show compassion to our patients, families and co-workers.
“I was honored to be recognized during the Caught You Caring awards ceremony,” Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Nurse at the Woodlands Campus, Jennifer Grubbs said. “I was surrounded by so many others who were recognized, and deserving as well. I was humbled to hear such kind words shared by families and co-workers, and how I have impacted their experience in our surgery department in The Woodlands. I truly love what I do every day, and enjoy making a positive impact for a worried parent, or anxious child.”
The CYC program’s idea was brought to life after a physician read a heartfelt letter written by the mother of one of our patients. She described the care and compassion her whole family received during her son’s admission. Since then, CYC was conceptualized, piloted in our surgery areas in 2015, and has been launched system-wide with more than 10,000 CYC cards received to date. CYC boxes are located throughout all campuses so that anyone can recognize a staff member or a colleague.
A panel of judges scored each nomination to select the top employees who are as follow:
Texas Children’s Hospital Medical Center Campus winners:
- Xavier George, PCA, Ambulatory Surgery
- Calvin Haskett, USA waste removal, EVS
- Ashly Swaty, PCM, PICU
- Carmen Vela, ASR, Plastic Surgery
- Honorable mentions: Wanda Diaz-Gonzalez, Kandi Korte-Kidd, Stephanie Portillo, Mary Vail, Maria Olfindo
Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women winners:
- Shamika Jenkins, clerical secretary, Surgery
- Roxanna Miremadi, sonographer, Women’s Services
Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus winners:
- Almea Montillo, PCM, 5West
- Kristi White, respiratory therapist, respiratory care
- Honorable mentions: Mary Ann Callejo, Roy Chicombing, Naomi Cockerham, Amanda Gonzalez, Jonathan Miller, Martin Romualdo, Marie Sayles, Sygnore Valdeavilla
Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands winners:
- Jennifer Grubbs, RN, Surgery
- Juan Flores, x-ray tech, radiology
- Honorable mentions: Javier Blanco-Rais, JesVon Davis, Ashley Hanley, Ana Mauricio, Clari Scota, Lindsey Zaremba
Patient Experience Week bridge events were also held at each campus. As people approached the bridge events they were given leis to kick off their experience, and led through a sea of engaging activities. Departments from across the hospital were given the opportunity to make creative nautical-themed booths. A friendly competition led 35 departments to host their best themed-activity tables to create fun interactions for our patients. Music, games, snacks, costumes, props, and even bubbles were just a few of the interactive ways that employees grabbed the attention of patients and the bridge event judges.
The departments with the best tables during the Patient Experience Week bridge events will be announced in the upcoming Patient Experience newsletter and awarded a special prize.
The mission that care at Texas Children’s goes beyond the bedside was displayed during Patient Experience Week 2019 as the team took employees, patients and families to sea in this amazingly creative theme. Patient experience ultimately goes beyond the high-quality medical care that we provide, but also has to do with how we treat our patients and their families from the moment they call to schedule an appointment, while they are visiting with us, and to the point they leave our care.
“This year’s participation was incredible. The compassion and commitment shown for our patients and their experience was felt all around,” Patient Experience Assistant Director, Elisa Mozley said. “Many families and employees stopped to share how impactful these celebrations are to them – the joy it brought them. It is everything we hope to accomplish each year during this time.”
