Texas Children’s Urgent Care network includes 13 locations between Houston and Austin, employing 83 Advanced Practice Providers. Their dedication to evaluating and treating pediatric patients in a timely manner is instrumental to good outcomes and patient satisfaction. Now, thanks to the hard work of Emily Hunt, Assistant Director of Operations and Providers, TCH urgent cares are running even more smoothly.
X-Rays Make Waves
Over the last year, Emily has worked to advocate for APPs to be able to provide care within the full scope of their practice. After much collaboration with the Texas Board of Nursing and Texas Medical Board, she was able to find the necessary rules to allow APPs to take X-rays in the clinics, allowing for more streamlined and efficient care. With support from the Department of Radiology, the collaborative teams have been able to develop training and education to support this new skillset. Previously, only physicians and radiology technicians could take X-rays in the urgent care setting, creating bottlenecks for imaging services.
The goal is for 100% of the APPs to be X-ray certified by the end of the summer. They are already about halfway to that goal, with 100% completion in Austin. Through a combination of onsite training with the X-ray machine and educational videos, each APP works on skills like positioning, the ins and outs of the X-ray machine and how it communicates with Epic. Once the training is complete and registration is filed with the Board of Nursing, the providers are ready to X-ray. This added benefit has led to an increase in both efficiency and patient satisfaction.
Our Physicians and APPs work side by side to care for our families. Whether evaluating a child with a fever, suturing a laceration, or taking an x-ray and identifying a fracture, our Advanced Practice Providers go above and beyond to provide the highest level of care to their patients and Emily wants them to be recognized for that. “I am proud to be a leader within the urgent care team and continue to advocate for the advancement of our Advanced Practice Providers,” Emily said. “Their collaboration and expertise are integral to the TCUC team efforts to ensure the highest level of quality care is provided to the patients that present to our clinics.”
