A couple of weeks ago, I visited Austin for our New Employee Pep Rally. As most of you know, the New Employee Pep Rally is an event I’ve hosted for the past 30 years so that I can meet all of the new team members who have joined Texas Children’s in the last quarter.
I originally got the idea for these receptions from my pastor. When I joined my church many years ago, the pastor held a welcome event to meet all of the church’s newest parishioners. It was such a great way to make a big congregation feel like a tight-knit community, and I immediately knew I had made the right decision in joining this wonderful congregation.
I look forward to the New Employee Pep Rally every time it rolls around. Having the opportunity to meet our new team members who are excited to be a part of Texas Children’s energizes me and fills me with excitement every quarter – and our first event in Austin was no exception.
As I was driving to Austin on I-71, I thought to myself, “This is going to be really good!” Turns out, it was even better than I had expected! Our first pep rally at the Specialty Care facility in Austin was one of our best ever!
We officially welcomed nearly 70 new employees, physicians and staff to our one amazing team, and each of them was so excited about what we are bringing to Austin! Between the pep rally and a tour of the facility, I spent nearly two hours at the Specialty Care site and enjoyed every minute. Please scroll through the photos I’ve shared below so you can see for yourself how excited our team is and what a fantastic time we all had meeting each other.
The Austin community is also equally excited to have Texas Children’s in their own backyard. Texas Children’s Urgent Care opened in March 2018 and has already seen more than 3,000 patients this fiscal year. We have three Texas Children’s Pediatrics sites and our Specialty Care has already had over 2,300 patient encounters since its opening in October 2018. And this is only the start – our specialty services in the capital city are continuing to grow with more to come in the next few months.
When we decided to expand to Austin a couple of years ago, it was a natural extension of our mission to provide care and access to more families in Texas. This is precisely what it means to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time. The pep rally was a great reminder that we’re not just adding new locations – we’re expanding our care, our mission, and our culture.
We are all very excited that Texas Children’s continues to grow in strength and in numbers – but, just like my pastor, I always want to make sure that every new employee knows that they are special to our organization. Each employee brings a unique skill set and personality, and all of us together contribute to our One Amazing Team and the incredible culture we have created. These new employee pep rallies bring us all together, and whether you’re based in the Texas Medical Center or 175 miles away in Austin, each of you is a part of Texas Children’s.
We’re at the beginning of something magnificent in Austin, and we’ve got a great team there leading the way.
