February 23, 2018 | (4) Comments

As you might have seen on Connect his week, the Blue Bird Circle is celebrating its 95th birthday. Can you believe that? Ninety-five years, and they have been truly amazing, decade after decade.

The Blue Bird Circle was formed in 1923 by a group of 15 young women from Houston “to promote the well-being of humanity through the betterment of the community.”  That’s an ambitious charge, but it was far from impossible for these aspiring women. Today, the Blue Bird Circle is the oldest and one of the most prominent women’s charitable organizations in the city—an organization that gives back to the community with all its heart and soul.

For those of us at Texas Children’s, the words “Blue Bird Circle” are synonymous with its members’ generosity, volunteerism, commitment, dedication … I could go on and on with that list. Specifically, members of the Blue Bird Circle have been the catalyst for so much of what has happened in pediatric neurology in the past 20 years. A beautiful partnership began when The Blue Bird Circle Clinic for Pediatric Neurology moved from The Methodist Hospital to Texas Children’s in 1998.

When it first moved, the Clinic recorded fewer than 1,000 patient visits a year and had just three doctors. Today, 52 physicians and surgeons see more than 25,000 patients each year, making the clinic the largest of its kind in the world, and our Neuroscience Center is ranked no. 4 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. The care we provide, the research we conduct because of the Blue Birds … all this benefits the patients we serve here and children with neurological conditions all over the world. If that’s not the betterment of humanity, I don’t know what is.

In 2014, the Blue Bird Circle donated $2 million to establish the Blue Bird Circle Endowed Chair for Pediatric Neurology and Neurosciences, with Dr. Gary Clark as the first to hold the chair. This is one of only four endowed pediatric chairs in neurology in the country. What an incredible gift.

Over the years, the Blue Birds have given $12 million in other gifts, bringing their total giving to Texas Children’s to an amazing $14 million. And at their recent 95th birthday celebration, they donated another $1.9 million. In addition to their generous funding, Blue Bird members volunteer countless hours at the Clinic and at The Blue Bird Circle Resale Shop, which does an outstanding job of raising awareness in the community about pediatric neurological disorders and all the work Texas Children’s is doing.

I cannot put a price tag on what the Blue Birds are worth to Texas Children’s Hospital, because they are absolutely priceless. Thank you to each and every one of you ladies for your generosity, unfailing support, hard work and especially for the love and joy you bring to patients and families at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Happy 95th birthday Blue Bird Circle … and many more!

February 6, 2018 | (3) Comments

According to a recent physician satisfaction survey conducted by the Harris County Medical Society, Texas Children’s is the highest ranking hospital in Harris County. Wow! Needless to say, this is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the exceptional quality of work we do across our system every day.

There were more than 3,900 responses to the survey conducted last fall, providing results for 26 hospitals in the Greater Houston area. The survey results for Texas Children’s were incredible, with our West Campus and Medical Center Campus ranking in the no. 1 and 2 spots for overall satisfaction, as well as in the following categories:

  1. Having error prevention policies and systems
  2. Encouraging the reporting of medical errors
  3. Quality of nursing staff
  4. Communication about compliance with standards
  5. Physician input into quality measures

When it came to reputation, we outranked our competitors across the board:

  • 92% of physicians rated Texas Children’s reputation as favorable, the highest percentage among all 26 hospitals.
  • 86% of physicians said they would likely refer patients to Texas Children’s, placing us at the top of the list in a tie with MD Anderson.
  • With a net promoter score of 50, we outranked every other institution on the list when physicians were asked their likelihood to recommend a facility.

Texas Children’s Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus were also at or very near the top of the remaining survey categories, including error prevention, priority of patient safety, post-discharge communication, and quality of nursing and support staff. Having our hospitals lead the pack in so many areas speaks volumes. It demonstrates our focus on consistently exceptional care across our system. And I feel confident that once our campus at The Woodlands becomes part of the survey, we will see similar results.

Our relationships with area physicians is critical to our mission of providing access to the children who need us most. These results attest to the relationships we have built and continue to nurture with physicians in Houston and beyond. And they also speak to physicians’ trust of the Texas Children’s brand. I am so thankful for all of the work you do every single day to strengthen our brand, locally and across the state and country, and to ensure we provide the best possible outcomes for our patients.

Please see the survey results and other comparison reports by clicking the links below:

 

January 11, 2018 | (88) Comments

Nearly 50 years ago, on April 4, 1968, our nation was rocked by the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. It was a sad and senseless end to the life of a servant leader who preached and practiced love and peaceful tolerance.

The day after Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, school teacher Jane Elliott walked into her classroom to greet her third-grade students. Though she entered with a heavy heart, she became a catalyst that her students would never forget. That day, Jane conducted what she called the blue eyes-brown eyes exercise on racism.

Click here to watch a brief excerpt of the exercise.

Essentially, she used the color of the children’s eyes to distinguish and associate them with positive or negative attributes. On the first day of the exercise, the blue-eyed children had the upper hand. They enjoyed all the things young school children appreciate – longer recess, second helpings to lunch and positive affirmation throughout the school day. Conversely, the brown-eyed children were denied these comforts. Instead, they heard repeated comments about how their brown eyes made them less intelligent. Less worthy. In addition, the brown-eyed children had to wear a bright collar around their necks so they could be identified as brown-eyed from a distance.

Within hours, the interaction between the children went from friendly and inclusive to hostile. The blue-eyed children, having heard positive reinforcement all day, performed their lessons with ease and confidence, which of course was good. But they also quickly developed a sense of entitlement and superiority. They teased and picked fights with the brown-eyed students – bright boys and girls who now, amid the exercise, were hesitant, struggling a bit more with their work and feeling discouraged.

A physical trait beyond their control, suddenly controlled them and their interactions with each other. On the second day, Jane flipped the exercise, giving the brown-eyed children the preferential treatment. Needless to say, all the children were relieved to stop the exercise at the end of the second day. And they gladly tossed aside their despised collars – the ones meant to distinguish them from a distance as the non-preferred group.

I think about this experiment, some 50 years later on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I think about the sadness on the children’s faces and their dampened spirits. I think about the collars that are not so easily discarded and how some allow them to separate us. And, like Jane, I think, “What can we do?” How can we be catalysts in 2018 when it seems we have found even more ways and reasons to discriminate against people? And how do we overcome a climate that makes all of this seem acceptable?

Perhaps we do exactly as Martin Luther King Jr. did – we live and work in a way that demonstrates love and peaceful inclusion of our brothers and sisters. Regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or any other element that makes us seem different from each other. We are all potential catalysts who have the power to change the way our communities believe and engage with each other. And our influence on the most impressionable among us – children – is immense. If within hours, otherwise amicable children can swiftly go from harmonious to hostile simply because of the messages they received from their teacher, imagine the impact we have on the children in our care and in our homes. Imagine how that would flourish in the hearts of children as they grow into adults.

What we believe and the words we say shape us and the people around us, in a way that either breaks or binds us. On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, resolve to be a binding agent. Tolerance should be a given – it’s one of the most basic things we owe one another. But I challenge you to do even more. Resolve to truly love. And when it’s challenging, try with all your might to step into your neighbor’s shoes. Imagine the collar hanging heavily from his or her neck. And then remove it. It’s up to us to heal our communities and move on from the real-life exercise that’s gone on much too long.

 

December 22, 2017 | (1) Comments

I love this time of year – not simply because of the wonderful holiday spirit that surrounds us (although I do enjoy that too!). But I always appreciate the time to reflect on the year we’ve had. And this has been a year that tested our leadership, showcased our culture, and most of all, demonstrated our determination.

If you felt especially busy this year, it was not just a feeling, it is a fact. We had an incredible year that set records across the system, including:

  • 33,659 surgeries
  • 227,985 patient days
  • 126,112 Emergency Center visits
  • 87,242 Urgent Care encounters
  • 438,501 Health Plan members
  • 3.7 million patient encounters

I know this is a really busy time, and we may not even realize the tremendous work we have done as an organization over the past several months. So I want to share a few of the hallmarks of a pretty awesome year.

  • Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands – Last Decemb122217OTMEOYsurgery225er, we opened the Outpatient
    Building at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, and we followed in April with the opening of inpatient services. There was an immediate response from the community. Within the five months remaining in fiscal year 2017, we had 991 admissions, 2,078 surgeries, 5,204 patient days and more than 12,000 EC visits. The families in North Houston were ready and waiting for Texas Children’s Hospital.
  • Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus – Now in our seventh year, we continued to see strong growth and expansion at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus. In FY2017, we had 3,707 admissions, 6,934 surgeries, 15,004 patient days and more than 43,000 EC visits. And can you believe we now have over 1,000 employees and more than 200 faculty at the West Campus? It’s just amazing.
  • CareFirst – Our CareFirst initiative continues to unfold with our progress on Legacy Tower at our medical center campus. We celebrated our topping out of the tower in February, and we officially named it Legacy Tower in May. We’ve completed the exterior of the tower and the interiors of floors 8-10. Excitement is definitely building as we get closer to the May 2018 phase I opening. Also, as part of our CareFirst initiative, we opened Texas Children’s Mission Control in July. Located on the third floor of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, this suite is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and sharp employees from Room Management, Transport Services, Critical Care, Security and Facilities. The opening of Mission Control immediately improved the transfer process of our critically ill patients to and from Texas Children’s. Just months after the opening, we had reduced the time from dispatch to pick-up by 20 critical minutes.
  • Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women – On March 26 we celebrated five years of delivering 122217OTMEOYhappyfive230high quality and comprehensive care to women and newborns. In fiscal year 2017, we had 5,719 births and a 21% transfer rate to our NICU. The results at the Pavilion remind us what a sound strategy it was to move into the obstetrics space, giving us the ability to help secure our NICU volumes and, more importantly, to ensure the best possible outcomes for expectant mothers and their babies.
  • Austin expansion – In May we announced our plans to expand our pediatric and OB/GYN services into Austin, beginning with the opening of a welcome center in January 2018, followed by a Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinic in March 2018 and a Texas Children’s Specialty Care practice in October 2018. Over the next five years, we plan to expand our network in Austin to include four pediatric urgent care clinics, 18 pediatric primary care practices, three pediatric specialty care locations and two maternal-fetal medicine practices.
  • U.S. News rankings – The 2017 U.S. News and World Report Best Children’s Hospital 122217OTMEOYheartcenter225rankings were announced in July, and Texas Children’s shined again. Eight of our pediatric subspecialties ranked in the top 10, and the other two are very close and steadily climbing. Perhaps most exciting this year was that we had another specialty to rise to the very top spot – Texas Children’s was ranked No. 1 in the nation in cardiology and heart surgery.
  • The Promise Campaign – We reached a significant milestone in Promise: The Campaign for Texas Children’s. By the end of September, donors had contributed $408.9 million, pushing the organization ever closer to its $475 million fundraising goal. The amount raised during fiscal year 2017 alone – $124.7 million – is a new annual high for the hospital’s fundraising team.

As much as I have shared above, there are still many more stories of triumph and resilience across Texas Children’s. Take a look at Texas Children’s Health Plan. We had a tough year, but we’re on the right path, and we’re responding to the tremendous needs of the children who depend on access to exceptional heath care. What we’re already seeing as a result of the challenges we faced this year with STAR Kids and in caring for a huge population for medically dependent children is that we’re learning quickly, right sizing appropriately, and we are thinking like a system. That bodes well for the Health Plan, and it makes for a healthier future for all of Texas Children’s.

Last, I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention Hurricane Harvey. Together, we weathered this historical storm that devastated the Houston area, and together, we came out on the other side of it stronger. The resolve, determination and courage of our staff and employees were inspiring. I was simply in awe of you, and the way you supported each other, our patients and their families. It was a shining moment for us that showcased incredible strength and kindness.

And that was Texas Children’s in 12 months. Wow! It is quite a lot to reflect on and appreciate. With each passing year, we continue to get better and better. We take challenges, and we create opportunities. We encounter problems, and we recalibrate swiftly. And we prove time and again that we are one amazing team.

I’ll see you back here in 2018 for the next chapter of this remarkable story. Until then, happy holidays!