October 31, 2016 | (19) Comments

In a story on Connect last week, you read about one of our precious patients – 3-year-old Christopher – and his mom Jessica Coker. Jessica shared how shortly after giving birth to Christopher she learned he had very complex medical needs and would require a level of care and health care management that, just days before, she could not even fathom. But like most parents, she received the devastating news as a charge to immediately learn all she could to be her child’s most diligent and resourceful health care advocate.

I think about families like the Cokers all the time. These families and their children remind us why we are here,star-kids-2 and they drive the work we do at Texas Children’s. They are why I am so very excited about today – today is the debut of STAR Kids, a new Texas Medicaid managed care program that will provide benefits to more than 180,000 children and young adults who have special health care needs.

Texas Children’s Health Plan is one of three managed care organizations offering the STAR Kids plan in Harris, Jefferson and Northeast service areas. But make no mistake – this is a system-wide interest for Texas Children’s. We expect to enroll thousands of new children in the Health Plan. Many of these children are already receiving some level of care at Texas Children’s, and many more will be new to our system. We have a responsibility to ensure exceptional, seamlessly coordinated health care across our system for all of these children.

Many of the children in STAR Kids will be cared for by a host of specialists. Christopher, for example, sees about 24 specialists within and outside of the Texas Children’s system. Christopher’s well-being and that of thousands of children relies squarely on the support they have in navigating the health care system. These children need primary care, outpatient subspecialty services, diagnostic services and therapies, and we have an incomparable and vast network of care. But the best care in the world will not benefit them if they do not have access to it when they need it. Our involvement in STAR Kids is an opportunity for us to stand in the gap for these children, and our new Complex Care Clinic is one way we are doing that. Our care coordinators – registered nurses and certified social workers – provide individual treatment plans to make sure these children have preventive care and routine well visits, urgent visits and follow-up care.

And while our primary driver is ensuring the right care for the children in the program, understand that we also have a huge financial stake in the success of STAR Kids. Efficiently and proactively managing care for these children – and all of our patients, for that matter – means we not only provide the right care, but we respond to their needs in the right place and at the right time. Getting families connected to appropriate resources, providing planned, well-coordinated care, and having robust home based services will help their children avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and unplanned hospital stays.

As a result, they stay healthier, and they enjoy a better quality of life. That is why we are here at Texas Children’s, and that is success for everyone – our patient families and for us. Our mission is to care for these children. Our charge is to do it well.

Learn more about STAR Kids and Texas Children’s involvement.

September 13, 2016 | (40) Comments

Today is such an exciting day for Texas Children’s and for the families we will serve for the next few decades. We have just finalized the purchase of two Texas Medical Center buildings near Texas Children’s Hospital – the Baylor Clinic Building at 6620 Main St. and the O’Quinn Medical Tower at 6624 Fannin St.

Our purchase of these two buildings from Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is such a significant expansion milestone – we have now added nearly 700,000 square feet of office and clinical space and 2,500 parking spaces to our medical center properties. However, the acquisition of these two buildings is not simply about buying buildings or adding bricks and mortar. It is about our ability to better serve more children, women and families who need the unique and comprehensive services of Texas Children’s. This is an investment in our mission to advance patient care, education and research.

And quite honestly, it is such a rare opportunity to be able to buy properties next to and across the street from our medical center property – one we likely will not ever have again. Realizing this, the Texas Children’s Board of Trustees, the medical staff and I discussed and examined this extensively, and we concluded that this acquisition was something in which we had to invest. It is a considerable investment in our people – specifically, our medical staff, employees and, most importantly, our patients and families. Having these new spaces will help ensure we can meet the future demands of our growing patient population, staff and workforce.

This purchase also represents something else we all can be proud of – our consistent financial stewardship. Our ability to purchase these facilities is the result of the strong and focused stewardship we have exercised in the last 25 years. Because we have been such responsible stewards of our assets and resources at Texas Children’s, we have created a solid balance sheet with very little debt. That allows us the flexibility to be quick and nimble enough to seize an opportunity like this. We were able to make this purchase without borrowing or raising money – it was completely funded by our cash reserves for capital projects. Our diligent past stewardship is paying huge dividends for our organization’s promising future.

Now that the acquisition is complete, the spaces within these new facilities will be further examined as part of our facilities master planning process. Several months ago I created a team – led by Executive Vice President Mark Mullarkey, Vice President of Surgical Services Matt Girotto, Vice President of Nursing Jackie Ward and Associate Radiologist-in-Chief Dr. Lane Donnelly – to guide this process. With the support of Facilities Planning and Development and the entire senior leadership team, they are leading development of Texas Children’s facilities master plan for the future. We know as leases expire for existing tenants in these two new buildings, those vacant spaces will provide tremendous backfill opportunities. Through the process of master planning, we will be able to identify the services that should be located in those new spaces.

Our process of strategically planning the use of all our facilities combined with our ability to add significant new space in such a prime location provides opportunities across our entire system. Today just opened a lot of doors for Texas Children’s for decades to come, and that should excite and inspire us all.

August 11, 2016 | (0) Comments

Recently, U.S. News and World Report released its 2016-2017 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings and honor roll. Most of you know that Texas Children’s Hospital maintained its ranking of fourth in the country out of nearly 200 pediatric institutions and that for the eighth straight year, Texas Children’s Hospital is on the Best Children’s Hospital Honor Roll.

We are consistently among the top children’s hospitals across all 10 subspecialty areas measured in the survey. In fact, we have six services ranked among the nation’s top five in their respective subspecialties. Of course we’re proud of this accomplishment, but there’s more to think about than just the numbers when you look at the rankings. We appreciate that there is a certain level of rigor involved in the quality measurements for pediatric hospital rankings.

Consider this. When U.S. News began its Best Hospitals list in 1990, the pediatric rankings were 100 percent reputational for more than 15 years. So the rankings were based squarely on a survey of pediatricians and pediatric specialists across the country who simply listed the children’s hospitals they preferred.

U.S. News shifted its focus in 2007 to make the pediatric survey more data driven, and over the years, the emphasis on the reputational sample from physicians continually decreased as the focus on quality increased. Now, reputation only accounts for 15 percent of a pediatric hospital’s score. While quality (i.e. outcomes, safety and experience) now accounts for 33 percent of our survey score. If you think about the fact that we continue to score better within our respective services as the rankings focus more on quality, you can’t help but appreciate how we continue to measure up.

Our rankings reflect our commitment to providing exceptional care for our patients and their families. Our patients drive our excellence and fuel our passion for what we do at Texas Children’s. They inspire us to dream big, to innovate and make new discoveries that elevate patient care and advance medicine. So when we are recognized as the best children’s hospital in Texas and the Southwest – and one of the very best in the nation – we can be confident that it is based on the things that matter most to our patients – high quality care and safety measures, exceptional experiences and outstanding patient outcomes.

Over the next several months, you will see Texas Children’s advertisements, billboards and videos like this one touting our U.S. News ranking. Your friends and family will see them too, and when they ask you about Texas Children’s, share our story with them. Let them know what’s really driving that number. Let them know how intensely focused we are at Texas Children’s, not on that ranking, but on our exceptional standards that earn us the top rankings time and again.

July 2, 2016 | (3) Comments

Like most of you, I look forward to the holidays and all the traditions – and good food – that go along with most of them. In fact, some of my fondest memories from childhood specifically revolve around July 4th – or Independence Day – and the grand, all-day festivities my family and I enjoyed with our church congregation. I feel blessed to have such amazing memories.

While I most certainly will think of those wonderful summer celebrations from time to time this weekend, I cannot help but linger a bit on the origin of this holiday and what it really means to us.

As we all learn in grade school history, Independence Day honors the birth of our great country. In June 1776, representatives of America’s 13 colonies contemplated a resolution to declare independence from Great Britain. On July 2, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and the Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

Nearly 90 changes were made to the draft before the Continental Congress adopted the final version on July 4, 1776. This extraordinary document has continued to serve and guide us for 240 years. What an incredible, enduring legacy.

As we celebrate Independence Day, remembering that feels so empowering. The spirit of those who birthed this fledgling country and established its foundation demonstrates the power of a great vision and the strength of people bound to fulfill a common dream. Our country’s founding reminds us that being American is such an honor, as well as a responsibility to carry that pioneering spirit forward.

The story of Texas Children’s founding is similarly inspiring. We, too, had forefathers with a great vision and pioneering spirit. Driven by the same type of ambitions that spurred our country’s leaders nearly 200 years prior, our founders helped establish the little hospital that would become one of the best in the world, renowned for advancing care and leading medical breakthroughs.

Today, we are so fortunate to be the beneficiaries of both legacies – that of our country’s founders as well as Texas Children’s founders. From them, we inherited the freedom to aspire, create, build and achieve. It is an honor for the nearly 14,000 of us to stand on those two legacies, bound by Texas Children’s mission of creating a healthier future for children and women all over the world.

Good food on the 4th is most certainly something I relish, but what I cherish and embrace today and everyday is the freedom to make a difference that will endure for generations.

Happy, blessed Independence Day to all!