April 22, 2016 | (2) Comments

Earlier this week, images of our city under water became national news. We saw abandoned cars and homes partially submerged in murky water. And newscasts shared the faces and stories of families who’d lost all but each other. Seeing these images was difficult, and hearing the stories of the losses suffered was heart wrenching.

In the midst of such devastation, the stories that also capture our collective attention are those of the people reaching out to help. As quickly as they could, people came to the rescue of neighbors and many went to areas of need to give aid and supplies. It reminds us that people’s hearts are intact and that there is much for which to be thankful. But I don’t need to look very far to be reminded of that because time and again, you demonstrate such incredible dedication to caring for our patients, especially in times of difficulty.

Early Monday, we began one-to-one hand-offs, essentially allowing a nurse to end the shift once another nurse arrived for relief. Many physicians, nurses and other staff, even after relieved, chose to remain at the hospital in sleeping rooms to rest and ensure they could provide relief for the next shift. As the leadership team met throughout the day to assess the situation across the organization, at one point, staffing was described as “adequate to abundant.” In the midst of a historic storm, our staff was here … unwavering, at the ready.

I must also acknowledge how incredible our leadership team was. They were in constant motion, assessing, responding, planning and pitching in right beside their staff and employees to ensure uninterrupted patient care and seamless operations. Sara Howell at the West Campus was one of many who sent me a note earlier this week to comment on leaders’ efforts. She said:

I was very impressed with the administration team at West Campus during the flooding. Chanda came into the EC with her running shoes on, literally. She was so eager to make sure we were functioning. When it was expressed that garbage needed to be pulled, instead of delegating this tedious task, Chanda and another admin team member put on the blue gloves and cleared out trash from patient rooms and the core area. During a time when so much was happening operationally, it was extremely impressive to have leadership make sure we were functioning at ALL levels.

I agree Sara. It was remarkable – not in the sense that it surprised me. But rather, it simply touched me so very deeply to see how selfless and committed everyone here is to our patients, their families and to our Texas Children’s family.

By the same token, I know that many of you couldn’t be here. Your heart was here, but I know you were impacted by this storm like so many others throughout our community. And evacuating, sheltering in place or taking care of your loved ones was what you most needed to do. Please know you all were in my prayers, whether you were here, taking care of our families or at home tending to yours. Also, if you were impacted by the storm, know that we are here to help. We have resources in place to provide some of the support you may need at this time.

I understand that it’s not always easy to respond to others’ needs in the midst of uncertainty. Yet, you do it without pause. That commitment and willingness to serve others is what brings us together. You’ve heard me say that it’s our calling to be here, to give of ourselves, to use our skills and talents to care for others, especially when no one else can. Thank you all for answering that call, rain or shine.

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April 4, 2016 | (19) Comments

It’s difficult to get through a day without seeing or hearing a headline that reminds you of today’s uncertain financial landscape. People are worried about saving for retirement and paying for their kids’ education. We hear about layoffs. And when we see the low gas prices, we’re reminded there’s a shortfall at the company where your neighbor, your church member or your spouse works.

Many of us can’t help but carry the burden of financial concerns these days. We all remember the recession of 2008, but even then, Houston was comparatively unscathed and among the quickest-to-rebound cities. But this time feels different, because it is different.

Now, because the oil and gas industry is primarily impacted, Houston is feeling the brunt of it. And subsequently your friends and family in the oil industry have been or may be impacted. And to some degree, we feel residual effects at Texas Children’s because the families of our patients are impacted.

I understand that many of you carry these concerns with you into work, and then you hear that we, too, are “managing to the margin” – or more pointedly, tightening our belts. You worry about that, and I understand. But I’ve got three things I want you to think about. Three things that are shaping a really promising future for all of us here at Texas Children’s.

First, we are proactively managing our margin right now in response to positive growth. That’s a really good thing. Have you been out to The Woodlands lately? Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands is looking amazing, and it is months from opening its outpatient services. We will spend $360 million to build this 550,000-square-foot facility, which will ultimately house 32 acute care beds, 28 ICU/NICU beds, 25 Emergency Center patient rooms and offer services in 29 medical and surgical pediatric subspecialties.

And if you’ve been to the medical center campus recently, you’ve seen the cranes and the work we’ve begun on our 19-floor, 640,000-square-foot pediatric inpatient care tower. We will spend $575 million on this new tower, opening in 2018, and the renovation of our Emergency Center, to be completed in 2020.

The fact that we can invest in state-of-the-art facilities like these is a testament to our organization’s financial strength and is in response to ever increasing demand for our services. The more exceptional our care, the higher the demand for our services. We are responding to that demand by expanding our clinical programs, facilities and, most importantly, our workforce.

That’s the second thing I want you to think about – our people. To ensure we can fulfill our mission, deliver on the promise of providing the best possible care, we’ve got to have the right people in place. Our team has to be the right size, have the right skills and talents and be the right fit for the culture of our one amazing team here at Texas Children’s. So that means right now our recruitment efforts are very aggressive. Over the next three years, we will hire about 5,000 new people. Currently, we are hiring about 17 new people every single day. But we’re balancing our “growth spurt” with the challenges of an ever-changing health care market.

Which brings me to the third thing – our experience with managing growth spurts. You know, it’s not the first time we’ve grown rapidly. Since 1989, we’ve had four major expansions totaling more than $3 billion. And we’ve grown from about 1,400 employees to about 13,000 in that time. So growth is not unfamiliar to us – or as people like to say: “This is not our first rodeo.”

The leadership team we have in place has been here during volatile bear markets and favorable bull markets. We’ve experienced fluctuations in acuity and demanding patient volumes when we’re short staffed. We’ve endured weather events that closed the doors of other hospitals, and we’ve built expansive new facilities a time or two, or three, and we’ve had to recruit aggressively many times.

This has evolved and matured us as a leadership team and as an organization. Our experience has made us smarter and more agile. It’s why we proactively tweak our budget mid-fiscal-year, if necessary, and it’s why we can confidently continue large-scale capital projects.

Most importantly, it’s why I can assure you that we’re in a good place here at Texas Children’s. We make decisions with all of you in mind, and we are constantly balancing the needs of our patients with those of our people, because we know we cannot take care of one without ensuring the support of the other. So, I know the news you hear all around us isn’t always good, but know that we are moving boldly because we’ve been blessed such that we can, and we’ve prepared such that we know how.

 

March 2, 2016 | (3) Comments

You know, I firmly believe we all should be guided by a core system of beliefs as leaders. There are literally hundreds of appropriate leadership definitions and approaches, and while there is no perfect or universally accepted way to lead, if you aspire to lead effectively, you must have that core system of beliefs.

For me, that system of beliefs and proven strategies is my 10 Maxims of Leadership. These leadership philosophies guide my path, my thoughts, decisions and actions – at home and at work. And ultimately, it’s my core system of leadership values that drive meaningful, effective outcomes and successful results.

TEX_2K16-0091_PVK_1531 Mark Wallace and Texans Coach Bill O'BrienBecause I’ve invested so much time personally growing and refining myself as a leader, I have a deep appreciation for others on that same journey. So it was such a pleasure recently to have Houston Texans Coach Bill O’Brien stop by Directors Forum to speak to our leaders about his distinguished career in professional football and the leadership skills he’s honed to get where he is today.

Video: Coach Bill O’Brien’s presentation to Directors Forum

*Please note this video is only available for internal viewing on Connect.

Coach O’Brien shared six attributes of leadership he has developed over the years based on his unique experiences in football. These attributes comprise his core system of beliefs and have proven effective throughout his career. I’d like to share them with you.

Communication. When it comes to delivering important news, do it in person, not via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other type of social media. There are a lot of things that can be communicated that way, but when it comes to substance or making critical decisions, it should be done face to face.

People skills. Get to know the people you work with. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get to know everyone, but at least attempt to. It shows you care and will inspire employees to be the best they can be.

Character. When you have character and you have people of character working with you, in a critical situation, they’ll do the right thing.

Competence. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Know what you want to accomplish, and give people something that makes them better.

A good heart. Share a little bit about yourself with those you work with. It shows compassion and that there are more important things than just work.

Courage. Be decisive, understand what’s in front of you, and know what you believe in. Then have the courage to stand up for it, and inspire others to do so as well.

What I like most about the list of attributes Coach O’Brien shared is that they can be applied by anyone in any position at any organization. They are simple yet powerful tools people can use to cultivate strong relationships, which are paramount at amazing organizations like Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans.

Hearing Coach O’Brien’s leadership philosophy makes me even prouder that we’re partners. We are both fortunate to lead teams of incredible people, and I know together, our teams will do some great things in the years to come.

 

February 15, 2016 | (14) Comments

Tuesday marked one of my favorite days of the year – the day we host our annual Employee Recognition Celebration to honor Texas Children’s employees for their years of dedication and commitment to the organization. And this year’s was our largest celebration yet – we honored 32 recognition award recipients and another 473 employees celebrating 15 to 40 years of tenure.

All told, we had about 8,900 years of service represented in the ballroom on Tuesday. Wow! That’s 3.2 million days of service to the mission of Texas Children’s, our patients and their families. That was more than enough reason to celebrate, and that we did, starting with an awesome brass band that kicked things off New Orleans style!

2k16-0075-AK4_1874 2016 Employee Recognition Celebration044As festive as it was, I was still so humbled by this room full of committed employees from across the organization.

Together, we’ve broken ground on new buildings, added floors to existing facilities and developed new treatments to advance health care for children and women around the world.

None of this would have been possible without each person sitting in the audience on Tuesday, doing their part to respond to our needs, innovate new ideas and lead tirelessly every day.

I remember when I joined Texas Children’s in 1989 – there were only 1,100 employees. The Clinical Care Center and West Tower did not exist. We did not even have a dedicated pediatric emergency center when I joined the organization. Today, we have more than 13,000 employees, and we had nearly 3.5 million patient encounters across Texas Children’s last year. We now treat patients from nearly 60 countries and all 50 states. We have the Pavilion for Women, West Campus, Health Plan, Health Centers, a network of 53 pediatric practices, four urgent care centers, the two Center for Children and Women locations, and we have a comprehensive women’s Ob/Gyn network.

Pause a minute, and think about just how much we’ve accomplished together. It’s simply amazing. Neither our history nor our future would be possible without the people who work here. And especially without those sitting in the room that day who have given so much to the organization for so long to bring these accomplishments to fruition.

And now, we are building Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands; the cranes are up, and work has started on our CareFirst tower; and we are expanding our care into east Texas through the STAR Kids program. This is all happening because of a strategic vision for growth, the structural leadership and support to advance that vision, and, most importantly, you – the people who drive and fulfill the vision.

It doesn’t sound like enough, but thank you. For the 15 years. For the 40 years. And for every year in between. Thank you to the Super Star, Catalyst, Best of the West and SMILES honorees celebrated on Tuesday and every year before. You all are the heart of Texas Children’s, and your legacy is tremendous.