April 30, 2018 | (7) Comments

When I became President and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital almost 30 years ago, the Department of Surgery was a small, tight-knit group of highly skilled surgeons who operated on children with a variety of health issues.

Today, things look much the same but on a significantly larger scale. Over time, Texas Children’s Department of Surgery has become one of the largest pediatric surgery programs in the nation, spanning nine surgical divisions: Congenital Heart Surgery, Dental, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Urology. These divisions work in conjunction with our partners in Anesthesiology, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, and Transplant Services.

One of the main reasons for our Department of Surgery’s long-standing success is strong leadership. Beginning with our first Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Luke W. Able, who trained under the father of pediatric surgery Dr. William E. Ladd, to Dr. Charles D. Fraser, whose focus on outstanding outcomes solidified our already stellar reputation, leadership has always been the glue that holds the department together and the force that drives it to greater heights.

I am confident we will continue this legacy and advance it even further under the leadership of the hospital’s newest Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Larry Hollier. Dr. Hollier is an extraordinarily talented plastic surgeon who joined Texas Children’s Hospital 20 years ago after earning his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine and training in general and plastic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and New York University Medical Center.

During his tenure at Texas Children’s, Dr. Hollier has led the hospital’s Plastic Surgery Division, championed patient experience organization wide, participated in a variety of global efforts and performed countless life-changing plastic and reconstructive surgeries. He is undeniably dedicated to our mission and has a burning passion for making our organization the best it can be in an ever-changing health care climate.

What sets Dr. Hollier apart even more is his focused yet humble leadership style. Rather than a top-down approach, Dr. Hollier believes in empowering sharp, nimble people in the organization to blaze their own paths. He sees his role as surgeon-in-chief not as being in charge, but as taking care of the people in his charge. Yet, he can also make the thoughtful and sometimes difficult decisions needed to help move the department and the organization forward.

I appreciate that he is such a bold and decisive leader with a keen and natural ability to consider the entire Texas Children’s system. Dr. Hollier perceives Texas Children’s as a team of teams, and I like that. His thinking and his approach is vital to the continued growth of our organization and to our long-term efforts to improve patient access and coordinated care.

I am excited to see what great things Dr. Hollier does at Texas Children’s in the years to come. He already has contributed so much. Please join me in congratulating him on his new post.

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!

August 9, 2017 | (37) Comments

“Leadership applies to everyone.”

No matter what your title or position is at Texas Children’s, every employee makes an impact in the way we fulfill our mission. Simply put – everyone is a leader, which is the principle of my second Maxim of Leadership.

Texas Children’s employees and staff often go above and beyond to ensure our patients and their families have a positive experience, from the moment they walk through our doors to the moment they leave any of our health care locations. This past year, two of our Emergency Center (EC) nurses showed us that leadership is a quality, not a title. When our patients were constantly enduring long wait times in the EC, Kimberly Almon and Marianne Oldroyd were determined to figure out what the barriers were and what processes could be removed or changed to provide an overall better and safer patient experience.

Historically, there was a multi-step, check-in process for patients and their families before being placed in a room and getting to see a physician. While this process made sense from a staff perspective, Kimberly and Marianne realized that the process added an extra layer of anxiety to an already stressful situation for families. They put themselves in their patients’ shoes and asked, “Do families want to fill out multiple forms? Do they want to keep repeating possibly sensitive information? Do they want to be led around the entire first floor of the building before arriving at their own room?”

Thanks to these two nurses asking questions and then responding with simpler, streamlined processes, we’ve created a more patient-centered experience in the EC. Reducing the time patients and their families spend prior to seeing a physician has improved the overall patient experience at Texas Children’s. In fact, as a result of Kimberly and Marianne’s assertiveness, this process change has contributed to the highest patient experience scores the EC has ever seen.

Due to the success at Texas Children’s medical center campus, the West Campus EC staff has also implemented the new patient flow process, and The Woodlands hospital recently began its implementation of the process. And in addition to being recognized by their peers for these truly impactful efforts, Kimberly and Marianne’s work was recently accepted for a podium presentation at the Nursing Professional Development Conference.

Kimberly and Marianne spearheaded a process change and worked with their colleagues and leaders to improve the overall patient experience in the EC. Their actions remind us that leadership applies to everyone. I’m so grateful that they are part of Texas Children’s One Amazing Team.

I’d like to hear from you … how do you embrace your power to lead and make a difference every day?

 

Take the leadership challenge, and score a spot at a Houston Texans event!

Over the next four weeks, Mark Wallace’s blog will highlight employees who demonstrate his Maxims of Leadership. Each blog post will pose a leadership question that you may respond to in the comments section of the blog post. 

In September, the Corporate Communications team will collect all of your comments and draw the names of 100 commenters to attend a private event with the Houston Texans, including a behind-the-scenes tour of NRG Stadium, an autograph session with two Houston Texans football players and photos with the Texans cheerleaders.

So make sure you respond to the question at the end of

Mr. Wallace’s blog post to be entered to win!

Click here to watch a video about how Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans are leading in patient care and on the football field every single day.

July 30, 2015 | (20) Comments

One out of every 10 children in the United States lives in Texas, and one in four of these children is likely to live in poverty. How many of those children go without health care because they are uninsured?

It’s a staggering concern and one we take to heart here at Texas Children’s. For me, regardless of my own political beliefs, when I hear these numbers, and I think about all the children and families who need our help, I can’t help but ask myself how we can do better.

More than half of the patients seen at Texas Children’s Hospital are covered by Medicaid, a program that celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. It was July 30, 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 and established the Medicare and Medicaid programs. From that moment, health care became more accessible to the most vulnerable of our U.S. population.

In the 50 years since then, Medicaid has benefitted millions of children and pregnant women – including hundreds of thousands of Texas Children’s patients. Medicaid-designated funds for research have helped us advance pediatric medicine for the benefit of all of our patients, not just those covered by Medicaid. In fact, it’s core to our mission here at Texas Children’s and the principles on which we were founded.

And while Medicaid remains a major part of health care in the U.S., our world today is quite different than the one in which it was created. Medicaid needs to be adapted to the practices of 21st century medicine, and the discourse surrounding it should address the long-term viability and reforms necessary to preserve a program that serves the most vulnerable of our community: impoverished pregnant women and children.

The simple truth is our federal and state governments save money by investing in health care for our children. When kids grow up with regular health exams, immunizations and care for childhood illnesses, they are more likely to become adults who are healthy and productive taxpayers.

Reform is slow but on the horizon, in the form of policies at the state and national levels, as well as homegrown efforts like many Texas Children’s has already implemented, to make health care more accessible for our own underserved population here in Houston and the surrounding areas.

Here, we are constantly working to advance health care access for our Medicaid patients. Through the creation of community resources such as The Center for Children and Women in Greenspoint and Southwest Houston, we are ensuring care is readily accessible in the community where our patients need it most.

This year, we added our sixth Texas Children’s Pediatrics Community Cares practice to provide access to pediatric primary care in some of Houston’s most underserved communities. When we have these families in our care, we connect them to vital health and social services and help them enroll in Medicaid through our health plan if they are uninsured. Without this program, many of these families would seek care from emergency rooms or possibly go without treatment due to low family incomes and/or lack of health insurance.

We advocate for Medicaid support and continued reform because we know it’s the right thing to do for our patients. This is because we know who our patients are. They are hardworking, and they want the best for their children and their families. And they are like many people who rely on Medicaid at some point. Almost 80 percent of children who were enrolled in Medicaid in 2013 lived with at least one parent who worked. That same year, 65 percent of adults on Medicaid were also part of a working family.

Many of these families don’t earn enough to afford private coverage and are desperate for a way to provide the right health care for their children. For many of our patient families, Medicaid covers those who would otherwise face financial ruin due to a catastrophic medical diagnosis or unexpected event. Medicaid is a safety net for everyone because we are all one medical crisis or catastrophic event away from financial ruin. It is a stepping stone for people when the unexpected occurs.

You and I know these families, and we know their stories. It’s our duty to remind others how essential Medicaid is for our community and for those families who truly need it.

 

Get involved

This session, lawmakers failed to invest in Medicaid, a program that promotes economic stability for our state. Leaders need to have a longer-term vision than just two years. I am hopeful that during the interim, lawmakers will engage with various stakeholders – those providing care and those who consider its policies – to craft a 21st century Medicaid program that aligns Texas values with the actual needs of Texans.

Our government relations team acts as the advocate for children and women in Austin and Washington D.C. They work to educate legislators about why Medicaid matters and why it’s so essential to patients like ours. You can join their efforts by contacting your representatives and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.

As we acknowledge the 50th anniversary for this crucial program, I encourage you to advocate for health care that is available to all who need it, not just those who can afford it.

http://www.texaschildrens.org/Learn/Legislative-Advocacy/