May 23, 2018 | (2) Comments

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, our most critically-ill patients were moved from West Tower to floors nine through 12 of the beautiful new Legacy Tower.

At 7 a.m., seven specially-trained clinical teams began safely transporting more than 45 critically-ill patients to their new, spacious, state-of-the-art critical care rooms. The amount of planning and effort behind this monumental move was almost inconceivable. More than 150 staff were involved, and the careful transfer of our patients took more than 7 hours. Once our patients and their families settled into their new spaces, our staff focused on what they do best – providing the highest quality pediatric care to our patients and their families in a new, family-focused environment.

This phase one opening of our 640,000-square-foot, 400-foot-tall Legacy Tower marks a significant milestone in our 64-year history that will help us continue to serve our patients and their families, particularly children who are critically ill and have complex needs. We are opening with six technologically advanced operating rooms – one with intraoperative MRI – and 84 ICU beds, including dedicated surgical, neuro and transitional ICU beds.

In September when phase two of Legacy Tower opens, it will be the new home of Texas Children’s Heart Center® and will include an outpatient clinic, four catheterization labs with one intraprocedural MRI, cardiovascular intensive care unit, four CVORs, and cardiology acute care beds.

While all of these enhanced clinical amenities will better enable us to care for sick children, the truly special thing about Legacy Tower is that it was built for and with the input of our patient families. During the construction process, we listened to the wants and needs of Texas Children’s patients, families and the staff who cares for them, and we implemented many of their suggestions.

We heard parents when they told us they wanted to be able to sleep in a bed next to their child instead of a chair. That they wanted to be able to take a shower without leaving their child’s room. And that they wanted peaceful places to take a break when needed, without having to leave the hospital.

We also have a therapy dog dedicated to Legacy Tower. Bailey, a lively 18-month-old Golden Retriever, will offer comfort and encouragement to our patients. My wife Shannon and I supported the addition of Bailey for the hospital’s Pawsitive Play Program to enhance the emotional well-being of our patients. Bailey will help patients feel less anxious, reduce their perception of pain and fear of the hospital and will really complement our holistic approach to care.

As a whole, we want our patients and their families to be as comfortable as possible while they are here with us, and we want our clinical teams to have the best environments in which to work and the best tools with which to care for our patients. With Legacy Tower, we will achieve all this, better than ever before.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the realization of the opening of Legacy Tower. The leadership, the collaborative teams, the innovation and ideas from knowledgeable front line staff … all of these elements are what got us here. Together, we have taken another step to fulfill the legacy of Texas Children’s, and I walk these halls today – as should you – with immense pride. Today is a new era and a blessing, to us and to all those we will serve for decades to come. Congratulations Texas Children’s.

Click here for a video of our staff and employees sharing their thoughts about the big move!

 

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.

December 18, 2017 | (16) Comments

Our Radiologist-in-Chief Dr. George Bisset told me something recently that got me thinking. A few weeks ago, Dr. Bisset requested a product demonstration from a vendor. The vendor representative offered to provide the demo over Webex, but Dr. Bisset insisted on a face-to-face presentation. He felt the meeting and the product’s potential impact was important enough that it should be held in person so his team could get a real sense of the product’s use and value.

The representative agreed, and Dr. Bisset scheduled a meeting for the vendor to meet with 15 key stakeholders. Within minutes of starting the meeting, more than half of the attendees were on their phones. And they remained on their phones for most of the presentation. Aside from being an embarrassing display for the organization, the lack of attention to the presenter conveyed that his presence was neither warranted nor appreciated or that some were too busy to give the presenter the attention he deserved.

How many times have you been on the receiving end of this scenario? Or, let’s be honest, are you often the person holding the phone? This is not who we are as an organization, and this is not how we want to represent ourselves or be perceived by others. Our lack of attention shows a lack of consideration for the people we are around. As individuals, spouses, parents and friends, it is important for us, personally, to be engaged in the moments with the people who are important to us. This is important professionally as well, and it speaks to our culture at Texas Children’s.

As Dr. Bisset and I were discussing how the attention to mobile phones has become almost obsessive, he shared this video with me in which the presenter speaks to how this is impacting us – and worse, our children and grandchildren – and the dramatic differences he sees when mobile phones are removed from use in a meeting or other environments.

I shared the video with our leadership team, and received some very interesting feedback. One remark that really struck a chord with the team was when our CFO Weldon Gage quoted Ronald Heifetz, Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, “Attention is the currency of leadership.” What a powerful thought. Great leaders optimize how they spend their attention. They are skilled at getting others to focus their attention on the right things at the right times.

So I’m challenging you, whether it is with your families or colleagues, to examine how you can make some meaningful changes. Watch the video, and let’s make a commitment to change our habits. Let’s make the effort to really be present in our conversations, activities and meetings. Although we at Texas Children’s are getting better every day, this is an opportunity for us to be a more respectful, fully engaged culture, and that’s worth putting the phone down.

Click here to watch the video mentioned above.

September 1, 2017 | (1) Comments

donate-now-4

Well, Texas Children’s family, we made it. We weathered another storm, and I believe we’ve come out on the other side of it stronger than ever. In fact, as I keep thinking about what all our people – and even our facilities – endured over the past several days, one word remains planted firmly in my mind: sturdy.

I think that word is sticking with me because it’s more than strong. When tested, sturdy endures, time after time. Sturdy takes some lumps here and there and encounters a few hurdles now and again. But from adversity, sturdy emerges smarter, more agile, resourceful and resilient. That’s us. We have proven time and again when faced with challenges that we will bind together to be there for our patients, their families and even more importantly, we will be there for each other. The bond between Texas Children’s employees is incredible, and it is at the very core of our amazing culture.

Although this storm has passed, I know this is not over for so many of you. I understand that you are starting over and having to rebuild your lives. It’s a difficult process that will take time. But on your hardest days, I want you to remember that you’re not just part of our one amazing team – we’re part of one pretty amazing community. The past few days showed the world much more than just devastation. Houston reminded the world what compassion looks like and what it looks like to be selfless and to give everything to ensure the safety of your fellow man. I believe you have the strength to recover from this and that with the continued support of our Texas Children’s family and this incredible community, you will.

Thank you to everyone for your preparation, your leadership, your work, your prayers and even for your laughter in the midst of the storm. You endured, and you got us through this. Again. Stay sturdy, Texas Children’s. You are amazing.