Connect Newsletter (Dec. 11, 2025)

Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program Earns National Accreditation

The Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) program at Cook Children’s has earned national accreditation from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) in recognition of high-quality comprehensive care for adults born with cardiac defects. 

The ACHA is a national organization begun by and dedicated to supporting individuals and families living with congenital heart disease and advancing the care and treatment available to the ACHD community.

The accreditation puts Cook Children’s in the top tier of programs across the country.

“I am very proud of the work that our team has accomplished in receiving accreditation from the ACHA,” said Scott M. Pilgrim, M.D., the program’s medical director. “The need to develop a comprehensive ACHD program serves as a testament to the many decades of phenomenal pediatric cardiac surgery and pediatric cardiology care here at Cook Children’s. We are honored to be able to extend the Cook Children’s Promise to this growing and vulnerable population.”

Read more on Connect Newsroom. 

Hope for the Holidays: New Health Center Earns Multiple Top Honors for Transforming Care

This holiday season, Las Vegas Trail area residents are experiencing a new chapter of wellness and hope, thanks to an award-winning collaboration bringing health services close to their west Fort Worth neighborhood, which has long been known as both a health care and food desert.

Since the new Neighborhood Health Center serving the Las Vegas Trail area opened its doors, thousands have received health care services through the partnership of Cook Children’s Health Care System and JPS Health Network. 

Click here to read about the outstanding collaboration featured in D CEO's 2025 Excellence in Healthcare Awards.

Dr. John Robertson Named a Finalist for D CEO Excellence in Healthcare Awards

John Robertson, M.D., pulmonologist, was named a finalist for the “Outstanding Healthcare Innovator” award in the D CEO 2025 Excellence in Healthcare Awards, which recognize achievement and impact of health care in North Texas. 

To learn more about this achievement and the innovative work Dr. Robertson leads at the Exercise Respiratory Center at Cook Children’s – Prosper, please visit the Connect Newsroom. 

Time Clock Update — Badge Tapping Begins Dec. 15

As part of our move toward a new UKG Workforce Management system launching in 2026, we are making an update to the way everyone clocks in and out.

Starting midnight on Monday Dec. 15, you will no longer use the handheld scanner to clock in and out. Instead: 

• Tap your employee badge on the blue icon on the right side of the timeclock to clock in and out.
• If you experience issues with badge tapping, it may be because you have not turned in your old badge.
  • Please use your new badge and return your old badge to your leader.
  • You can always clock in and out on a computer if needed.

Where Is It Happening? The Fort Worth Medical Center campus and associated buildings (including Calmont, Child Study Center, etc.), clinics across the system, UCCs, and the Prosper Medical Center. There are a couple of locations which will experience a slightly different rollout process, and they have been sent communication about this. 

Why This Change?
This is the next step toward a more modern and consistent timekeeping experience across the organization — with a simplified tap-to-clock process that will continue once UKG is live. No setup or badge activation is required; your existing badge already supports this functionality.

If you have questions, please submit a ServiceNow ticket.

Cook Children’s Health Care System Town Hall Scheduled for Dec. 18

Please join us for a Town Hall event at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Hochberger Auditorium.

These events are designed to keep all of us informed and aligned about what has been accomplished by our teams across the system and what we are looking forward to in 2026. Leaders will connect our work to our Promise and celebrate the journey ahead.

If you are able to attend, please tune in to be a part of the live audience to experience the discussion in real-time. For those whose schedules or locations do not permit live attendance, the event will be live-streamed and recorded.  You will receive the live-stream link before the event and it will be posted on the scrolling banner on the homepage of CookNet. 

To ensure everyone has access to this critical information promptly, the recording will be distributed via email later that afternoon.

Need Some Holiday Cheer? View the Puppy Cam! 

The Sit…Stay…PLAY facility dog program wants to spread some holiday cheer with the latest live puppy cam of future working dogs! The most recent litter had nine puppies and who knows, one of these puppies could be a future member of the Cook Children’s team! 

Tune into the live puppy cam while you are taking a break and need some holiday joy. 

Click here to view the Puppy Cam. 🐶🐾

Under the Peaks: 12 days of Merry Savings

Throughout the month of December, unwrap great deals at Under the Peaks! Each day will have a different sale for you to enjoy this holiday season. 

Visit Connect Newsroom to see the full details.

Facility Dog Neely's Retirement Shirt

While you are shopping at Under the Peaks, consider purchasing a t-shirt marking the retirement of our Facility Dog, Neely, a beloved fixture at Cook Children’s since March 2019. Proceeds from each $24 shirt will go toward the Facility Dog program.

To read more about Neely and Jill Koss, Director of Family Support Services, visit the Connect Newsroom.

 *This shirt may be excluded from any holiday discounts.

Share Your Content with Us

Do you have any tips, ideas or content you would like us to know about? We want to hear from you! Please view our SharePoint site and email us at InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org. 

Check our CookNet calendar for more system-wide events and to find more content about our employees and news you need to know, bookmark our Connect Newsroom website.