Connect Newsletter (Dec. 9, 2025)

High-Fives and Holiday Cheer: Dallas Cowboys Bring Christmas to Cook Children's Patients

The Dallas Cowboys stopped by for their annual visit with Cook Children's Medical Center - Fort Worth patients. Football players and cheerleaders arrived bearing stockings with goodies, and they posed for pictures and signed official autographed photos. Then, they surprised several patients and their families with personal visits to their rooms. 

Everyone was so excited to greet the team and wish them luck as the season continues! 

Click here to view photos. 

Spreading Joy, Texas Rangers Style: Cook Children's Gets a Special Holiday Visit

The Texas Rangers recently brought smiles to patients at Cook Children's Medical Center - Fort Worth. The visit included players, coaches, staff, the Shooting Stars dancers, and Rangers Captain the mascot. 

Click here to view photos. 

D Magazine CEO's Excellence in Healthcare Awards

After years of outreach, data analysis and listening to the community, two leading health systems have come together under one roof for the first time to meet the needs of Fort Worth families, according to a statement from D Magazine.

Cook Children’s Health Care System and JPS Health Network earned the Outstanding Healthcare Collaboration award from D Magazine for work in the Las Vegas Trail area. The community effort features a teaching kitchen, food pantry, job training space, and a Fort Worth Police storefront staffed alongside health workers from both systems.

To read D Magazine's article, click here. Stay tuned for a story about the award-winning collaboration on the Connect Newsroom.

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

Last Call: Abstracts due for Research Symposium on Dec. 15 

The Research Symposium, scheduled for February 2026, celebrates the groundbreaking research happening under our blue peaks to improve the well-being of every child in our care and communities. Be a part of this inspiring gathering as we honor the dedication of Cook Children’s clinicians, scientists and collaborators, all committed to doing everything for the child. All abstracts must be turned in by midnight on Dec. 15.

Click here to submit an abstract. 

For more information about the in-person Research Symposium on Feb. 19-20 please visit: 2026 Research Symposium

View Photos from Jingle Mingle 

Full hearts and full stomachs! Employees gathered in Prosper and Fort Worth for the Cook Children's Jingle Mingle events. We captured photos of all the fun. 

Folks at Calmont, you're up next. Mark your calendars for Jingle Mingle on Dec. 10. 

Visit Connect Newsroom to view photos. 

Retirement Announcement 

Sue Eades, Executive Assistant II for Peds Pal is retiring from Cook Children’s Health Services Inc. on Dec. 31. 

Sue joined Cook Children’s in June of 1999.  26 years later, she will be retiring at the end of this year.  During her time with Cook Children’s, she has been fully dedicated to our mission to improve the lives of children – not only locally, but nationally, by being an important part of the creation and growth of PedsPal, our national GPO.  She has been my Executive Assistant for all 24 of my years here at Cook Children’s and has made my time here a pleasure by helping Cook Children’s Physician Network and now Cook Children's Health Services Inc. run smoothly.  As you can imagine, her role evolved over time, and she managed every transition with grace and skill. 

“Perhaps more importantly, Sue is viewed by many as their work mom.  She is a great listener and trusted advisor and will be missed by all.  We have been blessed to have been able to work with Sue and wish her great happiness as she enjoys retirement,” Vice President of Health Services, Ryan Champlin said. 

We encourage you to take a moment to send Sue a farewell note by December 30.

Share Your Holiday Fun

The holidays are here, and we want to see how Cook Children's teams are celebrating across the state!

Whether you're decking the halls in Fort Worth, Prosper, or any other Texas location, share a photo of your office or department's festive celebrations. 

Please email your photo to InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org and tell us which location/department your team is celebrating from. For example, "Home Health Houston," “Abilene Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic," etc.

We will post are excited to see your festive photos! 

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. 

To find more content about our employees and news you need to know, bookmark our Connect Newsroom website.