Connect Newsletter (Feb. 23, 2023)

Coming Soon: New System for Accessing Employee Information

Are you ready? Cook Children's is transitioning on June 30, 2023 to the Workday cloud-based application, a tool that will change how you access personal work information and much more.

Cook Children’s is bringing together all of the components we currently manage in Lawson and several other systems into one universal system with more features and functionality for employees. What this means: whatever you do now in Lawson, you’ll be doing on Workday after June 30. This includes benefits and pay, job postings, submitting invoices, and managing your personal data (changing your address, for instance). You’ll be able to conveniently reach your personal work information using the Workday tools on any mobile device with an internet connection. 

Read more here.

Employees Care: Message from A Supporter

Cook Children’s is filled with wonderful people, like you, who dedicate their lives to helping our patients and families. Whatever your role, each of you help to turn excellent care in to everyday miracles.

We don’t just show up for work. We aim to make the health of every child in our community better. That’s the Cook Children’s Promise. And that’s why I am writing you about Employees Care.

As a long-time supporter myself, I know when you give to Employees Care, you become an even bigger part of our patients’ journeys. You make their experience at Cook Children’s even more magical. Your donations, no matter how big or small, make an impact on those we care for and create healing through generosity.

We have passed the half-way point in our 2023 campaign. This year’s participation goal is 4,000 employees giving to Employees Care. We have already reached 73% and there is still time to give.

With your help, we will reach our goal and the best part is the magic you will create for our patients and families.

 For more information about Employees Care and to make your donation, simply click here.

Thank you for joining me and so many of your colleagues in supporting this year’s campaign.

 With gratitude,

Stan Davis, Employees Care Supporter

Meet Matthew Dzurik, M.D.: Interventional Arrhythmia Cardiologist, Dad, Racecar Enthusiast

Matthew Dzurik, M.D., President of Cook Children's Physician Network, has his sights set on building camaraderie and championing the Cook Children’s culture among physicians and providers. The network has doubled in size since he became president, including the opening of Cook Children’s second medical center in Prosper. He wants new and seasoned physicians to know that taking care of themselves is a part of the Cook Children’s way now and in the future. Once you have that work-life balance, he says, it’s easier to make everything about the child and their optimal care when you’re on the job.

Read more.

The Culture Platform Goes on the Road with Trips to Mansfield and Alliance 

The culture platform is the roadmap we use to make sure our Cook Children's Promise guides everything we do. So, it makes sense to take the culture platform and our new brand launch on the road. 

Rick Merrill, Cook Children's President and CEO, met with employees and helped to continue our roll out throughout the system this month. Click here to view photos of the event at Alliance.

The culture platform emerged from three years of surveys and focus groups with Cook Children's employees, doctors, patients and families. It's both a celebration of who we are today, and a North Star to guide our tomorrow.

We know you may have a lot of questions about what this new brand launch means to you. Please click here to find helpful information about our refreshed brand. 

To learn more about our culture platform, please click here. You must be on the network to watch.

Pit Dodson Visits Child Life Zone

Dodson is a familiar name to many of us, thanks to T.L. and Clarabele “Pit” Dodson, longtime supporters of Cook Children's. For more than three decades, Pit Dodson has given generously to Cook Children's, her benevolence touching nearly every corner of the medical center in Fort Worth and affording us incredible growth.  A gift from the Dodsons led to the Cook Children’s Dodson Specialty Clinics building, home to numerous pediatric specialty offices and a pediatric surgery center. Pit is also the benefactor for the emergency helicopter and fixed wing jet that carries Cook Children’s Teddy Bear Transport team and the more than 2,500 critically ill pediatric patients the team transports each year. 

Pit Dodson recently visited Cook Childrens Medical Center-Fort Worth, where she toured the facility and did crafts with patients in the Child Life Zone.  

Her visit comes just as we are preparing to open the Dodson Specialty Clinics expansion on March 20. The updated facility will offer more than 35 specialties, six new services, including a retail pharmacy, Peaks Tech Zone, Maternal Fetal Medicine, a sibling support center, a Cook Children's retail shop, a café and a new parking garage. 

VIDEO: Black History Month Spotlight — LaQuatre Rhodes, D.O., is Passionate About Her Pediatric Gastroenterology Patients

LaQuatre Rhodes, D.O., treats children and teens who have GI issues - diseases and disorders of the digestive system - at Cook Children’s Specialty Clinics in Prosper. She provides medical expertise and is an example for aspiring physicians. She often notices a special look of recognition and wonders on the faces of her Black patients when they meet her in the exam room. 

“It’s a joy and humbling to know that seeing someone who looks like you makes you feel more comfortable,” she said. “Some of them will let me know that they want to be a doctor. Seeing me definitely helps to put that in reality for them.”

Read Dr. Rhodes' story and watch a video.

As Seen in The Dallas Morning News: Teens in Crisis

Kristen Pyrc, M.D., medical director of Outpatient Psychiatry at Cook Children’s and co-host of the Raising Joy podcast, wrote a powerful opinion piece about youth mental health. It was published in The Dallas Morning News on Feb. 22. 

The takeaway:

“What can we do? We must adequately fund mental health treatment so resources are readily available for teens needing support. We need initiatives aimed at supporting the mental health of girls, minority students, and members of the LGBTQ+ community since their risk of depression and suicidality is significantly higher. We have to educate parents, teachers, and community members on how to recognize children who are struggling and the ability to connect teens to appropriate resources. Families must be able to access outpatient mental health resources when they see their child is struggling rather than waiting months to see a counselor.”

Congratulations Peak Performers

Let’s congratulate the Peak Performers for January 2023! Great job on all you do, today and every day, to help us all keep our Promise! Click here to see who made the latest list.

Tell Us: What Cultural Observances Would You Like to See?

As we wrap up Black History Month celebrations, know that we've compiled a list of local and national resources for North Texas families to learn about the contributions of Black Americans to Tarrant County, Texas, and the United States. Find it all on the Black History page on CookNet.

Looking ahead: Distinct from recognition weeks dedicated to thanking those in various professional roles, sharing information about cultural holidays and observances is an important way to learn about our diverse workforce and raise awareness of challenges and successes of various groups. 

If you have any ideas or recommendations for upcoming cultural holidays and observances that you would like to see us cover, email us at InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org.

Send Us Your Staff Shoutouts for Employee Appreciation Day

Is there a team or department that was pivotal to a specific project, event or accomplishment? For this year's Employee Appreciation Day on March 3, give them a shoutout and we'll post them on the Connect Newsroom. Please send us your name and department/location, the name of the team or department, and a sentence or two about how they contributed to a success. Please email us here: InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org.

Many of you will want to give shoutouts to individuals for their hard work and contributions. Email messages of appreciation and thanks to your colleagues by sending an Ecard. (You must be on the Network.)