Connect Newsletter June 27, 2024 |
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VIDEOS: Press Conference on Legal Action to Fight for Our Health Plan Reaches Millions Cook Children's hosted a press conference on June 26 to announce legal action designed to stop the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) from taking away Cook Children's Health Plan's (CCHP) longstanding contract for Medicaid STAR and CHIP programs.
The event featured a powerful video about Samuel and Kathy Grace Sudolcan, a CCHP Member Family, who described their deep involvement with the team members who care for their son, Zechariah, age 2. He has relied on Cook Children’s for his critical health care needs since his birth and his parents are concerned about the major disruption of changing health plans. Samuel is also a Cook Children's employee and works in the Information Systems department as a Senior Telecom Engineer. Journalists also interviewed other Member Families who attended the news conference, and heard from Rick W. Merrill, President and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System and Karen Love, President of CCHP, who outlined the human impact this erroneous decision will have on local children and families. Representatives from the Tarrant County delegation of state legislators were also in attendance. Read more about the news conference in a comprehensive article in the Connect Newsroom. Please click here to watch a video recap of the press conference. The news coverage helped get the word out to millions of people in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and beyond. See coverage here: Head to our website SaveCookChildrensHealthPlan.com for: - Details about the legal action.
- A video recording of the live news conference
- A recap video and photos from the news conference
- The video about the Sudolcan family
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 Update on Microsoft 365 Modern Workplace
We are continuing our journey to upgrade the technology we use to connect, communicate, and collaborate. Coming soon, full time employees will be able to access Microsoft Teams and Outlook email on personal mobile devices. Starting on Wednesday, July 3, the Classic version of Teams will no longer be available; everyone will be using the New Teams version going forward.
In addition, the New CookNet homepage will soon be the default home page, meaning it will be the first page your browser opens when you log in. Departments have been working over the past several months to transfer their content from Legacy CookNet to the modern, more user-friendly version.
We will keep you up-to-date on these upgrades in future issues of the Connect Newsletter.
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Collaboration: Creating a Mental Health Tool One strength that sets Cook Children’s above the rest is our ability to problem solve through mass collaboration. Recently, we flexed that muscle when departments across Cook Children’s worked together to create a much-needed mental health resource for patients and community members through the system’s Behavioral Health Steering Committee.
Cookchildrens.org/mental-health is an easy-to-navigate collection of resources for patients and families. The site includes links to hundreds of educational articles on different topics, resources like the Raising Joy podcast and Links of Hope Support Group, virtual trainings on support strategies and even a video series created by Cook Children's Center for Community Health to help inform and support caregivers. Read more on the Connect Newsroom about how employees worked together to make this resource happen. |
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Meet Sara Garza, M.D., Cook Children’s Physician Network Locum Tenens Physician, Associate Physician Well-being Advocate  Newsweek has named Cook Children's one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Women 2024. We're introducing you to some of the women who make Cook Children's such an amazing place.
For Sara Garza, M.D., no two days are the same as she balances two professional roles. She is both a locum tenens physician, or one who fills a temporary vacancy for another physician who is away, and co-leader of Cook Children’s Office of Physician Well-being, which was recently created to address physician burnout.
“Since taking on the role of associate physician well-being advocate, I'm in a very dynamic season in my career with no ‘typical’ day,” she said. “Any given week may be filled with project work aimed at promoting the well-being of our physicians, collaborative meetings with other departments on shared goals, organizing events, or caring for patients as a locum pediatrician."
Prior to accepting these positions in 2022, Dr. Garza was a primary care physician at Cook Children’s Pediatric Keller Parkway for 17 years. The career change allowed her to expand her horizons and be doctor, physician advocate, wife and mother to her 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old triplets.
As a physician well-being advocate, Dr. Garza works to build and strengthen connections among Cook Children’s physicians and to develop resources and processes that help colleagues achieve better work-life integration. She hopes this work leads to broader cultural changes within medicine, one that values the humanity of doctors and all stakeholders in medical care.
When the many hats she wears weigh heavy, Dr. Garza turns to her Christian faith for wisdom, peace, and perseverance.
An inspiring quote from Dr. Garza
“Cook Children's is a great workplace first because our foundational Promise to improve the well-being of every child in our care and our community aligns with a pediatrician's heart. Beyond our mission, one of Cook Children's best differentiators is that we care about each other as evidenced by our effort to build strong connections through respectful and honest relationships, as well as our courage to challenge our system to evolve and grow for the better. From my days as a bright-eyed early career physician growing a beautiful pediatric practice through many life stages — marriage, the birth of our four children, loss, and a pivotal mid-career change, our Cook Children's family has been a pillar of support.”
Meet more inspiring womenPlease see Checkup for articles about more women at Cook Children's we've highlighted earlier in this series. |
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Inside Cook Children’s: Interactive Clinical Pathways WebsiteCook Children’s has a new website featuring clinical pathways! This website replaces our older "guidelines" resource and offers a more streamlined and user-friendly experience for physicians and other clinical professionals. Click here to see the site: Clinical Pathways | Cook Children's (cookchildrens.org). What are Clinical Pathways? Clinical pathways are essentially roadmaps for patient care. Each pathway is created by a team of experts who thoroughly research the latest medical evidence. They then outline a step-by-step approach to treating specific conditions that's tailored to the practices and equipment available at Cook Children's. Our Clinical Excellence Committee carefully reviews each pathway before it's published on our new website. Currently there are more than 35 pathways on the page and plans are to continue adding more. In June, three more were approved: “Duration of Antibiotic Therapy”, “Measles Identification and Testing Ambulatory”, and “UTI for Amubulatory and Inpatient.” It’s important to remember that these pathways are meant as a reference and guide, not a strict set of rules. There may be times when following a different course of treatment is necessary for a patient's individual needs. What's new and improved? - Easy access: The website is mobile-friendly, so providers can access the pathways on their phones or tablets.
- Interactive format: The new format makes it easier for providers to navigate and find the information they need quickly.
These new clinical pathways are a valuable resource for all clinical staff members at Cook Children's, as well as our referral centers. We hope this website will make it easier for everyone to deliver the best possible care to our patients. |
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Recap on Respect & Kindness: Cancer Survivors and Supporters The final Respect and Kindness Lunch and Learn focused on cancer survivors, caretakers of people with cancer and how to best support coworkers with a cancer diagnosis. Many participants in the webinar shared their personal experience and what helped or did not help them after they were diagnosed with cancer. Kathy McLean, Vice President of Brand and Experience, led the discussion and shared her own story of surviving cancer. To help others, the group put together several lists on how best to support employees who are diagnosed with cancer, and how colleagues and leaders can behave with empathy. Read the tips here.
This was our eighth Lunch and Learn on Respect & Kindness and the last one that is planned at this time. Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend these virtual events. We hope that it helped you learn to see the world from your coworkers' eyes, and provided concrete tools for collaborating together based on the Cook Children's Values we share. We've posted a recap of the wide-ranging conversation on the Connect Newsroom. Click here. |
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 Night Shift Employees Care Event
Hey Night Owls! Rise and shine with us on Tuesday, July 9 for a well-deserved thank you and sign-up event in the Medical Center-Fort Worth atrium. Whether you're craving a delicious donut, in need of a caffeine boost with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee samplers, or just eager to connect with your fellow Employees Care members, this event is for you.
Join us from 6-7:30 a.m. to celebrate your commitment to making a difference in our patients' lives. If you haven't yet signed up for Employees Care you can do so at the event or beforehand via CookNet.
Please be sure to swing by the Atrium to grab your exclusive Employees Care t-shirt and indulge in some sweet treats. It's our way of saying thank you for all that you do.
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 Summer’s Heatin’ Up With an Epic Upgrade
The next Epic upgrade is scheduled for July 19. You can take a glimpse at what’s coming to the Epic application through your Upgrade LHD in Epic. The Upgrade LHD link is located in the top right corner of Epic.
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 Peak Performers: We're Proud of You
Congratulations to Cook Children's Peak Performers for May. These employees live our values at work, connecting and collaborating with one another to make a difference in the lives of our patient families. Thank you for all you do.
Read on the Team Experience page on New CookNet about employees named as Peak Performers for May 2024. |
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 Opal Lee Inspiration Book
Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, recently visited Cook Children’s Medical Center – Fort Worth with her granddaughter, Dione Sims, Executive Director Unity Unlimited, Inc., to discuss health equity and the importance of Juneteenth and its impact on children. Work is underway to put together a book for Ms. Opal, that will share how she has inspired our team members here at Cook Children’s. We are looking for written sentiments from staff about how they felt after meeting and listening to Ms. Lee. No photos, just written sentiments, impact statements or messages for her. Please email them to healthequity@cookchildrens.org. |
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 ICYMI: Do You Have a Connection to the Olympics?
The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Paris are coming up in July. We want to hear from employees who have a connection to these prestigious sporting events. Did you try out to compete, attend, or compete in a Games? Are you planning to travel to France to watch the competitions? Let us know your story and if it is okay to share outside of Cook Children’s. Email us at InternalCommunications@cookchildrens.org. |
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ICYMI: Connect Newsletter Will Be Biweekly for July and August Many of us are busy with travel, events, and schedule changes during the summer, and you might not have time to read the Connect Newsletter. (It's getting longer and longer with more content because there is just so much happening at Cook Children's!)
So for July and August, the Connect Newsletter will be hitting your inbox every other week. There will be no Newsletter on Thursday, July 4. We'll be back to our regular weekly schedule with the Connect Newsletter being delivered by email on Thursdays starting in September. Don't worry, you won't miss a thing. Here's how to stay connected: - CookNet homepage: Keep an eye on the scrolling news sections and events calendar for the latest updates.
- Connect Newsroom: Find articles, photos and videos for and about Cook Children's employees. Bookmark this page!
- LinkedIn: Follow us on LinkedIn for news and features about Cook Children's and accomplishments by our employees.
- Department websites on New CookNet: As we transition from legacy CookNet, explore updated websites created by various departments.
- Checkup Newsroom: Find news and health information of interest to patient families, media, and the public here.
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