Connect Newsletter (March 2, 2023)

Employee Appreciation Day is March 3

March 3 is National Employee Appreciation Day, and at Cook Children’s we have many reasons to celebrate you and your “everything for the child” commitment every day. We have many events scheduled this year to gather together and recognize the amazing teamwork of almost 9,000 people who serve our Pinky Promise every day across Cook Children’s. Read more here. 

Last week, we asked employees to send us shoutouts to teams and department that were pivotal to a specific project, event or accomplishment. Thanks to all who sent in such heartfelt words! We are compiling them on a special page on the Connect Newsroom for you to read.

And remember, you can always 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.)

VIDEO: 50 Days of Helping Children Prosper at Our New Medical Center

Can you believe it? Cook Children's Medical Center - Prosper has been open for 50 days. Since Jan. 9 the team at Prosper has provided world-class medical care to children living in the northern sector of the Metroplex. Meet some of the very first patients and see what employees there have accomplished by working together and keeping the needs of our patient families in the forefront. Here's an article and video on the Checkup Newsroom.

Employees Care 2023 

We are all in this together. Whether you schedule appointments, help families with insurance benefits, serve our community or deliver care to patients who need us most, your work creates everyday miracles.

As an employee, you want your donation to directly impact the patients and families you serve. When you give to Employees Care, you can be confident knowing that you are a part of their entire medical journey.

It's not too late! We invite you to make your gift today, if you haven’t already. 

Meet Matthew Carroll, M.D.

Matt Carroll, M.D., is laser focused on health care quality and safety. So, while his roles as a hospitalist and Cook Children’s Associate Chief Quality Officer are serious ones, he knows how to enjoy himself too. Learn more about the fun side of Dr. Carroll and the emphasis he places on high quality and safe care.

“I think high quality, safe care is to Cook Children's as the search box is to Google or the F-150 is to Ford. So it's incredibly important in terms of how we support our physicians and staff in delivering high quality care,” Dr. Carroll said.

Take a few moments to read this informative (and fun) article.

Contest: How Has Your Team Improved Safety?

You are invited to participate in this year’s virtual Patient Safety Awareness Week contest to celebrate the great work being done for safety around the system!

The theme is Safety for All – so we are looking for Moments of Magic that demonstrate patient safety, staff safety and/or health equity to be part of the contest. All submissions will then be displayed on CookNet for peer voting during Patient Safety Awareness Week March 20 -24. Three winners will receive a catered lunch of their choice for up to 15 people!

Click here to learn more and download a template for submitting your moment of magic!

Bright Horizons Offers Informative Family Webinars

The Bright Horizons monthly family webinar series is a great resource for employees to learn how to navigate their child’s early years, manage life as a working parent, care for elder loved ones, and everything in between. The March webinar is coming up at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15.

Here’s the topic: How can you create authentic, diverse experiences for your child? How do you help them understand and appreciate differences and answer tricky questions about differences? Join us to hear about inclusion, social-emotional learning, and exposing your child to other cultures, holidays, traditions, and people. Register here: Raising an Inclusive Child (on24.com)

To learn more about all the topics offered to you. Click here.

Women's History Month: Impacting Lives Every Day

March is Women's History Month, a time to reflect, appreciate and celebrate contributions of female trailblazers that may have gone unacknowledged and forgotten. 

We will be highlighting stories of female staff members from across the system who have made a difference and facts about women's contributions to heath care. We are gathering content to share all month to this page so please check back often.

Celebrating Social Workers

This year's Social Workers Month theme, “Social Work Breaks Barriers,” highlights the work that social workers do every day to break through obstacles and challenges that our patients may be experiencing. 

Social workers are important advocates for our patients and families and are a critical part of our multi-disciplinary teams. 

Please take the time to thank a social worker for the amazing job that they do.

Celebrating Child Life Month!

March is #ChildLifeMonth! The impact that Cook Children’s child life specialists have on our patients and families is unparalleled. 

As a part of our commitment to family-centered care, our child life specialists work with a child’s health care team to advocate for and ensure the child’s and the family’s needs are addressed in the most nurturing atmosphere possible. The child life specialist also helps reduce stress and teaches you and your children how to cope with experiences. 

Learn more about Child Life with this informative video.

Retirement Announcement for Christine Lachman, Nurse Manager, SPA - Recovery

Christine Lachman, nurse manager, is retiring from the system on Tuesday, March 14 after 34 years of service to Cook Children's.

“We celebrate Christi’s legacy of love and excellence for 34 years at Cook Children’s and wish her many happy moments in her retirement adventures,” said Valerie Gibbs, DNP, RN, CPN, Director Perioperative Services – Surgical.

Everyone at the system is invited to join us from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, in the Family Support Meeting Rooms A&B at Cook Children’s Medical Center-Fort Worth as we wish Christine well in her new adventure!

COVID-19 Vaccination: Striving to Vaccinate Everyone

“[Consider] safety harnesses for construction workers working on high rise building scaffold. Some workers have years of experience and situational awareness that will personally reduce the benefit of a universal requirement to use a safety harness…, however a fall for either rookie or veteran would have devastating consequences…regardless of how likely it is to occur; thus, the recommendation applies to everyone.”

Read more from Marc Mazade, M.D., Medical Director of Infection Control

April Cultural Observances 

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. Share with us how you observe Diversity Month, Autism Acceptance Month and National Arab American Heritage Month.

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.