Important Announcement Regarding the Office of Employee Connections (formerly known as IDE)
Please read our important update about the decision to dissolve the Office of Employee Connections (formally known as the Office of IDE).
Your dedication to our core values of Respect, Kindness, Collaboration, and our Promise is deeply appreciated. Thank you for consistently embodying these principles.
Welcome Our New Leadership Members
Please welcome Kyle D. Edgington, Ph.D., as our new Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer for the Cook Children’s Health Foundation and Amy Knight our new Chief Administrative Officer.
Patient families, supporters, and community leaders will gather at the Medical Center-Fort Worth on Tuesday, May 13 for the official groundbreaking of the West Tower.
As our community grows, so do the needs of our patients and families, so we are expanding to care for and help heal even more children.
Our new 760,000-square-foot tower will bring advanced pediatric care to our community, with more space for cardiology, critical care – including all private pediatric ICU rooms designed with your child and family in mind – and transitional care beds. It will feature technically advanced operating rooms for specialized programs, such as orthospine, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery and robotics – all designed to heal, innovate and grow with Fort Worth. This tower will also support leading-edge research and discoveries, furthering our commitment to a healthier future for families in our community today and for generations to come.
The groundbreaking is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. at Seventh and West Terrell avenues.
Update - CookNet SharePoint Site Migration – Important Dates and Next Steps
As part of our transition to Microsoft 365, the migration from CookNet (our on-premises SharePoint platform) to SharePoint Online is nearing completion. This project began in Fall 2022 and is now entering its final phase.
Key Dates to Know:
May 20, 2025 – CookNet will enter read-only mode. This was set for May 3, but the date was moved to later in the month to accommodate an early week go live rather than a Friday.
Users will still be able to view content, but no changes or updates can be made.
July 7, 2025 – CookNet will be taken offline. After this date, all access to the legacy SharePoint platform will be removed.
Throughout this transition, SharePoint Administrators have been actively working with site owners to ensure content is moved to SharePoint Online. If you are currently working with a SharePoint Administrator, your site is accounted for, and the migration is either complete or in progress.
If you have not received any communication regarding your site over the past three years, or if you are unsure of your site's status, please submit a ticket and route it to the SharePoint group for review.
Thank you for your support as we complete this important upgrade to our collaboration tools.
Construction Impacts: Check Out Our New Page for Traffic Updates and Redirects
Speaking of the West Tower, please be aware of traffic updates that may impact your normal route. Whether you are walking or driving on our campus, please be aware of the construction.
Bookmark this page to receive the most recent traffic updates. The page will be updated and include major street closures, pedestrian sidewalk closures and potential rerouting.
Please allow for extra time to get to work and into your designated parking garage.
Get ready for a fresh look and improved functionality with our exciting new employee badges! This isn't just a cosmetic update; it's a thoughtful redesign driven by your feedback and a commitment to making things clearer and more secure for everyone – especially our patients and their families. More information to come about when we will transition to our new badges.
We’re excited to share a new resource to empower our Cook Children’s teams in navigating mental health care for our patients and their families with greater ease and confidence.
Our new Mental Health Resources hub lives in CookNet and has been designed with one goal in mind—to deliver the right support at the right time to our staff.
DFW Hospital Council Honors Noah Sullivan for Commitment to Safety
Noah Sullivan, Environmental Safety Manager, was honored as this year's Employee of the Year for mid-sized hospitals at the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Annual Luncheon. Read more about Noah's commitment to public safety and the other nominees who were named during the luncheon.
Congratulations to our second quarter Peak Performers selected for their above and beyond work in quality, safety and service. We are celebrating recipients from January - March 2025.
To see the full list of Peak Performers, click here.
Recipients and leaders from across the system recently gathered to honor the outstanding dedication and achievements of our employees during a special Service Awards Celebration and dinner on April 17, at Hurst Conference Center. It was a wonderful evening where we recognized team members who have reached milestone anniversaries from five to an incredible 45 years of service between May 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025.
We invite you to take a look at some highlights from the evening and join us in celebrating the remarkable contributions of your colleagues.
Thank you to everyone who has helped shape our organization with your hard work, passion, and commitment to excellence.
We Did It - Thank YOU!
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey in April. We had an outstanding 72% response rate for the system survey! Almost 400 departments had 100% survey participation and below is how we did by Company.
Ultimately the feedback we receive from you will help shape the future of Cook Children's for all of us!
The next step in our survey journey is getting results. We’ll look at results on several levels:
System – Press Ganey will brief executive leaders in June.
Department – Leaders will have access to consolidated results in June – so sharing with teams will happen this summer.
Company – With input from ~7,200 people, it will take some time to digest the feedback and experts from Patient Experience, Team Experience, Safety and Quality, Nursing/Magnet, and Well-being will partner with leaders and teams to identify what matters most.
You’ll work together to identify what is going well, celebrate wins and begin improvement efforts.
While we want to get results out as soon as possible, leaders across the system will be trained and learn about the resources available to assist with reviewing and taking action on results. Stay tuned for updates on our system survey results!
Here’s where we landed on participation by company– all surpassed our goal of 65%!
COMPANY
RESPONSE RATE
Home Health
90%
Health Plan
86%
Health Foundation
85%
Health System
81%
CSC
76%
Medical Center – Prosper
74%
Physician Network
69%
Medical Center – Fort Worth
68%
☆ Almost 400 departments had 100% survey participation! ☆
Survey Spotlight: Home Health – 90% Survey Response Rate
The Home Health Engagement Committee decided to come up with a couple of fun ways to encourage survey participation among their teams.
The first one was a raffle drawing for employees whose departments reached 100% participation. Those same departments got to unlock silly executive challenges like a “pie in the face”, “lip sync battle” and “TikTok dance challenge” among others to add to a roulette wheel. Now that the survey is over, Home Health will celebrate by spinning the wheel to “select” which challenge an executive team member has to complete! Congratulations Home Health on 90% survey participation!
Did your team doing something fun to encourage survey participation? Send us an email to share what you did +a photo if you have one to teamexperience@cookchildrens.org.
Sweet Success! Prosper "Pie-A-Doc" Event a Hit for Crohn's & Colitis Foundation!
Our Gastroenterology team in Prosper had a great time participating in supporting the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation with lots of pies! The Pie-A-Doc event was filled with lots of whipped cream and laughter.
Thank you to all those who participated and if you missed the event view our photos and videos from the event on Connect Newsroom!
May is the Month We Celebrate You!
May is Employee Appreciation Month, and we’re excited to celebrate the incredible connection we share no matter where you are located. Throughout the month, we encourage you to take part in campus cookouts, enjoy special discount offers, and join in the spirit of appreciation!
Support for Off-Site Locations and Work from Home Teams
Cook Children's Night at the Cliburn
Cook Children's Weekend at the Ballpark
Discounted Tickets to NRH2O in North Richland Hills
As you celebrate, whether at a cookout, a gathering with coworkers, or in your own special way — we invite you to share your moments!
Please send photos of your celebrations to teamexperience@cookchildrens.org. We’ll feature them on CookNet to help us all stay connected and inspired.
Thank you for the vital role you play every day. We look forward to seeing your celebrations and continuing to build connections across Cook Children’s!
Celebrate Nurses Week
in honor of Nurses Week, be sure to thank a nurse for their hard work and dedication.
Important Announcement Regarding the Office of Employee Connections (formerly known as IDE) 
Welcome Our New Leadership Members
A Historic Celebration on May 13
Construction Impacts: Check Out Our New Page for Traffic Updates and Redirects
New Badges: What You Need to Know
New Mental Health Resources and Tools for Staff
DFW Hospital Council Honors Noah Sullivan for Commitment to Safety
Congratulations to our Peak Performers! 
View Photos from 2025 Service Awards Celebration 
We Did It - Thank YOU!
Sweet Success! Prosper "Pie-A-Doc" Event a Hit for Crohn's & Colitis Foundation!
May is the Month We Celebrate You!
Celebrate Nurses Week 
Easy to Sign Up, Awesome Point System, and So Much More than Just a Fitness App!