Cook CHILDREN'S Health Care System

Cook Children's Health Care System (CCHCS) embraces an inspiring Promise-to improve the health of every child through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. As a not-for-profit, nationally recognized and integrated pediatric health care organization based in Fort Worth, Texas, Cook Children's comprises 14 entities. They include a medical center, physician network, health plan, home health company, a child study center and three surgery centers located in Fort Worth, Hurst and Prosper. It also includes Cook Children's Health Services Inc. and Cook Children's Health Foundation. Cook Children's Health Care System's reputation for excellence draws patients from near and far. Families travel from across Texas and the United States, as well as internationally, to receive life-saving pediatric care and to benefit from the connection, collaboration and vast resources the system offers. In addition to the medical center, a network of more than 60 primary, specialty and urgent care locations provide numerous access points for families. New Look. Same Legacy. In 2022, after months in the making, CCHCS completed the development of its new culture platform and updated company branding to reflect a culture that connects, collaborates and elevates. The culture platform is the System's North Star and guides all of its planning and decisions. It is built on six core values: kindness, collaboration, imagination, generosity, respect and safety. Together, these values and the System's Promise to do everything for the child connect the dots between the care Cook Children's is known for and the patient and employee experience it strives for throughout all of its companies. The culture platform and new look were unveiled to employees and the public in October 2022. Community Needs Spur System Growth As the population increases, CCHCS continues to expand its services to meet the needs of children and families living in those areas. Most notably is an expansion into rapidly growing Prosper, Texas, and the surrounding communities. Cook Children's began developing a medical campus in Prosper in 2019 with an urgent care center, followed by a medical office building in 2020. The expansion continued with the construction of a new medical center that will add an emergency department, operating rooms, a medical/surgical unit, a pediatric intensive care unit and a number of supporting services to the Prosper medical campus. The steel structure of the future Cook Children's Medical Center - Prosper was completed in early FY22-a milestone that was celebrated with a traditional Topping Out ceremony in October. Cook Children's Medical Center - Prosper is the first hospital Cook Children's has built outside of its flagship medical campus in Fort Worth. Opening in January 2023, it brings world-class medical care out of the city center to families living on the northeast side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, East Texas, and all the way up to the Red River and beyond. Cook Children's pediatric surgery centers are home to specialty clinics and surgical teams specializing in many conditions, from simple to the most complex, and many of the procedures in these centers use minimally invasive techniques. The Dodson Surgery Center, located in the Dodson Specialty Clinic building, is one of three Cook Children's surgery centers in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. In February 2021, plans to expand the Dodson building entered the construction phase and continued throughout 2022. The expansion adds 240,000 square feet of new building and will centralize 40 specialty clinics into one location in order to support a more seamless experience for children who receive care from multiple specialties. Transition to the new space will begin in March 2023. Building a Strong, Healthy and Diverse Workforce The past few years have challenged health care workforces like never before. Physician and nursing shortages, a worldwide pandemic, a mental health crisis and recent record-breaking viral seasons have led to bed shortages and worker burnout. In FY22, CCHCS took a number of steps to address and support the physical, emotional, mental and financial health of its employees. This fiscal year, Cook Children's employees received two bonuses. The one-time Generous Spirit Bonus of up to $2,000 for all eligible employees through the AVP level, including physicians, was given to recognize how generously employees have shared their time and care this year during difficult times within the industry. Rick W. Merrill, CCHCS president and CEO, wrote in a letter to employees: "We continue to face challenges both at home and work, but even in these difficult times, your hard work has allowed us to have great operating results and we want to recognize your efforts." Employees also earned Cook Children's annual Care Share Bonus in 2022 for exceeding the Children's Hospital Association's average for patient experience numbers and meeting financial measures. In 2022, Cook Children's conducted a burnout survey of its employees. The survey was administered by a third-party surveyor. Nearly 4,000 employees-50% of the System's workforce-completed the survey. The results will be used to guide the organization in its strategic priority of supporting employees' well-being and understanding how to make their work experience better. Also in 2022, Cook Children's announced plans to organize a Diversity Task Force shortly after receiving the results of a third-party inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) assessment completed in 2021. The employee task force would be key in formulating a comprehensive ID&E strategy for Cook Children's. An overwhelming number of employees applied to join the task force, which was narrowed to a group of 14 representing a wide array of diversity dimensions, roles and tenure throughout all Cook Children's entities. This year the task force spent about 15 hours together poring through data, sharing workplace experiences, and having hard conversations about diversity within the organization. These discussions led to the development of an action plan based on six pillars: accountability and data review; ID&E training; patient care; recruitment; professional development and feedback. Under each of these pillars, the task force proposed and prioritized a number of action items to set change in motion. Award Winning Performance For more than 104 years, CCHCS has worked to combine the art of caring with life-saving pediatric interventions that are family-centered and built on leading technology, collaboration and a best-in-class patient experience. This has earned the System a strong, far-reaching reputation-one for which it continually receives recognition for outstanding efforts and outcomes in pediatric health care. In 2022, Cook Children's Medical Center was nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report in six pediatric specialties: pediatric diabetes and endocrinology; cardiology; pediatric neurology and neurosurgery; pulmonology; orthopedics and oncology. The System also climbed 20 spots-from No. 94 to No. 74-on the list of Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. Cook Children's Public Relations and Internal Communications team brought home a number of coveted honors for its work in keeping employees and the community informed and engaged. These include two Bronze Anvil awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and four Worthy awards from the Fort Worth chapter of PRSA. Another notable recognition includes the 2022 Community Lifesaver Award presented at the National Water Safety Conference to Safe Kids North Texas - Fort Worth, led by Cook Children's, for its work in drowning prevention. In addition, Grant Harris, senior vice president and chief development officer of Cook Children's Health Foundation was named Chief Development Officer of the Year by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Two Cook Children's nurses were named to the DFW Great 100 Nurses List in 2022. They include the director of Cook Children's Trauma Program and the clinical coordinator for Cook Children's Mansfield Urgent Care. The recognition honors nurses who are nominated by their peers and "selected for being role models, leaders, community servants, compassionate caregivers and significant contributors to the nursing profession." The System's Nurse Residency Program earned accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and Cook Children's shined at the 32nd Annual Society of Pediatric Nurses Conference with 13 poster presentations and nine podium presentations. Each year, D Magazine highlights the region's best physicians as chosen by their peers. Votes are tallied and sorted by the editorial staff, and the remaining votes are vetted by an anonymous panel of esteemed doctors. Sixteen Cook Children's doctors were named to D Magazine's list of 2022 Best Doctors and Pediatric Specialists.