Cook Children's Health Care System

Cook Children's Medical Center is the cornerstone of Cook Children's Health Care System. This 444-bed facility is home to top medical minds, advanced technologies, family-centered treatments and leading-edge clinical research, all designed to fulfill the System's Promise to improve the health and well-being of every child. Nationally recognized services such as the Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center and the hematology and oncology center are leading the way in providing the highest level of care to families who travel to the medical center from all across Texas and the United States, as well as internationally. From complicated surgeries and Level II trauma care to physical therapy and behavioral health services, the medical center offers a variety of services and amenities to meet the unique needs of every patient and family. It is one of only 10 freestanding children's hospitals in the world to achieve Magnet designation with three consecutive re-designations from the American Nursing Credentialing Center, most recently in February 2021. Viral Surge On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country experienced an unseasonal round of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) followed by the return of influenza and other seasonal viruses that hit children hard and, subsequently, strained pediatric hospitals. The medical center had to be nimble, flexible and quick to adjust to each new viral surge. To reduce the spread of illness, Cook Children's maintained safety protocols put into place early in the pandemic, such as masking, limiting visitors and instituting work-from-home plans. The medical center released weekly RSV and flu numbers to the public and held press conferences with Cook Children's physicians. It also asked for the community's help in limiting the spread of illness, taking children to the appropriate provider based on their condition (e.g. pediatrician versus urgent care versus ER) and encouraged patience during long wait times in busy ERs and urgent care centers. Telehealth remains a critical resource for the hospital, especially during times of intense viral spread. In the early days of COVID-19, Cook Children's took steps to increase its bandwidth to support the explosive growth in virtual health visits. The year's virtual health visits totaled approximately 67,000 across all of Cook Children's Health Care System. Pandemic Inspires Improvement Out of the challenges of the pandemic emerged a stronger organization better equipped for the future. In early FY22, Cook Children's opened a new six-bed Infectious Disease Unit designed to treat the sickest patients while also protecting staff and the community from the spread of illness. It includes private patient rooms with private bathrooms, specialized air ventilation systems, dedicated areas for visitors and staff to put on and take off personal protective equipment and technology that allows technicians to closely monitor a patient without having to be directly by the patient's bedside. The expansion includes a 24-hour solutions center inspired by lessons learned from the pandemic. This center will operate year-round to serve as a one-stop shop for requesting assistance with a facility or operations issue at Cook Children's Health Care System. Raising Joy Cook Children's 2021 JOY campaign-an ongoing series of articles that addressed and educated readers on children's rising mental health care needs-grew to include a new podcast featuring honest conversations about the mental well-being of kids and teens. The Raising Joy Podcast premiered in March 2022, and aired a total of 35 episodes throughout the year. Topics covered everything from child trafficking to drug use to body image to parents sharing their personal experience losing a child to suicide. The podcast is hosted by Cook Children's senior vice president and chief communication, inclusion, diversity and equity officer, and Cook Children's medical director of psychiatry outpatient services and partial hospitalization program. Safety Saves Lives By April 2022, 17 children had been treated for drownings at Cook Children's since the start of the year. That includes three fatalities. This was an alarming increase in the number of drownings compared to January through May in the previous five years. In response, Cook Children's communications team, together with the Center for Children's Health, led by Cook Children's, ramped up its drowning prevention education efforts in tandem with its ongoing Lifeguard Your Child water safety program. Several articles about drowning prevention, the importance of swim lessons, proper fit of life vests and water safety resources were published to Cook Children's Checkup Newsroom and social media accounts. In May, the medical center erected a powerful display outside on its north lawn as a visual reminder to Lifeguard Your Child. Fifteen swimsuits and five rubber duckies hung on a clothesline, representing children who were treated for drowning injuries at the hospital since the beginning of 2022. Each swimsuit matched the age and gender of the swimming pool drowning patients treated up to that point in the year. The rubber duckies represented the five children who drowned in bathtubs. Cook Children's Aim for Safety program zeroed in on a new way to educate families on gun safety using an interactive kiosk that teaches children what to do if they discover a firearm in a home - all while reinforcing safe-storage techniques for adult gun owners. The mobile kiosk, which stands more than 7-feet high and resembles a giant smartphone, rolled out in December 2021 at Defender Outdoors, a sports shooting and outdoors equipment retailer in Fort Worth. As part of a first-time collaboration with Cook Children's, the kiosk was placed near the check-out registers in hopes it attracts the attention of parents and children alike. The Aim for Safety educational kiosk - activated by touch - uses advanced technology to engage and teach children as they progress through four levels, stumbling upon unsecured guns hidden in places such as cabinets and drawers while moving through a virtual home. If they find a gun, they must correctly answer questions on how to safely handle the situation in order to progress through the program. Other gun safety-related questions are asked as objects in the rooms are found and touched. The program emphasizes three steps: Safe Storage. Safe Children. Safe Play. New and Improved Cook Children's Medical Center announced its development of a clinical care model that brings together specialties for more seamless health care. The Jane and John Justin Institute for Mind Health will bring Cook Children's Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, Cook Children's Division of Behavioral Health and the Child Study Center under one collaborative roof to provide easily accessible, well-coordinated and comprehensive care for children with disorders affecting the nervous system. The Justin Institute will be located in the Dodson Specialty Building on the medical center campus and is slated to open Spring 2023. Exceeding Expectations Even while operating under the cloud of the pandemic and challenging viral seasons, CCMC continued to pursue quality, safety and communication. Patient experience scores exceeded the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) average, earning employees a performance bonus. Cook Children's was one of five children's hospitals from across the country selected to present its success in improving workplace safety at the 2022 Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) Fall National Learning Conference. Over the past five years, with collaboration from SPS, Cook Children's has worked to reduce the number and severity of employee injuries in three focus areas-slips, trips and falls; patient behavior events; and overexertion injuries caused by handling patients, soiled linen and trash. At the conference, several Cook Children's executives, board members, leaders and clinical staff reported on the health system's journey to a safer and healthier workplace. In February 2022, Jill Koss, Cook Children's director of Family Support Services, was honored by Crown Council, an organization associated with Teammates for Kids, for her work championing Child Life Zones at Cook Children's and other hospitals throughout the country. At the recognition event, Koss was surprised with a recorded video message from Country music singer and songwriter Garth Brooks, who delivered an emotional thank you for Koss' tireless work advocating for interactive spaces designed to foster the creative arts for pediatric patients and siblings.