Week of September 25, 2023
Astros Ring/Trophy Tour
The Houston Astros won their second World Series championship last season, and Houston Methodist is giving employees an opportunity to see and take a photo with the 2022 Commissioner’s Trophy and official ring up close.
- Monday, Sept. 25
- 9-11 a.m.
- Main Conference Rooms AD
This is an employee-only event. You must bring your employee badge to participate. We will have a professional photographer on campus taking pictures, and the photos will be shared through the newsletter once they’re ready. Please note you will not be allowed to take personal pictures with your cell phone or group photos.
Vizient Recognizes HMSL
HMSL has been named a top performer in the 2023 Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Ranking from Vizient. HMSL was ranked No. 3 out of 181 complex medical care centers nationally. Executive Vice President and CEO Chris Siebenaler, Chief Nursing Officer Janet Leatherwood, Chief Medical and Quality Officer Dr. S. Nicholas Desai and several leaders attended the awards ceremony last week where HMSL was recognized. All the Houston Methodist systems were ranked as top performers, which you can read about here.
Volunteer of the Year
HMSL is proud to announce its Volunteer of the Year, Faithful Paws Lead Jan Stano, who is truly one of a kind. Jan consistently goes above and beyond for all our patients, employees, and fellow volunteers. Patients request special visits from our pet therapy team and Jan is quick to show up with Gabby right by her side. If Jan and Gabby are unable to assist with the special request, Jan always goes the extra mile to get another pet therapy volunteer to step in. Whenever there is an event going on in the hospital and the pet therapy volunteers are requested, as the Lead, Jan is always ready to jump right in, 'we’ll be there!”
Jan and Gabby visited a patient that was admitted to the hospital on her birthday. After the visit, the patient was extremely happy and felt more at ease during her hospital stay. It is very heartwarming to see Jan find so much joy in caring for patients by spreading comfort with an abundance of positivity and smiles. Volunteers like Jan and Gabby mean a lot to us, and we are grateful to have them here. Jan has shown her I CARE Values with her actions. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. We appreciate you!
Joint Pain Seminar
Is joint pain slowing you down? Michael D. Kent, M.D. and David A. Braunreiter, M.D. with Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine at Sugar Land will be giving a free seminar focusing on joint pain at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Brazos Pavilion Conference Center. Click here for more information.
Clinical Informatics Week
HMSL is hosting its first Clinical Informatics Week. Starting today, there will be several learning sessions to improve and sustain HMSL metric goals in clinical informatics workflow. The sessions will be held in the atrium near Starbucks. Click here for more information.
ADA Step Out Walk To Stop Diabetes
More than 37 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes and the number continues to grow. You can make a difference by supporting the American Diabetes Association this weekend by participating in the walk or donating to one of our Houston Methodist Teams.
- Saturday, Sept. 30
- 8 a.m.
- The Waterworks in Buffalo Bayou
HMSL Summer 2022 Graduate Nurse Residency Graduation
HMSL is celebrating 34 graduate nurses! Our Summer 2022 Cohort just finished their Nurse Residency program and have all officially graduated. For more than a year they've dedicated themselves to growing professionally for our patients and for our community. Click here to read more about our graduates!
HMSL Employee Parking Changes - Registration Update
Online registration for HMSL's new parking guidelines has officially closed. If you still need to register your vehicle, please print and fill out this form and return it directly to Security. To read more about our updated parking guidelines or if you have questions about the new parking policy, please read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document here. Also, a reminder that you need your badge to access employee parking, so please have it ready when approaching the barrier arm gates in the garages. Only one vehicle can enter at a time. EZ Tag registrations are still being worked on. Thank you for your patience.
Complete Your DIY Health Track by Sept. 30
If you're on the DIY Health Track, you must earn 20,000 points by Sept. 30 to earn the HealthyDirections premium for 2024. Not sure how many points you have earned? Look in the top-right corner of your Virgin Pulse app to see the number of points you have earned.
HMSL Wins Spelling Bee
HMSL won the Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee hosted by the Literacy Council of Fort Bend County! Team Highway to Spell brought home the Bee! On the team: Mary Harris, Director of Clinical Education, Ron Lewis, Dr. Tricia Lewis' spouse, and Nancy Penney, former HMSL spiritual care and values integration employee. More than $42,000 was raised to support literacy. Congratulations to the best spellers in Fort Bend County!
Hispanic LatinX Alliance ERG event
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15), the Hispanic LatinX Alliance (HLXA) ERG has a full schedule of events throughout the month. Celebrate in the Crain Garden on Thursday, Sept. 28. The 2nd annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration hosted by the HLXA ERG takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Can’t make it in-person? Click HERE to participate via Livestream.
HMSL COO Eliud Faz, HLXA executive sponsor, will be the guest speaker. Faz will reflect on how his Hispanic heritage has influenced his life and career journey. Participants are encouraged to dress in clothing that represents their culture/country of origin during the event that also offers a live mariachi performance and an opportunity to learn more about getting involved in HLXA activities.
DIY Succulent Planting Class
Are you ready to let your creativity bloom? Bring along your green thumb to our succulent planting class. It's part of the Employee DIY Series. Seating is limited so be sure to reserve your seat by scanning the individual QR code. Click here for a helpful flyer. Sign-ups for cookie decorating are available too and wreath making will be available soon. See you there!
Submit Recipes for Cookbook Update
As part of Global Diversity Awareness Month, we invite employees to submit recipes for our updated “Around the World Cookbook.” Originally published in 2021, the book celebrates the diverse cultural backgrounds of our employees through the sharing of traditional cultural food recipes and brings awareness to the great variety of cuisine that our employees cherish. Newly submitted recipes may include appetizers, entrees, desserts or even non-alcoholic beverages and will be added to the original cookbook. The deadline for submitting a recipe is Friday, Oct. 6. Submit a recipe here.
September is a busy month for departmental celebrations and raising awareness. Human Resource Professional Day is celebrated September 26 and is designed to pay tribute to those working in HR departments everywhere. This day also aims to raise awareness about the role of the job. HR supports all departments. Not only do they hire new staff, they also coach/work with teams to build team dynamics to foster a positive work experience. They also work with leaders to identify talent to build our bench. Click here to read about all those who are celebrating.
PATIENT COMPLIMENTS
Brazos 6 Patient: "The nurses and doctors took real good care of me. They showed me how concerned they were and showed very good hospitality. I even told each staff member how I appreciated how well they took care of me."
Main 6 West Patient: "Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital is the hospital I want to be whenever I am sick and need to be hospitalized. It's understood with my family. Thank you to all the caring people like your staff doctors and staff that God will continue to bless."
Main 4 West Patient: "Great hospital! Everyone was great from ER personnel to ICU and housecleaning. The ER staff was awesome. 5 stars for everyone! Mr. Robert Vitela, I'm living proof! Keep up the good work! Thank you!"
IMPORTANT DATES
Sunday, September 24 - Monday, September 25: Yom Kippur
Monday, September 25 - Friday, September 29: Clinical Informatics Week. More information.
Thursday, September 28: Employee Health Clinic Closed from 7 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 28: Joint Pain Seminar 6 p.m. More information.
Friday, September 29 - Friday, October 6: Sukkot
Saturday, September 30: Deadline for DIY and New Hire Track participants to earn 20,000 points
Saturday, September 30: American Diabetes Association Walk. More information.
Wednesday, October 4 - Wednesday, October 25: Employee Opinion Survey
Thursday, October 5: DIY Class - Succulent Planting Class. More information.
Saturday, October 7: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. More information.
Saturday, October 7: Family and Friends Photo Day. More information.
Thursday, October 19: Women's Health & Wellness Event. More information.
Thursday, November 2: Deadline to comply with flu policy. More information.
Thursday, November 9: DIY Class - Cookie Decorating Class. More information.
Saturday, November 11: Walk to End Alzheimer's. More information.
Saturday, November 11: Houston Heart Walk. More information.
JUST FOR FUN DATES
Monday, September 25 - Wednesday, September 27: @ Seattle Mariners
Friday, September 29 - Sunday, October 1: @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Sunday, September 24: @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Wednesday, September 27: Becky G, Smart Financial Centre
Thursday, September 28: Guns N' Roses, Minute Maid Park
Friday, September 29: NeYo, Smart Financial Centre
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
- C.S. Lewis