Week of April 1, 2024
Michael Garcia
Chief Executive Officer
Houston Methodist Sugar Land
This week I want to highlight our Emergency Department. Last Monday, March 25, our ED saw a total of 208 patients – a new record! I just want to send a big thank you to everyone on that team for taking care of such a huge volume of patients. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. Thank you for your commitment to our patients.
I'm also excited to invite you to our upcoming town hall meetings. Senior leaders and myself have so many important updates to share. On the agenda right now: campus expansion plans, new food options coming this year, parking, safety, employee resources and much more. Several of these topics came up during my first few weeks on campus.
As you all know, I'm committed to transparency and open communication. These town hall meetings are for you – the exceptional staff of HMSL. These meetings are a great opportunity to stay informed, celebrate our collective achievements, ask questions and contribute to important discussions. If you have something you want us to address, click here to send me an email.
I truly believe your participation and input are invaluable as we continue to improve and grow together, so please check your calendars and sign up for one of the meetings. I look forward to seeing you there!
And finally, an update in our 5S initiative. It’s time for our hospital to move on to the STORE phase, where we’ll find a permanent place for the needed items we identified in the SORT phase. As you may recall, 5S is a defined approach for establishing a place for everything and everything in its place and is a key component of our Performance Excellence business system. Click here to read more about the STORE phase.
Have a great week,
Michael Garcia
Chief Executive Officer
Houston Methodist Sugar Land
Town Hall Schedule
Below is the town hall schedule. To join the HMSL Senior Leadership team, please register in MARS. The LMS course number is 1652102.
- Thursday, April 18 7:30-8:30 a.m. Brazos
- Tuesday, April 23 9-10 a.m. Brazos
- Tuesday, April 30 5:30-6:30 p.m. Virtual
- Thursday, May 2 2-3 p.m. Virtual
Submit your questions to OfficeofMichaelGarcia@houstonmethodist.org by Tuesday, April 9.
As you read in Dr. Boom’s president’s letter, all benefits-eligible employees are invited to take a total rewards survey by April 15. To encourage participation, we’ll choose 50 employees who complete the survey to receive an extra day of PTO, based on your weekly standard hours following the holiday PTO accrual.
The purpose of this survey is to determine what parts of our total rewards (such as base pay, benefits, compensation, retirement, paid time off and other benefits) are most important to you. We spend millions of dollars every year to provide for our employees, and we want to spend our dollars in a way that meets your needs.
The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and is open to all benefits-eligible employees who started before Feb. 13 this year. We recognize you may be interrupted while you are taking the survey, so if you do not complete it all in one sitting, you can go back to the survey and pick up where you left off. The survey is available in English and Spanish.
If you have questions about the survey, please contact the HR Hub at hrhub@houstonmethodist.org.
HMSL Campus Moves
MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING 4
As our hospital campus continues to grow, several practices are relocating to Medical Office Building 4.
- Houston Methodist ENT Specialists - MOB 4 - Suite 400 (moved week of March 18)
- Houston Methodist Primary Care Group - MOB 4, Suite 600 (moved week of March 11)
- Houston Methodist Oncology Partners - MOB 4, Suite 325 (moved week of March 4)
- Houston Methodist Rheumatology Associates - MOB 4, Suite 300 (moved in Jan.)
- Houston Methodist Gastroenterology Associates - MOB 4, Suite 110 (moved in Oct.)
If you encounter a patient who is lost and don't know where to direct them, please direct them to an information desk for a campus map. You can also view our campus map here. We'll continue to share practice moves in this weekly newsletter.
BROOKS STREET
Clinical Education will be moving to our Brooks Street location - less than two miles away from HMSL. They will start offering classes in their new location starting April 8. Their new address will be:
1201 Brooks St., Suite 200.
Talent Talk Tuesdays
If you want to get to the next level in your career and grow, the new Talent Talks program is for you. If you have been at HMSL less than a year, schedule your 30-minute session with an HR Talent Consultant. The program kicks off tomorrow, April 2, but you can register now. They can help with resume building, interview coaching, mock interviews and career guidance. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 1-5 p.m.
March of Dimes Basket Donations Due This Week
There are only a few days left to get your March of Dimes basket put together! By donating a basket to the fundraising campaign, you are supporting our smallest patients. Your basket will be raffled off later this month. Baskets are due to our fundraising chair Michelle Smith by April 3. When your basket is ready, please email Michelle with the basket's theme, approximate value, list of included items and your unit/department name. Click here for more information about basket donations.
HMSL Delirium Awareness Day
Join us for our HMSL Delirium Awareness Day 2024 celebration this Friday, April 5 from 7:30-9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. across from the Main Starbucks. There will be interactive learning on safety, quality care and resources for our older adult patients - plus games, prizes and snacks! Click here for more information.
Children's Clothing Swap Event
Make sure you are looking through your closets this week - HMSL is hosting a Children's Clothing Swap Event where you can give and receive clothing items for your little ones! The event is hosted by MOMs ERG, with support from the Fathers in Health Care ERG. Please gather any outgrown, gently used and laundered clothing to swap for sizes you need. We are accepting newborn to high school sizing. Any items left will be donated to the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry.
BRING WHAT YOU HAVE:
Monday, April 8 | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Brazos Pavilion Conference Room C
TAKE WHAT YOU NEED:
Tuesday, April 9 | 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Brazos Pavilion Conference Room C
Donate Life Month
Houston Methodist's Patient Engagement Research Lab is collaborating with The Health Museum for a Donate Life Month Event to raise awareness about organ donation and provide resources, including an opportunity for people to sign up as donors. Events begin on April 4, including "SCI Café — Casual Conversation about Organ Donation and Transplantation" and "Off Script: Stories from the Heart of Medicine." Click here for more information.
2024 Nurse Symposium
The Center for Nursing Research, Education and Practice is hosting a Nurse Symposium on Thursday, May 2. Join experts from the Texas Medical Center for IMAGINE 2024. The focus will be "Transitioning Health Care: Individualizing Nursing Knowhow The Bedside Innovative Gateway. Click here for more information. To earn 6.25 continuing professional development hours, you must attend the entire program and complete the evaluation tool.
Compressed Gas Tank Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility
Below is a quick reminder of how to safely and properly store compressed gas in areas throughout the hospital. Also pictured are what would be considered unsafe and not properly secured tanks and immediate action needs to be taken. If you find an unsecure compressed gas tank in any area of the hospital, please immediately take the compressed gas cylinder to any tank storage area. These tank storage areas can be found on each inpatient unit, as well as designated outpatient areas such as the Emergency Department, Radiology, Cath Lab, Infusion Center, Heart Center and other areas with approved tank racks. The picture on the right is the result of a catastrophic accident from a compressed gas tank left unsecured, subsequently falling, and resulting in a projectile missile sent through a cement wall causing major damage.
New Way to Request IT Support
The IT Support website will transition to a new platform called ServiceNow on Saturday, April 6. The place you go to get IT support will be the same, but the technology on the platform will be more advanced, making it easier for you to get support when you need it. To learn more, watch this brief video. What should you expect on April 6?
- If you have any open tickets, you’ll receive an email from hmitsupport@houstonmethodist.org with your new ticket numbers.
- The IT Service Desk will no longer accept requests for support via email from employees, contractors or vendors.
- Phone calls should be reserved for urgent matters impacting patient care and safety or system access issues.
- Save itsupport.houstonmethodist.org as a bookmark or favorite link. If you previously bookmarked or favorited the site, you’ll need to update the URL.
Patient Access Week this year runs from March 31 - April 6. The first interaction patients have with Houston Methodist often begins with the access department, which makes it so necessary to have a friendly and knowledgeable associate to connect with. Access staff handle many aspects of a patient’s visit from scheduling, registration, financial counseling, receptionists, insurance verification and PBX. During National Patient Access Week, we acknowledge and celebrate our staff in the Access Department for the work they do and for acting as special goodwill ambassadors to begin the patient’s journey of receiving unparalleled care in our facility. Thank you! Click here to read about others celebrating this month.
IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, April 2: Talent Talk Tuesdays program starts. More information.
Wednesday, April 3: Deadline to turn in baskets for March of Dimes fundraising. More information.
Wednesday, April 3: Career Minded: Telling Your Story event. More information.
Friday, April 5: HMSL Family Science Night
Friday, April 5: Delirium Awareness Day Celebration. More information.
Friday April 5: Employee Health Clinic closed from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 6: IT Service Desk transfers to ServiceNow platform
Monday, April 8 - Tuesday, April 9: MOM ERG Children's Clothing Swap Event. More information.
Monday, April 15: Deadline to take Total Rewards Survey. Click here to take survey.
Thursday, April 18: Town Hall Meeting (Brazos). More information.
Tuesday, April 23: Town Hall Meeting (Brazos). More information.
Friday, April 26: Houston Methodist System Quality and Patient Safety Symposium. More information.
Tuesday, April 30: Town Hall Meeting (Virtual). More information.
Tuesday, April 30: Application deadline for The College Scholarship for Employees' Children Program. More information.
Thursday, May 2: Town Hall Meeting (Virtual). More information.
Thursday, May 2: 2024 Nurse Symposium. More information.
Tuesday, May 14: Patient satisfaction bonus payout
Monday, May 27: Memorial Day holiday
JUST FOR FUN DATES
Monday, April 1 - Wednesday, April 3: vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Friday, April 5 - Monday, April 8: @ Texas Rangers
Tuesday, April 2 - Sunday, April 7: vs. Las Vegas Aviators
Tuesday, April 2: @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Thursday, April 4: vs. Golden State Warriors
Friday, April 5: vs. Miami Heat
Sunday, April 7: @ Dallas Mavericks
Friday, April 5 - Sunday, April 7: Foodieland, NRG Park
Saturday, April 6: Omarion, Smart Financial Centre
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Either you run the day or the day runs you."
- Jim Rohn
Join The HMSL-CEO Corner Facebook Page
If you are an HMSL employee, you can join the employee-only Facebook page. Join us as we celebrate promotions, graduations, hospital events and more! Click here to join the fun.