Submitted by patient

Hello! I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you so very much for being so helpful to me and my family during my recent stay at Methodist Children’s Hospital. I had been so worried that my children wouldn’t be able to spend time with me, and that my husband then also wouldn’t be able to spend time with me since he’d be with the children, and that, subsequently, I wouldn’t be able to "room in" with my newborn. I was afraid that my birth experience this time would just be me, by myself, in the hospital. I am so happy to say that none of those things happened, thanks to your thoughtfulness. My children came up every afternoon and spent the evening with us there, for which I’m especially grateful, because my youngest daughter had a very rough time with my being in the hospital; it helped her a lot to be able to spend that time with me. And I was able to "room in" with our baby every night—even my first night, because the nurses were so helpful and helped me do the things that were still difficult for me the first night after my c-section, like changing diapers.

There is no question that Methodist has the best nurses anywhere. I wanted to specifically mention two of them by name, because they were particularly helpful and kind: Linda and Judy. Linda helped me so much during my first two days after my c-section, when I was still hooked up to IV’s and catheter, and she always did so with kindness and respectfulness. She made the whole ordeal much easier. And Judy was so considerate and thoughtful that she actually called my room to let me know that she was running a little late with my medication because she was waiting for the pharmacy to fill my antibiotic prescription. It was precisely the hour, and I didn’t have any expectations that she would get there right "on the dot". I figure it’s normal to have to wait a while because the nurses are so busy. But she actually called my room right on the hour to let me know she hadn’t forgotten me and was waiting for the pharmacy. That just seemed to me that she went out of her way to be thoughtful, so I wanted to mention it.

I just don’t want you to think that your help went unappreciated, because it certainly didn’t. Every day when my children came to visit me, and every night when I had my baby in my room with me, I was grateful that you cared enough to respond to my questions and concerns and found a way that we could all be together during my time there. We still would like to have one more baby (Lord willing and we’re not too old—we’re 36 and 37 now) and now we can honestly say that the Methodist is three-for-three in helping us have the family-oriented birth experience that is so valuable to us. We know we won’t have any hesitations about coming back to the Methodist next time, or recommending Methodist to our friends and relatives. Thank you so much for all you did for us. You are greatly, greatly appreciated.

Submitted by patient’s mother

I am writing this letter to bring to your attention the hard work and dedication of an exceptional nurse working on the 4th floor of Methodist Children’s Hospital, Ms. Phyllis Hubbard, RN.

My 3-year-old daughter was admitted to the hospital Wednesday, April 11, 2007,
with double pneumonia. While all of the nurses caring for her were competent, Nurse Hubbard, or "Phyllis" as we called her, went out of her way to do several things that made my daughter’s hospital stay less traumatic.

During a particularly trying experience for my daughter, Phyllis showed what she was made of. My daughter was not very receptive to having her nasal passages flushed and resisted so much that she nearly pulled her IV out of her hand. As a parent, having watched helplessly as they initially had to stick my daughter three times before successfully getting an IV, the thought of my little girl having to endure yet another IV added to the stress of the moment. Thank God, Phyllis was there!

Phyllis gingerly peeled off the ample amount of tape that was surrounding the IV, careful not to cause my daughter a bit of pain. Then, seeing that the IV was barely in my daughter’s hand, Phyllis painlessly re-threaded the IV so that it was properly placed…all the while sweetly soothing my daughter and telling her what a brave girl she was. That IV maintained its integrity until my daughter was released from the hospital. It took Phyllis about 20 minutes and lots of patience, not to mention no more pain to my daughter, to save her IV.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that we were fortunate enough to have Phyllis as my daughter’s nurse that night. I’m sure that many patients and their loved ones have benefited from Nurse Hubbard’s loving care. You are as privileged to have her working for you, as we were to have her caring for my daughter!!

Recently a gentleman was brought to the Emergency Department via EMS. He needed to be admitted for an AMI. When he was told this, he said he could not stay at the hospital at that time. He had left his 18-wheeler truck running on the side of Loop 1604 with his Yorkie inside. He needed to secure his truck and dog prior to being admitted.

Becky Schwanenburg RN, and Sierra McVicar, ER technician, went off in search of his truck. When they located it, they called him, and he told them how to shut it down. They also picked up the Yorkie. The Yorkie went home with Sierra for a day, then to off to the home of Tina Buerck, RN, for the remainder of the patient’s hospitalization.

In the meantime, the husband of S.J. Tomecsko, LVN, was passing through San Antonio with his 18-wheeler truck. So, he and S.J. went to the patient’s truck, which was still parked on Loop 1604, and took it to a local truck stop.

When the man was ready for discharge, he called Tina for a ride back to his truck and to pick up his Yorkie.

Four poster projects created by Methodist Children’s Hospital staff will be featured at the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) annual meeting. The national conference will be held in San Antonio in October. The following nurses and support staff were selected to create displays to showcase innovative projects, programs and protocols developed at Methodist Children’s Hospital of South Texas:

Family Advocate Service Recovery Model for Pediatric Patients and Their Families

Denise Krajewski, RN, BSN, MSN, Chief Nursing Officer
Teresa Rodriguez, Family Advocate

Family Stories from the Room Above the Clouds

Cindy Wall, RN, MSN, CNS, APRN, BC, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist
Nancy Tena, RN, MSN, CNS, CPON, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Team Approach to Change in Oxygen Management Leads to a Reduction in Retinopathy of Prematurity

Arleen Portell Elizondo, RN, MSN, CNS, Clinical Nurse Specialist, NICU
Alexander Kenton, MD, FAAP, Medical Director, NICU

Using Color Books to Teach Children About Cancer and Stem Cell Transplantation

Nancy Tena, RN, MSN, CPON, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist
Jennifer Hipsley, CCLS, Child Life Specialist

The posters will be on display throughout the conference being held October 7-10, 2007, at the Marriott Rivercenter. Conference attendees will be invited to meet the poster authors at a reception on Monday, October 8 from 5-6 p.m., on Tuesday, October 9 from 9:15 -10:15 a.m. at a coffee social and from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. at a dessert social.

The Diversity Health Care Program of Mexico today accredited Methodist Healthcare facilities as Hispanic Healthcare Hospitals, making them the first and only hospitals in the United States to receive this distinction.

The accreditation recognizes the efforts of Methodist Healthcare to make health care accessible to international and Spanish-speaking patients by removing cultural barriers.
Dr. Enrique Ruelas Barajas, secretary of the Counsel on General Health Care in Mexico, announced the designation in ceremonies attended by area business and community leaders.

"Designation as Hispanic Healthcare Hospitals means that Methodist Healthcare is poised to better meet the needs of our local and regional Hispanic population and to enhance the service level for the growing international patient population," said Jaime Wesolowski, president and CEO, Methodist Healthcare. "This diversity accreditation, which we must seek annually, requires a commitment to continuous improvement. Our challenge is not only to address the language and cultural needs of the Hispanic population, but also to focus on the needs of a multi-cultural patient population. Our goal is to proactively ensure continuous improvement in the delivery of quality, affordable, accessible health care to this patient base."

Methodist Healthcare is the only health care system in the region with a dedicated International Services department to assist patients, physicians and staff in accessing healthcare services. Methodist Healthcare has offered international services for more than 14 years, and last year alone the staff assisted more than 1,000 patients in receiving the health care that they needed.

Eileen Huss, RN, MHA, BSN,
CEN, VP of Patient Care Services,
Boerne Medical Center

Eileen Huss, RN, MHA, BSN, CEN, joined the Methodist Healthcare team as the VP of Patient Care Services for Methodist Boerne Medical Center effective July 23, 2007. Huss recently served as the Director of Critical Care at Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, where she oversaw the ED, ICU&rquo;s and Industrial Medicine. Prior to joining Mainland Medical Center, Huss was the Director of the ED at HCA Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida, where she led the hospital&rquo;s ED to be recognized as the No. 1 Emergency Department among more than 180 HCA hospitals.

Submitted by Betty Adams, Nursing Director

I just learned that Michelle Wheland has successfully submitted and was approved for RN IV level. For those of you all who are newer…Michelle started in MICU as a unit secretary. She decided to start taking prereqs for nursing school. Then she was in the nursing school work program that the hospital offers. You work 32 hours and the hospital pays you 8 hours each week to study. While in school she was also a nurse extern in MICU. She graduated from San Antonio College with her RN degree and was accepted in the Critical Care internship. Now she is a bedside caregiver, team leader, preceptor, and 4 hours per week is spent in teaching and working on education projects for the 7 p.m. - 7 a.m shift. She is also involved in QI data projects.

I am very proud of her "keeping on and keeping on".

P.S. She is presently working on her BSN in Nursing.

Methodist Healthcare has established scholarships at two high schools to encourage graduating students to pursue careers in health care. Two class of 2007 students at Ronald Reagan High School in the Methodist Stone Oak Hospital area were awarded The Hospital of the Future Scholarship: Daniel Steck will attend Texas A&M University and plans to become an interventional cardiologist and researcher; Kristin D’Silva will attend Cornell University and plans a career in psychiatry.

At Boerne High School, two seniors were given Methodist Boerne Medical Center scholarships to help them pursue medical careers: Amarette Edmonson plans a career in pediatrics and Christina Riley plans to pursue a career in emergency medicine and neurology. Each student receives a $1,500 scholarship to the university of their choice.

“The scholarships we’ve established are one of the best ways to integrate our new facilities into the communities they will be serving. It’s also a great way to make a meaningful contribution to the future of health care,” said Dean Alexander, CEO of Methodist Boerne Medical Center and Methodist Stone Oak Hospital.

A crane hoists a beam to the top of the framework of Methodist Stone Oak Hospital. It is a construction tradition to place a signed beam and an evergreen at the top of the highest part of a building when a building’s framing is complete.

Jeannette Skinner, RN, FACHE CNO/COO
Methodist Stone Oak Hospital

A Chief Nursing Office (CNO)/Chief Operations Officer (COO) has been selected for Methodist Stone Oak Hospital. Jeannette Skinner, MSN, BSN, FACHE most recently served as the CNO of Southeast Baptist Hospital, San Antonio. She is a native Texan with a BSN from the University of Texas‑El Paso and an MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.