Dallas Fort Worth Nonprofit Business Journal

Tag: Cook Children’s

  • Pioneering health care workforce program in Las Vegas Trail graduates its first class

    Pioneering health care workforce program in Las Vegas Trail graduates its first class

    Twice a week for 12 weeks, seven adults from the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood have been taking classes at the Cook Children’s Neighborhood Health Center at Las Vegas Trail to start a career in health care. 

     The Las Vegas Trail Workforce Development Training Program is a partnership with Cook Children’s, JPS Health Network, Tarrant County College (TCC) and Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County. The initiative equips adults with the essential skills for the medical administrative field, ranging from medical office duties to patient- and family-centered care. 

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    “What makes this cohort and this type of training program different is that we guarantee interviews once the students complete the 12-week training program,” explained Christine Hernandez, Cook Children’s manager of workforce development. 

    For Kierra Miles, the program is a bridge to a lifelong dream of becoming a pediatric psychiatrist. A mother of one who grew up near the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood, Miles discovered the opportunity through her apartment’s resident portal. 

    “This is a good program because it works within communities that don’t have the resources that everyone else has,” said Miles. 

    The neighborhood was once a thriving job market anchored by Carswell Air Force Base. In 1993, the base closed its active-duty operations, resulting in an economic decline in the area.   

    “The goal is to give our students educational training so they are able to find a role that will change their economic ability,” said Hernandez. 

    The lack of stable and meaningful employment has led to an increase in poverty and crime in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood. Cook Children’s Health Care System understands that health is not just about physical condition. It encompasses all aspects of the patient’s being. The training program is one way to ensure the health of the community, Hernandez explains.  

    “When you have the stress of not having a job, not having financial stability, giving these individuals an educational opportunity will help these future health care workers improve their overall lifestyle and well-being,” said Hernandez.  

     Mock interviews

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    Weeks before graduation, students sat down for mock interviews with hiring managers and human resources staff from JPS and Cook Children’s. It was a chance to practice communication skills taught in class, focus on empathy, and receive real-time feedback from the people who might soon be their colleagues. 

    “The training program was designed with the intention of making sure that we’re focused on the customer service skills that we are looking for to hire people in our organization,” explained Hernandez. 

     Jazmine Montejo Williamson, a mother of three, enjoyed speaking with employees from both health care entities to determine where she would be the best fit. 

    “It’s not just them trying to hire us; we get to see if we would be a good fit with them as well,” said Williamson.  

    She wants to return to the medical field. Williamson learned about the opportunity while at her current job. On her days off, she studies at the neighborhood health center. The mother of three says that thanks to her faith and the support of her family, she has not missed a day of class. 

    “My children tell me that they’re proud of me,” said Williamson as tears welled up in her eyes. 

    Her goal is to work in public relations for Cook Children’s. 

    A new chapter 

    On Dec. 18, the class reached a milestone: it became the first graduating class. During a private graduation ceremony, each student received a certificate of completion from Tarrant County College. 

    For Miles, the certificate represents more than a credential. It means a new sense of self.  

    “I feel way more confident,” she said. “I have the skills and the courage to actually go out and do it.” 

    Those moments make Hernandez proud, and as she reflected on the program’s impact on both the community and the participants’ families, she teared up. 

    “I see a lot of growth from them from the day that they walked into the program today,” said Hernandez. “To get to see the program come to fruition and see the final step, graduation, is a proud moment for me both professionally and personally. I am really looking forward to them using their new skills to land their dream job.” 

    Graduates have begun interviewing with JPS and Cook Children’s. Once a graduate is hired, they will go through that organization’s hiring process.  

    The next program begins in February. The deadline to register is Jan. 15.  Interested applicants can apply here.  

    Source: Press release

  • The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation to fund groundbreaking research in youth mental health

    The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation, a nonprofit providing suicide prevention training and education services in North Texas, has provided research funding in the amount of $49,950 to Dr. Crystal Cooper, a researcher with the Cook Children’s Jane and John Justin Neuroscience Center, called Cognitive and Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Well-being in Youth with and without Epilepsy.

    Dr. Cooper states, “Here at Cook Children’s Neuroscience Research Center, we use the latest innovative developments in pediatric neuroimaging to understand brain structure and function. On top of that, our physicians are invested in harnessing research knowledge to aid clinical care.” Cooper continues, “Like depression, epilepsy is a common, diverse disorder with various causes, treatments, and outcomes. Having multiple mental health struggles are common in patients with epilepsy, with nearly 50% of patients having depression.” 

    In addition to mental health disturbances among the general population, psychiatric disorders occur at high rates in patients with epilepsy, with nearly 50% of patients having depression, and 30% having anxiety. Additionally, a CDC study published in Epilepsy and Behavior reported a 22% higher rate of suicide among those with epilepsy compared to the general population. The work of Dr. Cooper in Cook Children’s Neuroscience Research Center, directed by Dr. Christos Papadelis, is bridging mental health and cognitive neuroscience to better understand and inform the clinical world’s ability to enhance its precision treatment for these young patients. Her work is aligned with the main goal of the center to facilitate the development of methods, technologies and treatments to alleviate the negative effects of these diseases and in some cases, to cure them.

    Christina Judge, Executive Director of The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation states, “We are very excited to provide this funding for Dr. Cooper’s project and have the utmost respect for the groundbreaking research projects going on at Cook Children’s Health Care System to support the health and well-being of our community’s children.”

  • Cook Children’s and Texas A&M to Offer Free Legal Services.

    Cook Children’s partnered with Texas A & M School of Law to provide free legal services to families of pediatric patients. Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.

  • Cook Children’s gives recommendations for Back-to-School

    Fort Worth’s Cook Children’s announces “Recommendations for the Practical, Fair, and Safe Reopening of Public Schools K-12 in the State of Texas” – compiled from 50 of their physicians.

  • Aim for Safety Program Created at Cook Children’s Medical Center

    The Dallas News reports that a doctor at Cook Children’s Medical Center, located in Fort Worth, has started the “Aim for Safety” program at the hospital to prevent child gun injuries.

    Dr. Daniel Guzman created “Aim for Safety” program after encountering a 4-year-old patient in the emergency room who had been accidently shot and died.

    The program teaches parents and children gun safety techniques and includes a study where children are left in a room with non-functioning guns and parents observe their reactions. The study showed that 95% of the kids picked up the gun and looked into the barrel.

  • Fort Worth Firefighter Charities and Cook Children’s Provide Stop the Bleed Training and Supplies

    CBS 11 reports that Fort Worth Firefighter Charities and Cook Children’s Medical Center have partnered to provide training and 3,000 bleeding control kits to Fort Worth ISD schools in case of emergencies.

    The program is called “Stop the Bleed” and teaches participants proper bleeding control techniques including dressings, tourniquets and using hands to apply pressure.

    The kits contain emergency items including tourniquets, chest seals, compression bandages, bleeding control bandages, gloves and scissors.

  • Cook Children’s Opening New Campus in Prosper

    The Fort Worth Business Press reports Fort Worth-based Cook Children’s Health Care System is building a new children’s hospital on 23 acres in Prosper, located in eastern Denton County.

    The new campus will serve as an inpatient pediatric hospital which will consist of a neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department, operating rooms and medical and surgical units.

    The hospital is expected to open in 2022.

  • Cook Children’s Will Address Vaccinations Through Social Media Coalition

    WFAA reports that Cook Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth is launching a social media coalition to address vaccinations. Along with instructing parents during office visits, medical professionals are also addressing questions about vaccinations on social media and responding to parents’ questions.