New knowledge, innovations and improvements

A group of ambulatory clinical nurse champions partnered with nurse leaders along with a health literacy expert from Texas Christian University to boost organizational health literacy initiatives. United by a common goal, they created the Health Literacy Champion Council, known as a community of practice in research, to address the issue.

The council met monthly to exchange ideas, identify obstacles and share best practices for improving health care team communication, ensuring patients understood and engaged with their care. Champions gathered data from clinics, including patient stories, teach-back successes, self-assessment surveys, and audit and feedback observations. Despite progress, champions encountered barriers to audit and feedback efforts.

To address this challenge, the clinical nurses collaborated with nurse scientists, health literacy experts and computer scientists to develop an artificial intelligence-driven tool called HealthLitPro. Trained using real patient education scenarios provided by Children’s Health nurses, the tool offers customized recommendations to enhance patient education by auditing scenarios.

Next, the team plans to make HealthLitPro available for all health care providers and test its effectiveness in changing clinical practice. This initiative has improved organizational health literacy initiatives, strengthened interdisciplinary teamwork and driven innovation in health care.

Virtual nurse program enhances night-shift support

The nurse director in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Plano campus explored a virtual nurse program as an innovative model to support nurses transitioning into independent practice. The virtual nurse model aimed to provide mentorship and coaching to nurses with less than two years of experience.

The program began as a pilot on the night shift with an assigned experienced PICU virtual nurse, who partnered with nurses on site to enhance safe care delivery. Accessible through the electronic health record chat feature, the virtual nurse communicates with nurses who are on site, providing support and serving as a resource for guidance. The program soon expanded beyond the PICU to assist general pediatrics as well.

The initiative yielded positive results. Since the program’s implementation, medication safety in the Plano PICU during the night shift improved by 30%, showing the effectiveness of combining virtual resources with nursing expertise.

Nurse feedback informs design decisions on three systemwide expansion projects

Children’s Health nurses played a pivotal role in the planning and design of three transformational systemwide projects that reached major milestones in 2024. Their input helped ensure each development enhances patient care and supports nurses’ day-to-day work.

In December, the Plano campus celebrated the opening of its new tower, which tripled the campus bed count to 212. Nurses collaborated closely with building designers to provide feedback on the facility, ensuring everything – from the placement of hand sanitizers to the layout of nurse stations – supported efficient care. “I appreciate Children’s Health for letting us have a voice on every single unit,” said Pamela de Tomas Medina, BSN, RN. Nurses’ feedback helped ensure the new space was functional, equipped with necessary supplies and offered privacy for care teams.

In August, Transport Services marked the grand opening of its state-of-the-art hangar at Dallas Love Field Airport. Transport nurses played a role in optimizing room layouts and equipment placement to help reduce response times. Previously spread across three hangars, the consolidated facility allows crews to work more efficiently. Children’s Health is the first and only pediatric health system in Dallas to build, own and operate its own hangar.

Finally, nurses contributed to the design of the new Dallas pediatric campus, which broke ground in October. Through regular feedback sessions and walkthroughs of mock-up spaces, they influenced room layouts and equipment placement. “It’s been really important for us to give feedback for what is best for us and our patients,” said Allison Kelley, BSN, RN, CCRN, NE-BC.

The new campus, a partnership with UT Southwestern Medical Center, will feature two towers, 552 beds and an enhanced Level I pediatric trauma center.

By involving nurses in these transformative projects, Children’s Health is fostering innovation and creating spaces that prioritize patient care and staff efficiency.