TXT4 Tarrant Cares offers a convenient, safe and simple way to search for assistance with food; clothing and housing services; early childhood care; family support; mental health and counseling services; substance abuse programs; child abuse and neglect services; COVID-19 testing and vaccine information; and other critical needs.

By texting the word FIND to 67629, users are offered a guided search to access a list of nearby organizations to contact and provided with a ZIP code-specific list of resources. TXT4 Tarrant Cares is offered in English and Spanish and is available to anyone in Tarrant County in need of services. Examples of searches might include information on the nearest food pantry, rent assistance, or resources that can help residents apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The new texting service is associated with Tarrant Cares, an online information service populated with the most up-to-date community resource listings by United Way’s 211 helpline. TXT4 Tarrant Cares draws on the Tarrant Cares database and gives users a quick, ZIP code-specific report of nearby resources to contact for support. The community-based solution is a collaborative effort by Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County (MHC), The Center for Children’s Health, led by Cook Children’s Health Care System, and Tarrant County.

“We have a lot of amazing local organizations and nonprofit agencies standing by to support individuals and families in our community, but sometimes it can be tough to figure out where to turn when you are in the midst of a crisis,” said Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley, who founded the Tarrant Cares website with MHC in 2010. “TXT4 Tarrant Cares puts those answers in the palms of their hands, literally.”

The need for the new service came from feedback by a local task force chaired by Cook Children’s that studied the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). These experiences include exposure to abuse or neglect, family violence, mental illness, or any experiences that can disrupt a child’s development and lead to chronic health conditions. The ACEs Task Force worked with more than 60 partners and advisers in developing community recommendations to prevent and reduce adversities in children prenatally to age 5, to improve their health, safety and school readiness. Findings by the task force determined that getting help into the hands of local families most at risk of ACEs meant creating a more efficient and effective way for those families to access critical resources.

 “Texting is probably one of the best ways to communicate resources and information because people feel more comfortable texting than they do picking up the phone,” said Roderick F. Miles, a member of the ACEs Task Force and executive administrator in the Office of Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks. “Our vision is to keep people from falling through the cracks and we do that by creating space for them to advocate for themselves and be their own navigators, their own social workers—and then they become advocates for other people and help them navigate through the process as well.”

“The collective, long-term financial cost of not meeting the physical and mental health needs of our community’s most marginalized and vulnerable families is high, and the individual human cost is much higher,” said Virginia Hoft, executive director of MHC. “TXT4 Tarrant Cares is an important step forward in our efforts to level the playing field by giving everyone in our community immediate access to vital resources.”

TXT4 Tarrant Cares does not provide emergency response or the full range of service offerings provided by 211. A resource navigator can still be reached by calling 211 and information about services can be accessed online at www.tarrantcares.org. Individuals needing immediate assistance from a first responder should still contact 911.

About the ACEs Task Force

In 2019, the Tarrant County ACEs Task Force, created Circles of Support, a Blueprint for Safe, Healthy, and School-Ready Children. The effort was led by Cook Children’s Health Care System; the office of Mayor Betsy Price; the Office of Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley; the Office of Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks; JPS Health Network; and supported by the Morris Foundation. The need for an easy-to-use texting service is a component of 25 priority recommendations detailed in the Circles of Support blueprint to assist families through difficult times.

About TXT4 Tarrant Cares (67629)

Launched in April 2021, TXT4 Tarrant Cares is a community-based texting service designed to help individuals and families in Tarrant County locate information on where to obtain critical resources—including food, housing, counseling, and childhood services. The texting service offers a guided search and delivers ZIP code-specific access to a database of local agencies and service organizations. TXT4 Tarrant Cares is an extension of Tarrant Cares, an online information service for individuals, families, caregivers and agencies. The community-based solution is a collaborative effort by Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County (MHC), and The Center for Children’s Health, led by Cook Children’s Health Care System, and Tarrant County.

The ACEs Task Force, chaired by Cook Children’s, aims to reduce adversities for children starting before they are even born. Their work is based on a study conducted between 1995 and 1997 by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC. The study, which involves 10 questions about what a person experienced before the age of 18, shows ACEs are associated with high risk behaviors, chronic disease and reduced quality of life in adulthood. The task force is focusing their efforts on the signs of stress or difficulties that show up in early childhood.

More than 500 people spanning 20 states have been diagnosed with measles this year already. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 15 of those cases were in Texas.

For the rare remaining physicians who have treated measles, the news is like déjà vu.

“We learned a lot from the 1989 measles epidemic,” said Deborah Susan Hucaby, M.D., an emergency room physician at Cook Children’s Medical Center. “We got to a point where anyone who came into the pediatric emergency room or clinics with a fever was presumed to have measles until proven otherwise.”

Dr. Hucaby was a resident at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston in 1989 when the worst measles outbreak in recent history occurred. That year, 17,850 measles cases were reported in 47 states with 3,201 of those in Texas.

“At the time, the MMR vaccine was recommended for children at 15 months,” Dr. Hucaby explained. “Due to the high number of unprotected children we were seeing with measles, that recommendation was lowered to 12 months of age. We also started giving the single measles vaccine at 6 months of age.”

For this reason, Dr. Hucaby says a doorbell was installed outside of the pediatric clinic where she worked during the outbreak.

“Parents were asked to ring the bell if their child had a fever, with or without other symptoms,” she said. “A nurse would go out into the hallway to look at the patient. If they appeared to have a risk factor for measles, we would take them straight into an exam room. We didn’t sit them in the waiting room.”

In Houston alone that year, 1,434 children under the age of 5 were diagnosed with measles. Dr. Hucaby says it’s frustrating to interact with parents today who refuse to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella.

“So many of these parents have never seen these diseases. I’m 40 years older than most of them and I have. I have seen kids die from them,” she exclaimed.

Dr. Hucaby says there’s one child she will never forget. The little girl was only 6 months old when she arrived at the hospital with measles and pneumonia. She was too young to have been immunized and died as a result.

“Parents who decide they are OK with their children becoming infected with diseases probably frustrate me the most,” added Dr. Hucaby. “We didn’t see that during the Houston epidemic. Truly, people were willing to vaccinate their children. I don’t remember a single parent saying ‘no’ to a vaccine.”

She said in the 1980s, children often weren’t up to date on their immunizations mostly because parents didn’t see the importance or they had difficulties with transportation or finances. Today, vaccines are more accessible than ever in the U.S. with programs providing low-cost vaccines in every state.

“Every place I worked before Cook Children’s had an infectious disease ward where patients could be isolated,” said Dr. Nelson. “But as infectious diseases became better controlled, particularly the ones that are so contagious like chicken pox and measles, we didn’t need to have a special ward anymore.”

The reason for the decline in such quarantined areas is simply vaccines.

“I have lived through the era where I’ve seen vaccines come and save children’s lives. I have stood in line to get the polio vaccine,” Dr. Nelson explained. “I grew up with a great deal of anxiety about all of these diseases. That’s the piece that is missing in our society now, no one is anxious about these diseases.”

Dr. Nelson had good reason to be anxious. Not only did he know people who fell ill with polio, he himself lived through infections of measles, mumps and chicken pox.

“I had measles when I was a little boy, before I even started school. I remember having to stay in a dark room for four days because they thought light might increase your chances of losing your vision, which was not true, but that was the belief back then,” he said. “I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to do anything. I just wanted to die. It was that horrible.”

“As a physician, I’ve seen a ton of children die when there was nothing I could do about it. There was nothing anyone could do about it. So it does make me incensed that a parent would put a child at risk for a disease that could kill them based on emotion,” he said. “A parent that has never lost a child doesn’t understand the emotion that they are going to feel if they do.”

Read More About Measles and Vaccines

Resources Available at Cook Children's

There's so much misinformation on the Internet and television about the dangers and risks of immunizations, that it can be hard for a parent to separate the facts from the fears. Visit our website to learn more about our recommmendations regarding vaccines and how to make the best decision for your family. 

Halley Hogan, M.D., a pediatrician at Cook Children’s newest location in Prosper, Texas, took some time to answer our questions about what’s going around.

What kind of bugs are you seeing in your office right now?

We’re seeing cases of Influenza B, norovirus and group A strep.

Is the flu season still in full swing or are we nearing the end? 

We are begining to see flu activity throughout the state of Texas. Flu activity will likely remain high for several more weeks.

What should parents know about the difference between the flu, norovirus and rotavirus? 

Norovirus is the virus that causes the “stomach bug.” It causes vomiting and diarrhea and can affect anyone.

Rotavirus most often affects infants and young children. It can cause fever, watery diarrhea and vomiting. What we worry about most with rotavirus is infants/young children becoming dehydrated. It is recommended that children get the rotavirus vaccine at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months of age. Vaccinated kids are less likely to get sick from rotavirus and can have less severe symptoms if they do get rotavirus.

Flu is caused by the influenza virus. Flu affects the respiratory system, and can cause fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and fatigue.

With many schools back in session after spring break last week, what does that mean for these illnesses? Are kinds more at risk being in school?

Flu is spread when people with the virus talk, sneeze, or cough, sending flu droplets to the people close to them. It can also be spread by touching a surface that has flu virus on it and then touching your nose, mouth, or eyes. If you have the flu, you are contagious one day before symptoms start and up to 7 days after becoming sick.

Norovirus can also spread easily. Kids can get norovirus by sharing food or drinks with someone who is sick, or by touching surfaces contaminated with norovirus and then touching their mouths. You are most contagious with norovirus while you have vomiting/diarrhea, but you can still spread it for two weeks after you are better.

Many times, children with flu or norovirus return to school while they are still contagious and this increases the spread of these illnesses and can cause outbreaks in schools.

Are there any questions or concerns you’re hearing from parents?

Yes, parents often ask “How can we decrease the chances of siblings/other family members/friends getting the flu?”

The best way to decrease your risk of flu is getting the flu vaccine every year. It is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older. Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. Try not to touch your eyes, nose, and mouth. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and wash your hands after.

Meet Halley Hogan, M.D., Prosper Trail's Pediatrician

 

Dr. Hogan was raised in the Dallas area. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from SMU, she attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for her medical degree. She then completed her pediatric residency at University of Texas Southwestern in Austin. Dr. Hogan is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Hogan provides comprehensive health care to children of all ages. She has a passion for pediatrics and loves getting to know families, with the philosophy that providing the best primary care depends on developing personal relationships with her patients and their families. She has a special interest in preventative medicine and promoting healthy, happy childhoods for all children. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two young sons, as well as reading and traveling. Make an appointment with Dr. Hogan here. 

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 1 to 4 years old and the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for ages 1 to 14.

SafeKids Tarrant County, led by Cook Children’s, offers other sobering facts for parents leading into this swimming season:

• Drowning can still occur even if you know how to swim.
• No one is “drown proof” – no matter their level of swimming ability.
• Falls, entrapments and injuries lead to drowning regardless of swimming level.
• A majority of people overestimate their own and their child’s ability to swim, especially in a panic.
• Drowning is quick and silent.
• Drowning occurs in as little as 2 minutes.
• Irreversible brain damage occurs in as little as 4 minutes.
• Most children who drown are out of sight or missing for less than 5 minutes and usually in the presence of 1 or both parents.
• Most children die who are submerged for as little as 6-10 minutes.
• Children who drown do not scream splash or struggle. They silently slip beneath the water, even with adults and lifeguards present.

That’s scary information, but there are steps you can take to help protect your child and have a safe summer while in the water:

1. Constant visual supervision

• Assign an adult water guardian whose only responsibility is to watch children who are in the water.
• Teach children who can’t swim to stay away from water unless they are with an adult who is within arm’s reach and has eye-to-eye contact on them.

2. Learn to swim

• Studies show that formal swim lessons for children under age 4 reduce drowning by 88 percent.
• Take swim lessons with your child if you don’t know how to swim yourself. Even adults who are strong swimmers should never swim alone.

3. Keep backyards and bathrooms safe

• Dump all water buckets and empty kiddie pools when they are not in use.
• Install safety latches on toilets
• Never leave children unattended in the bathtub

4. Multiple barriers on all pools and spas

• Install pool fences, self-closing, self-latching gates and door alarms in areas leading to pools and spas.
• Keep a phone by the pool and call 911 in an emergency
• Keep pool area picked up and clear of toys and other items which might attract an unsupervised child.

5. Always check pool/spa first for missing child

• Make sure to look at the bottom of the pool or spa.
• Do not quickly scan the top and move on – children who drown often sink to the bottom and appear as shadows that easily be overlooked.
• Every second counts.

6. Wear life jackets

• Children who cannot swim should always wear a properly sized Coast Guard approved life jacket.
• Do not rely on water wings, floats or other toys to keep children safe.

7. Learn CPR

• Studies show CPR doubles the victim’s chance of survival.
• Use hard/fast compressions in the center of the chest until help arrives.
• Refresh CPR skills yearly, certifications every two years.
• Post CPR guidelines near the pool.

Related Links

• Cookchildrens.org/safety
• Safe Kids’ Water Safety Tips
• Play it Safe on the Water - Texas Parks and Wildlife
• Backyard and Pool: Household Safety Checklist
• Household Safety: Preventing Drowning

Obesity? That's one.

Car accidents? That's a big risk too.

But would you guess the number one issue is asthma?

In Tarrant County, 19.5 percent of children suffer from asthma, according to data gathered in a survey sent to parents by The Center for Children's Health led by Cook Children's. The Community-wide Children's Health Assessment and Planning Survey (CCHAPS) was completed by more than 8,600 parents in Tarrant, Denton, Hood, Wise, Parker and Johnson counties.

"We questioned parents on everything from how often their child is buckled in properly to how many grocery stores in their neighborhood sell fresh fruits and vegetables," said Larry Tubb, senior vice president of the Center for Children’s Health. "The information we are gathering is extremely valuable when it comes to measuring the overall health of children in our region."

Overwhelmingly, parents in Tarrant County (and all of the surveyed counties) reported their children are dealing with asthma. In fact, children in this area ages 6-9 are three times more likely to have asthma than children living in other parts of Texas. While we don't know why the numbers are so high, we do know people with asthma have varying triggers, and what affects one person will not necessarily affect another. Those triggers include, but are not limited to, cigarette smoke, indoor and outdoor mold, pet dander, air pollution, dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, smoke and strong odors.

The second biggest health issue on parents minds is obesity, with 17.8 percent reporting concerns about their child's weight, activity level and access to healthy foods.

Accidental injuries rings in third. In Tarrant County, 11.9 percent of parents reported their children had been injured and required medical care. Those injuries range from car and ATV-related incidents to drowning, bicycle falls and crashes.

The fourth issue on the list is a lack of dental care for children. Parents reported 9.7 percent of children either didn't see a dentist regularly, didn't brush their teeth enough or some even reported their child didn't have their own toothbrush.

Finally, mental illness is the fifth biggest issue concerning parents in Tarrant County. Behavioral and emotional development is on the minds of 8.5 percent of respondents. Many reported their children have suffered sleep problems, self-esteem issues or have tried to harm themselves.

The survey used to gather this data is part of a Cook Children's initiative to improve the health and well-being of every child in our six-county region by 2020. This initiative launched in 2009 with the very first survey of its kind sent to parents. Since then, the surveys have been sent out every three years.

"The information provided by parents in our community is available on-line and being used by a host of organizations, including Cook Children’s, to build programs and services. There isn’t one perfect answer, but, together we are making solid progress in improving the health of the children in our community by putting the child and family at the center of our planning," said Tubb.

About The Center for Children's Health

The Center for Children's Health, led by Cook Children's, is home to the Community-wide Children's Health Assessment & Planning Survey (CCHAPS), Community Health Outreach and Community Health Research. The center's goal is to create aligned collaborations that will allow us to make our North Texas region one of the healthiest places to raise a child.