Valencia Gant grew up with her sisters idolizing their strong mother.
“My mother taught my sisters and me the importance of education, hard work and treating others as you would like to be treated. She reminded us the importance of saying “please and thank you” to those you interact with on a daily basis,” said Valencia.
These motherly lessons you can see in action as Valencia walks through the halls of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, interacting with the patients and staff, never once meeting a stranger and exuding kindness and compassion.
Valencia always had an interest in health care and was introduced to hospital administration through a mentor as a graduate student in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Valencia began her journey at Texas Children’s six years ago as a practice administrator in Urology, where she quickly advanced and became the director of Outpatient and Clinical Support in Ambulatory Services at Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands during the launch of The Woodlands expansion in 2017.
“When we opened The Woodlands campus I developed my pledge for patient care, which represents the core value I utilize daily,” said Valencia. “My pledge reads, ‘I pledge to make sure every patient and family interaction I have at Texas Children’s Hospital is delivered with a compassionate smile, an open ear and a thank you for allowing me to be a part of the team to serve their healthcare needs.’ ”
Now positioned as the future director of Outpatient & Clinical Support Services at the Texas Children’s Austin Campus in 2024, Valencia plans to spread compassionate and loving spirit to the women and children of Central Texas.
How did you end up at Texas Children’s?
I applied for a practice administrator role in Urology at Texas Children’s Hospital after working at another children’s hospital out of state. I knew that I wanted to continue working in pediatric healthcare and my mentors told me to go bigger and better, well now I am here at Texas Children’s Hospital.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Working with such a collaborative team that includes my peers across the system, physicians, hospital leadership and clinic staff from nurses, medical assistants and ambulatory services representatives. It truly does take One Amazing Team to pull off the great care we provide to patients and families.
What do people not know/realize about your job?
I do not think people know that I work very closely with my partners in Perioperative Services. We meet regularly to discuss the scheduling of OR cases and how we can best work together to operationalize the operating room.
What is the name of your pet?
My 13-year-old dachshund’s name is Celeste “Cece.” She is named after the cousin of my favorite childhood cartoon, “Babar the Elephant.”
What excites you most about our Austin expansion?
I am most excited about being able to work with a great team to bring the best of pediatric healthcare to the Austin area.
What do you think Texas Children’s can offer the Austin area?
The best pediatric healthcare in their backyard and not a couple hours away. I think they will benefit from the patient-centric care that we provide, and they will experience the Texas Children’s culture, which is something that makes us a unique organization.
Just like Valencia, the rest of us at Texas Children’s are so excited for the expansion into Austin and the ability to provide even more women and children of Texas with top-tier healthcare. Make Texas Children’s a part of your career journey and search our open positions and apply today.
