Tag Archives: Healthcare

New and innovative services develop over last five years at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital

By North SA Chamber Editor
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Methodist stone oak hospitalSince opening in March 2009, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital has grown significantly to carry out its mission of serving humanity to honor God by providing exceptional and cost-effective health care accessible to all. Methodist Stone Oak Hospital celebrated its five-year anniversary with a day-long celebration with its outstanding team of physicians, nurses and support staff. The hospital was designed as a “hospital of the future,” offering the community a wide range of medical services that are both high-tech and high-touch.

Patients and guests will immediately recognize many special features upon arriving at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital. All patients and guests can receive free valet parking and the hospital has 140 private rooms. The facility features many modern amenities including a program that allows patients to make their own meal choices from a restaurant-style menu.

The emergency department features a quick check-in process for patients. A computerized kiosk allows patients to check-in efficiently, scan their identification and insurance cards and provide basic information about the type of symptoms they are experiencing. In addition, the hospital has partnered with Methodist Children’s Hospital, a campus of Methodist Hospital, to provide pediatric emergency services to better serve families in the Stone Oak area.

Methodist Stone OakDSC_8491 SIn 2013, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital had a record year for delivering the most babies in its five-year history. The obstetrical team welcomed more than 1,400 newborns into the world. The Methodist Stone Oak Fertility Surgery Center opened this year to help families grow. One in eight couples will struggle with infertility issues and the new center is dedicated to helping couples overcome medical issues that may prevent successful pregnancies. Call 210-575-0355 for a free physician referral and find a doctor specializing in fertility treatment.

The hospital’s surgical team has established an outstanding reputation for services including neurosurgery, orthopedics, heart surgery, robotic and many other minimally invasive procedures. Methodist Stone Oak Hospital recently expanded to add a Hybrid Operating Room that allows surgeons to perform highly complex cardiovascular procedures in a single room. The hospital’s robotic surgery program is a member of the Texas Institute for Robotic Surgery, which requires high quality standards and outcomes among the surgical team.

The hospital has established an outpatient infusion center in early 2013 to provide patients undergoing cancer treatment with a convenient treatment facility closer to home. In addition, a dedicated inpatient oncology unit opened last year with a highly experienced team of oncology certified registered nurses. In addition, the hospital has added a Breast Health Navigator to the oncology team. The navigator is a registered nurse who assists patients diagnosed with breast cancer to find resources, overcome barriers and coordinate care. To reach the nurse navigator at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, please send an email to Laura.Lopez4@mhshealth.com.

Methodist Stone Oak Hospital received the Women’s Choice Award for being named a “Best Hospital for Patient Experience in Heart Care” in 2013. This past February, the hospital began hosting a WomenHeart support group focused on providing inspiration to women living with heart disease and those seeking ways to improve their heart health. The group meets at the hospital at 1139 E. Sonterra Blvd., Classroom One on the first floor, from 6-7 p.m. Upcoming meetings and topics include:

May 29                        Link Between High Blood Pressure and Stroke

June 26                        Get Your Heart Pumping: Exercise – Yoga to Cardio!

August 28                    How Does Anger Affect Your Heart? Learn Anger Management Skills

September 25             CPR Skills: How to Save a Life

October 30                  Don’t Let Stress Control You! Learn Stress Management Skills

All are welcome to attend. Please contact cfreemanLoveMuch@gmail.com to learn more.

Another feature the hospital recently introduced is the Patient Portal. Inpatients, outpatients and emergency department patients seen on or after March 27 can securely access information about their medical records, lab test results, allergies, discharge summary and more. This new feature is being piloted at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital and patients are encouraged to access the site from Methodist Stone Oak Hospital’s webpage. To log in, you’ll need a Medical Record Number (MRN) that will be provided to you upon admission and then you can view your health information online. The Patient Portal is just another example of how Methodist Stone Oak Hospital is advancing patient care is unique ways that are both high-tech and high-touch.

North Central Baptist Hospital opens dedicated oncology floor as part of ongoing $60 million expansion

By North SA Chamber Editor
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baptist hcs logoNorth Central Baptist Hospital has opened a new dedicated oncology floor as part of its ongoing $60 million, six-floor tower expansion. The oncology floor, with 28 private rooms, offers specialized medical and surgical care for cancer patients. It also includes the first unit in San Antonio and South Texas specifically designed to care for adolescent and young adult cancer patients between ages 17 and 25.

The oncology floor is designed not only to enhance the comfort of patients, it also will allow the medical staff to work at computers located closer to patients’ bedsides. And a new wireless phone system will facilitate more convenient communication for patients and staff.  In addition to the floor enhancements, all staff on the oncology floor are chemotherapy certified.

In designing the eight-room Adolescent and Young Adult unit, North Central Baptist Hospital sought input from patients in the 17 to 25 age group as well as feedback from physicians and nursing staff. The result is a dormitory-style setting, with private rooms that offer comfortable furniture including sleeper sofas, slider rockers, mini-fridges stocked with snacks, and a multi-media entertainment room with WiFi, theatre-style seating, game counsels and a movie library. The floor also includes a family retreat area, which is open to all floor visitors, offering a washer and dryer, comfortable seating and flat screen televisions.

North Central Baptist Hospital Oncology Floor
North Central Baptist Hospital’s six-floor tower expansion also includes the recent opening of the  new Labor and Delivery floors to provide comprehensive services including a private lactation area and pumping room, 43 nursery beds, room service for new parents and a complementary postpartum massage for new moms.

For more information on the services available at North Central Baptist Hospital and Baptist Health System, visit www.baptisthealthsystem.com.

About Baptist Health System
Baptist Health System is a trusted provider of health care in San Antonio and South Texas. The System includes five acute-care hospitals (Baptist Medical Center, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, North Central Baptist Hospital, Northeast Baptist Hospital, and St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital) which offer 1,674 licensed beds.  All five hospitals have earned Accredited Chest Pain Center designation, as well as Primary Stroke Center Certification.  Medicare has designated each as Texas’ only Medicare Value Based Care Centers.

The system also includes Baptist Regional Children’s Center, Baptist Breast Center, Baptist Cancer Center, HealthLink wellness and fitness center and physical rehabilitation centers.  Other entities include Baptist M&S Imaging Centers, community health and wellness programs, ambulatory services, medical office buildings and School of Health Professions.  Baptist Health System supports the work of Faith Family Clinics, Baptist Emergency Hospitals, San Antonio AirLIFE air medical transport and other health-related services and affiliations.  The system is part of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, based out of Dallas, Texas.

Methodist is first health care system in South Texas to achieve quality award

By North SA Chamber Editor
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methodist hcs logoMethodist Healthcare has been selected to receive the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE) from the Quality Texas Foundation, representing the highest level of quality an organization can achieve in the state of Texas. Methodist Healthcare is the first health care system in South Texas and the third organization in San Antonio to receive the TAPE award since the inception of the award in 1994.

Utilizing the same criteria and process as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Texas Award for Performance Excellence is an annual recognition of Texas organizations that have achieved performance excellence and have applied outstanding quality principles in their day-to-day operations. TAPE winners are role model organizations demonstrating exceptional performance in all areas of organizational management – leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, operations focus and results.

“This award is a validation of the hard work our employees, physicians, volunteers and board members have accomplished over the past years in Methodist Healthcare’s journey to excellence,” stated Jaime Wesolowski, President and CEO, Methodist Healthcare. “Our commitment to quality and process improvement enables us to provide better service and outcomes to our patients and that is what drives us to be nothing less than excellent,” continued Wesolowski.

There are many milestones the health system has achieved in its journey; a few quality indicators the system excels in are:

  • Evidenced Based Care Measures (Composite Core Measures) are in the top 10% of the nation, for those care interventions known to improve patient mortality and complications.
  • The Methodist Healthcare in-hospital mortality is only 50% of what is expected given the severity of illness levels of System patients.  For Methodist this translates into 530 fewer patients dying each year than should be expected.
  • The Patient Safety Indicator (PSI) 90 is a composite score of several in-hospital patient complications.  Methodist Healthcare scores significantly lower (better) at 0.46 than the national average of 0.6, indicating a much lower hospital complication rate than most hospitals.

State examiners from the TAPE Baldrige-based program visited Methodist Healthcare hospitals in January to evaluate how well employees, physicians, volunteers and board members demonstrate and standardize excellence across the system. Methodist will receiveTexas Award for Performance Excellence Logo.wmz a detailed report from Quality Texas Foundation on the health system’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Methodist staff will use the report to prepare for the national Baldrige process as part of the System’s continuing pursuit of excellence

Methodist Healthcare will receive the award at the Texas Quest for Excellence Conference on June 23, in Addison, Texas.

About TAPE

Administered by the Quality Texas Foundation, the Texas Award for Performance Excellence was established in 1993. The award is open to government, education, health care, non-profit and other businesses. These organizations go through a rigorous application process where quality and performance excellence must be demonstrated on a variety of measures including: organizational leadership; strategic planning; focus on customers; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.

Methodist Healthcare System – Journey to Excellence

Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio (MHS) began as Methodist Hospital, chartered in 1955 by the United Methodist Church.  Since that time, MHS has grown to what is now the largest health care provider in South and Central Texas with 27 facilities, including nine acute care hospitals serving over 90,000 inpatients and 390,000 outpatients annually, expanding its vision of world class health care to San Antonio and 26 surrounding counties.

The System’s ownership structure is a 50/50 co-ownership between not-for-profit Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) and for-profit Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), a truly unique business model for health systems in the country. With equal partnership control, MHS assures a dynamic balance in its mission: serving humanity to honor God by providing exceptional and cost-effective healthcare accessible to all.  Methodist Healthcare Ministries broadens MHS’ community outreach through its services to the underserved and dollars to community organizations and to its own clinics; MHM has provided over $500 million to community since its inception in 1995.

Led by a culture of Methodist Excellence, the over 8,000 staff and volunteers combined with a medical staff of over 2,500, dedicate themselves to continuous quality improvement by committing to live by Methodist Excellence mission, vision and values.  Six pillars of excellence are embedded in Methodist Excellence (people, service, quality, growth, finance and community); department, hospital and system strategic goals are developed under each pillar and provide a framework for achieving sustained organizational success.

At the heart of Methodist Excellence is the System’s core competency, “building partnerships to serve our community.” This guiding principle defines the essence of MHS partnerships:  (1) community centered, (2) patient focused, and (3) physician driven.

Methodist Excellence is the foundation of all aspects of the health care system; from the hiring process to the strategic planning process.

The journey to excellence has led MHS to achieve many awards for clinical excellence and quality outcomes as well innovation and people’s choice awards. Receiving the Texas Award for Performance Excellence is a testament to Methodist Healthcare being selected as the most preferred and trusted health care system each and every year.

Weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!

By North SA Chamber Editor
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FFClinic logoBy now we are all so tired of healthcare issues that screaming is heard all over the city! But a louder scream is heard by those individuals who struggle every day with medical issues and do not have access to affordable health care.  In San Antonio, over 394,000 people hope and pray they never get sick because they do not have health insurance.

Faith Family Clinic provided medical care to over 7,500 people last year who did not have medical insurance. As a non-profit medical facility we have a mission to provide working families with affordable and compassionate medical care.  As a full service medical practice, we treat conditions that range from the flu and colds to major issues such as chronic care for diabetes and asthma as well as routine physicals and immunizations.

Our physicians are board certified and experienced in dealing with a wide array of health issues. We believe that the practice of medicine is NOT a business with the sole focus of profit and loss, but a service and ministry to hard working families who happen to work in their own business or a business that does not provide medical insurance.  While profit and loss is important it is not our driving force.  Compassionate care and the use of volunteers allow us to expand our capacity and do things that many doctors no longer attempt. An example is setting broken bones and doing minor surgical procedures in our offices that was once normal in many doctor’s offices.  Two such surgeons are Dr. David Person and Dr. Dilma Ruiz who provide exceptional care. Another is Dr. Coleman Driver and his wife Jody who provide ophthalmology care in our clinic.

We are proud to announce that at the end of 2013, the Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio has awarded Faith Family Clinic a grant of $300,000 and the CHRISTUS Health Fund awarded us grant of $80,000. These resources will allow us to expand our capacity and care for the working uninsured.  It is through foundations and charitable giving that we are able to provide quality medical care to those who work hard but go without medical benefits.

Our Prescription for 2014 – a hefty dose of MemberCare! If you or your employees do not have health care benefits then you will want to consider becoming part of our MemberCare family for only $50 per month for yourself or $100 a month for the whole family. Our MemberCare participants will receive unlimited primary medical care at no additional cost.  Combine MemberCare with a high deductible health policy and your ObamaCare worries are gone!  Call 210-653-15611 today or email membercare@faithfamilyclinic.org for more information.

Methodist Healthcare only hospital system in San Antonio to earn “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures®” recognition from The Joint Commission

By North SA Chamber Editor
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Methodist50thLOGOMethodist Healthcare today was named a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America. Methodist Hospital and its campuses at Methodist Children’s Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital, Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital, Methodist Texsan Hospital, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital and Northeast Methodist Hospital* plus Methodist Stone Oak Hospital were recognized by The Joint Commission for exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes. These measures have been shown to improve care for certain conditions including heart disease and surgical care.

“We understand that what matters most to patients at Methodist Healthcare is safe, effective care. That’s why Methodist Healthcare’s team of 8,000 employees and its staff of more than 2,700 credentialed physicians have made a commitment to accreditation and to positive patient outcomes through evidence-based care processes. We are honored to receive the distinction of being a Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures,” said Jaime Wesolowski, President & CEO, Methodist Healthcare System.

Methodist Healthcare is among 1,099 hospitals in the U.S. earning the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance and the only hospital system in San Antonio to reach this quality standard. Methodist Healthcare was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. In addition, Methodist Children’s Hospital was recognized for children’s asthma care. The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations increased by 77 percent from last year and it represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.

Methodist Healthcare and each of the hospitals nationwide that were named as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures must: 1) achieve cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures; 2) achieve performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases; and 3) have at least one core measure set that has a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and within that measure set all applicable individual accountability measures have a performance rate of 95 percent or above. A 95 percent score means a hospital provided an evidence-based practice 95 times out of 100 opportunities. Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – examples include giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.

“Methodist Healthcare and all the Top Performer hospitals have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to quality improvement and they should be proud of their achievement,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., FACP, M.P.P., M.P.H., president and chief executive officer, The Joint Commission. “We have much to celebrate this year. Nearly half of our accredited hospitals have attained or nearly attained the Top Performer distinction. This truly shows that we are approaching a tipping point in hospital quality performance that will directly contribute to better health outcomes for patients.”

In addition to being included in today’s release of The Joint Commission’s “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report, Methodist Healthcare will be recognized on The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website (www.qualitycheck.org). The Top Performer program will be featured in the December issues of The Joint Commission Perspectives and The Source.

*These hospitals share the same Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provider number with Methodist Hospital and therefore are evaluated as a single entity by the Joint Commission; Methodist Stone Oak Hospital has its own provider number. Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital was not eligible due to being a specialty hospital.

About Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio
Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio is the largest provider of health care in South and Central Texas with 26 facilities including nine hospitals serving 90,000 inpatients and 390,000 outpatients annually. The Methodist Healthcare team is comprised of 8,000 employees, making Methodist Healthcare the second largest private employer in San Antonio. In 2012, Methodist Healthcare was one of only two hospitals in Texas recognized by the Texas Medical Foundation with a Gold Award for Quality. Methodist Healthcare has won the National Research Foundation’s Consumer Choice Award for 13 consecutive years, more times than any other health care provider in Texas. For the past four years, Methodist Healthcare has received “Best Hospital” Gold Award by the San Antonio Express-News’ Readers’ Choice Awards. With more than 2,700 credentialed physicians, Methodist Healthcare provides the largest array of medical services in the region including neurosurgery, cardiovascular services, oncology and women’s services. Visit www.SAHealth.com to learn more.

CommuniCare Health Centers Awarded Best Places to Work

By North SA Chamber Editor
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Communicare_logo side in colorCommuniCare Health Centers, a non-profit healthcare organization, was recently named by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of the winners of the “Best Places to Work”. This prestigious award recognizes companies with the best workplaces in the San Antonio area (Bexar, Atascosa, Guadalupe, Wilson, Comal, Bandera, Medina and Kendall counties).

The winners were selected based on the results of online confidential surveys completed by CommuniCare Health Centers’ employees. These winners represent the top 51 “Best Places to Work” in the San Antonio area based on an assessment of the online surveys performed by the research firm, Quantum Workplace. CommuniCare came in 8th in the large company category through this extremely competitive awards process with several rounds of consideration.

CommuniCare Health Centers is a full-service primary healthcare system offering pediatric medicine, family medicine, senior care, women’s health, podiatry, dental, behavioral health, optometry, fitness and wellness services in Bexar and Hays counties. CommuniCare has 5 clinic locations utilizing an integrative primary care practice, highly trained healthcare providers, state of the art diagnostic equipment, and electronic health records. CommuniCare has been accredited by the Joint Commission since 1999; Joint Commission accreditation is recognized as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting national safety and quality of care performance standards. In 2012, CommuniCare was designated as a “Primary Care Medical Home” by the Joint Commission.