U.S. News & World Report recognizes 16 Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals, making the system the most awarded in Texas
Baylor Scott & White Health leads the state of Texas in the number of accolades earned in U.S. News & World Report’s "America’s Best Hospitals" 2018–2019 list. Sixteen Baylor Scott & White hospitals were recognized, with two receiving national rankings.
"We are honored to be recognized once again on this prestigious list for the outstanding care and service our people provide patients each day," said Jim Hinton, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health. "This recognition is a direct reflection of their commitment to those we serve as we work to deliver safe, quality, high-value, affordable care with an exceptional experience."
National rankings. Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano was ranked #21 in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery. Baylor University Medical Center was nationally ranked as a top hospital in two specialty areas: ear, nose, and throat (#40) and gastroenterology and GI surgery (#42). High-performing medical specialties at the medical center recognized as being in the top 10% in the nation include nephrology, orthopedics, and pulmonology.
State and region rankings. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care. Baylor University Medical Center was ranked #2 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area and #3 in Texas. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple ranked #16 in Texas.
High-performing hospitals. In total, U.S. News recognized 16 Baylor Scott & White medical centers as Best Hospitals, "high performing" in at least one of nine common procedures and conditions: Baylor Orthopedic and Spine Hospital Arlington, hip replacement and knee replacement; Baylor Medical Center at Uptown, hip replacement and knee replacement; Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth, congestive heart failure; Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair and congestive heart failure; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Frisco, hip replacement and knee replacement; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine, congestive heart failure; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving, congestive heart failure; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney, congestive heart failure and knee replacement; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano, congestive heart failure; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Round Rock, hip replacement; Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Temple, congestive heart failure, colon cancer surgery, COPD, and knee replacement; Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine and Joint Hospital Tyler, hip replacement and knee replacement; Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital – Plano, aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, congestive heart failure, and lung cancer surgery; Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, congestive heart failure, colon cancer surgery, COPD, hip replacement, knee replacement, and lung cancer surgery; North Central Surgical Center, knee replacement; The Heart Hospital Baylor Denton, aortic valve surgery and heart bypass surgery.
First-of-its-kind collaboration opens largest sports performance and multispecialty medical complex at the Dallas Cowboys world headquarters
Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research, a 300,000-square-foot medical and sports performance complex located at The Star in Frisco, home of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters, opened in June 2018. Unique not only for Baylor Scott & White and the Dallas Cowboys, but also for the sports performance and health care fields overall, the work being done at Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research will provide a new platform to improve the well-being of communities of all ages.
"Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star represents our commitment to preventing illness and injuries before they happen," said Jim Hinton, CEO, Baylor Scott & White Health. "The goal of this collaboration with the Dallas Cowboys and Frisco ISD is to improve sports safety for athletes of all levels. This facility will use technology to help athletes understand, monitor, and improve performance and will offer a comprehensive approach to diagnosis, treatment and recovery."
“Baylor Scott & White Health is that world-class organization we envisioned working with when we knew we wanted to bring a medical provider to The Star,” said Jerry Jones Jr., chief sales and marketing officer and executive vice president, Dallas Cowboys. “We’re excited for this one-of-a-kind facility to begin to offer advanced care for sports medicine and orthopedics, as well as nutrition and healthy living to the Dallas Cowboys, the Frisco community and beyond.”
The facility focuses on sports performance and injury prevention to give patients access to equipment and services used by elite athletes. Facility highlights include:
Sports Performance Center, powered by the Fusionetics Performance Health System, to provide biomechanical evaluation of movement, detect problem areas, and assess mechanical inefficiencies.
Blue Star Imaging at The Star, featuring innovative technology including 3 Tesla MRI, multislice CT, bone density, calcium scoring, digital e-ray, and ultrasound featuring XD Clear Technology as well as 3D applications.
Sports Surgery Center, focusing on orthopedic surgery for sports injuries with the convenience of being on campus with other associated services.
Outpatient rehabilitation, with staff trained to provide a tailored approach to treatment and prevention for injured athletes.
Sports Concussion Center, with a multidisciplinary team approach to the assessment and individualized treatment of sports-related concussion in athletes of all ages.
Gatorade Sports Science Institute, a full-service sports performance and nutrition lab committed to helping athletes optimize health and performance through research and education in hydration and nutrition science.
Urgent care, pharmacy, cardiovascular services, family medicine, orthopedics, and more.
Research at the facility will be conducted through Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.
The facility offers a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a health care system (Baylor Scott & White Health), an NFL team (the Dallas Cowboys), and a school district (Frisco ISD).
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas now the largest value-based contract for Baylor Scott & White Health’s ACO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) reached an agreement with Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance (BSWQA), Baylor Scott & White’s accountable care organization (ACO), to deliver high-quality and lower cost care to more than 140,000 BCBSTX members in North and Central Texas.
"This agreement is a major step forward as we shift from a fee-for-service to a fee-for-value health care model," said Dan McCoy, MD, president of BCBSTX. “We now have more than 1 million lives under value-based-care arrangements. It goes without saying that aligning with a health system with Baylor Scott & White Health’s reputation means our members and their patients will receive high-value, coordinated and quality care.”
The BCBSTX agreement represents BSWQA’s largest value-based arrangement with a commercial insurance company. BSWQA, one of the largest ACOs in Texas, now has more than 600,000 covered lives. Value-based care focuses on improving quality of care and the member experience while reducing medical costs for a specific group of patients.
BSWQA is composed of over 6000 primary and specialty care physician members, 50 hospitals, more than 95 postacute care facilities, and other health care stakeholders that agree to be accountable jointly for improving quality, enhancing the patient experience, and reducing health care costs. BSWQA has earned National Committee for Quality Assurance ACO accreditation.
“This opportunity aligns with our strategy to provide quality, value-based care, an improved customer experience, and increased affordability for those we serve,” said James H. Hinton, CEO, Baylor Scott & White. “Members enrolled in this new ACO arrangement have access to BSWQA’s comprehensive network of primary and specialty care doctors and facilities with a proven track record for accountability and delivering quality care that is efficient and affordable.”
Baylor University Medical Center celebrates record-setting 1000th living donor kidney transplant
Kenny DeCay, 48, became the 1000th living donor kidney transplant recipient on June 20, 2018, at the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute at Baylor University Medical Center. This is the first North Texas transplant program to reach the 1000th living donor kidney transplant milestone.
DeCay’s donor was sister-in-law Janiece DeCay. Both are doing well following the surgery. Janiece has returned to her home in Atlanta while Kenny continues to recover at his Arlington, Texas, home.
A living donor kidney transplant is the fastest way to receive a kidney transplant. According to Giuliano Testa, MD, FACS, MBA, surgical chief of abdominal transplantation, Baylor University Medical Center, a living donor kidney typically is the best quality.
“It begins to function more quickly after transplant and lasts significantly longer than kidneys from deceased donors,” said Dr. Testa. “Donating an organ is one of the greatest displays of love.”
Living donation does not change the donor’s life expectancy, does not increase the risk of other medical problems, and recovery after surgery is usually brief. Living donor transplant is easily scheduled at the convenience of both the donor and recipient. “Why did I do it? Why not?” said Janiece, the day after donating her kidney. “I’m blessed to be part of this family and this was something I wanted to do for my family. We all benefit.”
Surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center perform an average of 32 living donor liver transplants annually. In 2017, 53 living donor kidneys were transplanted at the hospital.
Baylor Dallas Physician Named Physician of the Year
The American Liver Foundation of North Texas has named Robert Perrillo, MD, FAASLD, as the 2018 Physician of the Year. Dr. Perrillo is a hepatologist at Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) and adjunct professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He joined BUMC in 2006 to serve as associate director of the hepatology transplant team and head of the remote liver clinic outreach program in West Texas. From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Perrillo also supported the liver fellowship program as program director, contributing to BUMC being awarded the American Board of Internal Medicine certification for advanced liver fellowship training. An internationally recognized clinical investigator and opinion leader in the area of chronic hepatitis B, Dr. Perrillo was one of the pioneer researchers to study the interactions between HIV and chronic hepatitis B infection, as well as how to clinically apply new diagnostic assays for chronic hepatitis B. He is best recognized among the academic community for his many publications in the area of antiviral therapy and reactivation of hepatitis B during immunosuppressive drug therapy.
UPCOMING CME PROGRAMS
The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Education of Baylor Scott & White Health is offering the following programs:
Eight Annual Central Texas Pediatric Subspecialty for the Primary Care Provider, February 22, 2019, at Hillcrest Medical Center, Waco, Texas
Oncology Review 2019: Best Practices, April 6, 2019, at Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Dallas, Texas
39th Annual Everett R. Veirs Lecture and Ophthalmology Conference, April 12–13, 2019
Fourth Annual Baylor University Medical Center 2019 IBD Conference, April 13, 2019, at Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Dallas, Texas
For more information, visit https://www.bswhealth.med/cme.
RECENT GRANTS
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Trans-America Consortium of the Health Care Systems Research Network for the All of Us Research Program
Principal investigator: Giovanni Filardo, PhD
Sponsor: Henry Ford Healthcare System/ National Institutes of Health
Funding: $1,917,670
Award period: 4/1/2018–3/31/2019
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Mandatory estimates of vaccine effectiveness against medically attended, PCR-confirmed influenza in West South Central U.S.
Principal investigator: Manusha Gaglani, MD
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Funding: $1,300,000
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Core_apt measure of PCR-based influenza vaccine effectiveness in inpatient adults
Principal investigator: Manusha Gaglani, MD
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Funding: $700,000
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Familial and early onset colorectal cancer
Principal investigator: Ajay Goel, PhD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $372,400
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Reflux-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in benign Barrett’s esophagus
Principal investigators: Rhonda Souza, MD, and Stuart Spechler, MD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $360,968
Award period: 9/1/2018–8/31/2019
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MicroRNA biomarkers for determining treatment response in colorectal cancer
Principal investigator: Ajay Goel, PhD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $349,694
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Improving transition from acute to post-acute care following traumatic brain injury
Principal investigator: Simon Driver, PhD
Sponsor: University of Washington/PCORI
Funding: $348,453
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Development of microRNA biomarkers for noninvasive detection of colorectal cancer
Principal investigator: Ajay Goel, PhD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $347,517
Award period: 7/1/2018–6/30/2019
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Methylation biomarker development for noninvasive detection of colorectal cancer
Principal investigator: Ajay Goel, PhD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $319,735
Award period: 5/1/2018–4/30/2019
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Reducing chronic kidney disease burden in an underserved population
Principal Investigator: Donald E. Wesson, MD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $240,645
Award period: 8/1/2018–7/31/2019
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Endoscopic, histologic, and molecular characterization of esophageal wound healing after radiofrequency ablation of Barrett’s esophagus
Principal investigators: Rhonda Souza, MD, and Stuart Spechler, MD
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Funding: $196,290
Award period: 5/1/2018–4/30/2019
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Poison control stabilization and enhancement program
Principal investigator: S. David Baker, PharmD
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration
Funding: $173,922
Award period: 9/1/2018–8/31/2019
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Nanocytology as a tool to improve risk stratification in Barrett’s esophagus
Principal investigator: Vani Konda, MD
Sponsor: American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Funding: $75,000
Award period: 1/26/2017–12/31/2018
PHILANTHROPY NOTES
Legacies with a lasting impact across North Texas
Baylor Health Care System Foundation held a recognition luncheon to honor members of the Boone Powell Sr. Society (BPSS), individuals who have made commitments to the Foundation through a planned gift or in their estate plans.
Support from this group of generous donors has made a significant impact in areas across North Texas, and during the recognition luncheon, Foundation leaders honored seven BPSS members who died this past year. Their legacies will provide funding for initiatives across Baylor Scott & White Health, including Arts in Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, Baylor AT&T Memory Center, breast cancer research, transplant research, and nursing education. In all, the legacies established by these individuals will add more than $4,050,000 to initiatives that were so important to them, changing lives of patients and caregivers, now and in the future.
The luncheon’s featured topic centered on a program at Baylor Scott & White Health that exists solely because of generous support from donors like those in BPSS, Child Life Services. This philanthropically funded program helps patients and families answer the question: “How do I tell my kids about my illness?” When important people in a child’s life face life-threatening illness or trauma, many families either don’t know how or are not comfortable talking about the situation with children. How kids process distressing events like these can have a major impact on their lives.
To help patients and their families at Baylor Scott & White Health during these times, doctors and nurses often call on experts like Cinda McDonald. She’s one of seven palliative care child life specialists within the system dedicated to serving children of adult patients. Across many hospitals, from the emergency department to the ICU, they are trained to help with the psychosocial issues kids face when their parent or loved one is seriously ill or injured.
These child life specialists are members of the Supportive and Palliative Care team and receive requests to assist with seriously ill or injured patients across the hospital. “We always meet with the involved adults first,” Cinda said. “We don’t want to assume that we know what the family wants communicated to their child.” After talking with the adults to understand the family’s needs, Cinda will meet with the child in an activity room in the Supportive and Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic. “We help them prepare for things like a parent’s surgery or what it means if a parent is diagnosed with a serious illness,” she said. “We help them process those early feelings, then work to develop coping strategies.” These sessions may take several hours and usually end with “normalized play,” like playing games or talking about home, school, friends, and pets. “We don’t want to leave them with that heaviness hanging over their head.” Oftentimes, child life specialists will help connect the family with ongoing support in the community.
While many pediatric health systems offer child life services to children who are sick or injured, Baylor Scott & White Health is one of the very few adult health systems in the nation that has a program exclusively serving the emotional needs of children whose parents or other adult loved ones are facing a serious health crisis. This type of patient-centered service has a positive impact on the whole family. It is provided at no cost to the patients and families. Because the services are not billable and are not covered by insurance, they must be fully funded by philanthropy.
For information on how you can support these or other initiatives at Baylor Scott & White Health – North Texas, please contact Baylor Health Care System Foundation at 214.820.3136.