Fort Worth medical community joins hands on new graduate-level, school-affiliated physician residency program
Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center Fort Worth and the Texas Christian University (TCU) and University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) School of Medicine will be collaborating on an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited physician resident training program that will eventually train more than 150 physicians annually. The collaboration will be a boon not only for the medical community in Fort Worth but also for residents of North Texas, because it helps to address a growing need for physicians in the Fort Worth area.
“We are honored to be working alongside a like-minded organization in Baylor Scott & White–Fort Worth,” said Stuart Flynn, MD, dean of the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine. “With the combination of both organizations’ available resources and aligned mission, we can create a robust and rich academic environment in the Fort Worth community.”
In 2020, the ACGME-accredited program will interview and select its first cohort of medical school graduates, who will begin their residencies at Baylor Scott & White Fort Worth in July 2021 in the areas of internal medicine and emergency medicine. The program will add residents each year, reaching a peak of more than 150 residency positions in the 2027–2028 academic year. Additional programs will include obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, anesthesia, and a transitional year program. Fellowship training programs in specialties such as cardiology, oncology, hepatology, and nephrology are also being considered. The program complements existing graduate medical education in Fort Worth, providing more options for new physician graduates in an important collaboration with the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, one of the newest medical schools in the nation.
Hosting medical residencies in Fort Worth is critical to keeping physicians in Texas. In Texas, 59% of residents stay in-state after training. If they attend medical school and do their residency in Texas, that number jumps to 81%. This new collaboration is an academic-aligned program, allowing for competitive recruitment of top medical school graduates from Texas and across the USA.
“With our ongoing dedication to excellent patient care, this collaboration will further opportunities for medical education and research, benefiting the community as a whole,” said Mike Sanborn, MS, RPh, president of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center–Fort Worth. “Our goal is to build upon this foundation that echoes the pillars of outstanding teaching hospitals: patient care, education, and research.”
In regard to ACGME residencies, Baylor Scott & White is a leader in Texas, offering a combined total of nearly 800 residencies at its facilities across the state.
Baylor University Medical Center earns state’s highest designation for comprehensive maternal and neonatal care
Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, a part of Baylor Scott & White Health, is the first hospital in Dallas–Fort Worth designated as a level IV maternal care center, the highest possible designation by the Texas Department of State Health Services. It is one of six Texas hospitals with this level of designation, which recognizes expertise in comprehensive care, perinatal outreach, thought leadership, transportation, and continued education.
“We are honored to be the first hospital in the Dallas metroplex to receive a level IV designation by the state of Texas,” said Anthony R. Gregg, MD, MBA, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center. “It is a testament to the hardworking doctors, nurses, and medical staff which lead our mission by providing quality care and enhanced patient experience. We have extended these principles to our unique outreach and education programs in order to touch the broader community. Families, women, and babies across the metroplex have access to quality maternity care at Baylor University Medical Center. That’s a win for everyone.”
Service dog program expands to serve Texas veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder
Canine Companions for Independence at Baylor Scott & White Health–Kinkeade Campus has expanded its training program to offer service dogs for veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The campus in Irving is the third Canine Companions location in the USA to grow its programming to serve veterans with PTSD.
Canine Companions was selected to participate in a multiyear study with the Department of Veterans Affairs to train and place dogs with veterans with PTSD. With the knowledge gained from this study and its existing robust program of experienced volunteers, trainers, and staff, Canine Companions launched a successful controlled pilot program to expand its services to veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Following the pilot, Canine Companions opened a state-of-the-art training facility at its California training center to support veterans with PTSD and offer better support for veteran applicants. Since then, the program has expanded to the campus in New York and now to the campus in Irving.
The service dogs that provide support to veterans with PTSD have been trained in specific commands and proactive actions to mitigate the symptoms of PTSD. They are capable of interrupting nightmares and symptoms of anxiety, as well as performing positional commands that help their handler feel more comfortable in public. One of the first veterans to graduate with a service dog in the PTSD research program in California put it this way: “My PTSD symptoms no longer control my life. … [My service dog’s] presence and invaluable training have reduced my stress, anger and anxiety, which previously closed me out of normal life experiences with my family and friends.”
Baylor Scott & White Health opens hospital in Austin
In January 2020, Baylor Scott & White Health opened its newest full-service hospital in Austin, located at 5251 W. U.S. Highway 290. In addition to the hospital, a multispecialty medical clinic will be located on the campus as part of a comprehensive model of care. The hospital includes an emergency department, comprehensive inpatient care, surgical services, and diagnostic services. Clinic services include cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, orthopedics, podiatry, pain management, general surgery, breast surgery, 3D breast imaging, and urology.
“This medical center and clinic highlight our commitment to bring comprehensive care services to the Austin community in one convenient location,” said Jay Fox, president, Baylor Scott & White Health–Austin/Round Rock region. “It is because of the community’s support and collaboration that we are now able to serve their health care needs through this facility.”
UPCOMING CME PROGRAMS
The A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Education of Baylor Scott & White Health is offering the following programs:
35th Annual Family Medicine Review, April 15–18, 2020, Doubletree Hotel, Austin, Texas
Everett R. Veirs Lectures and Ophthalmology Conference, April 24–25, 2020, at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center–Temple
Fifth Annual Baylor University Medical Center IBD Conference, April 25, 2020, Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Dallas, Texas
29th Annual Robert E. Myers, MD Lectureship in Pediatrics, May 8, 2020, Beltonian Theatre, Belton, Texas
For more information, visit https://www.bswhealth.med/cme.
RECENT GRANTS
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Research on the epidemiology and prevention of influenza
Principal investigator: Manjusha Gaglani, MD
Centers for/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Funding: $594,891
Award period: 7/30/2019–7/29/2020
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Glycemia reduction approaches in diabetes: A comparative effectiveness study (GRADE)
Principal investigator: Priscilla Hollander, MD, PhD
Sponsor: George Washington University/National Institutes of Health
Funding: $413,225
Award period: 8/1/2019–7/31/2020
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Toward a rigorous biological and clinical definition of Alzheimer’s
Principal investigator: Andrew Kiselica, PhD
Sponsor: Alzheimer’s Association
Funding: $106,702
Award period: 10/1/2019–9/30/2021
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Reaffirming neuropsychology’s central role in understanding Alzheimer’s disease in the age of biomarkers
Principal investigator: Andrew Kiselica, PhD
Sponsor: National Academy of Neuropsychology
Funding: $14,971
Award period: 9/1/2019–8/31/2020
PHILANTHROPY NOTES
Managing risk to save lives: High-risk breast program uses information in a new way
Advancements in technology have afforded us more patient-centric data that is actionable. Now, a team from Baylor Scott & White Health is utilizing that information to make important predictions about breast cancer in its new High-Risk Breast Program.
“Up to 15% of women appearing at any time at a breast center are at a high risk for breast cancer—and they don’t even realize it,” said Zeeshan Shah, MD, medical director, Darlene G. Cass Women’s Imaging Center at Baylor University Medical Center and North Dallas.
Developed with these women in mind, the program assesses risk, counsels patients about reducing risk factors within their control, and provides comprehensive, personalized follow-up care. The program puts years of scientific findings to work for women to identify and understand their risk factors through the use of new software systems that illuminate a patient’s potential for developing breast cancer, all based on complex algorithms that integrate and analyze a host of risk factors.
With the help of a dedicated navigator, patients can discover and then act on that information. Additional testing may be conducted that has the potential to uncover even very small amounts of abnormal cells. Patients are provided counsel and support from an experienced care team every step of the way.
“We automated the process of determining risk, and ancillary technologies became available that let us do something with that information,” Dr. Shah explained.
Most important, he stressed, is the human element. “One of the challenges for me was to make sure this process was personal. It’s important to have a human face to this to make it a patient-friendly experience.”
Funds raised through the 2019 Celebrating Women luncheon helped launch the High-Risk Breast Program, the first of its kind in North Texas. “Thanks to 20 years of Celebrating Women, Baylor Scott & White has been able to make significant investments in clinical care, technology, research, and clinical trials to better serve our patients,” said Baylor Scott & White Health CEO Jim Hinton. “And now, this new High-Risk Breast Program is just one more investment and commitment that Baylor Scott & White is making for our breast cancer patients, now and in the future.”
Child life program expanded with gift from Moody Foundation
Baylor Scott & White Health believes that treating the patient means treating the whole family. In 2011, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas became one of the first hospitals in the nation to develop a palliative care child life services program dedicated to exclusively serving children of adult patients who are facing life-altering or life-ending illnesses and trauma. The program has expanded in the last 8 years to additional Baylor Scott & White hospitals.
Now, through a generous grant from the Moody Foundation, more children whose lives have been impacted by the health or injury of a loved one will receive this support.
“We have the unique opportunity to take the long view in deciding how our foundation can best invest in meaningful projects that positively impact the lives of Texans for years or decades,” Frances Moody-Dahlberg, executive director and chairman of the Moody Foundation, said. “Bringing comfort to our smallest and most vulnerable children in their time of uncertainty allows us to be of service in a way that is both gratifying and humbling. We are pleased to come together with Baylor Scott & White Health on this life-changing initiative.”
With the help of this grant, the palliative care child life program will be established or expanded in locations in North Texas, including Fort Worth, Irving, and Grapevine, and in Central Texas, including Waco and Temple. Highly trained and dedicated certified child life specialists help families in crisis, serving in palliative care and in all other hospital units including trauma, the emergency department, the intensive care unit, oncology, cardiac care, transplant, women’s and children’s services, and rehabilitation.
“When there is a serious life-limiting illness or injury, the children are often the ones who need the most information and emotional support, but the adults often don’t know where to start,” Cinda McDonald, manager of palliative care child life services, said. “We work with adults to educate and empower them in how to support their kids through their health crisis, giving them confidence to talk about this difficult information with their kids. For many children, their lack of understanding can sometimes lead to fears or misperceptions, like that they ‘caused’ a serious illness. It’s both heartbreaking and real,” McDonald said.
“Our goal is to work with children and their families and help by being that unbiased person outside of their family, that ‘safe space’ where children can have open and honest conversations on topics that parents have given us permission to talk about.” Helping children cope with real-life circumstances is the goal of providing child life services and support in this innovative way, McDonald explained.
Thanks to generous support from the Moody Foundation and other gracious patrons, generations of Texans may be supported on their journey through the inevitable circumstances of serious illness, injury, or death of a loved one.
For information on how you can support these or other philanthropic initiatives at Baylor Scott & White Health–North Texas, please contact Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation at 214.820.3136.