Texas Health HEB Announces Plans for $25 Million High-Acuity Care Expansion

 Improvements will enhance patient experience for critically illwhile continuing to provide advanced care

BEDFORD, TEXAS, Feb. 5, 2015 – Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford will soon begin construction on a $25 million expansion aimed at improving the care experience for the most critically ill patients in Northeast Tarrant County. Groundbreaking is set for Feb. 10, 2015, with completion in mid-2016.

The three-story building expansion will tie into the hospital’s existing tower. Features of the expansion include:

• A new 18-bed high-acuity intensive care unit (ICU)
• A new dedicated interventional radiology suite
• Expansion room for future patient care needs

The new ICU will feature private rooms that allow critically ill patients to remain in the same room as their condition changes from admission to discharge. This is made possible by the use of flexible “universal” beds. Instead of moving patients to different rooms as their status changes, nursing staff will rotate through the patient room according to their skill sets. 

“We’ve always put the patient first while providing high-quality, compassionate care,” said Margaret Markey, B.S.N., R.N., CCRN, nursing manager for critical care at Texas Health HEB. “Now we’ll have the tools to make the patient experience great. From increased quiet to more room for visiting family members, the new high-acuity rooms are designed around patient needs to speed the healing process.”

“High-acuity care using universal beds means patients don’t have to be transferred multiple times to different levels of care, since the level of care changes rather than the patient’s location,” said Gary L. Jones, M.D., FACP, FCCP, pulmonologist and critical care medicine physician on the medical staff at Texas HEB. “That’s a tremendous benefit for patients and caregivers alike.”

Four of the 18 ICU rooms will be dedicated to bariatric care, featuring ceiling lifts that help move the patient from bed to bathroom. The new unit will also include two isolation rooms for patients with contagious or infectious diseases.

Almost 4,000 patients annually are treated in the existing 14-bed ICU. The current unit will be refurbished as a short-stay unit after the new building is complete. The increased ICU capacity will be important as the hospital continues to shift its inpatient care focus to more acutely ill patients.

The new interventional radiology suite will allow physicians to perform minimally invasive, imaging-guided procedures that help in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses and vascular diseases, such as kidney disease, liver disease and abnormal blood clotting. Interventional radiology procedures are less invasive and more targeted, minimizing pain and patient recovery times.

 “This $25 million expansion is an enhancement to our already outstanding cadre of services and dedicated to the  Northeast Tarrant Community. The most critically ill patients deserve the highest quality and safest care possible, in addition to the latest technology,” said Deborah Paganelli, FACHE, president of Texas Health HEB.

“This expansion allows us to chart the future of patient care, ” said Paganelli.    

            The public is invited to the groundbreaking event for the new facility at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015, at Texas Health HEB, 1600 Hospital Parkway in Bedford.

Texas Health HEB Recognized with American Heart Association’s
Mission: Lifeline Quality Achievement Award

BEDFORD, TEXAS, Dec. 10, 2014 – Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford has earned the Mission: Lifeline^® Silver Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks.

Each year in the United States, approximately 250,000 people have a STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires time-sensitive treatment. To prevent loss of life, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication.

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals, emergency medical services and communities improve response times so people who suffer from a STEMI receive prompt, appropriate treatment. The program’s goal is to streamline systems of care to quickly get heart attack patients from the first 9-1-1 call to hospital treatment.

Along with Texas Health HEB, Texas Health Resources hospitals in Arlington, Denton, Fort Worth and Plano earned recognition.

“At Texas Health HEB, we are dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that goal through internationally respected clinical guidelines,” said Deborah Paganelli, FACHE, hospital president. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team.”

Texas Health HEB earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients to open the blocked artery. Before patients are discharged, they are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, and they receive smoking cessation counseling if needed. Eligible hospitals must adhere to these measures at a set level for a designated period to receive the awards. Silver awardees met rigorous criteria during four calendar quarters.

“We commend Texas Health HEB for this achievement award, which reflects a significant institutional commitment to improve the quality of care for their heart attack patients,” said A. Gray Ellrodt, M.D., chair of the Mission: Lifeline committee and chief of medicine at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass.

Texas Health Resources and the physicians on the medical staff, working through the systemwide Heart & Vascular Council, share a vision of making North Texas the vanguard of quality heart care for the state.  Composed of cardiac care specialists and Texas Health administrators, the Council works so that all patients in the system’s service area will receive the same quality care, regardless of their location. 

Texas Health HEB Works to End Senior Hunger
with Food Drive for Metroport Meals On Wheels

BEDFORD, TEXAS, Nov. 26, 2014 – Employees, medical staff physicians and volunteers at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford recently gave cash, grocery gift cards, canned goods and their hearts to a great cause—helping end hunger and isolation among senior citizens in Tarrant County.

The hospital conducted a drive that raised $8,031 and donated almost 7,000 canned goods toMetroport Meals On Wheels (MMOW), a grassroots volunteer advocate for the elderly and those in need through home-delivered meals, senior center lunches, activity programs and other support services. Texas Health HEB employees selected MMOW as a beneficiary organization and conducted the “Food Fantasy – Ending Senior Hunger” campaign Nov. 3-14.

“We are thrilled at the generosity our Texas Health HEB family showed in supporting Metroport Meals On Wheels,” said Susann Land, M.D., the hospital’s chief medical officer. “Texas Health strongly emphasizes caring for the well-being of people in the communities we serve. We’re honored to work side-by-side with MMOW in improving seniors’ well-being through combatting hunger and isolation.”

 Land and hospital president Deborah Paganelli, FACHE, presented MMOW Executive Director Mary King with a check for the cash raised on Nov. 18. King noted that the funds will help defray the cost of meals for seniors served by MMOW, which does not accept government funding.

“Texas Health HEB provides incredible support for our work on behalf of senior citizens,” said King.

Along with the food drive, the hospital has prepared meals for MMOW clients in Bedford for five years. Hospital employees such as Mary Pat Black volunteer as drivers to transport the meals to clients. Black has served on the MMOW board for 10 years and was board president for two years.

“My husband and I enjoy being able to serve,” said Black. “I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of my parents in helping provide for senior citizens.”

Texas Health HEB works with area nonprofit organizations by providing volunteer hours for community outreach events and activities. Other organizations hospital employees have chosen to support are SafeHaven Women’s Shelter; American Heart Association Tarrant County Heart Walk; and Bell Manor and Viridian elementary schools.

Texas Health HEB to Offer Screening Mammograms
Through Mobile Health Program

BEDFORD, TEXAS, Sept. 23, 2014 – Texas Health Resources’ Wellness for Life mobile health unit will offer screening mammograms at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hospital is located at 1600 Hospital Parkway in Bedford.

Patients’ insurance will be billed directly. Those without insurance may qualify for fully funded screenings.

Those interested can register by calling 1-855-318-7696 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Patients should bring a form of identification  and insurance cards (if insured).

The breast health screening will last approximately 15 to 20 minutes, including a four-view screening mammogram and breast health education. Mammograms are read by a board-certified radiologist, and the results are sent to the patient and her physician.

Women who are eligible for the mammograms must:

• Be age 40 and over
• Have no personal history of breast cancer
• Not have breast implants
• Have no known breast lumps or breast problems
• Not be pregnant or nursing or nursed in the past six months
• Not have had a mammogram in the past 12 months

“For women who fit the criteria, getting a yearly mammogram is a must,” said Ajay Dubey, M.D., a radiation oncologist on the medical staff at Texas Health HEB and chair of the hospital’s cancer committee. “Mammograms help physicians catch breast cancer in the earliest, and most treatable, stages.”

Wellness for Life is a prevention and early detection program available to the community through the mobile health unit. The goals of Wellness for Life are to increase awareness of cancer prevention, promote the benefits of cancer screening and offer the community easy accessibility to health screening and early detection services. It’s staffed by family nurse practitioners, registered nurses and other health professionals. Medical oversight is provided by a board-certified physician member of the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

Texas Health HEB’s Rick Scivally Receives National Award
for Facilities Management Leadership  

BEDFORD, TEXAS, Aug. 29, 2014 – Rick Scivally, director of facilities, safety and security at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, received national recognition at the American Society for Healthcare Engineering’s (ASHE) 51th Annual Conference Aug. 3-6 in Chicago.

Scivally received the Emerging Regional Leader Award (Region 7) for his exemplary leadership skills and commitment to the field of health care engineering and facility management, planning, design, construction and safety, as well as his local and national involvement with ASHE.

“This national recognition of Rick is well-deserved,” said Deborah A. Paganelli, FACHE, president of Texas Health HEB. “His knowledge of health care engineering and safety and his strong leadership have been invaluable to our staff and physicians as we help meet health care needs in Northeast Tarrant County.”

Scivally has served primarily as Texas Health HEB’s facilities, safety and security director since 2001, with a brief tenure as facility operations director for an engineering consulting firm during that time. He previously served in facility operations and safety leadership roles for Vencor Hospitals’ Southwest Region.

A Gainesville, Texas, native, Scivally grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Kennedy-Western University.

He is a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (American Hospital Association Certification Center), Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (Special Alliance for Training, Registry and Compliance Board) and Certified Building Commissioning Professional (Association of Energy Engineers). He additionally is accredited by the United States Green Building Council as a Leader in Efficient and Environmental Design Accredited Professional.

Along with his ASHE recognition, Scivally has been active with the Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management (TAHFM), currently serving as a regional board member. He received TAHFM’s Distinguished Executive Award for 2006-2007.

“I’m honored and humbled to be associated with professionals known for their commitment to health care,” said Scivally. “I believe my involvement with ASHE and TAHFM have helped bring Texas Health HEB and Texas Health Resources to the forefront in Texas health care facilities management.”