Newsroom Archive

Before you get your toddler all dressed up in his Sunday best and drop him into a patch of bluebonnets for a spring photo, don’t forget that it’s also springtime for other creatures.

“When the temperature goes up, snakes start to get more active and we start to see the number of people who get bitten go up, too,” said Dr. Todd Phillips, MD, Medical Toxicologist at JPS Health Network. “Snakes are going to be places where they can find cover and they’re going to be places where they can find food. So, when people are in those kinds of places, they need to be cautious.”

May 5, 2014 might have been the last day of Fort Worth resident Jimmy Jenkins’ life if not for the work of surgeons at JPS.

Out for a ride on his bike, Jenkins suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground with blood pouring from his face. How he got there, he wasn’t quite sure. All he knew was he was struggling to remain conscious and he was in a lot of pain.

Trying to describe the heartache of losing her daughter, Cassandra “Cassie” Contreras, to injuries suffered in a car accident in June, Emily Avila made it only a sentence or two into her prepared remarks at the Donate Life flag ceremony Monday at JPS before she was overcome with emotion and couldn’t continue.

While more than 100,000 people watch the drivers compete in the NASCAR race this weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway, circling the track at speeds approaching 200 mph, doctors, nurses and other team members at JPS Health Network will be watching out for both the race enthusiasts and the stock car pilots.

In a health system the size of JPS, thousands of things have to be kept on hand so they’re available when patients need them.

It is Network Recall Manager J.C. Newell’s responsibility to make sure all of those products work like they’re supposed to. When something goes wrong with any kind of supplies or equipment, it’s her job to be on top of it and make sure that item is removed before it can do any harm.

Seniors from O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth toured JPS Tuesday as part of a program designed to help develop the healthcare providers of tomorrow.

Phoebe Ogola wanted to compliment her JPS care team, so she put pen to paper one day and wrote down her thoughts.

Her two physicians, Urussa Jabbar, DO, a family medicine physician at the Medical Home Southeast Tarrant in Arlington, and Paul Bhella, MD, a JPS cardiologist, are “the best – very caring and friendly. They treat me as part of the family.”

To her delight, Phoebe’s letter was shared with JPS executives and managers at their monthly Leadership Connection meeting.

When a woman has a baby at JPS, she’s given a care package that includes a handmade quilt, receiving blanket and booties that both the new mother and her child will not only be able to use now – but will treasure for the rest of their lives.

So, where do the heartwarming keepsakes come from?

The Infant Hearing Screening Program at JPS passed certification review with an overall score of 100 percent and is rated a Distinguished Program by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Distinguished programs are audited every two years and graded on eight metrics intended to ensure that all babies born in Texas have their hearing evaluated and are referred for treatment if hearing loss is detected.

JPS Health Network has climbed to No. 3 in the nation for organ donation, ranked among hospitals much larger in size, and remains No. 1 among hospitals that don’t perform transplants.