JPS Health Network team members are finding new ways to shoulder the load and handle all their responsibilities of taking care of patients, whether they have COVID-19, cancer, heart disease or a traumatic injury. This month, those adaptations included virtually completing a required stroke care certification.
JPS Health Network was named the best hospital in the United States, according to a new hospital evaluating system unveiled Tuesday by Washington Monthly Magazine. Ranking near the top of every category, it out-scored the most prestigious healthcare organizations in America.
You might ask yourself, “how is it possible for a public safety-net hospital to out-rank the finest private hospitals across the United States?”
For the last decade, the JPS Health Network Research Symposium has grown in size and depth every year.
Melissa Acosta, Ph.D., Director of the Office of Clinical Research at the health network, said organizers and participants weren’t about to let current social distancing standards due to COVID-19 disrupt that positive momentum. The June 5, 2020 edition of the symposium, which will focus on healthcare inequities and how to eliminate them, will go online. It’s a move she hopes will pave the way for even more growth in the future.
When it comes to diagnosing and treating lung cancer patients, speed is the key, according to Dr. Kalyani Narra, a physician at the JPS Health Network Oncology and Infusion Center.
That’s why JPS oncologists and pulmonologists have joined forces to streamline the process patients follow from their initial visit. In the last year, work to streamline the process has cut the time from first visit to the doctor to starting a treatment plan by about 25 percent. That’s a very big deal, according to Narra.
Surgery can often be the key to saving lives or making them better. A couple hours on the operating table and life-threatening issues could suddenly be a problem of the past.
But what if the patient isn’t prepared for their operation? Things like high blood pressure, complications of diabetes, smoking and obesity can sometimes make it too risky for the patient to undergo surgery. That’s where the JPS Surgical Optimization Clinic comes in.
Pulmonologist Sherif Al-Farra has been named the Physician of the Year at JPS Health Network for 2019.
Dr. Al-Farra specializes in sleep issues. He’s created a sleep study program at JPS where more than 1,000 patients a year can find help, sometimes alleviating a long term health problem in one or two days.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve patient care,” Al-Farra said. “And sleep programs are something that have been under-recognized. Sleep apnea, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems including heart attacks and strokes.”
A pair of JPS Health Network physicians has been honored as Healthcare Heroes by the Fort Worth Business Press for their groundbreaking work to save lives and make them better.
Dr. Fayette Williams, Division of Maxillofacial Oncology & Reconstructive Surgery Director at JPS and Interventional Pulmonologist Dr. Paras Patel will receive their awards January 16 at Texas Christian University.
Williams was honored for his breakthrough work perfecting an operation to replace the jaw bone of patients, who lost theirs through disease or accident, with one of their fibulas.
