Continued growth for Seton Medical Center Harker Heights

By Catherine Hosman
Contributed photo

Now in its sixth year, Seton Medical Center Harker Heights (SMCHH) has garnered a long list of achievements, including:

• Becoming the first hospital in the area to earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement;
• Receiving advanced certification as a Primary Stroke Care Center and Accredited Chest Pain Center;
• Becoming an in-network provider for Scott & White Health Plan;
• Naming a new physical therapy director for their physical therapy program at the Armed Forces YMCA.

The certifications are significant and are a recognition of the quality of care SMCHH has developed in a short period.

“These certifications enhance the care we are providing to both stroke and joint replacement patients,” says CEO Zach Dietze.

“The Joint Commission said that the main purpose to get certification is to actually improve the functioning of the hospital regarding the care of specific diseases,” adds Priscilla Flake, quality management director for SMCHH.
Patients requiring joint replacement attend the Active Again Total Joint Camp before surgery. They have the opportunity to meet with medical professionals who help them prepare for their surgery. “Joint replacement can return patients to a quality of life and certain activities that they may be missing,” Dietze says. “Our comprehensive joint replacement program ensures patients are going to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

Prior to joint replacement surgery, patients are assessed for their health and physical condition. If a health-improvement program is advised, patients must follow through with any prescribed exercise. “Participating in a structured physical therapy program is an essential part of recovery,” Dietze explains.

And, when it comes to strokes, Dietze says timing is critical. “Our stroke certification ensures that our stroke care is delivered in the timeliest manner,” he says. “Time is incredibly valuable with strokes. Throughout the hospital, the team is trained to identify and immediately respond to a patient with stroke-like symptoms.”

Flake explains that any certification a hospital gets will help to improve the process of providing care. “There are many evidence-based practices. As a result of both certifications, we are meeting the higher standards for these specific diseases. It is a disease, to a degree, when you need a hip or knee replacement.”

Best-practice is basically evidence-based research and practice done on all different diseases that are available to hospitals, Flake says. Best practices are constantly changing in medical care.

“It’s not a static thing. We need to keep looking at every evidence-based practice out there and need to maintain that level of care,” she says. “The hospital keeps up with the very latest in best practice. Since doing the joint camp, we are seeing great improvement in patient response. Their outcomes have much improved since we started that program. We can see a difference in those patients; we try and encourage them. You can see the difference in patients who don’t go to joint camp.

“As a result of the certification, it really does help to move the hospital in that direction and make sure they meet those standards (of care).”

In January, SMCHH became an in-network provider for the Scott & White Health Plan for both the hospital and the Wellstone Physician Group. “For the community, this allows those with Scott & White Health Plan insurance a broader network of doctors and hospitals,” says Dietze. “It expands access.”

This past year, Dietze says that Freedom Urgent Care centers continued to see growth. “During flu season, we saw a record number of visits in our ER and urgent-care centers,” Dietze says. “Our newest urgent-care location on W.S. Young just celebrated its first anniversary and continues to see an increase in patient visits.”

Dietze says SMCHH has focused on delivering high-quality care since the hospital opened six years ago, and this includes their physical therapy program at the Armed Services YMCA.

“We are excited that Christopher Egizio, PT, MPT, has joined our team as the new physical therapy director,” Dietze says. He adds that Egizio’s leadership has enhanced the program that is located within the ASYMCA Wellness Center in Harker Heights.

“We continue to grow into areas where there is a need for new and expanded services,” he says.
SMCHH continues its collaboration with the Greater Killeen Community Clinic for patients who suffer from a chronic illness but have limited access to care.

“The program is effective and makes an incredible impact on the lives of patients,” Dietze says. “It’s so rewarding to hear the success stories of the patients in the program and how it has allowed them to better achieve their goals in life.”