What will bring and keep the doctors? We know that around 70% of docs end up staying in the area where they complete their residency training. Seton Family of Hospitals currently sponsors numerous residency training programs in its area hospitals. We’ve already affiliated with the new Texas A&M medical campus being built practically next door to Seton Williamson (SMCW). Hundreds of clinical research projects are under way throughout Seton’s hospitals. University Medical Center Brackenridge is applying for Level I trauma center status.
We also must work at keeping the doctors we have. Most don’t want to be on call so much as in “the old days.” (Yes, they want a personal life, too.) Arranging “Hospitalist” programs, such as we have at SMCW, are providing exclusively hospital-based physicians to coordinate patients’ care while hospitalized. When its 2 a.m., and I’m in a patient in pain, I want that doc that’s right down the hall!
And, doctors want the latest technology for their patients. With a generous donor’s help, we recently acquired the only SuperDimension bronchoscope in Central Texas. One of our talented pulmonologists, who formerly served on the lung transplant team at Baylor College of Medicine, demonstrated it for a few of us recently. It’s like watching something out of those movies, where the characters go in a miniature spaceship through a human body. Utilizing a 3-dimensional image and a tiny, steerable probe the diameter of a human hair, Dr. Subra can non-invasively get a biopsy of suspect lung tissue from the outer reaches of the lung, previously unreachable without surgery. It can easily give you a 2 year head start on a cancer treatment if the spot turns out to be cancerous. It’s the kind of training and technology you want in your own neighborhood. With your help, we can do great things.
Next page: Supporting Williamson County