Methodist Healthcare System | Keeping Well | Winter 2021

SAHealth.com 7 KEEPINGWELL —WINTER 2021 Methodist Healthcare earns top grades for safety Methodist Healthcare was awarded A’s in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades for fall 2020, a national distinction recognizing achievements protecting patients from harm and providing safer healthcare. “This has been an exceptionally challenging year for everyone in healthcare, but that did not prevent us from maintaining our high safety standards,” said Allen Harrison, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare. Hospitals earning A’s, the highest grade given, were Methodist Hospital & Methodist Children’s Hospital, Methodist Hospital | Northeast, Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan, Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant, Methodist Hospital South and Methodist Hospital | Texsan. Mike Cardenas, a patrol deputy for Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office, was responding to a call when another car failed to stop at an intersection and collided with his. Help quickly arrived, including the sheriff and many of his fellow deputies. First responders realized the injuries were extreme, so they took him to the local hospital, where they assessed his injuries and decided to airlift Mike to Methodist Hospital | Stone Oak. He received immediate care. “From the time the helicopter landed to the time it took to reduce his hip was 15 to 20 minutes,” said Richard Barber, MD, orthopedic trauma surgeon. “It was impressive for everyone to be there and for us to get that taken care of in that amount of time.” Mike’s other injuries included broken left ribs, upper spinal injuries, a detached retina and an acetabular fracture dislocation (broken hip socket and dislocated hip). The following day, he went into reconstructive surgery, and four days later, he graduated to therapy. “The care that I was given was like having your own private doctors, your own private rooms, your own private RNs,” Mike, 48, shared. He went through occupational and physical therapy, relearning how to do daily activities such as showering and brushing his teeth. “Trauma is a team sport,” Barber said. “It takes a team to get patients like Cardenas back to his original state.” In December, Mike returned to work as a patrol deputy for the first time in a year and a half. “It felt great to put my uniform back on and get inside a unit,” he said. “Although I still have some weak areas, I am so motivated and so thankful that I have gotten the care I was given at your hospital.” Methodist Hospital | Stone Oak has significantly invested in its trauma and rehabilitation programs to provide exceptional and comprehensive care to patients like Mike. As a result of its impressive advancements, the Texas Department of State Health Services recently designated the hospital’s trauma program as a first-time Level III Advanced Trauma Center. The hospital also expanded its rehabilitation services and opened a new freestanding rehabilitation center earlier this year. Methodist Hospital | Stone Oak is readily equipped to treat a wide range of traumatic injuries. Trauma team helps deputy recover after harrowing car accident Mike Cardena