Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings April 2014, Volume 27, Number 2 | Page 72

Baylor news
■ The Heart Hospital Baylor Denton opens
On January 6, 2014, The Heart Hospital
Baylor Denton began treating cardiovascular
patients at its newly remodeled location, 2801
South Mayhill Road, Denton. Part of Baylor Scott
& White Health, the 68,580-square-foot, 16-inpatient bed specialty hospital offers comprehensive cardiac and vascular services. According to
the hospital’s administrators, all Denton cardiac
surgeons are members of the facility’s medical
staff, and more than 90% of the area’s cardiologists have joined the medical staff of The Heart
Hospital Baylor Denton.
“Expanding our brand of five-star services
further into North Texas has been a goal of
ours,” said Mark A. Valentine, president, The
Heart Hospital Baylor Plano. “We’re pleased to
be welcomed by Denton cardiovascular physicians.” Valentine also serves as president of the
new Denton facility.
Services at The Heart Hospital Baylor Denton
include a cardiac catheterization lab; an electrophysiology lab; cardiovascular operating suites
(with a hybrid operating suite used for minimally
invasive procedures, which can be converted to
open surgery); and advanced imaging, including a
256-slice computed tomography scanner, threedimensional and two-dimensional ultrasound,
fluoroscopy, and 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging. A 16-bed inpatient nursing unit will be
expanded to 22 beds in May 2014. In addition,
there is a 12-bed outpatient ambulatory surgery unit and outpatient cardiovascular services
through the Center for Advanced Cardiovascular
Care. A Comprehensive Wound Center offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy; the emergency department has been expanded from 2 to 5 beds; and
the full-service hospital laboratory offers 24/7
services, including transfusions.
Baylor acquired the facility in May 2013 and
quickly began a two-stage renovation project
that is scheduled to be completed in May 2014.
The second phase of construction will add six
more intensive care unit suites and an additional cardiovascular operating room. Ascension
Architects Inc., CBRE, and MEDCO Construction
comprise the renovation team.
■ Baylor Emergency Medical Center at

Murphy opens
The new Baylor Emergency Medical Center
at Murphy opened as the first center of its kind
from Baylor in Collin County when it began
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seeing patients at 511 FM 544, Suite 100, on
February 3, 2014. Baylor Emergency Medical
Center at Murphy offers emergency medical and
inpatient care that is “patient-centric” in its innovative approach. From the moment the patient
enters the facility, the experienced medical staff,
systems, and technology will be ready to meet
the patient’s needs in a way that is convenient,
accessible, efficient, and compassionate. Unlike
urgent care centers, which are designed to handle non–life-threatening medical complaints, or
freestanding emergency departments, Baylor
Emergency Medical Center at Murphy will be a
licensed hospital, providing clinical quality and
efficient operations.
At Baylor Emergency Medical Center at
Murphy, patients have convenient access to an
emergency physician, whom they can usually
see within minutes, with an average door-todoc time of less than 10 minutes; hospital-level
amenities, including a dedicated inpatient wing;
an in-house laboratory for prompt results; and
on-site imaging, including x-ray, computed tomography scanning, and ultrasound. An added
benefit to this community hospital is the inpatient beds it offers. If a patient requires an overnight stay, Baylor Emergency Medical Center at
Murphy offers comfortable inpatient beds and
around-the-clock care.
Baylor opened its first emergency medical
center in Aubrey, and other emergency medical
centers are planned for other areas.
■ Baylor research uses stem cells to

heal the heart
As scientists investigate the medical potential
for adult stem cells, new research from Baylor’s
Soltero Cardiovascular Research Center (SCRC)
seeks to provide deeper insight on the topic. Led
by Cara East, MD, medical director of the SCRC,
the center is involved in a set of two clinical trials
studying the use of autologous adult stem cells in
various heart and vascular conditions. The team
has researched stem cells in particular for more
than 8 years because of the cells’ special ability
to “mend.” Autologous stem cells come from
the patient’s own body.
“Adult stem cells are actually ‘super repair
cells,’” Dr. East said. “We know—from recent,
basic research—that adult stem cells do not
transform into new cells. Rather, they stimulate
removal of scar tissue, which then causes healthy
cells to grow and replenish. After the healthy cells

do their work, the adult stem cells die; they may
only live 2 weeks to 3 months. This ensures that
the repair cycle does not continue indefinitely,
which could result in tissue overgrowth.”
Each clinical trial has its own criteria, objectives,
and parameters, but they share a similar goal: to
explore (and possibly harness) the human body’s
restorative power through its own cells. The first trial
studies patients with critical limb ischemia, to determine if the injection of bone marrow into damaged
tissues improves blood flow. The ixCELL study is for
patients with congestive heart failure. Through this
research, investigators will determine if catheterbased injection of ixmyelocel-T (compared with placebos) is effective, safe, and tolerated for certain
heart failure patients. Ixmyelocel-T is developed
by culturing the patient’s own bone marrow. The
resulting cell treatment is then injected into the
patient’s heart muscles to encourage growth of
new tissue and improve inflammation.
“Our dream is to develop therapies that are
less invasive and can help patients who cannot
currently be helped with available therapies,” Dr.
East said. “Plus, we hope this research leads
us to treatments that work even better than our
current therapies.”
■ Baylor prescribes FollowMyHealth,

new patient portal
Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) patients
are beginning to use FollowMyHealth™ to
manage their personal health records. Baylor’s
FollowMyHealth is a patient portal that provides
a convenient and secure way for patients to
manage their personal health record from any
computer or mobile device with Internet access.
Patient portals are an effective tool for patient
engagement, where patients are partners in
their own medical care, supporting Baylor’s
patient-centered focus. Patient portals are also
one of the objectives of the federal government’s
Health Information Technology for Economic and
Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The meaningful use
provision requires that patient portals be made
available and used by patients.
Patients receive automatic email invitations
to create accounts after discharge. If they
choose not to connect by email, they can go to
the Baylor consumer portal, BaylorHealth.com/
FollowMyHealth, to fill out and return a request
form to the health information management department of the hospital where they were most
recently a patient.
Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent) 2014;27(2):146–148