Children ’ s Hospital continued
Texas , fell off a swing ; he landed headfirst and soon began having seizures that lasted throughout his childhood . Darrell Crisp , MD , a child neurologist at Scott & White , diagnosed him with epilepsy and has managed his care ever since .
Throughout his childhood , Luke had to be transferred to other hospitals for exploratory brain surgery and other procedures — the kind of advanced care that at the time was not available at Scott & White . Doctors at Hermann Hospital in Houston , Texas , and at the Cleveland Clinic , in Cleveland , Ohio , were impressed with the high-caliber care that Luke received from Dr . Crisp and the team at Scott & White . Now advanced pediatric neurosurgery care is available at Scott & White , made possible by proactive recruitment of the best and brightest clinicians .
Luke ’ s parents , Debbie and Neale Potts , are avid supporters of the Children ’ s Hospital at Scott & White and the Children ’ s Miracle Network ( a fundraising organization that supports Scott & White and other children ’ s hospitals around the country ). “ Scott & White is a wonderful organization ,” says Luke . “ I credit them for working miracles with other kids , just like they did for me .” He recently graduated with honors from Texas A & M University in College Station , Texas , with a master ’ s degree in healthcare administration . Luke plans to open a business , carrying on a sevengeneration tradition of family businesses in Belton , Texas .
Expanding pediatric expertise “ We have many specialists in place within the healthcare system . We have almost 100 pediatricians that serve the children of Central Texas , and that number is growing ,” says Dr . Beeram , who oversees the recruitment of pediatric specialists . A dedicated support team assists clinicians as well . “ But we need to pursue our goal of recruiting the highest quality physicians in each specialty to accomplish our vision .”
Four new pediatric subspecialists will be coming to the Children ’ s Hospital at Scott & White this fall , and Dr . Boyd expects to add another three to five pediatric specialists over the next year in pulmonology , gastroenterology , neonatology , and critical care medicine .
The Children ’ s Hospital at Scott & White will serve many pediatric specialists and pediatricians within the Scott & White Healthcare system . They can refer patients to the Children ’ s Hospital for additional expertise . Physicians also benefit from the comprehensive electronic medical records system that gives
“ Next year , we will have a premier children ’ s hospital . It will offer additional pediatric healthcare excellence ... to care for the children and families of Central Texas .”
— John Boyd , MD clinicians confidential access to medical histories no matter where patients seek care within the system .
Furthering the pediatric academic mission The new Children ’ s Hospital at Scott & White also will further Scott & White Healthcare ’ s educational mission . The pediatric residency training program will be housed in the hospital and is in partnership with the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine . Medical students in other specialties will train there as well . “ Many of the other residencies require pediatric training , such as anesthesia , general surgery , and radiology ,” Dr . Pryor says . “ The new hospital will benefit all of our educational activities .”
It will also enhance the hospital ’ s research program . The increased commitment to research , particularly when it is supported by philanthropy , will circle back to aid efforts to recruit specialists , says Dr . Boyd . “ If we can package that recruitment with research funding — to allow clinicians to get their laboratories up and running , or bring their laboratories with them — that really helps us to get a foundation for our research program going forward .”
Designed around a child ’ s needs HKS , Inc ., based in Dallas , Texas , is the architecture firm that has been selected to design the Children ’ s Hospital at Scott & White . “ We conducted a careful search and found that their experience with designing children ’ s hospitals in Dallas , Seattle , Atlanta , and Miami just seemed to
10 THE CATALYST Fall 10 | sw . org