Newsroom Archive

Planning ahead is an important consideration when it comes to patient safety.

That’s especially true in the JPS Health Network Pharmacy Services Department where a group of team members is dedicated to making sure all the supplies doctors and nurses require to take care of patients are on hand when they’re needed.

Shift change hand-offs are two of the most important times of the day for both JPS Health Network caregivers and their patients.

The hand-offs, which occur at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. as nurses’ 12-hour shifts conclude for some and begin for others, are not only critical for keeping team members informed about the health needs of the people they’re caring for. They’re also an excellent opportunity to bring patients into the conversation about their care.

In the Clinical Decision Unit at JPS Health Network, things happen fast. Still, there is no room for short cuts when it comes to patient safety.

Trisha Swift, Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, said attention to detail and professional efficiency make the Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) a model of best practices when it comes to safely delivering medication. The unit was named a JPS Bright Spot for 2018.

A pair of physicians who work at JPS Health Network have been named 2019 Healthcare Heroes by the Fort Worth Business Press.

Dr. Joseph Schniederjan and physician assistant Maria Ravanzo have been honored as the Texas Association of Physician Assistants PA-Doctor Partnership of the Year thanks to their work in the Interventional Radiology (IR) Department at JPS Health Network.

Schneiderjan also was named 2018 Doctor of the Year by Acclaim Physician Group.

Widely respected by their colleagues in the IR who nominated the duo for the honors, both were reluctant to take the credit for the success of the department.

JPS Health Network is in the process of upgrading equipment in its Surgical Department to better serve patients.

Workers are replacing the 26 surgical booms in the health network’s 13 operating rooms. Plans are to complete the job in late February or early March, depending on how busy the surgical suites are, said Plant Operations maintenance mechanic Derek Baker who is overseeing the work.

Three months pregnant in October, Casey Hudson was terrified to discover she had a rapidly-growing tumor attached to her right tibia. One day it seemed everything was fine, the next she was searching for a miracle to save both her life and the life of her unborn baby.

Just when it seemed North Texas might get away with a light flu season, the virus is making a late rally.

“We shouldn’t assume that it’s a milder influenza season just because we are not seeing the same volumes as saw in the 2017-2018 season,” warned JPS Health Network Chief Quality Officer Trisha Swift. “The surge we saw last early last season didn’t happen this year, however that doesn’t mean we will not have a late season peak so we should still remain vigilant.”

Understandably, patients don’t want to have to pay a visit to a cardiac catheter lab.

For people either in immediate cardiac distress or those weary after dealing with decreasing heart health over a period of years, having a catheter inserted into either the large blood vessels of your groin or your carotid artery is an unappealing but sometimes unavoidable situation.

You may know about the JPS patient who has had multiple surgeries to save her leg. But did you know that the teen’s surgeon bought her prize-winning goat?

Dr. Bryan Ming, a JPS orthopedic trauma surgery specialist, met Jaylin Smith more than two years ago, after she was brought by helicopter ambulance to the Level I Trauma Center at John Peter Smith Hospital. The teen suffered ATV accident that crushed her ankle and shattered bones in her left leg. Read our original story.