Newsroom Archive

Phoebe Ogola wanted to compliment her JPS care team, so she put pen to paper one day and wrote down her thoughts.

Her two physicians, Urussa Jabbar, DO, a family medicine physician at the Medical Home Southeast Tarrant in Arlington, and Paul Bhella, MD, a JPS cardiologist, are “the best – very caring and friendly. They treat me as part of the family.”

To her delight, Phoebe’s letter was shared with JPS executives and managers at their monthly Leadership Connection meeting.

When a woman has a baby at JPS, she’s given a care package that includes a handmade quilt, receiving blanket and booties that both the new mother and her child will not only be able to use now – but will treasure for the rest of their lives.

So, where do the heartwarming keepsakes come from?

The Infant Hearing Screening Program at JPS passed certification review with an overall score of 100 percent and is rated a Distinguished Program by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Distinguished programs are audited every two years and graded on eight metrics intended to ensure that all babies born in Texas have their hearing evaluated and are referred for treatment if hearing loss is detected.

JPS Health Network has climbed to No. 3 in the nation for organ donation, ranked among hospitals much larger in size, and remains No. 1 among hospitals that don’t perform transplants.

A total of 72 physicians with JPS credentials are on Fort Worth Magazine’s 2018 list of Top Docs, named by fellow physicians as the best in their specialty.

Fort Worth Magazine’s Top Docs are nominated by members of the Tarrant County Medical Society and the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, who are invited to complete an online ballot. The results are reviewed by a panel of physicians.

Cassandra Contreras knew she wanted to be an organ donor before she was even old enough to drive, and told her grandmother so when they went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get her learner’s permit, where she added her name to the Donate Life Texas Registry. That conversation proved more meaningful than either could have anticipated.

Two years later, Cassandra suffered a catastrophic head injury in a crash on Interstate 30. After every treatment option was exhausted, her mother was approached about the possibility of donation.

When people think of podiatrists, they’re often thinking about heel pain or ingrown toenails, JPS Chief Resident of Podiatry Jordan Ernst, DPM said.

While those routine cases are certainly a part of the job, the U.S. Army veteran from Nebraska said he and his colleagues also often find themselves on the frontline of patients’ battles to save their lower legs from amputation or their fight to keep their mobility and independence after a traumatic accident. Finding a solution in those life-changing situations is his favorite part of the job.

Mandy Burton
Data Analyst, Office of Clinical Research

I decided to become a public health researcher for the cliché reason to help people and make a difference. I’m proud to work at JPS Health Network and take pride in serving. I also like to find ways outside of work to help people.

The JPS South Campus Health Center Pharmacy passed biannual state inspection with zero deficiencies, earning high praise from a Texas State Board of Pharmacy inspector who declared it in full compliance with state regulations intended to keep patients safe.

“He used words like neat, clean, orderly and organized,” said Trista Ritchey, manager of business operations. The audit found spotless record-keeping.

To prevent surgical site infections, when does the patient get antibiotics? Before surgery, after, or both? For too many surgical patients, the answer turns out to be both, a leading expert told doctors and nurses at JPS on Tuesday.

There’s strong evidence that administering antibiotics before surgery reduces the likelihood of a surgical-site infection later, said Donald Fry, MD, of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and editor-in-chief of the medical journal Surgical Infections.