Carrollton hospital grows with Baylor affiliation

Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton has only been a part of the Baylor system for three years, but the impact of the hospital's affiliation is already evident. The hospital has seen a large amount of growth, and patients are more satisfied with its services than ever before.

Mike Sanborn, president of Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, thinks the affiliation with Baylor has made a major impact on how patients feel about the hospital.

"Our performance ratings have gone up dramatically since Baylor took over operations of the hospital," Sanborn said. "Our goal is to be the best place to give and receive care -- quality is extremely important to us. In addition to our patient satisfaction ratings, all of our national hospital benchmark [ratings] have improved dramatically."

Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton was founded in 1985 as Trinity Medical Center. The hospital joined the Baylor system in June 2009. Its entry in the Baylor system came after the organization that previously ran the hospital, Hospital Partners of America, filed for bankruptcy. Baylor bought HPA's share of the physician syndication -- the group which runs the hospital, which is co-owned by its physicians -- and took over the facility's lease.

One of the ways Baylor's affiliation has helped the hospital is through the implementation of Baylor-standard procedures and systems, Sanborn said.

"Baylor wants to be in the [Carrollton] community for a long, long time," he said. "Since we joined the Baylor system we've implemented all of the protocols and care algorithms that have been developed by Baylor physicians and leaders, and we've been able to adopt those protocols that have helped our scores improve dramatically. We're at the top of hospitals [in terms of patient satisfaction and quality ratings] in the metroplex due to that."

According to a recent healthcare performance review by Press Ganey, Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton has seen an increase of 40 percent in patient satisfaction since the hospital joined the Baylor system. Additionally, 170 new physicians have joined the medical staff in the same timeframe.

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of being part of the Baylor system, however, is the monetary impact. Baylor has invested $18.7 million in renovations and equipment purchases that have modernized the hospital.

Among the improvements the hospital's received as a result of the added financial support include operating room expansions, new equipment and better amenities for patients. The hospital's spent $5 million on new medical equipment this year alone.

"Since Baylor assumed responsibility of the hospital we've added two new operating rooms that have state-of-the-art equipment," Sanborn said. "We've renovated our orthopedic wing, which has become a model for our future room style -- large rooms with modern furniture and a hotel feel. We've also added an interventional radiology suite that allows us to do a lot of new procedures that we couldn't do before."

Some benefits of being in the Baylor system may not be as noticeable as physical renovations, but they've made just as big an impact, if not more.

Sanborn said the hospital's added an entirely new program with its wound care services. Two years ago the hospital added the program, which includes its own dedicated physician. The program allows the hospital to treat wounds that are typically difficult to heal, such as diabetic infections and other forms of wounds that are predominantly seen in elderly patients.

"A lot of hospitals from around the area are actually referring patients to our [wound care] center now," Sanborn said. "We're seeing patients all over from Denton and Collin County and neighboring counties."

Another improvement that may go overlooked by hospital patients and visitors is the addition of a paramedic greeter in the main lobby of the hospital's emergency department. The greeter does an immediate assessment of incoming patients and to determine the level of care required.

"Most of our patients see a 15-minute wait time or less because of this addition," Sanborn said. "We've worked really hard to make that first contact from our care givers is as short as it can possibly be. Our staff is committed to trying to make that process as smooth and as rapid as it can possibly be."

Regular services have also greatly improved since becoming a member of the Baylor system. As with other Baylor hospitals, Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton offers open access visiting hours, which allows family members to visit patients at any time.

"Historically hospitals have had fixed visiting hours," Sanborn said. "A lot of times that's not convenient for family members and patients because people work different hours. There's also data that suggests patients do better when they have regular access to family member...We want family members to be nearby when they feel it's important, not when we tell them they can be here."

When shifts are made between care providers, its done in front of the patient and family to ensure the patient has an understanding of everything going on, such as expectations for discharge, Sanborn said. Patients are still asked for their permission for family members to be present, however.

Some of the specific areas Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton has worked on improving include its neurosurgery abilities and its women's services, Sanborn said.

"Our neurosurgery program is unique in that we have literally 24/7 coverage for neurosurgery," he said. "We've been able to take a lot of patients other hospitals haven't been able to take care of. So a lot of hospitals have been making referrals to us. Our labor and delivery and OBGYN programs also have great physicians. Our patient satisfaction [scores] are among the highest in the nation relating to women's services."

Since becoming a member of the Baylor system, the hospital's added more than 170 new physicians, and it's constantly reviewing new applications. Specialty programs have been the focus of the new additions, as the OBGYNs, family practice doctors, general surgeons and internal medicine physicians have been recruited by the hospital.

Over the next year, the hospital plans to add 43 new positions that will support its conversion to an electronic data keeping for its health records. Additionally, new positions will be added in its cancer department, cardiovascular center and a new physicians' office.

The amount of renovations and improvements the hospital's seeing isn't going to slow down anytime soon, either. The hospital's planning a $16 million operating room renovation for July, and a new $3.7 million suite for cardiovascular care is opening next year.

When asked about the reason why Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton has seen such an improvement in healthcare, however, Sanborn comes back to one issue: making sure patients are satisfied with the service they're provided.

"I think the biggest thing [that's led to our increased satisfaction] has been an increased focus on attention to patients' expectations and needs while they're here," he said. "We started open access visiting hours not quite a year ago, and we also started tracking patient satisfaction through [each] physician. We're very focused on quality -- every one of our employees in the organization has a performance goal related to patient satisfaction."

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