A City Designed To Keep You Healthy

D Magazine, Sep 01, 2000 by Hayes, Jennifer

CAN A CITY HAVE TOO MUCH OF A GOOD thing? The answer is yes-if the subject is top-notch health care and the city is Dallas. You may not know it, but Dallas boasts hundreds of award-winning physicians-including four Nobel Prize winners-many top-rated hospitals, research and surgery "firsts," and the latest in cuttingedge health care technology.

Ironically, the reason Dallas' medical achievements don't always receive national or international recognition has more to do with what Dallas has than what it doesn't have, says Kern Wildenthal, M.D., Ph.D., president of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Because Dallas has so many hospitals and medical clinics, it often gets overlooked as a major medical referral center. And it's impossible for the world to keep track of every hospital's or physician's achievement. Cities with one major research or clinical institutionsuch as Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.-seem to garner more attention because their medical center is in one place with one identifiable name.

But this will soon change, Dr. Wildenthal says, as Dallas' hospitals and research centers become even stronger in research and clinical care. As far as he and other physicians throughout Dallas are concerned, more hospitals mean an increase in both quality health care and the opportunity for research and medical breakthroughs.

"The quality of health care in Dallas is as good as anywhere because of its many fine hospitals," Dr. Wildenthal says. "Dallas will continually receive the attention it deserves and should become a national and international medical referral center."

But whether or not the world sees Dallas as a leading medical city isn't as important to local health care leaders as how its own residents perceive the city as their single source for health care. "Dallas is one of the most advanced cities in the country in terms of the scope of services available locally," says Howard Chase, president of Methodist Hospitals of Dallas. "Dallas residents should feel fortunate that their medical and health care needs can be well taken care of in their own city."

Home to many surgery and research "firsts," some of the most hightech medical advancements and equipment in the world, awardwinning hospitals, and hundreds of nationally and internationally recognized physicians, Dallas is a great place to be if you happen to become sick or injured.

"I think people in Dallas are well aware of what a great city they are in for getting quality care," says Tim Parris, president of Baylor University Medical Center. "Dallas is obviously well-positioned to become a leading city in medicine. Dallas is home to so many welleducated people who seek and want the latest in medical technology for themselves and their families. The medical institutions here mill always strive to be better because consumers here are very selective about their health care and where they receive it."

One of the reasons Dallas will become a health care leader is because of the strong camaraderie among hospitals. Physicians are quick to point out the accomplishments and achievements of other hospitals in the same breath that they applaud their own hospital's coups. They all agree that even though area hospitals share a spirit of competition, they also share a common goal: To keep Dallas residents healthy.

"The Dallas medical community enjoys a great team spirit that you

don't often find in other cities with several major institutions of health

care," says Dr. John Fordtran, past president of The Baylor Research

Institute.

"The changes and advances in medicine have been so dramatic. I've seen evidence of advancement at every hospital. I have been on the practicing and the receiving end of health care and have been pleased to discover the tremendous quality of medical practice that goes on throughout the city."

The following are some facts, accomplishments, and achievements in Dallas medicine you may have missed while enjoying your good health, but you'll be glad to know when you're in need of medical attention.

* Medical City Dallas is recognized as one of the top programs in the country for heart transplantation according to a recent Health

and Human Services Report assessing the performance of the nation's transplant centers. The center performed more heart transplants than any other North Texas hospital in 1997, 1998, and 1999.

* The Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor University Medical Center participates in major national clinical trials, offering patients access to the latest forms of cancer treatment. Baylor's Blood and Marrow Transplant Program ranks among the top five in the country.

* Doctors Hospital is one of the first hospitals in the nation to offer a Transfusion Free Medicine and Surgery program accredited by the National Asso Bloodless Medicine & Surgery.

* Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth has been ranked among the top 100 heart hospitals in the nation for two consecutive years. Its Neuroscience Center of Excellence uses state-of-the-art equipment, . such as an IntraOperative Computer Guided Imaging System that provides 3-D visualization of the brain, a Spiral CT Scanner with Xenon imaging to measure blood flow to the brain, and a Functional MRI that correlates brain activity with body function.