Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital*, a full-service hospital with 356 licensed beds, is widely acclaimed for its outstanding transplant programs that feature heart,liver, pancreas and kidney transplants. Specialty areas include emergency care,behavioral medicine, bariatric surgery, inpatient rehabilitation and the latest treatments for cancer,impotency and incontinence. The facility houses a program in which a specially trained team works with law enforcement officers to provide care for survivors of sexual assault.

Hospital Highlights

• Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital and the Texas Transplant Institute are committed to excellence in transplant patient care, education and research. Having performed transplants at this facility over two decades,a team of dedicated transplant physicians and other transplant professionals have accumulated a significant amount of clinical experience resulting in the organ transplant programs being nationally – recognized for their contributions to transplant medicine.
• Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital has the largest kidney transplant program in Texas and is ranked among the top ten percent nationwide, having performed more than 2,500 kidney transplants since the program’s inception. Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital has also performed the most living donor transplants in Texas, reaching the 1,000 mark in 2006. A 24-bed kidney transplant unit offers nurses specially trained in care of post-transplant patients. The transplant team is actively involved in new protocols and research looking at ways to expand the current donor pool, including sensitized live donor, ABO incompatible and paired-donor exchange initiatives. The program also includes pancreas transplant simultaneously with kidney transplant or alone —either before or after a kidney transplant.
• Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital’s heart transplant program is the first Medicare-certified program of its kind in South and Central Texas. More than 270 heart transplants have been performed. The program includes an aggressive end-stage heart failure center that maximizes medical therapy prior to transplant. With 10 years of experience in using assist device therapy,Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital utilizes Thoratec, HeartMate and Abiomed devices to help patients survive while awaiting a transplant. Methodist only Medicare-approvedSpecialty and Transplant Hospital is the only Medicare-approved site in the region for patients needing long-term assist device therapy.
• The Liver Transplant program is one of fewer than 100 in the U.S. to earn certification from both Medicare and Medicaid, which is the highest quality indicator fora transplant program. Physicians at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital have performed more than 100 liver transplants since the program started in 2001. Patient outcomes exceed national averages. An end-stage liver failure clinic offers a variety of services, including Interferon treatments, chemoembolization and radio frequency ablation procedures.
• Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital and Methodist Hospital have earned the designation,“Center of Bariatric Surgery Excellence” from the American Society for Bariatric Surgery in 2006. A rigorous series of site inspections examined all aspects of the surgical weight loss program, ranking the program among the top in the nation.
• The Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Disorder Center at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital is one of very few diagnostic centers nationwide devoted to evaluating urinary and anal incontinence. It’s the only center of its kind in Texas and across the Southwest. Doctors practicing at the center measure the severity of the patient’s incontinence and help referring physicians determine the best course of treatment for what is often an embarrassing problem for men and women.
• The Methodist Cancer Center* team works to develop an individual treatment plan for each patient that targets cancerous areas with radiation therapy while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. The Methodist Cancer Center treats cancers of the prostate, head, neck, breast, thyroid and lung, as well as in gynecologic, liver and brain tumors, lymphomas and sarcomas, as well as, some non-cancerous conditions and lesions. Through the use of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy(IMRT), higher and more effective radiation doses can safely be delivered to tumors with fewer side effects as compared with conventional radiotherapy techniques. The center also uses brachy therapy in the treatment of prostate, breast and gynecologic tumors. In 2005, Methodist Healthcare’s Cancer Services received a prestigious three-year commendation after a comprehensive survey by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer.
• The Methodist Cancer Center was the first facility in Central and South Texas to offer the innovative CyberKnife® technology to treat tumors and lesions anywhere in the body. Powered by a combination of robotics and advanced image guidance technology, the CyberKnife® delivers exact radiation to treat malignant and benign brain tumors and extrac ranial tumors: spine, lung,pancreas, abdomen and long bone. This precision treatment can take as little as one hour and can be done on a outpatient basis. Patients can return to normal activities almost immediately.
• The inpatient component of Behavioral Medicine consists of 74 beds, with five separate programs. The programs address mood and anxiety disorders,major depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorders. Our 14-bed chemical dependency unit is staffed with professionals who are trained to work with both addictions and other psychiatric disorders. There are specialized units for treatment of the more chronically mentally ill,older adults, children and adolescents and higher functioning adults.
• Intensive outpatient services are also available and offer treatment for chemical dependency and other psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric intensive outpatient services are available during weekdays. Chemical dependency intensive outpatient services are available on weekdays with family education sessions held on Saturdays.
• The Behavioral Medicine Clinical Liaison —Consultation Team provides psychiatric evaluation,triage and counseling for families of critically and chronically ill patients. The Psychiatric Assessment Team is available in the emergency room 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist in the evaluation of behavioral health emergencies and recommend treatment options.
• The newly-renovated emergency department at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital ranks among the top in the nation in surveys measuring patient, employee and physician satisfaction. From suturing wounds to setting broken bones to diagnosing heart attacks, emergency services are just one of the outstanding “specialty” services offered at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital.
• The Sexual Assault Response Team at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital provides a compassionate environment for sexual assault survivors ages 13 and up. Through an exclusive agreement with local law enforcement agencies, aSexual Assault Nurse Examiner (S.A.N.E.), trained by the Texas Attorney General’s office, provides comprehensive care to sexual assault survivors and collects physical evidence that can be used to prosecute offenders. Follow-up care, counseling and treatment of related injuries are also provided. A Methodist Healthcare chaplain and advocate from the Rape Crisis Center provide counseling and support to the survivor and family.
• The 26-bed medical/surgical unit emphasizes highly personal nursing care for patients recovering from operations related to urology,orthopedics, heart, gastric bypass/weight loss and general surgeries.
• Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital has three dedicated endoscopic/laparoscopic operating suites featuring equipment that allows surgeons to perform traditional surgeries through smaller incisions. This type of surgery offers a number of benefits including decreased hospitalization, faster recovery and lowered risk of infection. Laparoscopic surgeries include gall bladder removal, kidney removal, hernia repair and corrective surgery for gastroesophageal reflux.
• The Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program is designed to aid recovery from heart disease,chronic obstructive lung disease, emphysema,asthma and chronic bronchitis. The goal of the staff is to increase the patient’s tolerance for regular exercise and their ability to perform normal daily activities. Overall, the program seeks to promote self-reliance and independence through proper diet and medication management. In association with the American Lung Association, the Better Breathing support group meets at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital monthly to facilitate a supportive environment for those living with pulmonary challenges.
• Many components come together to provide inpatient rehabilitation services on the fourth floor of Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing,pharmacy, social services and physicians specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation help patients regain functional skills that may have been lost or diminished due to illness or injury.