Expanding health care facilities, services and advancing technology are paving the way for improved patient recovery times amid substantial population growth in the Tomball and Magnolia area.
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Two of the area’s largest health care providers—the Tomball Regional Medical Center and the Montgomery County Hospital District—are investing in emergency services and technological advancements. Robotic-assisted surgical platforms and new equipment and tactics are helping to meet the demands of an aging population, according to officials.
“With the infrastructure changes on the Grand Parkway, as well as [Hwy.] 249 starting to get a little busier, we’re expecting, unfortunately, some new injuries that will come with that growth,” TRMC Chief Operating Officer Brett Kinman said. “So we’re taking the necessary steps to deal with that. I think this is good from a community standpoint as well as for our facility.”
TRMC emergency care
To keep up with the growth in Harris County, TRMC is undergoing a $4.5 million, 3,100-square-foot expansion on its existing emergency room, which is expected to be complete by the end of this year, Kinman said. The project will renovate the interior space and add seven new patient rooms to the facility, he said.
“There’s a diverse patient mix that comes in, in terms of injuries and illnesses,” Kinman said. “Hopefully [TRMC will] be ahead of the curve as the growth continues out in this marketplace.”
The medical center is also pursuing its first-ever trauma designation—a Level III—to be able to treat critical trauma patients and prepare for increased traffic in the area, Kinman said.
The medical center is expected to send in a formal application for trauma designation by the end of the year, Kinman said. TRMC will be surveyed by the American College of Surgeons, which will review staff credentials, protocols and patient outcomes before determining a trauma designation, he said.
“Trauma designation is something that’s critical to the population that we serve,” Kinman said. “It makes us a better organization and helps us improve overall results for the facility.”
TRMC’s new technology
In late September, TRMC acquired its third robotic surgery platform to assist physicians in performing minimally invasive orthopedic and general surgery procedures. Kinman said the robots allow physicians and surgeons to be more precise in their work while making smaller incisions.
“As more and more people go through these [robotic-assisted] medical procedures, and they see the results from a personal and clinical standpoint, I think more procedures will move in that direction,” Kinman said. “And more physicians will move toward that as being the preferred method for performing different surgical procedures.”
Because robotic surgeries are less invasive than traditional surgical techniques, healing time after surgery can be shortened, TRMC Marketing Director Joy Hiltabidle said.
“For patients, there are a lot of benefits,” Hiltabidle said. “Potentially shorter hospital stays, less scarring and less pain—we think those are all great benefits. That is the goal.”
Shorter patient stays are also a goal at TRMC’s new orthopedic center, which opened in February, Kinman said. The center specializes in knee and hip replacements, and patients typically return home two to three days after surgery, he said.
MCHD EMS system
Founded in 1977, MCHD’s main services include providing indigent care through a health care assistance program, operating the county’s EMS system, managing the county’s public health district and offering educational programs.
Though MCHD does not operate its own hospital, the district contracts with several area hospitals to provide additional care for its patients, COO Melissa Miller said.
“With our EMS, we’re seeing a growth of about 13 percent a year for the last two years,” Miller said. “We’ve averaged 50,000-55,000 calls per year for the last two years. We have at any given time 23 ambulances in service throughout the county.”
MCHD operates 23 stand-alone and shared EMS stations with local fire department entities, including the new Jana E. Bishop EMS Station No. 40 that was unveiled during an Aug. 12 ceremony in Magnolia. MCHD also plans to move two additional stations—EMS stations Nos. 41 and 43—out of trailers and into new facilities in the Pinehurst and Montgomery areas by March, Miller said.
“Our goal to be at a call is within eight minutes,” Miller said. “We try to strategically place stations throughout the county, so we can have that response time. With the planning of the Aggie [Expressway] and all of that stuff going in there, there’s a lot that goes into making that decision to strategically place us in the best place to serve the community.”
By the end of next year, MCHD plans to add two additional ambulances to its fleet, Miller said. In addition, the hospital district operates advanced paramedic squads in SUVs to bring help to a scene before some fire engines or ambulances can arrive, she said.
“The nice thing about having a county-based EMS service is there’s consistent health care,” Miller said. “If you’re in a car wreck in Willis, Magnolia or The Woodlands, you get the same care. In other counties, it’s not like that because it’s based on where you are.”
MCHD’s new technology
As more technology becomes integrated into health care, MCHD is implementing new tactics and equipment to improve patient outcomes, MCHD clinical manager Jordan Anderson said.
“Realistically all emergency medical services technology is diagnostics—it’s the rapid determination of the final treatment that the patient needs,” Anderson said. “If you look back in history, the implementation of the diagnostic procedures dramatically decreased the time to definitive treatment. When time matters, if we have a diagnostic tool that catches it earlier, that’s really where EMS sees an advantage.”
In mid-October, the hospital district began training its EMS staff to use four new ultrasound machines on trauma patients in the field. MCHD plans to place the ultrasounds on vehicles in each region of the county beginning in November, Anderson said.
“The ultrasound allows us to see blood accumulation, whether it’s in the thoracic [chest] cavity or abdominal cavity,” Anderson said. “If we’re able to do an ultrasound on a trauma patient, we can determine if there’s free blood, which would mean a trip to the [operating room]. It’s an early notification of the trauma team at the hospital.”
Since earlier this year, MCHD has implemented a new ResQPUMP for its cardiopulmonary resuscitation system to use with an existing pod. The Zoll ResQCPR system is listed with the Federal Drug Administration as improving CPR outcomes. MCHD will study the system on its patients over the next year to determine its effectiveness, he said.
Over the past two years, the hospital district has used QuikClot hemostatic gauze technology to induce blood clotting for trauma victims, Anderson said. When a tourniquet cannot be used due to the nature of an extensive wound, MCHD has used the gauze about 30 times to increase survivability for patients, he said.
In addition, MCHD will begin testing new infection control equipment for its ambulances in November called the Ambu-Stat Sterilization System, Miller said.
“It disinfects the ambulance—it’s like a little fogger in the back of an ambulance that sprays a fine mist that cleans the ambulance completely,” Miller said. “It’s something we’ve been looking for for a long time.”
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