In 2023, Baylor Scott & White – Grapevine marked its 70th anniversary, celebrating seven decades of dedicated service and advanced medical care for the community. Looking towards the future, the hospital is committed to expanding its cardiovascular, stroke, and trauma programs to meet the growing needs of the community.

Navigating trauma care

Trauma can strike unexpectedly, whether from a household fall, a motor vehicle accident or an incident at the nearby airport. Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine was recently re-designated as a Level II Trauma Center. Naman Mahajan, president of Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine, said the designation reflects the hospital’s ability to provide comprehensive trauma care equivalent to that of major academic medical centers such as Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and Parkland Hospital. The hospital’s trauma services handle close to 45 patients daily and see more than 1,000 ambulance visits per month, with the emergency room managing 50,000 visits annually.

To honor patients and team members, Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine hosts an annual Trauma Survivors Day, where patients return to share their recovery stories.

“Our team members come down to the lobby to listen and actually see a patient that we were taking care of at their worst being back in society as a productive member,” Mahajan said. “It is a great message of hope and inspiration for us and helps really fill our cups as healthcare workers of why we do what we do every single day.”

Expanding the cardiovascular program

Mahajan said as the Tarrant County area’s population ages, the hospital is seeing an increase in cardiac and stroke-related issues, particularly in those 65 and older. Heart attacks are also occurring more frequently among patients around 40 years old. To address this, Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine’s cardiovascular program utilizes advanced technology and an electronic system that allows the emergency services team to send patients’ information and electrocardiogram (EKG) results directly from the field, enabling cardiologists to prepare for intervention even before the patient arrives at the hospital.

Mahajan said Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine prides itself on its door-to-balloon time performance, which is the amount of time between a patient’s arrival and the beginning of their operation.

“Our door-to-balloon time averages 44 minutes, which surpasses the national platinum standard of 48 minutes,” Mahajan said. “The sooner you can intervene on a patient, the more heart muscles that you can save without being damaged. Time is muscle.”

Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine is a 24/7 STEMI (heart attack) receiving center, equipped with advanced technology and a number of interventional cardiologists on its medical staff. Mahajan said this year, the hospital will continue its upgrade of its catheterization labs and will have a total of four labs available.

Advanced stroke care

While a heart attack is a blockage that doesn’t allow blood to get to the heart, a stroke is a blockage that doesn’t allow blood to get to the brain. In these situations, Mahajan said again—time is muscle.

As is the case with heart attack patients, the hospital is also able to communicate directly with EMS staff in the field to prepare for incoming stroke patients. Mahajan said the hospital's reperfusion data speaks for itself. Reperfusion is the ability to clear the occlusion causing a stroke and get blood black back into the brain.

Typically, after stroke patients are treated, they go to a rehabilitation facility because lost time causes damage to the brain, which often results in paralysis or loss of motor function on one side of the body. At Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine, a thrombectomy-capable stroke center, this is often not the case, and the hospital’s success rate for treating stroke patients ranks above the percentages of Texas and other comprehensive stroke centers.

“Most of our patients walk out of our hospital with zero diminishment because we have early intervention and the community has access to us. So, our patients that do suffer from a stroke, the vast majority of them walk out of the building and are able to return safely to their home.”

Continued commitment to community health

Baylor Scott & White - Grapevine is dedicated to providing local, advanced healthcare services to the surrounding community, from neonatal care in the NICU to advanced adult trauma, stroke, and cardiac care. Thanks to the hospital’s collaboration with local services, patients in need of acute medical services that are life-threatening can be safely taken care of in their community, saving time, which in turn, saves lives.

The hospital’s commitment to excellence is driven by its skilled team members and clinicians who work tirelessly to provide quality outcomes for its patients.

For more information about Baylor Scott & White’s services and programs, visit the website or call the hospital at 844-BSW-DOCS.

Physicians provide clinical services as members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Scott & White Health’s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and do not provide clinical services as employees or agents of Baylor Scott & White Health or those medical centers.

The above story was produced by Senior Multi Platform Journalist Summer El-Shahawy with Community Impact's Storytelling team with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.