Houston Methodist taking on new transplant patients after investigation into competing hospitalโs surgeon
Houston Methodist is currently evaluating nearly 75 patients who were in the care of Memorial Hermann before their liver and kidney transplant programs shut down this month for internal and federal investigations.
Houston Methodist named for 7th time in best hospitals ranking in the U.S.; Tied for No. 1 hospital in Texas
In the latest U.S. News & World Reportโs Honor Roll, Houston Methodist Hospital was named in the best hospitals in the country ranking for the seventh time and tied for the No. 1 hospital in Texas.
Houston Methodist Hospital makes COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for all employees
HOUSTON โ Houston Methodist Hospital becomes one of the first big hospitals to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for everyone who works there. โAs part of Houston Methodist management, we must lead by example and get vaccinated ourselves. At Houston Methodist, weโve made a commitment to offer our patients unparalleled safety, quality, service and innovation. You now have until April 15 to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or get an approved exemption. โThe number of our employees getting sick with COVID has greatly reduced as the number of vaccines has increased,โ Hackett said.
33-year-old survives double lung transplant after 6 months on ECMO
HOUSTON โ Andrew Capen, 33, is the recipient of a miraculous double lung transplant after battling COVID-19. Houston Methodist Hospital said he is one of the longest surviving patients on ECMO, a machine that basically works in place of your lungs once theyโve been so damaged they wonโt work anymore. Capen survived on ECMO for six months before receiving new lungs. While the end result is wonderful, Capen said it was a dark, lonely time in the hospital leading up to it. His surgeon, surgical director of lung transplantation at Houston Methodist Dr. Eddie Suarez, said itโs a difficult operation under normal circumstances but because Capenโs health was deteriorating it was almost impossible.
More than 60,000 doses sent to vaccine hubs in Houston area this week
HOUSTON โ Tens of thousands of additional coronavirus vaccines are headed to the Houston area this week. More than 60,000 doses will be sent to vaccine hubs in the Houston area. The Houston Health Department said nearly 6,400 doses will go to the departmentโs Area Agency on Aging. City and state leaders came together Saturday to discuss vaccination distribution efforts in high risk and vulnerable communities. AdMayor Sylvester Turner said the city plans to fight racial inequities and disparity by targeting minority communities in vaccine distribution.
Houston Methodist host free virtual COVID-19 vaccine town hall
HOUSTON โ On Friday, Houston Methodist Hospital answered questions about the vaccine rollout during a virtual town hall. Health experts covered a range of topics but wanted to focus on helping educate communities of color about COVID-19. They have programs in the works, that include partnering with minority organizations and churches in to help spread the word about the vaccine. โReally the goal is to bring death down and ultimately control the pandemic,โ said Dr. Marc Boom, the president and CEO of Houston Methodist. Arianne Dowdell, VP and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, was the moderator of the town hall.
โOverwhelming responseโ: Houston Methodist COVID-19 vaccine appointments closed after appointments filled
HOUSTON โ Houston Methodist Hospital, the largest vaccine provider in Texas at the moment, is no longer taking COVID-19 vaccine appointments after slots have been filled shortly after launching Monday. The public vaccine sign-up went live Monday afternoon. We have had an overwhelming response, and due to the limited vaccine supply, we unfortunately have no more appointments available at the present time. โThen we go into, kind of targeting zip codes, to make sure weโre reaching all of Houston.โPatient databases include anyone with any connection to Houston Methodist. Anyone who has visited the emergency room or any employed or private doctors, or who has undergone any test at a Houston Methodist facility.
Methodist Hospital organizing event to vaccinate 4,000 more people Saturday
HOUSTON โ Houston Methodist Hospital was organizing a vaccination event on Saturday and said it worked with state officials to find those who need it most. โWeโve already vaccinated over 41,000 Houstonians and so weโre proud of that,โ said Cathy Easter, Senior Vice President of Community Development at Methodist Hospital. Methodist Hospital plans to vaccinate 4,000 more people on Saturday. Memorial Hermann opening vaccine clinic at NRG ParkMemorial Hermann is set to open a coronavirus vaccine clinic at NRG Park this week and opened registration for appointments to the public. On Wednesday evening, officials said all available appointments for Memorial Hermannโs vaccine clinic at NRG Park are full.
Houston hospitals ready and waiting to receive Pfizer vaccine
HOUSTON โ Houston Methodist Hospital, UTMB in Galveston, Ben Taub, Memorial Herman, and Texas Childrenโs Hospital all say they plan to begin vaccinations next week. โOur personnel are ready to accept vaccines as early as this weekend, should it arrive, but we probably anticipate it arriving on Monday or Tuesday,โ said Roberta Schwartz, executive VP of Houston Methodist. Memorial Hermann said with two effective vaccines likely coming to their doorstep, theyโll eventually be able to vaccinate every employee. Key dates:- Dec. 14 is when the state says they could begin rolling out the Pfizer vaccine to hospitals. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are two other companies that could be following close behind them but they have yet to apply for EUA.
Houston Methodist Hospital has three infusion sites for COVID antibody treatment
HOUSTON โ The Houston Methodist Hospital is now administering the FDA emergency use authorization drug, bamlanivimab. There are three sites where the hospital offers monoclonal antibody infusions: Houston Methodist Hospital at the Texas Medical Center, Houston Methodist Sugar Land and Houston Methodist Continuing Care Facility near the West campus in Katy. Since the hospital system started this therapy on Friday, they said 50 patients have been treated. Sandy Zeluff said she was one of the first patients to receive this treatment. After her symptoms were getting progressively worse last week, she says she made a recovery within a day of infusion.
FDA has fast-tracked promising drug to treat COVID-19 patients and it is in trial at Houston Methodist
HOUSTON โ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has fast-tracked a promising drug to treat COVID-19 patients and it is in trial at Houston Methodist Hospital. The drug is called RLF-100 and is also known as aviptadil. It has been approved by the FDA for emergency use at multiple clinical sites in patients who are too ill to enter the FDAโs Phase 2/3 trials. According to a press release from the drug maker NeuroRX, independent researchers have reported that aviptadil blocked replication of the SARS coronavirus in human lung cells and monocytes. The drug has been successful in reducing lung inflammation and so the FDA now says any doctor at any hospital can request this treatment to help severely ill COVID-19 patients.
If Harris County continues same coronavirus track, Houston could be worst affected city in US, expert says
HOUSTON โ If Harris County continues on the same new case trajectory as it is on at present, Houston could become the worst affected city in the U.S., according to nationally recognized infectious disease expert, Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine. In a tweet Saturday morning, Hotez said if things continue as they are, Harris County could rival the situation that is currently being seen in Brazil. Finally, his third prediction in his tweet was that the county โwould need to proceed to red alert.โ As of Sunday night, Harris County is listed at Orange Level 2 on the COVID-19 Threat Level System. Current situation in Harris CountyHouston and Harris County saw a steady increase in cases and hospitalizations last week and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called the county the โepicenterโ of the virus in Texas. In a Friday press conference, Houston Health Authority Dr. David Persse said that Houston and Harris County was not experiencing a second wave of the virus.
Some Houston hospitals see decrease in ER visits amid COVID-19 crisis
Across the Texas Medical Center, 18% of all ICU beds are being used by COVID-19 patients and 43% from non-COVID-19 patients. While they are still waiting to see a possible surge in cases, Houston Methodist Hospital said they're down 75% in the emergency room department. โHospitals are very well equipped in separating patients with suspected COVID versus the other emergencies that we have dealt with,โ Zoghbi said. Even the CDC is reporting flu data comparisons from 2019 to 2020 should be interpreted with caution because they say people staying home during this pandemic are prohibiting them from keeping an accurate count of flu cases. On the other hand, Shane Magee, MD, from Kelsey-Seybold Clinic said flu cases are simply down this year.
Combating COVID-19: Nurses inside the coronavirus ICU tell all
HOUSTON โ Like many local hospitals, Houston Methodist Hospital opened a special unit to treat critically ill coronavirus patients. Theyโre calling it the โCoronavirus ICU,โ and right now there is a revolving door of 88 patients total in the Houston Methodist system, 24 patients at the Texas Medical Center campus. Nurses working inside the unit said when they manage to discharge one, the next patient comes in. The Texas Nurses Association supports what Carnahan and Catalan said, the number of patients has remained relatively low considering the size of Houston. Houston Methodist Hospital says their ICUs across all eight campuses are at 70% capacity.
Houston woman loses both parents within hours of one another to coronavirus
HOUSTON โ A Houston woman is mourning the death of her parents after they died within hours of one another. Abdul Ahad Wahab, 74, and Tazroon Wahab, 71, both died at Houston Methodist Hospital in Sugar Land from complications related to Coronavirus, according to Waheeda Hussain, the coupleโs daughterHussain said her parents moved to Houston in January to be closer to family. As she recovers, she is also mourning the loss of her parents. There was nothing we could ever do that would be wrong.โHussain said her parents decline was quick. Coronavirus is taking lives,โ Hussain said.
Kidney transplant for Houston man canceled for the third time amid coronavirus crisis
Houston Methodist Hospital is one of them. The news was disappointing for Michael McBride, who is awaiting a kidney transplant. But his kidney transplant was derailed again in 2019, when his donor, Kris, was diagnosed with breast cancer. โMy first thought when it happened was not โoh my gosh, I have breast cancerโโฆ it was, โoh my gosh, no transplantโ,โ Kris McBride said. Transplant Center at Houston Methodist Hospital.
100,000 patients could lose access to doctors at Houston Methodist hospitals due to insurance companyโs contract dispute
HOUSTON โ A hundred-thousand people insured by UnitedHealthcare are scrambling to find new doctors and hospitals after the insurance company and Houston Methodist Hospital could not come to terms over reimbursement rates. The contract expired at midnight, meaning the seven Houston Methodist hospitals and its outpatient clinics are no longer in-network as of Jan. 1, 2020. "90%, probably more than that, of the doctors (in Baytown) are Methodist doctors," Thompson said. UnitedHealthcare released the following statement:โCare at Houston Methodist Hospital is significantly more expensive than care at other top-ranked hospitals in Texas as well as some of the most prestigious hospitals in the entire country. Unitedโs unfortunate decision โ and disruption to their membersโ in-network access to Houston Methodist -- is forcing employers and consumers to pick different health care options for this year.