Texas Tidbits: Baylor heart patients fare best
Baylor heart patients fare best. A new Medicare analysis reveals Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas has the lowest heart failure readmission rate of any hospital in the nation at 15.9 percent. Nationally, one of four heart failure patients must be readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Findings were drawn from Medicare records of more than 1 million deaths and readmissions in more than 4,600 hospitals from 2005 to 2008. Yale cardiologist Harlan Krumholz, who helped developed the statistical methods used in the Medicare analysis, noted regarding Baylor’s top ranking: “They’re not only the best in the country; they’re the best by 2 percentage points. Two points in this analysis, where we were so conservative, is huge. It’s like winning the Kentucky Derby by a quarter of a lap.”
Hardin-Simmons named among best workplaces. The Chronicle of Higher Education named Hardin-Simmons University one of the top 10 colleges to work for in its national small-college category. Nearly 41,000 employees on 247 campuses participated in the survey according to The Chronicle. Employees at universities across the nation were asked questions about health care benefits, leadership, recognition practices, skill development, work environment and pay.
BCFS writes the book on sheltering people with special needs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has tapped Texas-based Baptist Child & Family Services to establish the national standard operating procedures for sheltering individuals who require functional-needs support services during disasters. No comprehensive guide on caring for this population—people who are blind or hearing impaired, frail or elderly, have mental health and cognitive challenges or are in the late stages of pregnancy—currently exists.
Baylor named among ‘Best Buy’ universities. Baylor University is one of only 44 public and private colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and Great Britain—and the only Texas Big 12 school—named a “Best Buy” in the 2010 edition of The Fiske Guide to Colleges. The Fiske Guide qualified Baylor as a “Best Buy” based on its ratings of the quality of the university’s academic programs in relation to the cost of attendance. Fiske researchers combined the cost data with academic quality and campus lifestyle information about each college and university to determine which institutions offered the best values in higher education. In February, Baylor also was ranked for the second consecutive year as one of the nation’s top 50 “Best Values in Private Colleges and Universities” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.
Wayland music school accredited. Wayland Baptist University’s School of Music has been granted full membership status with the National Association of Schools of Music, doing so in commended fashion. The association—the national accrediting agency for schools of music—is a peer-reviewed organization that seeks to maintain the highest standards of education within schools of music across the nation. The association has accredited 615 schools nationwide.
Foundation gift benefits Baylor students. Baylor University has received a $500,000 gift from the DeBakey Medical Foundation, establishing the Michael E. DeBakey, Selma DeBakey and Lois DeBakey Endowed Scholarship Fund in Medical Humanities at Baylor University. The DeBakey Medical Foundation’s gift supports Baylor juniors and seniors pursuing a major or minor in medical humanities, a program that incorporates the insights of disciplines ranging from literature to economics to religion into the practice of modern scientific medicine.
Truett honored by building council. Truett Theological Seminary has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in its existing buildings rating system, making Baylor University the first Texas university to earn the coveted environmental rating. Truett is only the sixth Texas building to get the LEED certification for existing buildings. Internationally, 235 buildings have earned the rating, said Ashley Katz, communications manager for the Washington-based council, a nonprofit organization. Truett also is the eighth higher education project internationally to earn certification.
Baylor Health Care employee donations top $1 million. About 5,900 Baylor Health Care System employees donated $1,070,817 to support 18 areas of focus at Baylor hospitals in Dallas, Garland, Grapevine, Plano and Waxahachie. The Baylor Health Care System Foundation Employee Giving Campaign far exceeded its $800,000 goal, raising funds for Our Children’s House—a program for prematurely born babies and their parents—along with other causes. Additionally, the Baylor All Saints Health Foundation raised more than $186,000 to support programs at Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth and Baylor Medical Center at Southwest Fort Worth.