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UTHSCSA
DEAN’S MESSAGE
Continued from page 27 the quality of our care.
With an estimated cost of $45 million for building out the new fa-
Michael Little, MD, Director of Cardiothoracic and Transplant
Anesthesiology and also a member of the planning committee, sees cility, only a portion will come from UHS. The remainder will have
this as the next step in the path for cardiac service lines. He points to be raised philanthropically. As a member of the University Health
out that we now have eight cardiac anesthesiologists who have all System Foundation Board, Dr. Calhoon and other board members will
worked very closely in the catheterization laboratory and the operat- be reaching out to community leaders and others to help complete the
ing room with all the cardiologists, surgeons, perfusion specialists funding for the new facility.
and other technicians. The team has established firm relationships
among their members, which translates into better communication This new, comprehensive Heart and Vascular Institute facility has
and trust. the potential to truly be one of the best in the country for anyone, of
any age suffering from a congenital heart ailment or heart disease of
This effort serves as a template for the School of Medicine and UHS any type. Programs such this are the future of healthcare and an im-
in partnership by realigning patient care and clinical services from the portant part of the solution for dealing with the increase in heart dis-
more traditional departmental lines to focus on the needs of our shared ease in San Antonio and South Texas, as well as across the country.
patients. It is the right vision for our shared future. The new structures The School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center is commit-
will better support patient outcomes in a comprehensive, multi-disci- ted to making this vision a reality.
plinary manner, as opposed to focusing on supporting individual med-
ical specialty services. Francisco González-Scarano, MD, is dean of the
School of Medicine, vice president for medical affairs,
PHILANTHROPIC FUNDING professor of neurology, and the John P. Howe III, MD,
An important part of this strategy will be tracking and reporting Distinguished Chair in Health Policy at the University
of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. His
outcomes, quality and cost. This is something we have done in many email address is scarano@uthscsa.edu.
of the service lines, but this new group gives us the opportunity to see
a broader perspective that will be crucial to growing and improving
28 San Antonio Medicine • June 2015
