“State-of-the-art” is the best way to describe the health care system in San Antonio. In addition to general and specialized hospitals, San Antonio is home to 54 nursing homes with 6,722 licensed beds.

South Texas Medical Center —Ten major hospitals, nearly 80 clinics, and professional buildings and agencies with combined annual budgets of more than $2 billion reside on 900 acres in northeastSan Antonio. About 25,000 employees work at the center, caring for approximately98,000 inpatients and 3.4 million outpatients each year.

Major hospitals located in the South Texas Medical Center include:
• Audie L. Murphy Branch, South Texas Veterans Health Care System
• Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center
• Four Methodist System hospitals
• St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital
• University Hospital
• Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) — The Science Center is central to the South Texas Medical Center. Its five professional schools award more than 50 degrees and certificates, including medical and dental degrees and PhDs in nursing, basic sciences and other fields. The university is among the top producers of primary care providers in the nation, and its dental school has been ranked number one in the country in several peer surveys.

Since 1999, UTHSCSA has increased its research grant revenue by more than 80 percent to nearly $200 million annually. For every research dollar that comes to South Texas, five dollars are generated for the economy in the form of new jobs, products and services. Major research grants spur new scientific findings in areas as diverse as diabetes, contagious diseases, restorative dentistry, prostate and children’s cancer, kidney injury, and other fields.
Last year proved to be a banner year for UTHSCSA. Congress approved $4 million in funding — $2.5 million toward asthma research, $994,000 toward improving Hispanic nutrition and $500,000 toward myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow) research. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has designated the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as one of three new National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health.

This makes the UT Health Science Center the only center of its kind in Texas to earn this designation. As a result, the Health Science Center will receive $600,000 over the next four years to focus on specific prevention programs aimed at diseases affecting women, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.

UTHSCSA dedicated a $50 million Children’s Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) facility in March 2004. The CCRI is in the Medical Center and is part of UTHSCSA’s north campus. The 100,000-square-foot CCRI includes laboratory and office space for 18 to 20 scientific teams. Prominent national researchers are being recruited to advance the diagnosis, treatment, outcomes and patterns of care for Texas’ children with cancer.

In partnership with UTSA, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio hosts the San Antonio Life Science Institute, a collaborative biomedical research and education partnership that sponsors molecular imaging and protein studies, among other investigations, many leading to new medical treatments and preventive health measures that will improve our quality of life.

Many other medical care institutions and educational programs dot the city:

Texas Cancer Clinic opened in December 2004. It boasts combined doctor specialties and the latest in medical imaging and radiation therapy tools, such as a three-dimensional Doppler ultrasound, a combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanner, and a linear accelerator. The clinic, spread out on a 4-acre site in the South Texas Medical Center, now includes the Texas Prostate Institute and a unit that does the MammoSite therapy that targets breast cancer using internal radiation therapy. An adjunct entity, the nonprofit Southwest Prostate Cancer Foundation, was formed to conduct national protocols, such as testing new isotopes for radiation therapy.

TexSan Heart Hospital is the vision of 67 local cardiovascular specialty physicians dedicated to offering world-class heart care to San Antonio and the southwest Texas region. This 190,000-square-foot, three-story hospital opened in January 2004 with four operating suites, four cardiac catheterization labs, a 10-bed day patient area, and a cardiovascular and chest pain referral center/emergency department.

The Baptist Health System, a long-recognized name in San Antonio, was purchased in 2003 by Nashville-based Vanguard Health Systems. With the purchase comes a commitment to spend $200 million on improvements to the five hospitals within the Baptist System over the next five years. The system includes five acute care hospitals: Baptist Medical Center, Northeast Baptist, North Central Baptist, Southeast Baptist and St. Luke’s Baptist.

Christus Santa Rosa Health Care is a five-hospital system with 1,205 beds and a variety of community outreach services. The system operates Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital downtown and is a major presence in the Medical Center. In 2004 it began expansion work on its Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center Hospital on the city’s Northwest Side. That project entails adding a new 9,500-square-foot emergency department.

Methodist Health Care System consists of five hospitals, three outpatient surgical centers, a home health care agency and the South Texas Cancer Institute. Expansion and renovation projects are underway to the tune of $200 million. Already, Methodist is building a $50 million multi-story tower at Northeast Methodist Hospital that will greatly expand emergency services there. It’s also expanding its emergency department at its Metropolitan Methodist Hospital downtown.

The Cancer Therapy and Research Center is a not-for-profit, outpatient cancer treatment and research facility that provides multidisciplinary clinical cancer treatment, research, education, prevention and supportive services (see feature, page 70).

There are several mental health facilities in San Antonio, including Community Residential Center, Mission Vista and the Southwest Mental Health Center.

The Nix Health Care System provides acute hospital care, senior services and a full spectrum of care from its downtown hospital and two suburban facilities.

South Texas Blood & Tissue Center supplies blood components collected from donors to 75 hospitals and clinics in 43 counties.

Cancer Therapy & Research Center
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) in San Antonio is making incredible progress in the fight against cancer. It offers the most complete program of care in cancer treatment today and features unparalleled facilities matched by skilled physicians, scientists and staff. A wide range of treatments is available in medical, radiation and surgical oncology. The CTRC’s 225,000-square-foot Medical Center Campus and two satellite facilities handle more than 120,000 patient visits each year.

In 2002, CTRC opened the H-E-B Ambulatory Surgery Center, a specially equipped outpatient surgery center for cancer treatment procedures. Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) was recently added to the list of procedures offered at the Surgery Center. Not only can EUS diagnose cancer, but it can also stage cancer. In January 2003, CTRC added a genetics clinic for cancer-risk assessment to supplement its three other specialty clinics for urologic, gastrointestinal and thoracic cancers.

A pioneer in the field, CTRC continues to excel in brachytherapy seed implants for prostate cancer. CTRC has begun delivering high-dose-rate (HDR) radiation brachy-therapy for breast cancer using a system called MammoSite; the center also performs HDR for other cancers. Additionally, CTRC is a recognized leader in implementing a system to treat previously unapproachable tumors. Using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, it was the first cancer center to bring to the clinic a process that delivers precision radiation doses to specific targets.

In the area of imaging, CTRC offers one of the most sophisticated cancer-imaging modalities in Positron Emission Tomography. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development operates the largest Phase I (first evaluation of a new drug in patients) clinical oncology unit in the world. Most FDA-approved cancer drugs underwent early pre-clinical and clinical development here.

The CTRC recently committed $15 million to expand its facilities; bring additional new, state-of-the-art technology to the medical center campus; and continue its mission to provide excellent and compassionate care to cancer patients. In addition to adding two stories to the four-story Zeller Building, the center will acquire additional cancer-fighting technologies, including a big bore, multi-slice CT scanner to accommodate larger individuals and provide a greater field of view; a linear accelerator with respiratory gating; and onboard imaging. The CTRC is also acquiring a Tomotherapy unit that images the patient before each treatment is delivered. The campaign will also fully equip the new Tobin Diagnostic Imaging Center with a new PET/CT, 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a nuclear medicine gamma camera, ultrasound, and a state-of-the-art digital radiography room.

In addition to compassionate care, CTRC provides a Wellness Center that offers supportive and complementary programs to supplement standard treatment. For more information, call (800) 340-2872, or visit CTRC online at www.ctrc.net.