2022 HEALTH CARE EDITION
RISING NEED
“WITHIN CERTAIN TRAUMA SITUATIONS, YOU LITERALLY ARE IN THAT ONE HOUR WINDOW WHERE YOUR LIFE IS IN THE BALANCE.”
“We need to be able to keep up with our employee pool—whether it’s increasing our talent base or if we need to educate and attract skilled health care providers,” Postma said. Memorial Hermann Katy has a strat- egy to develop these partnerships at the high school level to streamline a workforce pipeline into Katy’s health care industry. “One of the things we are doing is partnering with various educational organizations to create more of a pipe- line for individuals that grew up in Katy, want to live in Katy and want to work in Katy,” Ashworth said. “That pipeline starts with Katy ISD.” KISD’s Miller Career & Technology Center has a Clinical Rotation and EMT Basic Program. For the 2022-23 academic year, participating students will partner with Memorial Hermann Katy to continue clinical rotations, said Maria DiPetta, KISD’s media relations and multimedia manager. Houston Methodist West Hospital has a similar strategy to counter sta shortages in which it utilizes its resources in education to strengthen the workforce pipeline. Stanzel said the hospital’s chief nursing o cer is an adviser to the University of Houston’s nursing pro- gram, and they often talk about how this relationship could be bene cial. “[UH is] having active conversa- tions [to determine]: How do we take a retired nurse and get them into teaching so they don’t get out of the eld altogether?” he said. “It’s also programmatic: How do we build additional programs and open up additional seats?”
is vital. Health care professionals refer to this time frame as the “golden hour,” Martinez said. “Within certain trauma situ- ations, you literally are in that one-hour window where your life is in the balance,” he said. To that end, Brian Petrilla, Fort Bend County deputy chief of emergency medical services, identi ed the lack of Level I trauma centers—the highest designation—in the area as a signi cant health care gap. Petrilla said a growing population inevitably puts strain on emergency services. “We are starting to see that we need more ambulances in the [Katy] area,” he said. “A growing population also means more tra c, which makes it Aside from accessibility and trauma care, other challenges the health care industry is facing when adapting to t a growing population include sta ng shortages and supply chain issues. Petrilla said EMS has been impacted by supply chain hurdles. “[Medications] are on backorder or they aren’t making them anymore,” he said. “It takes a long time to get stu repaired [and] to buy new stu . It’s probably the No. 1 stressor on EMS.” An issue for all four area hospitals is sta ng and retention. Based on data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the demand for all physicians is expected to worsen on a statewide scale, with a de cit of 6,218 physicians in 2018 projected to grow to 10,330 physicians in 2032. In the Gulf Coast Region—which includes Katy—family medicine, pedi- atrics, general internal medicine, nephrology and psychiatry are special- ties set to have the most shortages. harder for us to get places.” Growth-related challenges
From 2011-20, the population size of each ZIP code in the Katy area has increased. Area hospitals are implementing expansions to stay in step with the growth. +0%-50% +51%-100% +101%-150%
6
529
77449 +42.7%
77493 +77.72 77494 +126.33%
99 TOLL
CHUCK MARTINEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE KATY AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, ON THE “GOLDEN HOUR”
10
77094 +29.17%
77441 +125.19%
77450 +11.04%
1093
N
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Trauma care Memorial Hermann Katy is desig- nated by the Texas Department of State Health Services as a Level III trauma center. It is the only Level III trauma center in the Katy area, Ashworth said. “We are seeing a signi cant increase in our trauma volumes,” he said. As a Level III trauma center, Memo- rial Hermann Katy is expected to provide 24-hour care by emergency physicians, the prompt availability of general surgeons and anesthesiolo- gists, and backup care for other rural and community hospitals, according to the American Trauma Society. With its expansion project, the hospital plans to double the size of its emergency services department to 40,000 square feet, add treat- ment rooms, CT scanners and other upgraded equipment as well as capabil- ities for trauma and critical care medi- cine, neurosurgery, vascular surgery and thoracic surgery, Ashworth said. The time frame in which emergency services have to deliver life-saving treatment that will stabilize a patient
out with it.” Additionally, Houston Methodist West Hospital is instituting several projects which total over $87 million and will span the next ve years as part of its master plan, according to Chief Operating O cer Kyle Stanzel. The hospital broke ground on a $65 million, six-story medical o ce building in May, which is set to open by the end of 2023, Stanzel said. This will be the campus’s third medical o ce, providing services in physical therapy, orthopedics and sports medicine. Meanwhile, Memorial Hermann Katy began its $167 million expansion project in March 2022, which will focus on expanding the emergency services department, with subsequent phases bringing additions to the women’s health department and its sports medi- cine sector, Ashworth said. Memorial Hermann Katy is the exclu- sive provider for KISD’s athletic train- ing program, according to Ashworth. As far as emergency services, this department must grow in tandem with the population, Ashworth said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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KATY EDITION • JUNE 2022
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