In the News

Milton Packer, MD, has been named the Rene Laennec Lecturer and Silver Medalist by the European Society of Cardiology. Dr. Packer is only the third American to receive this prestigious honor in the last 50 years. He will travel to Amsterdam to receive the award on August 25, 2023. In addition, Dr. Packer will deliver his presentation:  Fetal recapitulation and cellular stress in the evolution and progression of heart failure at this prestigious European event. 

Milton Packer, MD, is the Distinguished Scholar in Cardiovascular Science at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Institute and a recipient of the Hellenic Heart Failure Society Lifetime Achievement Award. During fiscal year 2023, Dr. Packer continued his award-winning work as an educator by presenting at conferences internationally and publishing more than 46 articles during the 12 months in peer-reviewed journals. He was appointed Deputy Editor of the European Heart Journal and is the only non-European Deputy Editor. 

Dr. Packer continues to author weekly blog posts on the widely respected physician news site, MedPage Today. The blog received the coveted Jesse H. Neal Prize for Best Blog/Commentary. Dr. Packer also continues his professorship and faculty appointment at Imperial College in London, UK.

The Hypertension Center at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas was recently awarded the American Heart Association’s Comprehensive Hypertension Center Certification. This certification recognizes an organization’s commitment to following proven, research-based treatment guidelines to care for people with complex or difficult-to-treat hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Certified organizations must be primarily devoted to patients with hypertension and related disorders, be recognized as referral and treatment resources for resistant and secondary hypertension and have facilities and personnel capable of assessing and evaluating complicated hypertension problems. Certified Comprehensive Hypertension Centers are recognized as leaders in providing the most up-to-date effective treatment strategies based on current evidence-based research in hypertension.

American Society of Transplantation (AST) recently appointed Baylor Scott & White – Dallas team members to honorable positions. Shelley Hall, MD, FACC, FHFSA, FAST, was named a member at large for the Board of Directors; Cesar Yvan Guerrero-Miranda, MD, FHFSA, FAST, is a newly inducted Fellow of the AST; and the Distinguished Early Career Award was given to Nicole Wilson, PharmD.

The American Society of Transplantation is a growing and diverse organization of over 4,200 members dedicated to advancing the field of transplantation and promoting research, education, organ donation, advocacy, and service to the community to improve patient care. Dr. Hall, Chief of Transplant Cardiology, Mechanical Circulatory Support and Heart Failure at Baylor University Medical Center, is the first medical director to represent Baylor Scott & White Health on the AST Board of Directors.

Aldo Rafael, MD, medical director of the Hispanic Cardiovascular Institute at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas and 2022 Peruvian of the Year, led a team of medical professionals on another successful Salvando Corazones Medical Mission trip to Lima, Peru in April 2023. The team was able to further their mission in saving the lives of 38 patients at Dos de Mayo Hospital this year. They performed 14 valve replacements in critically ill patients with rheumatic valvular disease. Most of these cases were performed with a minimally invasive approach. They also collaborated with the catheterization lab team and performed 24 complex coronary interventions. These surgeries help to ensure patients improve their quality of life with the best long-term solution.

Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas received an A on the spring Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades for the 14^th consecutive award period. This rating reflects a commitment to reducing errors, infections and accidents that can harm patients.

The Leapfrog Group is a non-profit organization that assigns grades for patient safety to nearly 3,000 general acute care hospitals across the country. The grades take into account dozens of established metrics shown to be closely tied to safe care, as well as Leapfrog’s own survey and other relevant data. According to the Leapfrog Group, “Hospitals that earn top marks nationally in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade have achieved the highest safety standards in the country.”

Cardiac surgery performed at Baylor University Medical Center received 3-Stars—the highest possible rating—for isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures. As a consistently high-performing program, this recent recognition ranks Baylor University Medical Center in the top 10% in the nation by STS for January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2022. In addition to a 3-Star overall rating, the program received 3-Stars in other rated domains, including absence of morbidity, use of IMA (internal mammary artery), and medications.

Cardiac surgery refers to heart surgical procedures that, in many cases, involve opening the chest and stopping the heart to repair or replace tissue, muscle, valves or arteries. Whether you need heart surgery or a second opinion, the healthcare team at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas and Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, is specially equipped for these procedures.

In January 2023, Hal Jay, co-host of WBAP News Talk 820 radio, suffered a major heart attack. That heart attack led Hal into needing a new heart. After 10 days of being on the transplant wait list, Hal Jay received the call that they had a donor heart.

Hal spent a month in the hospital, returning to his beloved job in April 2023. Hal now is an advocate for organ donation and stresses the importance of diet and exercise.

Announced in April 2023, through the participation of the Vascular Quality Initiative^® Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas received the 2022 VQI Participation Award with a 3-Star rating, the highest “star rating” from the VQI. In 2022, 795 centers were eligible, and Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas is one of the 10% (81) of participating centers to achieve this recognition. This is the seventh consecutive year the hospital has received 3-Star award focused on improving the quality, safety, effectiveness and cost of vascular healthcare.