Central Texas Medical Center Provides Community Benefit Each Year

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) has a long history of giving back to the San Marcos community, and 2016 was no exception. The hospital provided $22 million in charity care for uninsured and underinsured patients, as well as an additional $13 million in community benefits, such as health fairs, blood screenings, education opportunities and support groups.

“At CTMC, we take our mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ seriously. We fulfill this mission to our community by providing outstanding medical care, as well as going the extra mile for mission work and community service initiatives,” said CTMC President and CEO Anthony Stahl.

CTMC’s mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ reaches beyond the hospital’s walls. In 2016, CTMC reported that employees gave 640 in volunteer hours back to the local community. Below are several of the community initiatives that CTMC contributed to last year:

• School Fuel: CTMC provided $6,000 in support to the local School Fuel program, an initiative that sends a bag of food home with children over the weekend to help combat hunger. Many hospital employees volunteer to fill the sacks each week.

• Scholarships: Each year, CTMC has been awarding $1,000 scholarships to area high school seniors since 1997. In 2016, 10 scholarships were awarded. The money may be used to cover costs of attending a university, college, community college or vocational/trade school.

• Women’s Council: Each year, the Women’s Council of the CTMC Foundation raises funds to provide impact grants to non-profits serving women and children in Hays County. The group raised $12,000 last year. Since founded in 2010, the CTMC Women’s Council has funded $98,000 in impact grants.

• HealthCheck: For three decades, CTMC has coordinated Hays County’s largest health screening and fair. Through HealthCheck, community members are able to get more than $500 in valuable blood screenings for a low $30 fee. In 2016 alone, 789 people had basic blood work completed, and around 650 people attended the HealthCheck fair.

• Free Mammograms: Through a partnership with Community Action of Central Texas, CTMC offers 100 free mammograms to uninsured women in Hays County every year. Additionally, fundraising efforts during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month benefit the hospital’s Emergency Cancer Fund that assists local cancer patients while they are going through treatment.

• Sound Hospitalists: CTMC invested in a partnership with the Sound Physicians hospitalist group to provide around-the-clock, in-hospital care for the thousands of patients the hospital admits each year.

• Ramp Build project: After four years, CTMC concluded its lead sponsorship role of the Hays County chapter of Texas Ramps, an organization that provides wheelchair ramps to local handicapped residents. During the time that CTMC sponsored the project, ramps totaled more than one mile in length.

• Serve San Marcos Partnership: CTMC is a presenting sponsor of servesanmarcos.org, a community volunteering hub that connects people’s personal passions with needs in the community.

CTMC also saw a fruitful year of technology upgrades in 2016. The 170-bed hospital continues to lead the way in healthcare technology so patients can be diagnosed and treated for conditions close to home.

In late 2016, the hospital invested in a new state-of-the-art MRI machine, which is the only one on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio to offer a 28-inch entrance to make the experience more comfortable for patients who suffer from claustrophobia. In addition, the larger size allows CTMC to accommodate larger patients and eliminates awkward positioning to capture certain parts of the body.

Last year, CTMC celebrated the completion of 2,000 robotic surgery cases since obtaining its first da Vinci Si robotic surgical system in 2012. Today, because of a donation from the Emmett and Miriam McCoy Foundation, the hospital operates two robotic surgery suites specializing in general surgery, urology, bariatrics and gynecology.

The hospital’s multi-specialty group, Live Oak Health partners, expanded in 2016 with the launch of a women’s care and pulmonology service line. LOHP also extended its ENT services to the Wimberley community.

CTMC enhanced cardiac services in 2016, building on its long-time standing as an Accredited Chest Pain Center and Certified Stroke Center. CTMC’s Ingram Heart Center incorporated the EKOS Acoustic Pulse Thrombolysis procedure, a life-saving technique that dissolves blood clots in the vascular system via a catheter. Through a partnership with Austin Heart, CTMC offers 24-7 coverage of its cath lab, allowing life-saving treatments to take place at any time of the day or night.

For more information about care and services offered at CTMC, visit ctmc.org.

About CTMC
The 170-bed hospital, which originated in 1923 as Hays County Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Memorial Hospital, opened at its current Wonder World Drive location in 1983. The CTMC staff of more than 700 employees works with more than 220 active and consulting physicians to provide quality services to patients and their families. In addition to interventional cardiac services, CTMC is a Certified Chest Pain Center and an accredited Primary Stroke Center. CTMC leads the region in da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery and offers a variety of specialty care services including medical imaging, rehabilitation, home health care, hospice, women’s services and more. For more information, follow CTMC on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest, and visit our website at ctmc.org.