As a veteran Allen firefighter and paramedic, Jason Denton knew the signs of a stroke. He just never expected to experience those symptoms himself. He, along with his physicians, are bringing attention to the warning signs and lifesaving treatment for National Stroke Awareness Month.

In early March, after helping with a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Allen, Denton put a call into his brother as he was leaving. During that conversation, his brother immediately noticed Denton didn’t sound normal. His brother called Denton’s wife, Jennifer, who encouraged him to turn around and seek help.

“From my truck, I got the attention of a co-worker who helped me get back into the vaccine clinic. It was obvious. I was having a stroke,” Denton says. “I had facial droop and I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t get the words out.”

 Allen firefighters at the COVID-19 clinic called an ambulance and brought Denton to Medical City McKinney, a Primary Stroke Center. Stroke symptoms can be identified by the acronym FAST:

• F – Facial drooping
• A – Arm weakness
• S – Slurred speech
• T - Time

“When I arrived at the hospital, everyone on the stroke team was at the door. I went straight for the CT scan. After the CT, they immediately administered tPA,” Denton says.

TPA is a clot-busting medication that can be a first-line and lifesaving treatment for stroke. It works to break down the clot that caused the stroke and restore blood flow to the brain.

“TPA is very time-sensitive. We need to administer the medication within 3 to 4 and a half hours of the onset of symptoms,” says Mike O’Neal, MD, Medical City McKinney emergency medicine physician. “With Mr. Denton, we were able to administer tPA within 15 minutes of arrival, which increases his chances of fully recovering any lost function.”

The “Code Stroke” team at Medical City McKinney administered the lifesaving tPA to Denton, and shortly after receiving the medication, he was transferred to Medical City Plano for surgical treatment of the stroke.

“Jason had a stroke affecting his speech and right arm. Stroke is a life-threatening event and in Jason’s case it was caused by a clot blocking one of the major arteries supplying blood to the dominant brain hemisphere,” says Jazba Soomro, MD, interventional neurologist at Texas Stroke Institute at Medical City Plano.

“With the help of advanced technology, we were able to perform a procedure to remove the clot from Jason’s brain artery quickly and restore blood circulation and maximize his chances for better recovery,” says Dr. Soomro.

Two months after his strokes, Denton is working on his recovery with outpatient therapy and hoping his story may help save other lives.

“Every day, I can feel myself get stronger,” Denton says. “I look forward to going back to my job and enjoying time with my wife and my kids. I have a lot of life ahead of me.”

Medical City McKinney announced Elizabeth Kim, MD, Deb Miller, RN, and Sharon Weter, as the recipients of the Frist Humanitarian Award, the hospital’s highest employee and volunteer award.

The Frist Humanitarian Awards were created to recognize a physician, employee and volunteer at each HCA Healthcare-affiliated facility who demonstrate extraordinary concern for the welfare and happiness of patients and their community.  The Frist Humanitarian Awards are given annually in recognition of the humanitarian spirit and philanthropic work of the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., a founder of HCA Healthcare, the parent company of Medical City Healthcare.

Elizabeth Kim, MD, is a trauma surgeon that organizes medical mission trips to Haiti, and during her most recent trip, she and her team saw 96 patients and staffed 40 surgeries. The impact of her trips to Haiti has led Dr. Kim to establish an international medical rotation for medical residents to assist with medical missions.

Deb Miller, RN, is recognized for developing innovative ways to teach others through hands-on training courses, mentoring a high school robotics team, and volunteering at a local nursing home and other charities. She has won two innovators awards at the hospital and division level for her innovative teaching programs and created fun, customized hands-on training puzzles for nurses to participate in during Nurses Week.  

Sharon Weter is a member of the Volunteer Auxiliary and averages more than 400 volunteer hours a year. Since joining the Volunteer Auxiliary five years ago, Weter has served in several roles throughout the hospital, including accounts payable clerk and assisting in the gift shop. She also helps out at Community Health Clinic of McKinney, where she contributed 760 volunteer hours last year.

Medical City McKinney is a 260-bed, acute care hospital that offers comprehensive services including a Level III trauma center, cardiovascular, neurological services, general surgery, orthopedics, women’s services, a neonatal intensive care unit and behavioral health services. Medical City McKinney is a primary stroke center, a stroke rehabilitation center and the Joint Commission accredited total hip and total knee replacement center. Medical City ER Stonebridge, located at Custer and Hwy 380, is Medical City McKinney’s off-campus emergency room. Medical City McKinney is part of Medical City Healthcare. For more information: www.medicalcitymckinney.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Medical City McKinney now offers patients seeking weight loss treatment bariatric surgical options, including gastric bypass and gastric sleeve procedures.

Bariatric surgery can offer hope to patients who have been unsuccessful in reaching their weight loss goals through traditional methods such as diet and exercise. Obesity surgery provides a jumpstart to lose weight successfully and improve lifestyle habits for those who qualify.

“Our experts are pleased to provide life-changing bariatric surgery in our own community, which previously required travel to other areas of North Texas to receive,” said Ernest C. Lynch, III, CEO of Medical City McKinney. “Our bariatric program is another reason we are the destination of choice for healthcare excellence in McKinney and the surrounding area.”

Obesity increases the risks of illness and death because of conditions commonly associated with it, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease among other health risks. Metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures have proven to be effective in the reduction of conditions related to severe obesity.

Medical City McKinney is a 260-bed, acute care hospital that offers comprehensive services including a Level III trauma center, cardiovascular, neurological services, general surgery, orthopedics, women’s services, a neonatal intensive care unit and behavioral health services. Medical City McKinney is a primary stroke and a stroke rehabilitation center. Medical City ER Stonebridge, located at Custer and Hwy 380, is Medical City McKinney’s off-campus emergency room. Medical City McKinney is part of Medical City Healthcare. For more information: www.medicalcitymckinney.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Fecal transplant at Medical City McKinney helps recovery from serious C.diff infections

Gastroenterologist Manmeet Padda, MD, FASGE, performed Medical City McKinney’s first fecal microbiota transplant on a patient with clostridium difficile (C.diff), a bacterium that can be life threatening. 

Fecal microbiota transplant is an outpatient procedure that introduces healthy bacterial flora into a patients’ colon through infusion of medically processed stool from a healthy donor. The procedure has proven effective treating serious cases of C.diff because it allows physicians to restore the good bacteria in the body and rebuild the immune system. Patients typically start to feel better within a week of a fecal transplant.

“More than two thousand species of bacteria lives inside the body, and sometimes that good bacteria is wiped out with a bad bacterium like C.diff, which can be life threatening,” said Dr. Padda. “C.diff bacteria is all around us, but is transferred hand-to-hand and can develop after the use of antibiotics.”

Patients with C.diff usually experience severe lower abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea. Oral antibiotics are used for mild cases and IV antibiotics for moderate cases. Fecal transplants are considered when prior treatment has failed.

 “A fecal microbiota transplant is done in the same manner as a colonoscopy, and takes about 10 minutes,” said Dr. Padda. “We flush the colon and add the new donated material, which has been prescreened for infections, cleaned by a donor bank, and kept frozen prior to transplant.”

Prior to fecal transplants, patient with severe cases of C.diff often required prolonged hospitalization and multiple repeat antibiotic treatments.  

“The fecal microbiota transplant can allow certain patients to live a normal life, without life-changing and often excruciating pain,” said Dr. Padda.

On Wednesday, May 9^th, Medical City McKinney held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick-off construction of a new rehabilitation and behavioral health services pavilion.

The $52 million expansion project will allow the hospital to relocate services from the Wysong campus to the main campus, while also adding additional patient beds and enhanced services.

“By expanding and moving these services to our main campus, we will be able to provide our patients with a full continuum of care in one location,” said Ernest C. Lynch, III, FACHE, CEO of Medical City McKinney. “Our patients will be better served when our entire range of healthcare services are centrally located on one campus.”

The rehab and behavioral health pavilion will include:

• 20 inpatient rehabilitation patient rooms
• 80 adult and geriatric behavioral health patient rooms
• Outpatient behavioral health program
• Outdoor healing garden
• Design elements to include focus on natural lighting and open floor plan in common area
  

“Medical City McKinney is expanding to meet our growing community’s needs,” said Lynch. “This project is just the beginning of a multi-phase expansion for the hospital.”

The rehabilitation and behavioral health pavilion is part of Medical City Healthcare’s major capital investment initiative of more than $1.7 billion spent or committed over five years. Construction is expected to be complete by December 2019.