pediatrics, and Lori Dominy, interim director of women’s services. “There’s documented evidence that breastfeeding is advantageous to newborns,” Landes said, adding that regulation agencies are now measuring the objective outcomes of breastfeeding in American hospitals. “We want to, of course, meet the clinical standard for that,” Landes said, “but we also know it’s the right thing to do.”
ER growth The emergency department was classified as a Level IV basic trauma facility in April 2015. “The continued growth in our emergency room visits has been an area that we didn’t think, in our planning for the hospital, that we would outgrow so quickly,” Maxfield said. He said the ER is projecting more than 50,000 visits this year. “I think it just demonstrates the growth in population that we are experiencing.” The Texas Department of State Health Services website designates 202 Level IV trauma facilities. According to the American Trauma Society, Level IV trauma facilities can receive trauma patients for evaluation, stabilization, and diagnosis. Severe traumas can then be transferred to one of the 17 Level I comprehensive trauma facilities in the state. The closest Level I facilities are in Temple, at Scott & White Medical Center, and in Austin at Dell Children’s Medical Center and University Medical Center at Brackenridge, both of which are part of the Seton family. “They can either go by ambulance or helicopter,” Purl said. “It depends on the patient. It’s all about the patient.” The 60,000-square-foot medical offices pavilion on the SMCHH campus is 100 percent occupied, with a wound care center planned for the third floor. “It will have two hyperbaric chambers,” Purl said. “We expect it will be very busy in there.” She said the proposed Advanced Wound Healing Center is in the construction bidding process. Outside of the hospital there are nearly 20 Wellstone Clinics throughout Harker Heights, Killeen and Belton. “Wellstone is affiliated with the hospital and it’s a multi-specialty practice under one umbrella,” Purl said. These facilities 52
AUGUST 2016 | TEX APPEAL
Seton Medical Center Harker Heights’s CEO Matt Maxfield, left, and George Fayer, chief financial officer for the hospital, describe a new program at the hospital called MDsave during a news conference in April.
“The continued growth in our emergency room visits has been an area that we didn’t think, in our planning for the hospital, that we would outgrow so quickly.”
Matt Maxfield, CEO Seton Medical Center Harker Heights
include the medical office pavilion on the SMCHH grounds and the primary care office in Belton. In July, Matthew Altman, MD MPH, opened the most recent clinic off W.S. Young Drive in Killeen. The Occupational and Environmental Medicine center is a Wellstone Health Partner and offers treatment for workplace concerns such as respiratory problems and chemical exposure. Purl said the new clinic will work hand-in-hand with the therapy center at the ASYMCA, with Dr. Altman providing the medical treatment before sending patients to physical therapy. “When you start from scratch, every year there’s something new,” Purl said. “There’s only one way to go and that’s to grow.”
A little history When Seton Medical Center Harker Heights broke ground on its Central
Texas Expressway facility in April 2011, it was the first new hospital constructed in Bell County in 35 years. “I came on board just 30 days after the groundbreaking and my first office was a double wide trailer on the job site,” said Maxfield, a Temple native who had previously been CEO of Brownwood Regional Medical Center. SMCHH officially opened June 18, 2012. Don Shaffer was the electrical supervisor with a contractor on the hospital construction site and is now a SMCHH employee. “I am from Harker Heights and live five minutes away,” Shaffer said. After a career spent traveling for work, Shaffer chose to stay at home with his family as well as “a job that I know was made for me.” “This place is a labor of love for a lot of us,” Purl said. “It’s very hard to open a hospital.” The 192,400-square-foot facility is