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Employee Spotlight: Shoundala Sam Smith

As we celebrate Black History Month, we’re spotlighting our caregivers, the diversity they bring and the difference they make at UT Health East Texas.

(February 1, 2024) — Shoundala “Sam” Smith has spent the past 20 years at UT Health Pittsburg with the primary goal of helping patients through the different roles in which she has served.

Sam started her career journey at the hospital in 2003 as a certified nursing assistant and later was promoted to activity coordinator. She also is a patient advocate for the hospital’s med-surg unit.

“...

Tyler, Texas (January 24, 2024) — Karyn Gordon, a freshman at Winona High School, remembers going to her pediatrician’s office and being comforted by the paintings and art on the walls. Now, it’s her own artwork that will provide such comfort to pediatric patients at UT Health Tyler as part of a donation Winona High School theater students made to the hospital on Wednesday.

“When I go to the doctor, to this day I enjoy seeing the paintings in the office, so when I found out we were giving our paintings to the hospital, I was like, ‘This is so cool.’ I feel so...

The Taylor family after their father's heart surgery

Rob Taylor was doing almost everything right.

For 15 years, the 59-year-old Bullard resident worked out in the gym at least three times a week with his personal trainer. He didn’t smoke and recently added playing in a senior softball league to his list of activities. Though he weighed around 250 pounds, Taylor carried it well on his six-foot frame.

Together with his wife and three children, the family kept up an active lifestyle and ate a “well-rounded, healthy diet” most of the time.

“However, about a third of the time,” recalled Taylor, “I didn’t eat very healthy...

Henderson, Texas (November 6, 2023) — UT Health Henderson earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog that sets standards for excellence in patient care. Leapfrog assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

“We are proud to have earned a third consecutive ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grade and our fourth out of the last five...

By Avery Niles

Published:& Oct. 16, 2023 at 12:46 PM CDT

ATHENS, Texas (KLTV) - Roughly one out of eight women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer in the course of their life.

Melisa Collum was working at the UT Health Athens hospital as a registered nurse when she felt a lump in her left breast.

"We were up on the floor one day and my PCP happened to be up there, Dr. Swartwood, and some of the nurse's kind of let the cat out of the bag. So he made me come see him that day, and sure enough he sent me over to the breast center...

Tyler, Texas (November 3, 2023) — The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center has been awarded on Newsweek’s list of America’s Best-In-State Hospitals 2024. This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Clinical care at the health science center is provided under the banner of UT Health North Campus Tyler.

Proximity and access are of the utmost importance when choosing between top hospitals. The America’s Best-In-State Hospitals 2024 ranking was created to identify...

Tyler, Texas (November 1, 2023) — Rachel Carney, RN, a nurse in the renal/urology unit at UT Health Tyler, has been recognized by Ardent Health Services with the 2023 Nurse of the Year Award.

Presented annually by UT Health Tyler’s parent company, the award recognizes an outstanding nurse for their compassion, skill and willingness to go the extra mile in caring for others.

Rachel was selected from among all 2023 DAISY Award winners within Ardent, which includes 30 hospitals and more than 200 sites of care across six states. The DAISY Award is an...

Tyler, Texas (Oct. 26, 2023) — High blood pressure is a problem for a large percentage of East Texans, but that soon may be changing thanks to a study led by two physicians with the UT Health East Texas Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Frank Navetta and Dr. Robert Smith are researching a new procedure that may lower blood pressure even if it is resistant to medication. They already have performed this outpatient procedure, the first in East Texas, with positive results that will continue to be monitored.

The procedure, called renal denervation, actually takes...

Ardent Chief Operating Officer Terika Richardson and Ardent President and CEO Marty Bonick with the HealthFirst team: Lorie Hudgins, Jennifer Oliver- Lyles, Susan Hill, Tanya Showen

Tyler, Texas (October 2, 2023) – Modern Healthcare has announced rankings for healthcare organizations recognized as Best Places to Work in Healthcare, with HealthFirst returning to the list for the third year, ranking #25 among the top in the country.

“We’re thrilled at this honor because it recognizes the work we do every day – building a culture where every employee feels empowered, valued and ready to make a difference for every client,” said Cindy Klein, chief operating officer for HealthFirst.

HealthFirst joins six other entities from Ardent Health...

Shilpa Chitnis, MD, PhD, FAAN, is a board-certified neurologist, who believes in reaching for the best possible outcomes with her patients by empowering through education, compassionate care and open communication. She see patients 18 years and older at the UT Health East Texas Neurological Institute in Tyler.

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