University Health System employees recognized for donating their blood to others

Everyone knows that you can’t survive without blood, but most of us don’t take time to realize what an impact we could have if we each took a little time to share our good health through blood donation. Some trauma patients can use more than 100 units of donated blood, so a continual supply of donated blood products at University Hospital’s Level I Trauma Center can mean the difference between life and death. 

(SAN ANTONIO, TX – January 25, 2012) Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women in the United States. In 2011, an estimated 1,219 Texas women were diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and 378 women died of the disease, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The best defense is early detection and, thanks to a grant totaling $2,861,547 from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), University Health System will have increased resources to screen, educate and protect more women in Bexar County.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed a AAA Rating for the Bexar County Hospital District, d/b/a University Health System. This action comes after a thorough evaluation of the health system’s operations, financial position and local market conditions. The attached press release highlights University Health System’s “solid operating margins” and track record of making “prompt budget adjustments” when necessary to meet changes in revenue streams. It also offers a good overview of the health system’s need for expansion, given the essential services it provides to Bexar County and the South Texas Trauma Region. University Health System is currently constructing a 10-story trauma tower at University Hospital in the South Texas Medical Center and a six-story Clinical Pavilion on its historic Robert B. Green Campus in Downtown San Antonio. The $899.4 million Capital Improvement Program is the largest expansion project in the hospital district’s history. The clinical building downtown is scheduled to open in early 2013 and the new hospital tower will open in early 2014.

Surgeons removed his damaged kidney, fixed it, then put it back
Army CPL says his own healthy kidney is the best holiday gift ever

(SAN ANTONIO, TX   -   January 12, 2012)   On August 25, 2011, U.S. Army CPL Joshua Saul was serving in Afghanistan when he was shot in the back by a sniper. The bullet caused extensive internal damage. Months later, after five operations, the young soldier was not even close to being able to regain his health, and his quality of life was very poor.