Boerne News

For Immediate Release

Boerne, Texas – Methodist Boerne Emergency Center, which is adjacent to Methodist Boerne Medical Center, opened its doors to patients on January 21 providing Kendall County and Northwest Bexar County residents of all ages with a full-service emergency department. A ribbon cutting and multi-denominational blessing were held on Thursday, January 24, to celebrate the opening.

“We are pleased to be the first emergency facility to open in this region that operates 24/7, 365 days a year with the powerful support of the entire Methodist Healthcare family of hospitals in San Antonio giving us the ability to treat adults and children closer to home and, when necessary, stabilize patients and transport them to San Antonio for hospitalization,” said Dean Alexander, CEO of the Methodist Boerne Medical Center.

“It’s also a privilege to work with area emergency medical services to help save lives by getting patients the medical care they need more quickly.”

The Emergency Center covers an impressive 20,560 square foot space and features 15 private treatment rooms:

• two dual purpose rooms for trauma and cardiac care;
• five urgent care rooms;
• four rapid triage rooms for minor emergencies; and
• four observation rooms for those patients requiring observation for 23 hours or less.

The center will have physicians on staff around the clock working alongside expertly trained nurses and technicians. The 35-person team is devoted to providing emergency care in situations involving chest pain, broken bones, stomach ailments, asthma attacks, injuries sustained in a car crash and anything else a person would normally go to a typical hospital emergency center for treatment. The Emergency Center team will even be able to receive EKG readings on patients from specially-equipped ambulances en route to the hospital.
The center will provide some unique features such as

• bedside registration for increased convenience and privacy;
• air and ground transport to San Antonio for critically ill or injured patients;
• direct access to advanced trauma services and expert resources at Methodist Healthcare facilities;
• laboratory with blood bank services;
• pharmacy;
• ultrasound;
• telemetry equipment;
• 16 slice CAT Scan Unit
• Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) will be used to electronically share x-rays with specialists for diagnostic purposes.

Eileen Huss, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services, heads up the team of emergency professionals at the center. Prior to joining the Methodist Boerne Medical Center team in July 2007, Huss was Director of Critical Care at Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, where she was responsible for the emergency department and intensive care units. Before working at Mainland, Huss was the Director of the Emergency Department at HCA Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, Florida, where she led the hospital’s Emergency Department to be recognized as the No. 1 Emergency Department among 180 HCA hospitals in the nation.

Kendall Styskal, MD, serves as medical director of the Methodist Boerne Emergency Center. He’s been an attending emergency physician since 1995 and has been board certified in emergency medicine since 1996. Dr. Styskal has also served as medical director for Kendall County’s Emergency Medical Services since 2002.

“Boerne and the surrounding communities will receive the benefit of the most preferred health care in South Texas. Methodist Healthcare ranks first among consumers for providing the highest quality care and the best image in the market,” Alexander added.

Last year, Methodist Healthcare made a significant contribution to the Boerne community with the completion of a new Medical Office Building: Methodist Boerne Medical Center. Physicians steadily have opened practices in the new facility and currently include South Texas Radiology Imaging Center, MedCare Associates offering internal medicine, family practice and pediatric care, South Texas Oncology & Hematology, Alamo Maxillofacial Surgical Associates, Bandera Tri County Home Health Agency, and Holcomb Pediatrics & Sports Medicine.

Methodist Boerne Medical Center is located at Menger Springs Road and IH-10. If you have a question about emergency medical services at Methodist Boerne Emergency Center, call 830-331-3000.

Methodist Healthcare is San Antonio’s largest and most trusted health care provider with facilities including seven acute care hospitals: Methodist Children’s Hospital of South Texas*, Methodist Hospital, Methodist Heart Hospital*, Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital,* Northeast Methodist Hospital,* Metropolitan Methodist Hospital* and Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Hospital. New construction projects include the Methodist Stone Oak Hospital scheduled for completion in 2009.

*A Methodist Hospital facility.