Hospital highlights

Cancer services at Methodist Hospital have provided hope, teamwork and advanced technology to thousands diagnosed with cancer since 1981. The cancer treatment program represents a multidisciplinary approach to treatment options, focusing on the emotional, social and spiritual well-being of cancer patients while providing comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services for medical needs. The hematology/oncology/transplant clinic allows patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment to remain out of the hospital as much as possible.

The adult blood cancer and stem cell transplant unit has led the way in performing and advancing stem cell transplants in South and Central Texas. The program was certified by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) as a Regional Bone Marrow Collection Center in 1992 and an NMDP Transplant Center in 1996 in recognition of the program’s success in improving the quality of bone marrow transplant operations. It was the first program in North America accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cell Therapy. In 1999, the program became part of the Methodist Transplant Institute.

The Women’s Pavilion at Methodist Hospital takes a family-centered approach to maternity care with a comprehensive range of obstetrical and gynecological services. The Women’s Pavilion welcomes more than 5,000 newborns a year. The unit features 24 labor/delivery/recovery rooms, including deluxe private suites with sitting areas for family members. At Methodist Hospital, all obstetrical nurses are specially trained in fetal heart monitoring to help quickly identify and respond to signs of fetal distress. A 78-bed newborn intensive care unit has board-certified, on-site intensive care physicians.

The Texas Neurosciences Institute at Methodist Hospital performs more neurosurgical operations each year than any other hospital in Texas. This specialized team combines physician experience and neurologist expertise with a wide variety of resources, specialized personnel and advanced neurosurgery equipment. Texas Neurosciences Institute physicians offer a comprehensive program to patients with brain and spinal cord illnesses and injuries. Connected to Methodist Hospital via a covered walkway, this six-story facility includes physician offices, an imaging and diagnostic center, a research library, a rehabilitation center and other healthcare services. Visit Texas Neurosciences to learn more.

Advanced medical imaging technologies that provide clear and precise images are used by physicians and staff in their diagnosis and treatment of their patients’ diseases. These tools include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 3T magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography (CT), cerebral angiography, nuclear medicine and picture archiving and communications system (PACS). PACS captures images through the computer instead of film. As a result, physicians are able to view images from any computer, providing faster and more convenient access to their patients’ medical imaging results.

The Gamma Knife® Center uses the most advanced technology available to treat tumors. In 2010 the center was completely renovated and the newest Gamma Knife® device, the Perfexion™, was installed. The technology is complex and the results are equally astonishing. The newest, most advanced version of the Gamma Knife® makes the term ‘inoperable’ obsolete. After locating tumors, specially trained surgeons focus beams of radiation from the Gamma Knife® directly to the affected area, leaving surrounding tissue untouched. Patients are able to return home the same day and resume their normal activities within days. Visit Gamma Knife San Antonio to learn more.

The Methodist Wound Care Center features San Antonio’s largest hyperbaric chamber. Beginning in 1979, Methodist Hospital was the first civilian hospital to offer the technology at Methodist Plaza. This therapy has been proven to speed the healing process for hard-to-heal wounds, such as those caused by diabetes, poor circulation, burns and infections. The chambers are also used to treat victims of undersea diving accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The palliative care team at Methodist Hospital is dedicated to providing pain management. We work to alleviate the physical suffering experienced by an individual and also address the emotional, spiritual and social stressors that directly impact a patient’s quality of life. Palliative care focuses on aggressively managing symptoms whether these symptoms are related to the side effects of curative treatment or to the illness itself.

The Methodist Endoscopy Center offers full service outpatient and inpatient diagnostic and treatment endoscopy for adolescent, adult and geriatric patients. The endoscopy lab has five procedure rooms with the newest Olympus scopes and two procedure rooms for monitored patients and weekend cases.