In what can only be described as a herculean group effort, Ascension Seton physicians, ICU nurses, clinical assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, perfusionists, volunteers and security officers joined forces to get Alayna out of her room. Anna Dvorak, decided to take her on a “joy ride.” To lift Alayna’s spirits and give her a sense of normalcy, her care team, led by Dr. The bulky ECMO equipment confined Alayna to her bed and even blocked her views. Her condition quickly deteriorated, so her ICU team initiated Extracorporeal Oxygen Membrane Support (ECMO) therapy to remove her blood, oxygenate it and return the oxygenated blood to her body. The young woman was transferred to Austin from San Angelo with an infection spreading throughout her body. Visit and (in center) surrounded by her team of loving caregivers. Ascension is one of the leading nonprofit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., operating 2,600 sites of care - including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities - in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Serving Texas for more than 120 years, Ascension is a faith-based health care organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In Texas, Ascension operates Ascension Providence in Waco and Ascension Seton, which includes Dell Children’s Medical Center, the region’s only comprehensive children’s hospital and pediatric Level I trauma center, and Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, the region’s only Level I trauma center for adults.Īscension Seton partners with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and shares a common vision of transforming health care through a focus on quality and value. This collaboration allows us to provide you with a team of highly specialized providers who are at the forefront of the latest research, diagnostic and technological developments. The collaboration between Ascension Seton and UT Health Austin, the clinical practice of Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, brings together medical professionals, medical school learners and researchers, who are all part of the integrated mission of transforming health care delivery and redesigning the academic health environment to better serve society. It was definitely a ‘God thing,’” she said.Ībout the Partnership Between Ascension Seton & UT Health Austin Kayla was a match, and we were set for surgery here at UT. But just like that, all the pieces seemed to fall into place.

“We knew that Dom’s kidney function was worsening rapidly even over these past few months, and we were risking putting him on dialysis if we didn’t find a donor in time. “When I saw an email saying UT Health Austin was beginning kidney transplantation last November, I thought, ‘How can I get him down here to get this done at UT?’” said Jamie Rainelli, an office manager at the university’s Office of Student Affairs. The historic nature of the center’s inaugural transplant has special meaning for the UT Austin community: Rainelli’s mother is a Longhorn herself. Established in November 2021, the Adult Abdominal Transplant Center is a program at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas that diagnoses, treats and manages the care of adult patients in need of a kidney, as well as those willing to be a living kidney donor. More than 72,000 Texans are living with end-stage renal disease or kidney failure. “We are excited to be a center that treats the needs of Central Texans, and we look forward to delivering convenient and innovative transplant care to our community.” “It took incredible vision, leadership and teamwork by our hospital and medical school leaders and clinical teams to perform our first living donor transplant,” said Nicole Turgeon, M.D., transplant director for the Adult Abdominal Transplant Center and professor in the Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care at Dell Med.

Ascension seton medical center austin