Year in Review: My UTSW’s 17 Most Buzzworthy Stories of 2017
My UTSW invites you to look back at 17 of the most buzzworthy stories of 2017 (listed chronologically below), and vote for your favorites in the survey found at the bottom of this page.
The year 2017 was a big one for UT Southwestern news, and full of captivating stories about our employees. Among the highlights: being ranked No. 1 Hospital in DFW by U.S. News & World Report, a groundbreaking on the third tower of William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, and one of our RN leaders named Press Ganey’s Nurse of the Year. There was also a solar eclipse, a wedding (or several), and of course, an outpouring of volunteer support in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
We hope you’ll enjoy reflecting on some of the stories that show why UT Southwestern is a great place for faculty, staff, students, and patients. And don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the survey below.
1. Tyler’s Legacy: A Tragic Start Reveals Hope and Grace
In November 2014, in a labor and delivery room inside UT Southwestern’s St. Paul Hospital, two parents cried softly. Their nurse, Miosotis Torres, pushed to keep her own sadness at bay, staying as task-oriented as she could. She wanted to make sure that the new mom and dad had privacy. And time. Tyler Ray Zapotocky entered the world, and lived for just 32 minutes. Several years later, baby Tyler’s legacy is going strong, and his presence literally loomed large in the 2017 Rose Parade.
2. A Father’s Heart Attack Transforms a Daughter’s Taxing Life
Emily Pickett, a former tax consultant, experienced a personal connection to heart disease that led to dramatic change in her own life.
3. Lots of Smiles and Dreams Made During Match Day
As the digital clock on the basketball court of the Bryan Williams, M.D. Student Center counted down to zero, 221 graduating UT Southwestern medical students waited in anticipation, each clutching an envelope. In medical schools across the country, thousands more students were simultaneously doing the same, waiting for the exact moment – 11 a.m. CST – to rip open their envelopes and reveal their future.
4. Crothers to Offer ‘Art Lover’s Guide to UT Southwestern’
Woven through the glass, brick, and steel of UT Southwestern’s patient care, education, and research buildings is an artistic ethos that has made its own mark on the Medical Center’s distinction. Taken as a whole, UT Southwestern is home to an impressive collection of art spread across the campus. Such a distinctive and vast collection of artwork requires a skillful steward, and it has that in Art Curator Courtney Crothers.
5. I’ll Take ‘Cardiology Fellows Who Won on Jeopardy’ for $500, Alex
On March 18 in Washington, D.C., three third-year Cardiology Fellows won the Fellows-in-Training National Jeopardy Competition hosted by American College of Cardiology (ACC).
6. Kidney Recipient Turned Employee Views the Transplant Team through a Unique Lens
Ryan Havens was a software engineering student at the University of Texas at Dallas, and he was in need of a kidney transplant. A trip to UT Southwestern for care launched a life-changing course that would ultimately bring him back to UTSW – but not as a patient.
7. Making a Life’s Work out of Second Chances: Three Transplant Nurses Share Their Stories
Shannon Chalk, Kelly Murphy, and Pat Lee discovered a surprising revelation about their shared connection.
8. Ingenuity Rules at UTSW Solar Eclipse Watch Party
When it came to catching a glimpse of the solar eclipse in August, the UTSW community got – not surprisingly – inventive.
9. Video: Happy Birthday to the Jones Quintuplets!
Five years ago, a very special event happened at UT Southwestern – the birth of quintuplets. The family shared a video of the Jones quintuplets in action.
10. UTSW Ranked No. 1 Hospital in DFW
UT Southwestern was named the best hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth by U.S. News & World Report. Six clinical specialties were recognized as being among the Top 50 in the country.
11. Saving Ryan: A Dramatic Tale of Hope, Persistence, and Medical Ingenuity
Five years after UT Southwestern began a clinical trial that restored much of his brain function, 29-year-old Ryan Dant is a medical marvel whose success story gives hope to others facing similar plights.
12. Tears, Joy, and Gratitude Flow at Reunion of Patient and Caregivers
As a transplant patient who had a months-long stay in the hospital, Davy Hobson imagined what he wanted to tell his former caregivers. “I wanted to reunite with all of them, because I’ve just always wanted to say: ‘Hey, it’s me. Look at the results of your good work. And thank you.’”
13. Photos: American Heart Association's 2017 Dallas Heart Walk
On Sept. 9, UT Southwestern Medical Center employees, along with their friends and family members, braved the Texas heat to participate in the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Dallas Heart Walk held at Reunion Park.
14. Hurricane Harvey coverage
When it came to lending a hand in the wake of this year’s Hurricane Harvey disaster, UTSW employees were all in. We’ve cheated a bit, so that this entry includes several of our Harvey-related stories.
- UT Southwestern’s Disaster Relief Support Heightens
- UTSW Nurses Head to Houston to Provide Relief for Peers, Care for Patients
- UTSW Faculty, Fellows, Residents, Students Spearhead Medical Response to Hurricane Harvey in Dallas
- UT Southwestern Emergency Physicians Prepare for Influx of Hurricane Harvey Evacuees
- UTSW nurses returning from Harvey aftermath grateful for opportunity
15. Dual Celebrations Mark Beginning of Clements Expansion Project, and ‘Next Era’ at UT Southwestern
In a pair of events on Sept. 29, University Hospital employees, leaders, and key stakeholders celebrated the start of construction on the $480 million expansion. In addition to a formal groundbreaking ceremony, a daylong “thank-you” event for University Hospitals employees featured a wildly popular photo booth, festive snacks, and feel-good pop music.
16. Wedding Bells Not an Uncommon Sound in Clements, Zale Lipshy University Hospitals
When it looked like her grandfather would miss her wedding, the bride-to-be moved the ceremony to Clements University Hospital.
17. UTSW’s Dawn Brown Wins the 2017 Press Ganey Nurse of the Year Award
Dawn Brown’s passion, dedication, and skill were formally recognized this year by Press Ganey, a national consulting firm specializing in health care performance.
Cast a vote for your favorites by clicking on the poll!
