After Baylor Scott and White – Dallas Foundation Board of Directors Chair Norm Bagwell welcomed more than 100 board members to its virtual quarterly meeting on Tuesday, February 9, he had Baylor Scott and White Health Chief Policy and Community Affairs Officer Kristi Sherrill Hoyl officially introduce Ben Renberg, the Foundation’s new president.
Having started his new role on Monday, February 1, native Texan Ben told the group that he hoped to meet everyone by the summer. After finishing up his position at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, he had just left behind three feet of snow and apologized if the snow followed him to Dallas. [Editor’s note: Evidently the snow couldn’t resist following Ben when North Texas went into a legendary deep freeze less than a week later thanks to Winter Storm Uri.]
He shared some personal information like having met his wife April Renberg at Baylor University where they were both students, daughter Elaine Renberg who is in her second year at Baylor Law and son RC Renberg who will be graduating from Baylor University in May.
Ben explained what had especially attracted him to Baylor was the mission, the innovative culture, the regional impact, the generous community and the magnet of strong civic leaders.
Following some Foundation housekeeping business, Kristi kicked off the day’s program by recalling how in the past year, BSWH made “major advancement in the area of educational partnerships in 2020”
by creating collaborations with TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) the expansion of the longtime affiliation with Texas A&M University.
She then introduced Baylor Scott and White Health BSWH Chief Medical Officer/Executive VP Dr. Alejandro Arroliga to discuss the Enhanced Academic Partnership Throughout Texas program.
Recognizing that “medical education is an asset for our healthcare operation,” he explained the program would attract high quality physicians to BSWH by enhancing the following areas:
Medical Education —
- Offer world-class, nationally recognized programs for the benefit of our patients and community
- Provide comprehensive physician training (Undergraduate Medical Education – UME, Graduate Medical Education – GME and Continuing Medical Education – CME)
- Attract and retain the best candidates who embrace BSWH’s values
- Enhance BSWH’s ability to recruit and retain high-caliber physicians and
- Maintain an integrated and attractive education system within BSWH – led by BSWH physicians
Research —
- BSWH to be a leader in clinical, health system science and translational research and
- Achieve national recognition, leadership and reputation through the dissemination of studies, extramural funding and discoveries
Clinical —
- Leverage academic affiliations to create mutually beneficial clinical programs for BSWH and partner(s)
Having received the Foundation’s approval to undertake such a mission, it started in 2018 with a study of system research and education followed the next year with BSWH issuing affiliation prospectuses to 30 schools of medicine throughout the country in November.
Before the year was up, BSWH conducted interviews and evaluated potential affiliates with the goal of finding “like-minded partners.” By March 2020, just as the pandemic was getting underway, BCM and TAMU were selected as academic affiliates and finalized eight months later. A partnership with TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine created in 2017 was expanded last year.
As a result, the partnership has resulted in 380+ UME, 825+ GME and 170 CME activities and 2,900 hours on instruction in 2019.
In addition, BCM is planning on a campus in Temple in 2023.
Alejandro told how TAMU’s partnership with BSWH has resulted in the following:
- Over a three-year period, TAMU is to expand its campus in Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) and to sunset regional campus in Temple.
- Currently over 150 UME students already training at BUMC, with that number increasing in coming years.
- Concurrent with transition, BSWH and TAMU will explore GME co-branding opportunities in Dallas
- BSWH and TAMU will explore opportunities for clinical and research collaboration.
In closing, he explained that while Texas is considered an under-served state, the partnership has benefited Texans in four ways:
- Talent pipeline — Prestigious medical schools will draw the nation’s best students and resident who BSWH will recruit into practice.
- Brand enhancement — Unification of “Baylor” healthcare brands will link top clinical brand with top academic brand.
- Expanded research — BSWH patients will receive access to the latest treatments. Affiliations will join leading basic and translational research center with leading clinical and population health network.
- Long-term academic platform — TAMU, BCM and UNT-TCU agreements solidify academic culture and environment for the long term at BSWH
Following Alejandro’s presentation, BSWH CEO Jim Hinton closed the meeting by introducing a video that focused on 4th-year medical student Brett Johnson, who selected Baylor as his first choice because of its educational environment.
* Graphic/photo courtesy of Baylor Scott and White – Dallas Foundation