Seton Medical Center Austin About Seton Medical Center Austin

Seton Medical Center Austin (SMCA) originated in Austin in 1902, after a group of citizens asked the Daughters of Charity to build a hospital to care for the sick. This 40-bed hospital, originally the Seton Infirmary, would eventually lead to the building of Seton Medical Center in 1975. As a member of the Seton Family of Hospitals, SMCA is a major referral center for Central Texas, offering comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for both inpatients and outpatients, Heart Specialty Care and Transplant Services, and advanced technology.

Smoke-Free

Seton is implementing a new policy that will ban smoking at all Seton-owned campuses as well as Seton-leased facilities where patient care is provided (i.e. University Medical Center at Brackenridge, Medical Park Tower, etc.). Any surrounding and adjacent grounds as well as parking areas at these sites will become off-limits for smoking. In establishing a smoke-free environment, Seton is following in the footsteps of a number of major hospitals across the country that have had a similar smoking ban in place for years.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

The Joint Commission Accreditation

As a sign of our Commitment to Excellence in providing patient care, SMCA has attainted full accreditation for all services surveyed in June 2006 by The Joint Commission and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval™.

Primary Stroke Center

In November 2006, at Seton’s request, The Joint Commission surveyed and awarded Seton Medical Center Austin Disease-Specific Certification for Primary Stroke Center. SMCA and Brackenridge Hospital were the first hospitals in the state of Texas to earn this designation.

Magnet Designation

Seton Medical Center Austin, along with three other acute-care Seton hospitals, has been awarded Magnet Designation, the highest award for nursing excellence given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The ANCC is an independent subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, the nation’s largest organization of nursing professionals. Seton offers the only Magnet-Designated hospitals in Central Texas.

Chest Pain Center

Seton Medical Center Austin has received full accreditation as a Chest Pain Center from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Only six percent of hospitals in the United States have received this distinction. The accreditation affirms that Seton Medical Center Austin demonstrates expertise in rapid assessment and treatment of cardiac patients.

Consumer Choice Award

Seton Medical Center Austin was the only Austin hospital named a 2007-2008 Consumer Choice Award winner and is the only hospital in the Austin metro area to receive this honor every year since the award was created in 1996.

The award recognizes those hospitals chosen by consumers as having the highest quality and image in their respective markets across the United States. Winners are determined by consumer perceptions on multiple quality and image ratings collected through the NRC Healthcare Market Guide® study, the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind.

Medal of Honor

Seton Medical Center Austin is among 342 hospitals nationwide to receive the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services distinguished Medal of Honor. The award is given to hospitals that achieve and exceed a life-saving organ donation rate of 75 percent or greater in a 12-month period.