At Far West Capital, we love to see businesses unleash their potential – especially when the unleashed potential is focused on putting the customers’ needs first. When we learned about Seton Total Health (STH), a program operated by the Seton Healthcare Family to help people find the medical care they need to stay healthy and out of the hospital, we were eager to learn more. What we found was a healthcare network that decided to go against the status quo and be willing to lose money in order to save more lives and create a healthier community. Talk about unleashing healthy potential!
Here’s a little history to fully understand what drives the Seton Healthcare Family. Seton was founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic organization that dates back to 17th century France. The Daughters of Charity dedicated themselves to expressing God’s love through services to the sick, the poor and the destitute. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, for which Seton Healthcare Family was named, was instrumental in bringing the Daughters to America. Seton has honored this mission to care for and improve the health of those we serve with a special concern for the poor and the vulnerable since 1902 when the Daughters opened the Seton Infirmary in Austin.
Fast forward more than a century to a new healthcare landscape in Central Texas flourishing with research and innovation to improve care. Seton has been nationally recognized for such efforts. For example, Seton earned the The Joint Commission’s Ernest Amory Codman Award, recognizing Seton’s success in preventing birth injuries. Today, Seton hospitals are among the safest in the nation for delivering a baby. Seton’s program resulted in a 93 percent reduction in birth trauma rates. Always at the forefront is Seton’s mission. Putting people first is the right thing to do and even if it means losing money; it’s a risk to take. But through programs like STHP, doing the right thing for people can also save money and resources. The preventive care provided by STHP doctors and clinicians, including home visits, keeps patients out of hospitals and on the path to better health.
Today Seton, working in partnership with UT Austin, UT Southwestern and Central Health, is creating a world-class medical district that will train new generations of physicians, house groundbreaking research, and deliver newly discovered treatments for patients. The success of Austin’s new medical complex will hinge on building a new teaching hospital to support the pioneering work that will be done there each day. The new teaching hospital, which will replace the historic University Medical Center Brackenridge, will give physicians the space, infrastructure and future technology needed to treat, help and heal Central Texans. Seton aims to raise $50 million to help fund the new hospital. UT Austin’s new medical school will be world class from day one, have a national influence and attract some of the world’s top doctors and researchers. Seton views the need for a medical school and a teaching hospital like a car needing an engine and vice versa – both are dependent on each other. These initiatives mean better care at a lower cost for the community. We think Seton’s new model of health care will also make Seton a role model in the health care industry.
In the 1800s, the Austin community wrote to the Daughters of Charity asking them to come to Austin. They said they would come if the Austin community raised money for the land. Austinites made it happen. There has been and always will be the need for community participation and support for programs and initiatives that help improve the community. Whether individually, or through a corporation or foundation, there are many ways each of us can make a difference and have an impact on what Seton is doing for the community. Want to help unleash Seton’s healthcare potential for Austin?
- Go to www.setonfund.org and donate today.
- Become an underwriter or sponsor or attend the Brack to the Future: Give Brack event on October 26. http://www.setonfund.org/bracktothefuture
- Go to www.ibackanewbrack.org to donate and stay informed.
