SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

METHODIST HOSPITAL | SPECIALTY AND TRANSPLANT PARTNERS WITH THE TEXAS ADVOCACY PROJECT

Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital proudly supports victims and survivors of sexual assault as the only Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner - Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A) program in San Antonio. In light of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April), Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant partnered with the Texas Advocacy Project in order to raise awareness for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The Texas Advocacy Project (TAP) launched its 16 annual statewide Handbags for Hope campaign on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at the hospital. Handbags for Hope provides new or like-new handbags, gender-neutral totes, and diaper bags to survivors of power-based abuse in Texas. The bags collected are then shipped to programs like TAP across the U.S. Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant was pleased to announce they will be sponsoring $2k towards the shipping costs. Through TAP’s partnerships with various agencies, shelters, hospitals, and clinics, they distribute these bags, which include information on lifesaving resources and a discreet tag with TAP’s Legal Line (800.374.HOPE), so survivors know that TAP’s attorneys and social workers are just a phone call away. The campaign has already provided over 46,000 bags to those in need, thanks to the generosity of the community, the hard work of TAP volunteers, and partners. Bags collected at the hospital will go directly to the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) care team who will distribute them to the survivors they serve. The SANE care team is comprised of registered nurses who receive specialized education and fulfill unique clinical requirements to provide specialized care to survivors of domestic and dating violence and sexual assault. By employing certified SANEs, Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant offers survivors comprehensive medical-forensic care, leading to improved patient outcomes, an increase in prosecution rates, and credible, neutral courtroom testimony. If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

CLINT KOTAL ANNOUNCED AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER METHODIST HOSPITAL | HILL COUNTRY

Clinton D. Kotal has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer at Methodist Hospital Hill Country. Most recently, Clinton served as Chief Operating Officer for HCM Medical Group and HCM Surgery Center since 2017. Prior to joining Methodist Hospital Hill Country, Clinton served as the Vice President for Ambulatory Services and Network of Care for The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Clinton has also served in various leadership and consulting roles with large healthcare organizations across the country.

Clinton received his bachelor’s degree in business administration (finance) from Texas Tech University and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

Nick Petro has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Methodist Hospital | Landmark.

Nick has served as Vice President of Operations since 2021 with direct oversight of 44 departments, 4 outpatient clinics, and multiple service lines. Not only has he demonstrated exceptional leadership skills but he has made significant contributions to our organization’s growth and development.

program while also successfully funding the expansion and relocation of the Cell Therapy Lab, servicing the Bone Marrow Transplant and Cell Therapy program.

Each February, Methodist Healthcare recognizes and celebrates Heart Month both internally at our facilities with fun events and in the community through education. This year our Heart Month marketing campaign ran from January through April as a way to reach more people and better encourage the importance of heart health.

The goal of the campaign was to encourage the community to take our free heart health risk assessment to learn their risk for heart disease and other heart complications. This assessment gauges someone’s risk and provides them with the next steps to take based on their results. With heart disease being the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, it’s important for healthcare organizations to treat heart conditions and help prevent them through education and advocacy.

This year’s effort was a huge success, and we positively impacted the lives of 1,100 people in San Antonio; that’s the number of individuals who completed our risk assessment and now know more about their heart health.

If you are curious about your own heart health, our risk assessment is available on our website at sahealth.com/heart.

During his tenure, Nick has made great improvements in strengthening operations and processes while also enhancing employee engagement. He was instrumental in leading HAI prevention, initiating a ticket-to-test process for C. Diff to improve testing stewardship as well as audit processes for hand hygiene and cleanto-dirty workflow, resulting in a reduction in CAUTI infections by 30% YOY and a 46% reduction in MRSA infections. He also helped implement efficiency initiatives for our lab to achieve 3-day turnaround times for oncology patients receiving molecular testing. Through Nick’s leadership, he improved the overall employee engagement index from 72 to 75 for all of his departments (750+ employees) with 65% participation.

His expertise in growth and development is also impressive. Nick was the project lead for multiple radiology suite upgrades ($9.5M), including a 32-slice CT, 2 cardiac MRIs, and 2 updated IR Bi-Plane machines. He also executed and negotiated 3 multimillion-dollar contracts for anesthesia services to better support patient care and increase surgical volume opportunity, resulting in a 7% volume increase over the run rate. He helped achieve a new record for the most bone marrow transplant and cell therapy infusions for Methodist Hospital in a single year, with 43% growth YOY for the

Prior to his role as VP of Operations, Nick served as Director, Operations & Surgical Oncology Service Lines from 2020 to 2021 where he was accountable for the Surgical Oncology service lines and operational leader for the Endoscopy Center and Central Laboratory. During this time, he developed and opened a $1.2 million multidisciplinary Oncology Survivor Center and achieved an employee engagement score of 91 with 88% participation rate for the endoscopy department. Before stepping into the role as Director of Operations, Nick served as Director of Physician and Provider Relations for three years helping to develop and grow service lines in various roles for Methodist Healthcare. Nick says none of these achievements would be possible without the leaders he has been gifted the opportunity to work with.

Nick holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University. As COO of Methodist Hospital | Landmark, Nick will lead hospital operations for specialized surgical services including bariatrics, breast reconstruction, orthopedics, gynecology, colorectal, neurosurgery, and general surgery.