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32 t m c » p u l s e | d e c 2 0 1 9/JA N 2 02 0 9 • • • ST. DOMINIC VILLAGE Elevated standard of care St. Dominic Village offers the full range of senior care—independent and assisted living, as well as a Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for both short- and long-term nursing needs. The senior care community is in the early phases of capital improvements to its campus. Over the past year, the Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has gone from a 1-star to a 5-star facility, as rated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In addition, St. Dominic Village received a deficiency-free annual survey by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. This is a testament to the facility's mission, 'Caring for Our Elders with the Compassion of Christ.' • • • TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL Launched Disney Team of Heroes pilot The Walt Disney Company celebrated the official launch of the Disney Team of Heroes pilot at Texas Children's Hospital in April. Texas Children's is the first hospital to work with Disney on the comprehensive new initia- tive, which will enhance the patient and family experience at children's hospitals around the globe through the delivery of comfort and inspi- ration. Disney's beloved characters and themes are featured in reimagined spaces, personalized moments and engaging content throughout Texas Children's. The hospital's relationship with The Walt Disney Company dates back to 1952, when Walt Disney himself gifted the hos- pital with an illustration depicting his vision for the hospital's campus at the time. • • • TEXAS HEART INSTITUTE Advanced arrhythmia research Texas Heart Institute (THI) is helping translate promising discoveries into clinical practice in collaboration with many members of the Texas Medical Center, industry and other leading institutions. THI teams are testing the first practical total artificial heart, new imaging modalities to detect atherosclerotic vascular disease and developing several heart pacing technologies for treating arrhythmias. This year, the THI electrophysiology clinical research and innovations team, led by Mehdi Razavi, M.D., confirmed that conductive carbon threads made at Rice University could serve as an electrical bypass or bridge to repair the function of the heart. Also, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute—part of the National Institutes of Health—awarded THI's electrophysiology research team critical funding to pursue the development of wireless, leadless, battery-less pacemakers that will be built with machine learn- ing capabilities to deliver personalized treat- ments to patients with heart rhythm conditions. • • • TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER Expanded BioBridge program BioBridges are major partnerships that align the startup ecosystems of other nations with that of the Texas Medical Center (TMC), accelerating the pace of clinical research by encouraging collaboration between academic researchers here and abroad. In 2016, the TMC established its first BioBridge with Australia. Two years later, a United Kingdom BioBridge was launched. In October 2019, TMC leadership traveled to Copenhagen to announce a third BioBridge partnership—with Denmark. Also in October, the TMC welcomed ABB Robotics, the world's largest industrial robotics manufacturer, to the TMC Innovation Institute. The Walt Disney Company launched the Disney Team of Heroes initiative at Texas Children's Hospital. Credit: Paul Vincent Kuntz, Texas Children's Hospital