Austin, TX
Dell Children’s Medical Center doubles space for its cardiac critical care unit in Austin
Dell Children’s adds second cardiac critical care unit
Unit doubles the number of beds dedicated to heart patients.
Dell Children’s Medical Center doubled the number of its cardiac critical care unit beds last week from 24 to 48 by opening a new unit in its main hospital.
The new unit takes over a space that was part of the pediatric intensive care unit, which moved after the fourth tower opened in November 2022.
The doubling of the critical care unit comes five years after the launch of the Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, a joint project of the hospital and UT Health Austin, the clinical arm of Dell Medical School.
The center has now done more than 2,000 heart surgeries, including 30 heart transplants and all the mechanical intervention surgeries that can be done as well as a partial heart transplant. It now had delivered babies in the hospital who were diagnosed with heart programs as fetuses and then are taken immediately to surgery at birth.
“Because of their expertise, we’ve had to expand,” said Michael Wiggins, the president of Dell Children’s, about the cardiac team. “It is a milestone on our path and our commitment to delivering the highest level and most comprehensive heart care to families in Central Texas.”
The program has grown faster than anyone anticipated, getting to mechanical devices and heart transplants years before Dr. Charles Fraser Jr., the head of the cardiac program, thought they would.
“Who would have thought we would be here five years ago, opening up our 48th dedicated critical care bed for children, adults, patients and families with congenital heart disease?” Fraser said.
In first 5 years of heart program, Dell Children’s has surprised even itself. Where it’s headed.
He pointed to the dozens of nurses, doctors and fellows who gathered for the opening on Thursday: “None of them were here five years ago,” he said.
The growth he said, “is driven by the need, the need of patients and families,” he said.
Patients are coming from throughout Texas, neighboring states and even Europe, South America and Africa for cardiac care.
Because the center outgrew the cardiac critical care unit, it has had to control how many patients could enter its program. “You’ve got to have a bed available,” said Dr. Chesney Castleberry, the medical director for the heart failure, VAD (ventricular assist device), and transplant program. Now, she’ll be able to bring in more kids as well as added staff.
First look: Inside the new Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin opening in February
The opening of a second unit puts critical cardiac patients in one space. Previously, the hospital had some of its critical cardiac patients housed throughout the hospital because it outgrew the original unit, which opened in 2019. Fraser expects this new unit will be full within a month. The hospital will make use of space in the neonatal intensive care unit, which also recently expanded, and the new pediatric intensive care unit, he said, when both cardiac units are full.
Ten of the new unit’s beds will be for children in heart failure, many of whom are waiting for a heart transplant. Patients typically wait three to four months for a heart once listed, and those too sick to be at home, move into the hospital until the transplant happens. With that in mind, Dell Children’s added showers to those rooms so family members can stay with their children and not only have the pull-out couch, but also a full bathroom.
“It’s their unit, it’s their hospital and we’re just lucky to participate in their lives,” Fraser said.
Another body was found in the popular Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, where other deceased individuals were found recently.
The latest body found joins the growing mystery after at least 6 additional bodies were found throughout the year in the lake in 2024. On Friday, police were called to investigate reports of a dead person in the water near 1st Street Bridge and the 300 block of Cesar Chavez.
The Austin Police Department (APD) said that they do not suspect foul play as the body showed no signs of trauma, but are investigating the incident.
Despite APD attempting to quell community fears, questions and speculation have run rampant. Police have attributed most of the deaths to accidental drowning due to the lake’s proximity to nightclubs and bars.
BODY FOUND IN SAME AUSTIN LAKE WHERE OTHER DECEASED INDIVIDUALS DISCOVERED IN RECENT MONTHS
Mounted police patrolling down Rainey Street after several bodies appeared in a nearby lake. (Matteo Cina/Fox News Digital)
The most recent body was found on December 1. The victim was recently identified as 73-year-old Thi Lang Nguyen. Austin police said that there is nothing connected to the other deaths this year.
TEXAS PARENTS OF ONLYFANS MODEL IN DEADLY MIAMI STABBING ARRESTED
In September, a man was behaving erratically near East Cesar Chavez and Nueces Streets. He then went into the water and did not resurface. He was later pulled out and pronounced dead.
WATCH:
Back in February, a woman’s body was found in the water about 20 feet from the north shore and in April, a fisherman spotted another person floating in the water.
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In July, a man was suffering from blunt force trauma on the trail near Rainey Street. The man was pronounced dead a short time later.
In September, a body was found along a trail near the lake off Pleasant Valley Road.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the APD for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Born and Braised, a food trailer specializing in native wild game meats and seasonal food, recently opened at the Sign Bar in Austin at 9909 FM 969, Building 3. Chef and owner William Woodland, a.k.a. Woody, is looking forward to his new venture and serving wild game meats and other special menu items to Austinites.
Menu items customers will enjoy includes birria tacos, birria ramen, venison frito pie, pulled pork Cubano tortas, venison bratwurst, venison smash burger, and sides like braised greens, beans, and street corn.
Born and Braised started at Lustre Pearl in 2022. The food trailer moved to Sage Brush for over a year. The trailer worked at Bastrop, but now it operates in East Austin at the Sign Bar.
Born and Braised hours include Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 pm to 2 am, and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 am, at Sign Bar Austin (9909 FM 969, Bldg. 3).
Vitals
- Address: 9909 FM 969, Bldg. 3, Austin, TX
- Website: https://bornandbraisedatx.square.site/
Map to Born and Braised
Featured image from Born and Braised Instagram page
Texas-based noise artist Danny Tantrum performed in Austin, TX at the Coral Snake last night alongside Schizing Out and Terminull. However their onstage antics may have rubbed the venue and some attendees the wrong way. During the performance, Tantrum appears to perch themselves up on a stool and proceed to channel their inner GG Allin.
Attendees and venue staff were shocked to witness the solo noise act defecate on the stage and then immediately consume it. There is also a video of the act on Instagram (below) posted by Tantrum. In the video venue staff can be seen trying to somewhat intervene to stop it but to no avail. Finally calling for the set to be cut short.
If you dare, you can watch the video via Instagram Reels if the embed below does not work.
This is seemingly not the first time Tantrum has performed this act, a previous video on their Instagram features a similar shocking performance from several months ago.
Following the incident there seems to be a divide and discourse online either condemning or defending the act.
The venue itself re-shared a message directed at all other Austin venues warning them about booking Tantrum and the extreme show.
The venue shut the show down and forced the act and other members of the crowd to clean up the mess with cleaning supplies. Tantrum would ultimately take responsibility and clean the mess up himself and claim there were no bad intentions towards the venue.
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