TUESDAY FEBRUARY 8, 2022

• Nearly 200 patients at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple received life-changing abdominal organ transplants during 2021

• WHAT’S HAPPENING? Biggest events calendar in Central Texas

• THE LINKS — News from everywhere!

Miranda Maloy leans on “Spirit of Santa Fe,” the newest Temple Art Train. The artwork is located in front of the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum, and according to museum manager Mike Hicks, Maloy’s creation is based loosely on Engine No. 3423, a steam engine on display at TRHM. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Miranda Maloy knows Art Trains — she’s now painted two of the six locomotive-themed artworks in Downtown Temple.

Her latest creation, “Spirit of Santa Fe,” was recently installed at the east end of the Santa Fe Depot and it will be officially unveiled at a 3:30 p.m. ceremony Friday.

Last year, Miranda completed “Viva la Raza,” which is on display at Santa Fe Trail near The Yard food-truck court. Mike Hicks, manager of the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum, is one of Miranda’s many admirers.

“I saw her first train and loved it,” Hicks said. “I thought: ‘Since we are Temple’s railroad museum, we should have a train as well.”

“Miranda is an incredible artist,” he said. “We selected her as our artist and contacted Dan Kelleher to get the ball rolling. It took a while — we were waylaid by COVID — but we got it done.”

Kelleher is Temple’s Main Street Program director and oversees the Art Train project.

Miranda, who has served as coordinator of the Wilson Park Recreation Center for four years, said she was thrilled to be asked to paint another Art Train.

“It was such an honor to work with the Railroad & Heritage Museum and Main Street on such a fun project to bring their vision to life,” she said. “I loved mixing the realistic features with a little whimsy and character to create something that all ages can enjoy and appreciate.”

According to Kelleher, Temple’s Art Train Project is intended to bring public art into Downtown in a way that blends with the city’s connection to trains and railroads.

“This is the sixth Art Train in a series of 10,” he said. “But there will be more.”

At least one more Art Train is in the works, and other businesses have expressed an interest in the project.

Seleese Thompson plans to have a train in front of her Precious Memories location on North 2nd Street.

“It’s going to have a floral design but will include elements of everything the building has been in the past — starting with the car dealership, then the pet store, the flowers and the Christmas trees,” she said.

Seleese has submitted the needed Art Train application and commissioned an artist — Sue Groveunder.

“Sue was an art teacher at Bonham Middle School and has done numerous murals throughout Temple and Belton,” Seleese said. “Our goal is to have the train ready to put in place following the completion of the 2nd Street renovation project.”

“It will be exciting to see a beautiful work of art on the corner of a beautiful new street,” she said.

Art Trains already in place include “Circa de Gato is Taken for a Ride” by Linda Lapierre, Traci Winter and Azeita Taylor; “Next Stop: Children’s Museum” by Lee Evans, Valerie Fore, Susan Chandler, Elizabeth Evans, Kate Evans, Emma Fore, Lydia Huffines, Patrick Chandler and Owen Chandler; “Re-Train Your Mind” by Jay Rivera; “A Wish for the World” by Melanie Hudson; and “Viva La Raza” by Miranda.

Temple’s Art Train project was established with funding support from the Anice Read Fund of the Texas Downtown Association.

Anyone interested in participating in the decoration or placement of future Art Trains should contact Kelleher at (254) 298-5378 or dkelleher@templetx.gov.

BSW Medical Center in Temple sets new abdominal transplant record

Our Town Temple

Nearly 200 patients at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple received life-changing abdominal organ transplants during 2021.

The 191 abdominal transplants were the most ever at the hospital and a 25-percent increase over the previous record set in 2017.

"We are grateful to have performed more than 1,300 life-saving abdominal transplants since 1997," said Dr. Tun Jie, department chief of abdominal transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. 

"While we are excited by the record number in 2021, we begin this year even more committed to helping close the gap for patients in desperate need of a life-saving transplant,” he said.

BSW-Temple’s abdominal transplants include kidney, pancreas and dual kidney/pancreas transplants from deceased or living adult donors. 

The increase in procedures in 2021 is consistent with a national record number of organ transplants. 

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 40,000 organ transplants were conducted in the U.S. during the 2021 calendar year. More than 106,000 patients remain on the UNOS transplant wait list.

Other highlights from the Temple hospital’s abdominal transplant program in 2021:

• Total kidneys transplanted: 167

• Total pancreases transplanted: 4

• Dual kidney/pancreas transplants completed: 10

• Number of living donor transplants: 24

• Most transplants completed in 24 hours: 5

• Most transplants conducted in one week: 12

• Age of youngest patient to receive a transplant: 23  

• Age of oldest patient to receive a transplant: 79  

• Patient who traveled the farthest for transplant: from Los Angeles County, Calif.

As the only transplant center between Dallas and Austin, Baylor Scott & White in Temple is positioned to provide this critical service to patients in Texas and beyond. Patients in need of a kidney or pancreas travel to Temple because of the program's markedly short wait time of 11 months. 

According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, other transplant centers in Texas and Oklahoma have a median time to transplant of 43.8 months.

The hospital has recently expanded its staff, adding surgeons and nephrologists to its medical staff, along with transplant coordinators to support the increase in transplant procedures. A collaboration with Amy's House, a residential facility designed to support donors, recipients and their supporters throughout the transplant process, has given more than 34 families a local place to stay while receiving transplant care.

The program's efforts have resulted in a steady increase in completed cases.  

"Aligning suitable and willing organ donors to patients in need is a highly complex process that we continuously work to improve upon," said Dr Debra Doherty, surgical director for abdominal transplantation. 

"Our specialized team can provide more personalized care to each patient and ultimately attain more successful matches,” she said.