For the second time, UT Health San Antonio’s medical and dental practices, UT Health Physicians and UT Dentistry, won the 2024 Your SA San Antonio Express-News’ Readers’ Choice Awards in their respective categories.
“Congratulations to UT Dentistry and UT Health Physicians on taking this top honor for the second year in a row. The Orthopaedics and Primary Care teams are first-time wins,” said Robert Hromas, MD, FACP, acting president of UT Health San Antonio. “This recognition is especially significant because it came from the community that we are honored to serve.”
UT Health San Antonio took the No. 1 spot in the medical group category, and UT Dentistry placed No. 1 in the dental category. UT Health San Antonio – Primary Care placed first in the primary care category, while UT Health San Antonio Orthopaedics placed first in the orthopaedics practice category. UT Health San Antonio – Pediatric Neurology placed second in the pediatrician practice category. More than 170,000 voters chose this year’s winners in over 100 categories.
UT Health Physicians is the medical practice of the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. With more than 800 providers in more than 100 specialties and subspecialties, UT Health Physicians is the largest physician group in San Antonio. The group of physicians conducts over 300,000 patient visits each year at its 20 locations across the city.
UT Dentistry, the region’s largest and most comprehensive dental center, is the dental practice of the School of Dentistry. With 400 dental operatories, UT Dentistry delivers care in general dentistry and nine dental specialties in its state-of-the-art, four-story location, which serves more than 120,000 patients annually.
“We are honored to receive this award for a second year from our patients and community. We strive to provide evidence-based, compassionate care of the highest quality, whether it be a routine exam and cleaning or a complex dental procedure,” said Peter M. Loomer, DDS, PhD, MBA, School of Dentistry dean. “We understand and recognize that trust is the foundation of our patient relationships, and we continue to incorporate that into all aspects of care as we serve and grow with the San Antonio and surrounding communities.”
To better serve its patients with developmental and physical disabilities, UT Dentistry opened the Phil and Karen Hunke Special Care Clinic in February. The clinic is the first in an academic environment in South Texas. While providing excellent oral health care to patients, the practice offers interdisciplinary educational opportunities for students and residents.
The main reason voters chose UT Health Physicians is the extra time and care its practitioners spend with their patients, said Robert Leverence, MD, vice dean for clinical affairs for UT Health San Antonio and executive director of UT Health Physicians.
“We are incredibly proud of our teams at UT Health Physicians and UT Dentistry for their commitment to excellence, resulting in these remarkable achievements. Being recognized as leaders in multiple categories speaks volumes about the exceptional quality of care and service our professionals provide each day,” Leverence said. “This recognition underscores our unwavering commitment to delivering the very best care to our community and beyond, reflecting our mission to make lives better through innovation, education, and compassionate care.”
Leverence said patients of UT Health Physicians have 24/7 access to their medical records, including visit notes and test results, through MyChart, an online patient portal.
The university is expanding its patient care services through several new primary care sites and is building and managing a hospital for the first time.
The UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital is expected to open in December. It will offer specialty care in cancer, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, ENT, urology, spine and thoracic and bariatric surgery. The hospital will be connected to the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson, by way of the newly constructed Tom C. Frost Skybridge.
Joining the already-opened UT Health Westgate clinic are the Gateway Medical Park clinic, along with The Spine Center at UT Health San Antonio and the UT Health Outpatient Surgery Center at Kyle Seale Parkway.