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Parkland Hospital, located north of downtown Dallas, is part of Parkland Health. It’s the main hospital within the Dallas County Hospital District and sees more than 1 million patients every year.
Use this comprehensive guide to Parkland Hospital to help you decide if this healthcare facility is the right fit for your career. It covers key facts about this Texas hospital, an overview of its history, major recognitions it has received, employee benefits you can expect and other details prospective employees find helpful.
Brief History of Parkland Hospital
Sometimes called the new Parkland Hospital, the facility officially opened in August 2015. However, the hospital traces its roots back to 1894, when the city opened a wooden hospital building. According to The Dallas Morning News, when the city rebuilt its first public hospital in 1913, it became the state’s first brick hospital building.
Originally named Woodlawn, the hospital became known as Parkland in the 1930s when it expanded onto land meant to be used for a park, hence the name. The hospital moved to its present location in 1954, where it operated for several decades as Parkland Memorial Hospital. In 2010, Parkland broke ground on its new state-of-the-art facility. The healthcare system completed the new Parkland Hospital in 2014 and held a dedication in March 2015.
Parkland Health officials closed the doors to the former Parkland Memorial Hospital in July 2022 and scheduled its demolition over the next two years. The old location’s long history is particularly noted for one significant event. On November 22, 1963, the hospital admitted U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy into Trauma Room 1 following the historical shooting that took his life despite several doctors’ valiant efforts to save the mortally wounded POTUS. Today, a modest plaque marks the original site of Trauma Room 1, now a hallway.
Key Facts About Parkland Hospital
This section provides pertinent facts about Parkland Hospital to help you learn more about this prestigious facility, including ownership, number of beds and teaching capabilities.
Ownership Details
Dallas County Hospital District, operating as Parkland Health, owns the public Parkland Hospital. According to the organization, it’s among the largest public hospital systems across the country.
Previously known as Parkland Health & Hospital System, Parkland Health changed its name in 2022. The name change reflects the organization’s growth and development, with Parkland’s CEO and President saying, “Unlike hospitals or health systems of the past that treat diseases reactively, we are responsible for proactively improving the overall health of our community.”
Parkland Health also operates 20 community-based and five school-based clinics. The healthcare system has the only confirmed burn center in North Texas and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The organization states its values as “I CARE”:
- Integrity
- Compassion and Collaboration
- Accountability
- Respect
- Equity
Parkland’s mission is to “advance wellness, relieve suffering, develop and educate,” and its vision is to “advance health equity through excellence as a public health system.”
Education and Training
Parkland acts as Dallas County’s public teaching hospital. As the primary teaching hospital for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, courses include:
- Graduate Medical Education residency programs
- GME fellowship programs
- Pharmacy residency programs
Parkland Health also offers an accredited Clinical Pastoral Education program and internships within its Victim Intervention Program and Rape Crisis Center.
The hospital’s Center for Nursing Excellence offers many opportunities for nursing career development, including educational courses, professional development, research and skills training.
Hospital Size
Parkland Hospital encompasses a 2.8 million-square-foot campus. The 17-story hospital includes licensing for 983 beds, including 878 beds in private rooms with private bathrooms.
Data from UT Southwestern Medical Center also reveals that Parkland Hospital has:
- 12 ICU beds
- 83 adult ICU rooms
- 18 acute care beds in the burn care unit
- 5 nuclear medicine rooms
- 7 endoscopy suites
Parkland Hospital is also home to 27 operating rooms, with the average surgical suite size at 620 square feet, nearly twice the size of those in the former hospital. The rooftop helipads, which include built-in deicing systems, are also larger than those on the former hospital building.
The cutting-edge facility is the only public hospital in Dallas County and among the nation’s largest public hospitals. Becker’s Hospital Review featured Parkland at No. 19 on its 2021 list of the country’s largest public hospitals.
Notable Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranked Parkland Hospital as the No. 3 hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in its 2022-2023 rankings. It evaluated 590 Texas hospitals and also ranked Parkland No. 14 statewide. In 2020, Parkland Health ranked No. 9 in the Washington Monthly published “Honor Roll: The 20 Best Hospitals for America,” created in partnership with the Lown Institute.
Awards and Recognitions
Parkland Hospital has received many awards and accolades in diverse areas. These include:
- LEED Gold Certification: Parkland’s Tower Garage obtained LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2013, and the main hospital building received the same certification in 2015 for its green-friendly and sustainable designs.
- Becker’s Hospital Review: Parkland Hospital appeared on Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2016 and 2017 lists of the 50 greenest hospitals in America.
- CHIME Digital Health Most Wired: The hospital obtained level 8 certification for the 2020 and 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey conducted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.
- Heart of Healthcare Award: In 2020, The American College of Healthcare Executives of North Texas awarded Parkland Hospital the Heart of Healthcare Award, recognizing its COVID-19 response.
- LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Top Performer: In 2020, Parkland Hospital achieved top performer status from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for its LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.
- Beacon Award for Excellence: The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses gave a silver Beacon Award for Excellence to Parkland’s Medicine Intensive Care Unit in 2020.
- Dallas-Fort Worth Excellence in Nursing Awards: D Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing Awards 2021 honored 19 registered nurses from Parkland Hospital.
- American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) Vista Award Winner: The ASHE, part of the American Hospital Association, showcases leaders in healthcare design and innovative construction through the Vista Awards and named Parkland Hospital the 2021 award winner.
- Healthgrades: Parkland Hospital has garnered several Healthgrades specialty clinical quality awards in fields including neurosciences, pulmonary, stroke and gastrointestinal care.
- U.S. News & World Report: The hospital earned high-performing ratings from the U.S. News & World for three adult clinical specialties (pulmonology, neurology and gastroenterology) and seven conditions and procedures in 2022-2023.
Additionally, Parkland has won a Silver Medal of Honor for organ donation from the Health Resources and Services Administration. It’s certified by the Health Information Trust Alliance for its data, information and compliance practices. The hospital has Gold and Gold Plus awards from the American Heart Association. It currently has Pathway to Excellence designation and hopes to achieve Magnet Status in the future.
Working at Parkland Hospital
According to the Parkland Foundation “I Stand for Parkland”, Parkland Hospital employs more than 4,000 nurses and the average length of employment is 7.1 years. Parkland Health System offers various benefits to attract and retain quality nurses, and the hospital also boasts other perks for its Dallas, Texas nurses and staff.
Staff Benefits
The facility provides an array of benefits for employees and their family members, such as:
- Medical, dental and vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Employee referral program bonus
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
Parkland Hospital actively supports diversity and encourages inclusion. The facility employs people from varied backgrounds and provides an inclusive, respectful environment for patients and staff. It’s an equal opportunity employer, with established nondiscriminatory practices.
Commuting to Work
Parkland Hospital lies within 5 miles of downtown Dallas. In normal conditions, the drive takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes from many areas outside of downtown. According to Sperling’s Best Places, the average Dallas commute is slightly under 27 minutes, only minutely longer than the national average.
Parking Options
All Parkland staff members have an ID badge, which they can use to access on-site employee parking at the Trinity and Logistics parking lots. Additional assigned spaces in garages are on the former hospital site, as well as limited parking facilities on nearby Butler Avenue. Staff who park at the old hospital can use the free employee-only 24/7 shuttle service to reach Parkland’s new location, with services every 15 minutes. Shuttle services also connect significant buildings and facilities on and around the campus.
Public Transit
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) operates several bus services around the city that stop at Parkland Hospital. DART’s Green and Orange metro lines connect the hospital with the city and its suburbs.
The Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter train between central Dallas and Fort Worth has a station at the hospital dubbed the Medical/Market Center Station. From the TRE station, the free shuttle service via DART Route 704 connects with the hospital entrance.
Living in Dallas
Many amenities are available within the expansive Parkland Hospital campus, including eateries and shops. The nearby area provides an even greater selection of amenities and attractions, including:
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Six Flags Over Texas
- Dallas Zoo
- Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
- AT&T Stadium
- Cedar Hill State Park
- George W. Bush Presidential Center
- Dallas County Courthouse
- John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza
- Dallas Arts District
From museums and culture to parks and shopping, Dallas offers something for all interests.
A healthcare career in Dallas also provides terrific opportunities to enjoy other thriving cities and towns throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The city boasts two airports, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field, to facilitate trips outside the city. Additionally, the planned high-speed railway makes it even easier to explore Texas and beyond.
