SECTION HED: The Cutting Edge
SECTION SUBHED: A look at the Capital Region’s latest medical technology & developments
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Joey Time
A young child has made a big difference to Woman’s Newborn and Infant Intensive Care Unit patients and their families. Joey Roth, the 8-year-old who created the Jar for Change project, donated $5,000 to Woman’s NICU to fund a project called “Joey Time.” Joey Time connects NICU babies to their moms through iPads and FaceTime, making communication with nurses or baby visits possible when inpatient moms are unable to physically visit the NICU. The iPads may also be used during sibling classes, and to assist with nonmedical language translation.
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Heart-healthy radiation
Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center now offers an innovative technique for delivering even safer treatments to many breast cancer patients. It incorporates a breath-hold technique based on research aimed at improving radiation therapy treatment for women with left-sided breast cancer, as well as for patients with a variety of other cancers. Patients undergoing breast radiotherapy are usually treated while breathing freely. Though great care is always taken to treat as little healthy tissue as possible, the breath-hold technique specifically helps reduce side effects by even further decreasing the dose to the heart. Studies have shown that this new technique can reduce the amount of heart tissue exposed by moving the organ away from the radiation beam.
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Acupuncture goes mainstream
Lane Regional Medical Center now has its own licensed acupuncturist. Aerin Couvillion recently founded Fleur de Lis Acupuncture, located at 4710 McHugh Road in Zachary. She has a master’s degree in oriental medicine and is certified by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. Her specialty focus areas include digestive disorders, sleep disorders and women’s health.
The World Health Organization lists the following illnesses that can be treated with Oriental Medicine:
- Musculoskeletal: muscle pain, swelling, sprains, strains, tendonitis and contractures, arthritis, work and sport-related injuries, fibromyalgia, disc problems
- Neurological: headache, migraine, insomnia, stress, trigeminal neuralgia, paresis following stroke, Meniere’s disease, Bell’s Palsy
- Gynecological: fertility, menstrual pain, PMS, menopause
- Respiratory: asthma, acute sinusitis, cough, sore throat, common cold, COPD, seasonal allergies
- Gastrointestinal: IBS, constipation, chronic diarrhea, colitis, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, poor digestion
- Other: Smoking cessation, anxiety, depression, skin disorders, autoimmune, chronic disease management, high/ low blood pressure, chronic fatigue, adjunct therapy for chemo and addiction.
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Top of its class
The Spine Hospital of Louisiana at The NeuroMedical Center, home to a team of experts for the brain, spine and nervous system, has earned two top honors. The facility was been named Hospital of the Year (less than 60 beds) by the Louisiana Nurses Foundation. An out-of-state judge’s panel of nursing leaders based its decision on the facility’s commitment to the professional development and personal achievement of all 42 registered nurses it employs. The Spine Hospital also received the Guardian of Excellence Award from Press Ganey Associates Inc. for ranking in the top 5% nationally for patient satisfaction.
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Valet parking
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center now offers free valet parking services to emergency room patients and visitors. The service is intended to get patients into the ER for treatment faster. The service is available from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, with two attendants available at peak times.
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A friend to seniors
Baton Rouge General Medical Center recently earned “Seniors Friendly” status—enhancing the hospital’s national designation as a NICHE, or Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders, facility. This new recognition highlights the hospital’s care for seniors.
With the 65 and older population in the Greater Baton Rouge area expected to reach approximately 13% of the total population by the end of 2016, Baton Rouge General President and CEO Mark Slyter says the hospital is focused on serving the needs of the growing baby boomer community.
Baton Rouge General offers a variety of programs for older patients, from education and fitness classes to help seniors stay well, to its patient navigator services to help patients safely transition home after a hospital visit.
“As a NICHE hospital, Baton Rouge General is focused on evidence-based nursing approaches to interdisciplinary geriatric care that promote positive experiences and better outcomes for our senior patients,” said Anna Cazes, chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services. “We have also implemented systemwide aging-sensitive policies and included the input of patient, families, and community-based providers in developing our seniors programs.”
Seniors-Friendly status is awarded to NICHE hospitals that have undergone a rigorous evaluation of their seniors programs and services. Specific areas targeted by the NICHE program include decreasing length of hospital stay, reducing hospital-acquired complications, educating staff on enhanced sensitivity to seniors’ needs and redesigning patient care areas to enhance function and comfort.
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The healing arts
Through its Healing Arts for Cancer Patients program, Woman’s is offering women battling cancer the opportunity to heal with every brush stroke, every high note and every deep breath through free healing arts classes. Creative expression classes include drawing in the style of Pablo Picasso, creating mandalas, (Hindu circle drawings), abstract painting, jewelry making and gentle yoga exercise classes.
A phone call away
Residents of Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas have access to free health care advice, resources and physician referrals using LakeLine Direct℠, a helpline offered by Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. LakeLine Direct is a local and toll-free phone number that consumers can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help them get the information they need in their time of need. Experienced, registered nurses are available around the clock to answer health care questions and provide advice on treatment options. This includes general health information, self-care instructions, and guidance on whether to see a physician, go to an urgent care clinic or an emergency room. Patients looking for a doctor can be connected quickly with a primary care provider or specialist in the community. LakeLine Direct is available by dialing (225) 765-LAKE or (877) 765-LAKE.
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LOOKING AHEAD
As part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, The Hospice of Baton Rouge is offering free copies of a simple advance directive booklet called 5 WISHES. April 16 is a day designated to raising awareness among the public and health care providers about the importance of advance care planning.
Most people have strong feeling about how they want their end-of-life care to be handled. Just as many people never complete a will, many do not make advanced care wishes known to their loved ones or their health care providers. Often loved ones don’t know what the person would have wanted.
It can be difficult to start the conversation. 5 WISHES provides a gentle way to do so. It is an easy document to complete and is legally binding in Louisiana.
The 5 WISHES:
- Wish 1: The Person I Want to Make Care Decisions for Me When I Can’t. This section is an assignment of a health care agent (also called proxy, surrogate, representative, or health care power of attorney). This person makes medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to speak for yourself.
- Wish 2: The Kind of Medical Treatment I Want or Don’t Want. This section is a living will—a definition of what life support treatment means to you, and when you would and would not want it.
- Wish 3: How Comfortable I Want to Be. This section addresses matters of comfort care—what type of pain management you would like, personal grooming and bathing instructions, and whether you would like to know about options for hospice care, among others.
- Wish 4: How I Want People to Treat Me. This section speaks to personal matters, such as whether you would like to be at home, whether you would like someone to pray at your bedside, among others.
- Wish 5: What I Want My Loved Ones to Know. This section deals with matters of forgiveness, how you wish to be remembered, and final wishes regarding funeral or memorial plans.
For a copy of 5 WISHES, email info@hospicebr.org.
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TECH TERMS
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LINX: A minimally-invasive procedure for the treatment and prevention of severe acid reflux. Our Lady of the Lake is the first hospital in the Baton Rouge region to perform the surgery. Roughly 7 million people in the U.S. have some symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. The LINX surgery is a new approach that provides patients relief using a small, flexible band of magnets that is placed around the esophagus to prevent reflux.
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iROUND: A web-based app that allows nurse leaders to make rounds using an iPad and gain real-time, actionable feedback from patients. Woman’s is one of only 40 hospitals nationwide to use this new technology to track a patient’s satisfaction while still in the hospital. Nurses meet individually with patients in their hospital rooms to learn their opinions of their stay, from communication and pain management to room cleanliness and meal service. Responses are then documented and shared with appropriate staff for immediate action. Results help identify positive and negative trends to improve care and patients’ experiences. Woman’s nurses have conducted more than 10,000 iRounds.
