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Be Aware for Safe Care

March 4, 2012 in Community, Patient Safety, St. David's HealthCare with 1 Comment

The National Patient Safety Foundation’s Patient Safety Awareness Week is March 4 through 10. The week is a national education awareness-building campaign for improving patient safety at the local level. The National Patient Safety Foundation was established in 1996 with the goal of working with consumers and health care organizations to improve patient safety. In 1998, the Institute of Medicine published its findings that almost 100,000 patients per year die in American hospitals due to medical errors.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This has never been truer than in the area of medical and hospital safety. To highlight National Patient Safety Awareness Week, St. David’s Medical Center’s own Chief Medical Officer, Dr. John Marietta, and Chief Nursing Officer, Susan Griffin, offered up a few ideas about the most effective ways to protect patients when they are in the hospital.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality makes the following recommendations to help prevent medical errors:

Be an active member on your health care team.
List all medications you take, including over-the-counter medicines, and give this list to your physician and bring it with you every time you come to the hospital or emergency room.
Inform your doctor of any allergies you may have, as well as any reactions to medicines.
Make sure you can read the prescription that is written for you.
Make sure all health care workers wash their hands before caring for you. Do not be embarrassed or too shy to ask health care workers to wash their hands.
If you are having surgery, make sure your physician and surgeon agree on exactly what will be done.

ASK, ASK, ASK:

About your condition and treatments
What is supposed to happen
Why a test or procedure is being done
When test or lab results will be available
The physician, nurse, and/or pharmacist for information on medicines that are prescribed and how they should be administered, as well as whether they may cause any side effects
A family member or friend to be with you to help be an advocate
If you do not understand the physician’s instructions, ASK, ASK, ASK until you are satisfied

We want to help make your stay at our St. David’s HealthCare facilities as safe as possible.

For more information please see the list of resources below:
National Patient Safety Foundation: www.npsf.org
Institute for Healthcare Improvement: www.ihi.org
Anesthesia Patient Safety: www.anesthesiapatientsafety.com
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: www.ahrq.gov
Joint Commission:: www.jointcommission.org

Patients as Lifesavers – Cord Blood Donation with Texas Cord Blood Bank

February 15, 2012 in Baby/Infant, Children, Community, Pregnancy, St. David's HealthCare, Women, Women: Ages & Stages with 3 Comments

The words “cord blood” may not mean very much to you, but for some patients, those two words may mean the difference between life and death.

Right now, you may be asking yourself “what is cord blood?”
Cord blood is blood that is left in the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of a baby. The umbilical cord and placenta are usually discarded after a baby is born.

This special blood is a rich source of stem cells which can treat a number of illnesses and life threatening diseases.

Now you may be thinking “wait, aren’t stem cells tiny embryo’s?”
The types of stem cells that are found in cord blood are not the same as embryonic stem cells. These stem cells are simply in the blood of the placenta and umbilical cord and are typically disposed of after birth. These cells have proven to be life saving in the face of several diseases and illnesses such as leukemia, lymphoma and disorders of the immune system, just to name a few. This program is not controversial and is supported by many faith based communities because of the difference in the type of stem cell.

St. David’s Medical Center in downtown Austin is the only facility in the city currently offering free cord blood collection and donation. Until now, the only option for cord blood collection was through a private bank that requires a fee for collection and storage. Cord blood that is collected and donated may be used to treat someone who is a match with a life threatening disease such as leukemia, aplastic anemia or genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia.

Here’s a snapshot at the process of cord blood donation:

Receive information about cord blood collection and donation from your doctor during your prenatal visits.
Discuss screening done for all cord blood donors with your doctor. Most healthy moms are able to donate, but there are some common reasons you may not be able to donate such as a twin pregnancy.
Decide if participation in this program is right for you and your family.
Instead of discarding your umbilical cord and placenta after delivery, your baby’s cord blood will be collected by your physician after the baby is born. This process does not pose a risk to you or your baby, and it not painful to you in any way at all. Once the cord blood is collected, the placenta and umbilical cord are disposed of per Texas law.

The decision to collect and donate cord blood is personal for each and every family. Your options include – storing your cord blood at a private bank, donating and storing your cord blood to a public bank, or discarding the cord blood after delivery. Understanding those options may help you choose whether you would like to be a cord blood donor.

You may never know if someone’s life could be saved by the use of this special blood, but how special is the thought that you may be giving a child a second chance at life or helping a child live a normal, healthy life!

For more information about donating cord blood, please check out Texas Cord Blood Bank’s website at:
http://www.bloodntissue.org.

*All information used with the permission of Texas Cord Blood Bank.

Be My Valentine: Healthy Ideas for Expressions of Love

February 14, 2012 in Diet, Holiday, Lifestyle Tips, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

Valentine’s day is approaching and the quintessential gift comes to mind: chocolate. This can be a treacherous time if you’re trying to stick to a healthier game plan. But, there are healthy gift options out there. Whether you have a certain someone or not, try these ideas for a guilt-free expression of love:

Flowers and a movie
Massage (try a couple’s massage!)
Day at a spa
Personal trainer for a month
Professional photography session
Hiking/camping trip
Yoga class membership

Have a happy and healthy Valentine’s day from St. David’s Bariatric Center!

Craniotomy Patient Learns to Ride Again

February 6, 2012 in Community, Men, Rehabilitation, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

Christopher Mealy was an avid cyclist and attorney in Georgetown, Texas, when he started experiencing intermittent paresthesias of his right arm and slowing of his speech. An MRI of the neck did not show any abnormality, but when his paresthesia and speech difficulties continued, he consulted neurosurgeon Dr. Stanley Kim. An MRI of the brain then confirmed a 3.5 centimeter cystic lesion in the left parietotemporal area with numerous satellite lesions.

In September 2011, Dr. Kim performed a left parietal craniotomy and a computer-assisted resection of a malignant tumor using the Stealth Image Guided System. After an acute stay, Mr. Mealy was transferred to St. David’s Rehabilitation at North Austin Medical Center. After surgery, he had right sided weakness, aphasia and visual field defect. He admitted to the rehabilitation program unable to walk and required moderate assistance to transfer from the bed to the chair. He discharged from inpatient rehabilitation after three weeks walking five-hundred feet.

Dr. Everett Heinze, his neurologist and medical director for St. David’s Rehabilitation stated: Mr. Mealy made excellent progress in inpatient rehabilitation and when transferred to the outpatient day program he continued to improve beyond our expectations.

For his follow up care, Mr. Mealy continued with comprehensive therapy in the outpatient setting and attended the Neurological Day Program at St. David’s Rehabilitation Hospital where he continued to progress. When discharging from the day program, he told his therapists, “I still haven’t ridden my bike yet.” His physical therapist, Mike Burroughs, Sr. PT, knew they couldn’t discharge him from therapy without trying to ride his bike. So, for his final session, Mr. Mealy brought his bicycle to therapy and celebrated his graduation from therapy with his first bike ride in five months.

Thank You

November 22, 2011 in Career, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

Every month we celebrate our exceptional staff throughout the St. David’s HealthCare locations. Without the men and women who work non-stop behind the scenes, St. David’s would not be the same. Therefore, we love to recognize individuals through our ICARE, Employee of the Month and Caregiver awards. Here are a few snapshots of last month’s recipients.

Whether you are visiting one of our facilities or work for St. David’s HealthCare, please be sure to join us in telling someone Thank You today.

St. David's Medical Center - Caregivers of the Year

St. David's Medical Center October ICARE Awards

October is National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month!

October 18, 2011 in Heart, Lifestyle Tips, Outdoors, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

October is National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month!

Forget the witches, ghosts, and goblins, here’s something really scary: more than 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). SCA claims more lives than breast cancer, lung cancer, or AIDS annually.

Sudden cardiac arrest is exactly what it sounds like—one minute, a person is walking around, living their life, and the next minute, their heart stops and, if they don’t receive prompt treatment, they die. Victims suddenly collapse without warning, become unresponsive, and stop breathing. Sadly, more than 90% of SCA victims die before reaching the hospital, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Immediate treatment—in the form of CPR and, if available, use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)—can double the chances of survival.

So what can you do about SCA? Here are a few suggestions from the Heart Rhythm Society that could save a life (maybe your own!):

Take the Heart Rhythm Society’s SCA Quiz and assess your own risk of SCA
Take action if you see SCA occur:

Know the signs of SCA (sudden collapse, unresponsiveness, no breathing/gasping breaths)
Call 911 ASAP
Start CPR immediately.
Use an AED if one is available
Learn CPR—It’s easier than ever!

Hands-Only™ CPR is just as effective as traditional CPR with breaths. All you have to do is push hard and fast on the center of the chest. How fast is fast? 100 beats per minute—conveniently, the same bpm as the Bee-Gees tune, “Stayin’ Alive.”

Check out the American Heart Association’s awesome Hands Only CPR resources here.

Check out these other great resources for more info on SCA:

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Jamie LaRue, RN

Offical HealthCare Sponsor for UT Athletics

October 13, 2011 in Community, Orthopedics, St. David's HealthCare with 0 Comments

Everybody loves football season, but here in Austin the town is painted burnt orange all year long. We are so proud of our new partnership with the University of Texas as the official healthcare sponsor for all UT Athletics. Next time you are at a game, make sure to stop by and say hello to our St. David’s team!