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Around the Halls @ Parkland Medical Center
When you're open 24/7, there's always something going on! Check out what's happening around the halls!
Parkland Lab, a Model for Others
After a recent visit and inspection on behalf of the College of American Pathology, a delegation from Cape Cod Hospital gave the Parkland lab a glowing report. In addition, the team said it would use the Parkland lab as a model for the lab at its hospital. Congratulations, lab!
Meet Parker, PMC's New Children's Mascot
Parkland Medical Center recently introduced a new mascot, a puppy, to reach out to children in a variety of ways. To name the new mascot, the hospital tapped into the community's most valuable resource to determine how best to connect with area youth — the kids themselves.
After soliciting name submissions as part of the "Name the Parkland Puppy" contest, the hospital officially selected Garrett Calusdian's entry as the winner. Garrett submitted the name "Parker", which is also his teddy bear's name; as a reward for winning, he was presented with a $50 Toys"R"Us gift certificate by none other than Parker himself!
Parker will serve as a health education ambassador, and his first duties included taking the message of HCA's Clean Hands are Cool Hands campaign to two local schools, St. Joseph Regional Catholic School and Presentation of Mary Academy. Accompanied by some RNs, Parker gave a 15-minute presentation aimed at students K through 3rd grade on how to reduce the spread of germs in a classroom.
Parker will also help comfort children at PMC; a stuffed version of Parker will be given to each young patient admitted to PMC.
PMC Hosts Session on "Common Sleep Disorders"
Parkland Medical Center is hosting a free educational session on "Common Sleep Disorders" on Wednesday, November 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Nutfield Professional Building, Entrance A, Room 202, 44 Birch Street.
George Neal, M.D., a neurologist with the Center for Sleep Diagnostics at PMC will be presenting on sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome.
Other scheduled speakers will include John Waxman, a Certified Respiratory Therapist from North Atlantic Medical, who will discuss current trends in sleep disorder treatment, and Adam Sonovick, B.S., RPsgT, a Parkland Sleep Technologist, who will answer specific questions regarding sleep testing.
For more information about this free program, or to register, please call (800) 432-8808. For information about The Center for Sleep Diagnostics at Parkland Medical Center, call (603) 421-2098.
Robotic Surgery Comes to Parkland Medical Center
In August, Parkland began offering the patients of greater Derry the benefits of the state-of-the-art da Vinci Surgical System. The da Vinci system takes advantage of robotic technology to give patients benefits like shorter hospital stays, less pain, less risk of infection, less scarring and faster recovery.
"We are pleased to bring this technology to patients here at Parkland," said Kathy Marschner, Operating Room Manager. "Robot assisted surgery is a less invasive option for many surgical procedures and offers the majority of patients a much faster recovery period."
The da Vinci’s highly accurate instruments allow the operating surgeon to move his own hands — and the robot's — to conduct precise movements with extraordinary control and range of motion in a closed chest, abdomen or pelvis. The da Vinci’s video monitoring system provides a three-dimensional view of the surgery with magnification ten times that of the naked eye.
Under the direction of David Canes, MD, a robotic surgeon from the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., Parkland will open the Lahey Institute of Urology at Parkland Medical Center in October. Dr. Canes, with experience in over 200 robotic surgeries, has joined the medical Staff at Parkland to oversee the development of a urologic robotic surgery program.
Gynecology is another surgical specialty that will immediately benefit from the $1.5 million robotic system; in particular, hysterectomy patients will experience a shorter hospital stay, significantly less post-operative pain, a quicker recovery, fewer complications and less risk of infection. Several local OB/GYNs have been trained and are certified to use the system.
For more information about da Vinci surgery, call 603-421-3663.
Parkland Medical Center’s Women & Children’s Services Announces the Addition of Midwifery Services
Parkland Medical Center has announced the addition of two Certified Nurse Midwives, Katrina Bergevin, RN, CNM, MSN, and Candace Delisio, BSN, CNM, MPH, to the Family Birthing Center Team. Working from Women’s Health Associates in Derry, Katrina and Candace will work in collaboration with OB/GYN physicians Wayne White and Thomas Zarka.
The addition of their services to Parkland Medical Center allows Parkland to offer women a new choice for the individualized care of their healthcare issues. "The midwifery service is all about offering the expectant mother choices," explains Amy Carter, RN, Director of Maternal Child Health Services. "We want to educate our patient to all her options with the goal of helping her to feel in control throughout this important time in her life," adds Deb West, RN, Coordinator of Family Education.
Midwives encourage patients to see pregnancy, labor and birth as a natural, healthy process. Births that are attended by midwives are much less likely to involve interventions such as episiotomies, medications to induce or hasten labor and caesarean sections. Approximately 10% of U.S. births are attended by midwives. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, New Hampshire alone has seen an almost 15% increase in Certified Nurse Midwife attended births from 1990 to 2004.
For more information about midwifery, please call The Family Birthing Center Information Helpline at (603) 421-BABY.
Parkland Opens Comprehensive Diabetes and Metabolism Center
With diabetes and weight management becoming ever-greater problems among the general population, PMC has opened the comprehensive Diabetes and Metabolism Center, located on the Parkland campus in the Nutfield Professional Building. The center is a welcome addition to the community, since now those seeking high-quality diabetes and weight-management care and consultation will no longer have to make the trip to Boston.
The center's goal is to support and develop comprehensive, patient-focused approaches to the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes and obesity.
The center's medical director is Annaswamy Raji, MD, MMSc, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “My vision for the center is to offer a comprehensive program unlike any in this region that will help patients with diabetes, obesity and other endocrine problems,” states Dr. Raji. “Our goal is to focus on identifying patient needs and providing state-of-the-art care to a community that deserves nothing less than the best care. My team and I are dedicated to growing this program into a Center for Excellence in the areas of diabetes and obesity management.”
For more information about the Parkland Diabetes and Metabolism Center, view the full press release or call 603-421-3655.
Parkland's Oncology Program Receives "Approval with Commendation"
PMC's oncology program recently received a three-year approval with commendation from the American College of Surgeons' (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC). The commendation was granted following an on-site evaluation by a member physician of the ACS during which the hospital demonstrated compliance with the commission's rigorous standards in the areas of cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services, research, community outreach and quality improvement.
"This is a wonderful accomplishment for the oncology program and demonstrates Parkland's commitment to providing our patients with close to home, quality cancer care and programs," said Lora Ward, Oncology Nurse Supervisor at PMC. "Our staff takes pride in providing a comfortable environment for patients and delivering high-quality cancer care."
Because the Oncology program is CoC-approved, patients at Parkland are ensured to have access to
- Comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment.
- A multi-specialty, team approach to coordinate the best treatment options.
- Information about ongoing clinical trials and new treatment options.
- Access to cancer-related information, education and support.
- A cancer registry that collects data on type and stage of cancers and treatment results and offers lifelong patient follow-up.
- Ongoing monitoring and improvement of care.
- And most importantly, quality care close to home.
Parkland’s Oncology Department continues to improve patient support services and programs by working closely with the American Cancer Society, conducting frequent screenings, support groups and developing ongoing programs within the community. For more information on Parkland’s Oncology services and programs, contact Barbara Umansky at 421-2347.
Renovated Spine and Pain Center Opens
PMC is pleased to announce the opening if its newly renovated and expanded Interventional Spine and Pain Center. Overall, more than 80 percent of people suffer from a form of back pain during their lives. Since there are innumerable causes of this pain, a personal approach is necessary to diagnose the cause in each patient's case.
At the PMC Spine and Pain Center, each patient's pain syndrome is treated individually and objectively. Utilizing the center's educational resources, the patient and care provider develop a collaborative and realistic treatment plan to optimize functionality and return the patient to his or her familiar lifestyle.
"The center will better serve patients in a more efficient and timely fashion, while giving them the same quality care in a private setting," said Jeff Scionti, chief operating officer and PMC. “The newly expanded center consists of a spacious separate waiting area, a consultation room, examination cubicle, separate procedure room and two recovery rooms.”
“The newly expanded Center consists of a spacious separate waiting area, a consultation room, examination cubicle, separate procedure room and two recovery rooms.”
For more information about the Parkland Interventional Spine and Pain Center, call 603-421-2480.
Open House at the Spine and Pain Center
We've recently renovated our Interventional Spine and Pain Center. Drop in to the center's open house on Thursday, April 24, between 3 and 6 p.m. to check out all the improvements. We'll be offering giveaways, educational information and some tasty refreshments. We hope to see you there! |
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