HeartBeat
ZtXWp
ZtXWp
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>HeartBeat</strong><br />
PROVIDENCE<br />
QUALITY HEALTH CARE IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST | WINTER/SPRING 2016<br />
CRITICAL CARE<br />
IN THE AIR<br />
How medical<br />
transport flight teams<br />
are saving lives<br />
SURGERY<br />
SPECIALISTS<br />
Outpatient centers<br />
streamline operations<br />
without the need for<br />
hospitalization<br />
BIGGER<br />
PICTURE<br />
Bethany McCauley and<br />
her Providence colleagues<br />
want to improve how we<br />
experience health care<br />
Read Heart Beat on your tablet or smartphone. Just go to<br />
phc.org/heartbeat for the latest issue or to sign up for email delivery.
Providence Urgent Care<br />
Now in three convenient Spokane locations:<br />
• North: Highway 2 at Hawthorne Road<br />
• Downtown: Just off I-90 at 5th and Division<br />
• Valley: One mile east of Sullivan, on Indiana<br />
Open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.<br />
providence.org/SpokaneUrgentCare<br />
MyChart ®<br />
Your Online Health Record<br />
Get connected to<br />
your health<br />
MyChart offers 24/7 access to<br />
your health care information.<br />
Schedule appointments, email your care team,<br />
view test results and more.<br />
Sign up today. It’s free.<br />
Go to Providence.org/mychart and click on your<br />
region. From there, you can request an activation<br />
code to get started or learn more about how<br />
MyChart can benefit you.<br />
Have an appointment coming up? Your care team<br />
can help you get started with MyChart.<br />
Providence.org/mychart
<strong>HeartBeat</strong><br />
PROVIDENCE<br />
EXECUTIVE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR<br />
Sharon Fairchild<br />
Allison Milionis<br />
MEDICAL EDITOR<br />
Jeff Collins, M.D.<br />
ART DIRECTOR<br />
Cameron Anhalt<br />
CONTENT DIRECTOR<br />
Matt Morgan<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
Gary Matoso<br />
Copyright 2016 © Providence Health Care. Online at<br />
phc.org. Published three times a year by MANIFEST LLC.<br />
Send comments to heartbeat@providence.org or<br />
Marketing & Communication, 101 W. Eighth Ave.,<br />
Spokane, WA 99204.<br />
Elaine Couture, Regional Chief Executive<br />
BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />
Marian Durkin, Chair<br />
Patricia Butterfield, Ph.D.<br />
Ramon Canto, M.D.<br />
Jeff Clode, M.D.<br />
Dan Dionne, M.D.<br />
Rich Hadley<br />
Gary Livingston, Ph.D.<br />
Keith Marton, M.D.<br />
Providence Health Care Eastern Washington (PHC) is the<br />
parent organization of a number of Catholic health care<br />
ministries sponsored by the Sisters of Providence and<br />
the Dominican Sisters in Spokane and Stevens counties.<br />
These ministries include:<br />
HOSPITALS<br />
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center<br />
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital<br />
Providence Holy Family Hospital<br />
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital (Colville)<br />
Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital (Chewelah)<br />
OTHER HEALTH SERVICES<br />
PAML (Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories)<br />
Providence Adult Day Health<br />
Providence DominiCare (Chewelah)<br />
Providence Emilie Court Assisted Living<br />
Providence Medical Group<br />
Providence Medical Park, Spokane Valley<br />
Providence St. Joseph Care Center & Transitional Care Unit<br />
Providence VNA Home Health<br />
St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute<br />
PHC is part of the Providence Health & Services health<br />
care system, which spans five states from Alaska to California<br />
and east to Montana. For more details, visit phc.org.<br />
MISSION STATEMENT<br />
As people of Providence, we reveal God’s love for<br />
all, especially the poor and vulnerable, through our<br />
compassionate service.<br />
CORE VALUES<br />
Respect | Compassion | Justice | Excellence | Stewardship<br />
CONNECT WITH US<br />
facebook.com/ProvidenceSpokane<br />
facebook.com/ProvidenceSacredHeart<br />
youtube.com/ProvidenceSpokane<br />
twitter.com/Providence_PHC<br />
Rob McCann, Ph.D.<br />
Thayne McCulloh, Ph.D.<br />
Jeff Philipps<br />
Paul Pimentel<br />
Mary Selecky<br />
Curt Shoemaker<br />
Larry Soehren<br />
Ron Wells<br />
PHOTO BY DIANE MAEHL<br />
FROM THE HEART<br />
Better Health<br />
for Everyone<br />
In 2003, two scholars defined<br />
the term “population health,”<br />
which at its essence is a way<br />
to evaluate health care systems’<br />
ability to benefit the overall<br />
health of an entire community—<br />
one individual at a time.<br />
“The ultimate goal is to have<br />
the population be healthy as a<br />
group,” says Jeff Collins, M.D.,<br />
chief physician executive at Providence,<br />
in our cover story, “Mission:<br />
Population Health” (page 14).<br />
Dr. Collins explains how<br />
Providence is applying population<br />
health to improve our community.<br />
Rhonda Medows, M.D., executive<br />
vice president of Providence’s Population<br />
Health Division, also shares<br />
her thoughts about the initiative.<br />
In this issue you’ll find other<br />
examples of Providence benefiting<br />
members of the community—near<br />
and far. Turn to page 22 to read<br />
THE PROVIDENCE VISION<br />
about a tiny patient from Lewiston,<br />
Idaho, who took a lifesaving<br />
ride to Sacred Heart Children’s<br />
Hospital aboard a plane equipped<br />
to maintain the critical care environment<br />
of a neonatal intensive<br />
care unit during flight.<br />
And on page 18, find out how<br />
a former Gonzaga University<br />
professor with a penchant for<br />
fly-fishing received surgery at<br />
Providence Surgery and Procedure<br />
Center, the new, high-tech<br />
outpatient surgical facility in<br />
Spokane Valley, and was back on<br />
his feet within days. On page 26,<br />
read about our assessment of the<br />
community’s top priority needs<br />
for 2016–18.<br />
More important than defining<br />
the term in words, we<br />
believe population health is an<br />
action—one we’re committed to<br />
every day. By providing care and<br />
resources to every individual,<br />
regardless of age or economic status,<br />
our goal is to elevate the collective<br />
health of our community.<br />
Many blessings to you and<br />
your family!<br />
Elaine Couture<br />
Regional Chief Executive<br />
Providence Health Care<br />
“CREATING HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES, TOGETHER”<br />
WE CONTINUE TO PIONEER CARE DELIVERY,<br />
WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO IMPROVE OUR<br />
COMMUNITIES’ HEALTH AND WELL-BEING.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 3
CONTENTS<br />
VOLUME 54, NO. 1<br />
ON THE COVER: Bethany McCauley and<br />
others at Providence are focused on improving<br />
patient satisfaction and the quality of health<br />
care while lowering cost. Read the story on<br />
page 14. Photo by Gary Matoso.<br />
30<br />
28<br />
12<br />
18<br />
22<br />
14<br />
10<br />
9<br />
Features<br />
14 MISSION:<br />
POPULATION<br />
HEALTH<br />
We’re improving the way<br />
individuals experience<br />
health care by focusing<br />
on larger groups.<br />
18<br />
22<br />
WALK IN,<br />
HAVE SURGERY,<br />
WALK OUT<br />
See how ambulatory<br />
surgery centers<br />
streamline services and<br />
reduce costs without<br />
hospitalization.<br />
CARE IN THE AIR<br />
Medical teams provide<br />
critical support for<br />
patients throughout<br />
the region.<br />
5 HEALTHY LIVING<br />
Emergency kit must-haves; making<br />
housework a workout; how<br />
to meditate on the go; and more.<br />
8 INSIDER<br />
New area clinics open; innovative<br />
treatment for varicose<br />
veins; and other news.<br />
10 CHILDREN’S HEALTH<br />
Get to know the new chief<br />
executive of Sacred Heart<br />
Children’s Hospital and his<br />
vision for advancing care.<br />
12 CARDIAC REPORT<br />
An unrelated medical issue led<br />
to the discovery and treatment<br />
of a pregnant woman’s congenital<br />
heart defect.<br />
26 COMMUNITY<br />
Providence is dedicated to<br />
addressing the greatest health<br />
needs of our communities.<br />
28 FOUNDATION<br />
One couple’s nonprofit group<br />
is helping create a more homelike<br />
environment for cancer<br />
treatment.<br />
29 M.D. SPOTLIGHT<br />
A clinical ethicist sheds<br />
light on her role in resolving<br />
tough questions and difficult<br />
situations in health care.<br />
30 CALENDAR<br />
Save the dates for these<br />
winter/spring 2016 classes,<br />
events and activities.<br />
31 HEALTH TIP<br />
Are you at risk for arthritis?<br />
Here’s what you can do.<br />
32 ROLE MODEL<br />
A Providence chaplain makes<br />
sure that spiritual services are<br />
available to every person who<br />
needs them.<br />
OPPOSITE PAGE: THINKSTOCK<br />
4 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
HEALTHY LIVING<br />
3 Reasons to<br />
Grab a Grapefruit<br />
Grapefruit is easily added to breakfast, can brighten<br />
up salads and makes for a tangy juice, too. Here are a<br />
few compelling reasons to reach for the sour citrus:<br />
1. VITAMIN C. Packed with vitamin C, grapefruit<br />
can be a powerful ally in boosting immune<br />
function, helping you fight colds and stay<br />
healthy this winter.<br />
2. LYCOPENE. Pink and red grapefruits owe their<br />
beautiful bright colors to lycopene, which might<br />
help you fight cancer, according to research.<br />
3. FIBER. Grapefruit can promote a healthy<br />
digestive tract. Plus, pectin, a form of soluble fiber<br />
in grapefruit, has been shown to reduce LDL<br />
(“bad”) cholesterol.<br />
SHARE YOUR<br />
HEALTHFUL<br />
EATING TIPS<br />
Have good ideas for including<br />
healthier foods in your<br />
family’s meals? Share them<br />
with us on our Facebook<br />
page. Go to facebook.com/<br />
ProvidenceSpokane or email<br />
heartbeat@providence.org.<br />
QUICK TIP<br />
Despite grapefruit’s cholesterol-lowering benefits,<br />
you should avoid it if you are taking a statin medication<br />
for high cholesterol. That’s because grapefruit can<br />
increase the levels of the prescription drug in your<br />
body, leading to a risk of muscle toxicity.<br />
FREE Recipe Book Available<br />
Providence Health Care’s 2015 Heart Healthy Guide features<br />
culinary hits like Greek Lentil Stew and more. To request<br />
your copy, just email heartbeat@providence.org.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 5
HEALTHY LIVING<br />
Are You<br />
Ready for an<br />
Emergency?<br />
In the event of a power outage or<br />
an emergency like a natural disaster,<br />
it helps to have some basic supplies<br />
handy. Here are a few staples to<br />
include in your emergency kit:<br />
Bottled water<br />
Nonperishable, easy-to-make<br />
food items<br />
Manual can opener<br />
Plastic utensils, paper plates<br />
and cups<br />
Diapers, wipes, formula and<br />
baby food, if you have infants<br />
Pet food, if you have pets<br />
Flashlight<br />
Battery-powered or<br />
hand-crank radio<br />
Extra batteries<br />
First-aid kit<br />
A whistle to signal for help<br />
Wipes, garbage bags and<br />
plastic ties for sanitation<br />
Wrench or pliers to shut off utilities<br />
Solar charger for cellphones<br />
Sources: redcross.org, ready.gov<br />
TURN YOUR<br />
HOUSEWORK<br />
INTO A WORKOUT<br />
It’s important to get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity<br />
exercise most days of the week. And here’s some good news:<br />
Your spring-cleaning can pull double duty. Set a timer for<br />
30 minutes, turn on some tunes and torch those calories.<br />
Activity<br />
Calories Burned<br />
(per 30 minutes*)<br />
Vacuuming 90<br />
Mopping 90<br />
Cleaning<br />
windows<br />
125<br />
Burn Bonus<br />
Before you enter each room, do<br />
a short set of squats or lunges.<br />
Work your shoulders and upper<br />
arms by getting on your hands<br />
and knees to scrub those<br />
extra-dirty spots.<br />
Before each window, run a flight<br />
of stairs or do a set of crunches.<br />
Washing<br />
your car<br />
140<br />
Work your glutes by squatting<br />
instead of bending over when<br />
you dip your sponge into<br />
the soapy water.<br />
* Calorie counts are estimates. The number of calories you burn will depend on your weight,<br />
metabolism and other factors.<br />
Source: fitday.com<br />
NEED HELP FINDING THE RIGHT EXERCISE?<br />
Ask your provider or call 509-232-8138 to make an<br />
appointment with a health coach.<br />
THINKSTOCK (4)<br />
6 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
AVOID THESE AT A RESTAURANT<br />
If you’re trying to eat healthfully, a restaurant can<br />
be a minefield. But when you know the common<br />
pitfalls, you’ll know how to steer clear.<br />
Bottomless breadbasket. How does one pass<br />
up warm bread (and butter)? Don’t let it on<br />
the table. When the server brings the<br />
bread, politely say no.<br />
Giant portions. A single restaurant<br />
dinner can easily account for an entire<br />
day’s worth of calories if you aren’t<br />
careful. Share a meal or request a<br />
to-go container when you order so<br />
you can save half from the start.<br />
Salad dressings. Salads are healthy,<br />
right? Unfortunately, restaurant salad<br />
dressings are often laden with fat and<br />
sodium. Your best bet is to ask for<br />
olive oil and vinegar and dress the<br />
greens yourself.<br />
54% OF AMERICANS OLDER<br />
THAN 18 ARE DRINKING<br />
COFFEE EVERY DAY.<br />
PEOPLE WHO DRINK MODERATE<br />
AMOUNTS OF COFFEE (ABOUT<br />
1–3 CUPS) HAVE LOWER RISKS<br />
OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE,<br />
CERTAIN CANCERS, PARKINSON’S<br />
DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES.<br />
Source: National Coffee Association<br />
Meditate Anytime,<br />
Anywhere<br />
Meditation is a great way to lower stress and<br />
improve your health. If you’re struggling<br />
to make time, don’t fret. Even five to 10<br />
minutes a day will provide a benefit. Check<br />
out these tips for meditating on the go.<br />
Don’t worry about the location. As long<br />
as you can find a few uninterrupted<br />
minutes, you can meditate. Your desk,<br />
your parked car or the park across the<br />
street will all work fine.<br />
Use earplugs. They can help drown out<br />
excess noise so you can focus.<br />
Download an app. Peruse your app<br />
store for programs that provide guided<br />
meditation.<br />
Take a walk. Use this as an opportunity to<br />
meditate—move slowly and deliberately,<br />
and savor your senses, taking in all the<br />
sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings.<br />
FIND YOUR OWN<br />
OMMM …<br />
To discover more about<br />
meditation, go to phc.org<br />
and click “Health Resources.”<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 7
INSIDER<br />
New Clinics Near You<br />
Providence Medical Group has you covered with two<br />
new clinics in Spokane. New patients are welcome at<br />
both locations.<br />
Providence Family Medicine & Maternity Care<br />
2020 E. 29th Ave., Lower Level, Spokane<br />
509-626-9400<br />
Providence Northpointe Family Medicine,<br />
Internal Medicine & Pediatrics<br />
9911 N. Nevada, Spokane<br />
509-626-9420<br />
ACCOLADES<br />
HealthGrades has named<br />
Providence hospitals among the<br />
top 5 percent in the nation for<br />
neurosciences, neurosurgery<br />
(two years in a row), stroke<br />
(three years in a row) and<br />
overall pulmonary services.<br />
Providence Sacred Heart:<br />
America’s 100 Best Hospitals<br />
for Stroke Care (2014–16)<br />
Providence Sacred Heart:<br />
America’s 100 Best Hospitals<br />
for Critical Care (2014–16)<br />
Providence Sacred Heart:<br />
Distinguished Hospital<br />
Award for Clinical Excellence<br />
(2014–16)<br />
3 Occupational Medicine<br />
Clinics to Serve You<br />
Providence opened its third occupational medicine clinic<br />
in February 2016, at Providence Medical Park in Spokane<br />
Valley. Working in coordination with Providence Urgent and<br />
Emergency Care, primary care physicians and specialists,<br />
and St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, the program provides<br />
employers and patients with:<br />
Injury treatment and management<br />
Industrial rehabilitation, massage therapy and<br />
occupational therapy<br />
Employer services (substance testing, Department of<br />
Transportation physicals, hearing conservation,<br />
pulmonary function and respirator fit testing, preemployment<br />
physicals, fitness-for-duty exams)<br />
Providence Holy Family:<br />
5 stars for treatment of stroke<br />
and sepsis (2013–16) and<br />
respiratory failure (2009–16)<br />
Providence Mount Carmel:<br />
5 stars for treatment of<br />
pneumonia and chronic<br />
obstructive pulmonary disease<br />
(COPD) (2016)<br />
Visit one of the three clinics:<br />
16528 E. Desmet Court, Spokane Valley<br />
421 S. Division St., Downtown Spokane<br />
551 E. Hawthorne Road, North Spokane<br />
THINKSTOCK (2)<br />
8 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
Unique Gifts to<br />
Benefit the Foundation<br />
In 2015, generous individuals and organizations<br />
hosted more than 50 third-party fundraisers to<br />
support Providence ministries in Spokane and<br />
Stevens counties. These included traditional<br />
fundraisers, like toy drives, bake sales and sports<br />
tournaments, as well as more unusual avenues.<br />
“We had a 4-H student sell her steer at the<br />
Walla Walla Fair and donate the proceeds to<br />
the foundation,” says Joyce M. Cameron, chief<br />
development officer of Providence Health Care<br />
Foundation. “We appreciate all of our foundation<br />
friends, no matter what the event or how much<br />
money is raised.”<br />
“We had a 4-H<br />
student sell her steer<br />
at the Walla Walla<br />
Fair and donate<br />
the proceeds to<br />
the foundation.”<br />
READ MORE<br />
Turn to page 28 to see how one couple<br />
touched by cancer contributed.<br />
Providence Vein<br />
Center Now Offers<br />
New Procedure to<br />
Treat Varicose Veins<br />
VenaSeal closure system improves<br />
blood flow by sealing troublesome<br />
veins. The system delivers a small<br />
amount of specially formulated medical<br />
adhesive to the diseased vein, rerouting<br />
blood to nearby healthy veins. This<br />
innovative treatment helps reduce discomfort<br />
and recovery time. For more<br />
information, call Providence Vein<br />
Center at 509-626-9484.<br />
Gina’s Update: A<br />
Breath of Fresh Air<br />
In the Fall 2015 issue,<br />
we featured Gina Moriarty,<br />
a bright 32-yearold<br />
with cystic fibrosis<br />
waiting for a lung transplant.<br />
We’re pleased<br />
to announce that she<br />
got her wish. Moriarty<br />
received a double lung<br />
transplant on Sept. 18<br />
and has returned home<br />
to recover. Able to breathe on her own again,<br />
she’s slowly rebuilding her strength and stamina.<br />
Recovery can take up to a year, but Moriarty is<br />
committed to the process. She and her husband,<br />
John, consider this a new chapter in their lives.<br />
“I cherish each day,” she says.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 9
CHILDREN’S HEALTH<br />
Developing Excellence<br />
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital fulfills virtually any medical<br />
need of children in Spokane and the surrounding region.<br />
As the sole source of specialized<br />
pediatric care<br />
for eastern Washington,<br />
northern Idaho and western<br />
Montana, Sacred Heart Children’s<br />
Hospital is networking with community<br />
physicians across the region to<br />
provide quality care as close to home<br />
as possible.<br />
“We are currently building on the<br />
success of our top-flight pediatric<br />
specialists to offer world-class medicine<br />
here,” says Children’s Hospital<br />
chief executive Keith Georgeson,<br />
M.D. “We are working to increase<br />
the number of local subspecialists<br />
to help provide coordinated care<br />
for patients with complex medical<br />
issues or chronic illnesses.”<br />
The benefit of having Providence<br />
hospitals across the region is that<br />
children who are referred to Spokane<br />
for advanced care can be sent back<br />
to a facility closer to their home for<br />
additional follow-up services.<br />
MAKING CONNECTIONS<br />
“Another initiative for the Children’s<br />
Hospital is expansion of telemedicine<br />
capabilities to provide virtual visits<br />
with our specialists,” Dr. Georgeson<br />
says. “For families whose children<br />
PROVIDENCE<br />
UNDERSTANDS KIDS<br />
To learn more about Sacred Heart<br />
Children’s Hospital and the growing<br />
network of care in and around<br />
Spokane, go to shmcchildren.org.<br />
THINKSTOCK<br />
10 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
By Danita Petek<br />
face chronic diseases, this can mean<br />
far less travel time to get the expert<br />
care they need.”<br />
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital<br />
is currently promoting an initiative<br />
to establish best practices for the<br />
care of children with appendicitis.<br />
Providence physicians are being<br />
trained on important components<br />
of care, such as antibiotic choices,<br />
testing during hospital stays, and<br />
the use of ultrasound rather than<br />
CT imaging for diagnosis, reducing<br />
radiation exposure.<br />
Dr. Georgeson is excited to offer<br />
these types of care improvement.<br />
“As the largest children’s hospital<br />
in the Providence system, we can<br />
help to change the quality of care<br />
offered by our colleagues everywhere,”<br />
he says.<br />
12 YEARS OF<br />
EXPERTISE<br />
Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital<br />
opened its doors for the children<br />
of our region in 2003.<br />
The caring team at Children’s<br />
Hospital understands it can be<br />
overwhelming when your child<br />
needs medical care. You are not<br />
alone in this journey. Doctors,<br />
nurses and specialists are available<br />
to not only diagnose and treat your<br />
child, but also to guide and educate<br />
your entire family.<br />
The Children’s Hospital is ready<br />
to treat nearly all pediatric patients<br />
with physicians in all the major specialties,<br />
including a large neonatal<br />
practice for the smallest and most<br />
fragile infants.<br />
35,000+<br />
Pediatric visits made<br />
each year to Sacred Heart<br />
Children’s Hospital<br />
22,000+<br />
Children treated each year<br />
at Sacred Heart Children’s<br />
Hospital’s dedicated pediatric<br />
emergency department<br />
61<br />
Beds available for children<br />
needing care in the neonatal<br />
intensive care unit<br />
Meet the New Chief Executive<br />
KEITH GEORGESON, M.D.,<br />
SACRED HEART CHILDREN’S<br />
HOSPITAL, SPOKANE<br />
Keith Georgeson, M.D., new chief executive<br />
of Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital,<br />
brings a wealth of expertise in children’s<br />
services. He received his medical degree<br />
from Loma Linda University and completed<br />
a fellowship in pediatric surgery<br />
at Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He<br />
spent most of his academic career at<br />
the University of Alabama School of<br />
Medicine and was chief of surgery at<br />
Children’s Hospital of Alabama for more<br />
than 20 years. Dr. Georgeson has served<br />
as chief of children’s services at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital for<br />
the past three years.<br />
Dr. Georgeson has a national reputation as a leader in children’s<br />
health care, serving as a director of the American Board of Surgery<br />
(2000–06) and chairman of the Pediatric Surgery Board of the American<br />
Board of Surgery (2003–06). He is past president of the American<br />
Pediatric Surgical Association and a founding member and past<br />
president of the International Pediatric Endosurgery Group. In 2011,<br />
he received the William E. Ladd Medal from the American Academy<br />
of Pediatrics for his work in pediatric surgery.<br />
“We are blessed to have a leader with the experience, reputation<br />
and stature as Dr. Georgeson to lead Sacred Heart Children’s<br />
Hospital into the future,” says Elaine Couture, regional chief executive<br />
of Providence Health Care. “Please join me in congratulating<br />
and welcoming Dr. Georgeson to his new role.”<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 11
CARDIAC REPORT<br />
The Brix family:<br />
Jessica, Harley and<br />
2-year-old Aniken<br />
Getting Closure<br />
A hole in Jessica Brix’s heart led to a stroke during<br />
her pregnancy. Here is her story.<br />
For more than 24 hours,<br />
Jessica Brix didn’t know<br />
what was wrong.<br />
The 42-year-old Spokane Valley<br />
woman was five months pregnant<br />
with her third child in April<br />
2014. On a routine Friday, she was<br />
going to a baby goods store when<br />
she began to experience physical<br />
problems that worsened into the<br />
next day. The symptoms—first,<br />
difficulty picking up her keys and<br />
later, trouble forming words and an<br />
inability to cut her food—were odd<br />
and increasingly troubling.<br />
Yet she never guessed she had<br />
suffered a stroke.<br />
It wasn’t until the next day,<br />
when she couldn’t put one foot<br />
in front of the other, that her<br />
husband, Harley, drove her to the<br />
emergency department at Providence<br />
Sacred Heart Medical Center<br />
& Children’s Hospital.<br />
After listening to the description<br />
of her symptoms, the team there<br />
immediately sent her in for a brain<br />
scan. That’s when they discovered<br />
a blood clot had dislodged from<br />
somewhere in her venous system<br />
and traveled through her heart to<br />
her brain. “They picked it up right<br />
away,” Brix says.<br />
“Between the body’s own<br />
defenses and the blood thinners<br />
administered by the medical staff,<br />
GARY MATOSO<br />
12 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
By Mike Francis<br />
PROVIDERS REALIZED<br />
THAT BRIX HAD A<br />
COUPLE OF HIDDEN<br />
ISSUES SINCE BIRTH<br />
THAT CONTRIBUTED<br />
TO HER STROKE.<br />
Jessica’s clot dissipated,” says<br />
Philip Huber, M.D., an interventional<br />
cardiologist at Sacred Heart<br />
Medical Center.<br />
UNDETECTED DEFECT<br />
Brix was an otherwise healthy<br />
woman who had no trouble with<br />
the births of her daughter and son,<br />
now 24 and 20. She’d had no history<br />
of miscarriages, didn’t have diabetes<br />
and had never been flagged as<br />
having an elevated risk for disease.<br />
During her care at Sacred Heart<br />
and Providence’s Family Medicine<br />
Spokane Residency Clinic, providers<br />
realized that Brix had a couple<br />
of hidden issues since birth that<br />
contributed to her stroke.<br />
It turned out that she had a relatively<br />
common defect called a patent<br />
foramen ovale, or PFO, a hole in the<br />
heart that normally closes after birth,<br />
but it did not in her case. “About 10<br />
to 15 percent of the population has<br />
the defect,” Dr. Huber says. “But<br />
most never know it. In Jessica’s case,<br />
it provided a pathway for a blood clot<br />
to travel to the brain.”<br />
Brix also had a blood condition<br />
known as a Factor V Leiden<br />
mutation, which increases the risks<br />
of clotting.<br />
Although neither condition is<br />
necessarily dangerous, for Brix it<br />
made the rest of her latest pregnancy<br />
a high-stakes, suspenseful<br />
affair. She underwent weekly ultrasounds<br />
and twice-daily shots of<br />
medication for the next five months<br />
in an effort to reduce the risk of<br />
blood clots. The medication was<br />
carefully calibrated so as not to<br />
affect the unborn child.<br />
“We were scared for the baby<br />
and for me,” Brix says.<br />
In August 2015, much to everyone’s<br />
relief, Brix gave birth to a<br />
healthy baby boy. Two months<br />
later, Dr. Huber, who had joined the<br />
Providence team treating Brix when<br />
she was about 30 weeks pregnant,<br />
closed the PFO—the hole in Brix’s<br />
heart—in a minimally invasive procedure.<br />
The surgery went well, freeing<br />
Brix from having to take blood<br />
thinners for the rest of her life.<br />
After a few more months of Brix<br />
taking anticoagulants to prevent<br />
blood clots, Dr. Huber says Brix<br />
should be able to take nothing more<br />
than a baby aspirin each day.<br />
GRATEFUL FOR<br />
HER HEALTH<br />
Her medical ordeal over, Brix feels<br />
powerfully grateful.<br />
The Providence providers—<br />
Dr. Huber, obstetrician Rilla<br />
Westermeyer, M.D., oncologist<br />
Mei Dong, M.D., the emergency<br />
PUT YOUR HEART IN OUR HANDS<br />
The heart defect patent foramen ovale is relatively common—<br />
and treatable. If you’re concerned about your condition, call<br />
509-474-3278 to schedule an appointment, or ask your<br />
primary care provider for a referral.<br />
department team, and all the<br />
nurses and staffers—“were amazing,”<br />
Brix says. “They were all so<br />
good to me.”<br />
Harley says his wife’s recovery<br />
has been “miraculous.” The couple<br />
were eager to tell the story of the<br />
care they received at Providence.<br />
“It was a rough road, but we’re<br />
almost out of the clearing, which is<br />
exciting,” he says.<br />
Says Dr. Huber, “We’re always<br />
glad we can help in a positive way.”<br />
Diagnosing<br />
and Treating a<br />
Heart Defect<br />
The patent foramen ovale (PFO) is<br />
an opening between the heart’s<br />
two upper chambers that allows<br />
unborn children to breathe in the<br />
womb. In most cases it closes after<br />
birth, but for as much as 25 percent<br />
of the population, it never does.<br />
This heart defect may go undetected<br />
for many years, but it can<br />
be diagnosed when the opening<br />
in the heart permits a blood clot to<br />
pass through. In the case of Jessica<br />
Brix, the medical team discovered<br />
her PFO when they treated her for<br />
a stroke.<br />
For people who have no symptoms,<br />
it’s not necessary to treat the PFO.<br />
For others, medical providers may<br />
prescribe blood thinners to reduce<br />
the risk of stroke. And for some,<br />
like Brix, a cardiologist may close<br />
the opening with minimally<br />
invasive surgery.<br />
Source: clevelandclinic.org<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 13
STORY BY STEPHANIE CONNER<br />
PHOTOS BY GARY MATOSO<br />
MISSION:<br />
POPULATION<br />
HEALTH<br />
PROVIDENCE IS DEDICATED TO<br />
IMPROVING CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS<br />
BY FOCUSING ON GROUPS.<br />
Think back to your<br />
last visit to a hospital emergency<br />
department. What happened after<br />
your visit? Did you go home confused<br />
about your medications?<br />
Were you confident you could take<br />
care of yourself at home? Did your<br />
provider’s office contact you to make<br />
sure you were recovering well?<br />
If you receive this kind of followup<br />
care after you’ve been to the<br />
hospital, you’ll be more likely<br />
to recover well and less likely to<br />
have to go back into the hospital,<br />
explains Bethany McCauley,<br />
BSN, R.N., care navigator for<br />
Providence Medical Group. And<br />
you’ll probably be happier with<br />
your overall health care experience,<br />
too.<br />
That’s why Providence Medical<br />
Group’s 11 R.N. care navigators<br />
review hospital discharge<br />
records daily.<br />
“We reach out within two business<br />
days to make sure they’re<br />
doing well,” McCauley says. “We<br />
talk to them about their medications,<br />
and we work to identify any<br />
gaps in their care.”<br />
Those gaps might include a<br />
need for a home health nurse or<br />
medical equipment they were<br />
supposed to receive.<br />
“We also want to make sure<br />
they’re eating well and that they’re<br />
not at risk for readmission,” she<br />
adds. “We schedule a follow-up<br />
appointment with their doctor<br />
and make sure they have a ride to<br />
that appointment. We’re looking<br />
at the whole picture.”<br />
This whole picture is part of a<br />
big picture—a concentration on<br />
population health, an initiative<br />
14 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
Bethany McCauley, BSN,<br />
R.N., and Providence<br />
Medical Group’s other R.N.<br />
care navigators review<br />
discharge records daily to<br />
make sure patients have<br />
no gaps in their health care<br />
after they leave the hospital.<br />
within Providence Health &<br />
Services that’s focused on changing<br />
the way people experience<br />
health care, ultimately improving<br />
health outcomes and patient satisfaction,<br />
increasing the quality of<br />
care they receive and even lowering<br />
the cost of care.<br />
WHAT IS POPULATION<br />
HEALTH?<br />
Population health is as vast as it<br />
sounds. Jeff Collins, M.D., chief<br />
physician executive at Providence,<br />
offers some context.<br />
“In the old world of health care,<br />
doctors took care of patients and<br />
hospitals took care of patients.<br />
Everyone was focused on individual<br />
patients and individual<br />
episodes of care,” he says. “The<br />
concept of population health is that<br />
doctors still take care of [individual]<br />
patients, but systems should<br />
take care of groups of people.”<br />
Behind population health are<br />
the payers: insurance companies,<br />
Medicaid and Medicare.<br />
“The payers have said they want<br />
better outcomes,” Dr. Collins<br />
explains. “And they’re providing<br />
the money to make it happen.”<br />
Defining various populations, or<br />
groups of people, is key for tracking<br />
and measuring outcomes: Are we<br />
making a difference?<br />
Populations can be defined by<br />
payer type, condition, age or other<br />
factors. For example, one population<br />
might be Medicaid patients<br />
who have diabetes.<br />
“You first define the condition<br />
and relevant quality metrics, then<br />
you analyze the data for gaps and<br />
best performers,” Dr. Collins says.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 15
“Then you define systems of care<br />
within a predetermined budget.”<br />
That helps Providence identify<br />
best practices and implement<br />
changes to processes and systems<br />
to improve patient care.<br />
But while the payers have been a<br />
driver of population health, Rhonda<br />
Medows, M.D., executive vice president<br />
of Providence’s Population<br />
Health Division, sees an opportunity<br />
to do more.<br />
“We participate in every line of<br />
business and every care setting,”<br />
she says. “There’s so much amazing<br />
potential.”<br />
She wants her team to focus on<br />
improving the patient experience and<br />
improving care—regardless of payer<br />
and regardless of the care setting.<br />
Bethany McCauley, BSN,<br />
R.N., sees health care<br />
improve when R.N. care<br />
navigators collaborate with<br />
providers—and patients.<br />
“It just makes sense,” she says.<br />
“Why would you improve an aspect<br />
of care for just a small portion of<br />
your patients? Why treat one portion<br />
of the population one way and<br />
then go back to the old way for<br />
another group?”<br />
BETTER CARE,<br />
BETTER HEALTH<br />
So how does population health help<br />
improve the quality of the health<br />
care you receive from Providence?<br />
Consider this example: If a<br />
person has diabetes, it’s essential<br />
that he or she manage that<br />
condition to prevent complications.<br />
That means making smart<br />
choices with diet and exercise,<br />
seeing a provider regularly, maybe<br />
“GETTING AN R.N. CARE NAVIGATOR<br />
INVOLVED WILL REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD<br />
OF AN UNNECESSARY EMERGENCY ROOM<br />
AND URGENT CARE VISIT.”<br />
taking medications, and monitoring<br />
blood sugar levels.<br />
“With population health and our<br />
focus on the data, we can determine<br />
which groups of patients<br />
with diabetes don’t have good<br />
control over their blood sugars,”<br />
Dr. Collins says. “We can see which<br />
physician groups are doing better,<br />
then learn about their strategies<br />
and share them with other practices<br />
to help improve our delivery<br />
of care to this population.”<br />
Enter McCauley’s team of R.N.<br />
care navigators again.<br />
“A provider might pull a care navigator<br />
in to meet with the patient,”<br />
she explains. “We’ll work with the<br />
provider to set up a care plan. Then<br />
we’ll meet with the patient and ask<br />
them what their goals are.”<br />
Provided the patient is on board,<br />
the care navigator will check in<br />
periodically to make sure the<br />
patient is meeting his or her health<br />
goals, educate the patient and<br />
answer any questions.<br />
For patients with diabetes who<br />
take advantage of a navigator,<br />
McCauley says, there is evidence that<br />
it’s making a difference: lower A1Cs<br />
(a measure of blood sugar levels).<br />
In addition, when patients are<br />
educated about their chronic illness<br />
and can manage it—and when<br />
they have a relationship with their<br />
provider—they don’t need to access<br />
the emergency department as often.<br />
“We know that getting an R.N.<br />
care navigator involved will reduce<br />
the likelihood of an unnecessary<br />
emergency room and urgent care<br />
visit,” McCauley notes.<br />
Diabetes isn’t the only chronic<br />
health condition that can be<br />
improved with this kind of<br />
approach. There are metrics in<br />
place to track patients with heart<br />
failure, depression, high blood<br />
pressure and chronic obstructive<br />
pulmonary disease, as well.<br />
Providence is also looking at the<br />
system’s efforts with certain preventive<br />
care measures—making<br />
sure children are on track with<br />
16 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
their immunizations, for example,<br />
and ensuring adults older than 50<br />
are getting their colonoscopies and<br />
that women are getting screening<br />
mammograms.<br />
Ultimately, when payers understand<br />
the value of preventive care<br />
and managing chronic diseases—<br />
and financially compensate providers<br />
who do this well—people<br />
receive better care and tend to be<br />
healthier overall, compared with a<br />
health system that rewards providers<br />
who simply treat the highest<br />
number of sick patients.<br />
IMPROVED<br />
SATISFACTION<br />
When people think about what<br />
makes them satisfied with their<br />
health care, a big piece is whether<br />
they can get in to see, or access,<br />
a provider.<br />
That’s one population health<br />
metric. “By leveraging some of the<br />
data, we’ve been able to demonstrate<br />
clear improvement in our<br />
access,” Dr. Collins says.<br />
The care navigators, who provide<br />
a helpful link between the patient<br />
and providers, are a key factor in<br />
improving access.<br />
Plus, some providers offer<br />
same-day appointments, and<br />
Providence’s Health eXpress app<br />
allows contact with a nurse practitioner<br />
for routine primary care<br />
issues via Skype.<br />
“It improves access and satisfaction<br />
for patients,” says Scott<br />
O’Brien, chief strategy officer at<br />
One bold goal tied<br />
to population health<br />
is reducing the cost<br />
of health care<br />
An Often-Overlooked Population<br />
Although payers (insurance companies, Medicaid and Medicare) get a lot<br />
of attention related to population health, Providence Health & Services<br />
is thinking more broadly—seeing how improving health care for one set<br />
of people might benefit everyone.<br />
One population that Providence won’t forget is the underserved.<br />
“Providence is a faith-based organization with a core value of taking<br />
care of the poor,” says Jeff Collins, M.D., chief physician executive at<br />
Providence. “Serving the community isn’t necessarily part of population<br />
health from the perspective of an individual payer, but there is overlap.”<br />
Often, individuals with high-cost health conditions can’t afford health<br />
care. Providence maintains its commitment to helping those who are poor<br />
and vulnerable.<br />
“Above and beyond what we’re paid to do,” Dr. Collins says, “we are<br />
committed to taking care of our community, regardless of what<br />
population they’re in.”<br />
Providence. “And patients receive<br />
high-quality care just as if they<br />
were coming into the office.”<br />
Another key to improving satisfaction<br />
lies in better integrated and<br />
coordinated care, Dr. Collins and<br />
Dr. Medows say.<br />
Your health information should<br />
precede you, Dr. Medows notes. You<br />
should feel as though your provider<br />
knows you and is collaborating with<br />
other providers on your behalf.<br />
And in the future, Providence<br />
can use population health data and<br />
models to help anticipate the needs<br />
of certain populations.<br />
“The more we can predict, the<br />
more we can prevent or delay serious<br />
consequences,” Dr. Medows says.<br />
PURSUING LOWER<br />
HEALTH CARE COSTS<br />
One bold goal tied to population<br />
health is reducing the cost of health<br />
care. By better managing people’s<br />
chronic conditions, preventing<br />
disease through excellent primary<br />
care and identifying serious illnesses<br />
early through screenings, the<br />
Population Health Division believes<br />
it’s possible to reduce the financial<br />
burden of health care on society.<br />
And that can benefit all of us,<br />
they say.<br />
“In an effort to manage cost, a lot<br />
of companies are moving to higherdeductible<br />
health plans,” O’Brien<br />
notes. “So if we better manage your<br />
health, we can limit your out-ofpocket<br />
expenses for health care.”<br />
But the key is reducing cost<br />
while improving satisfaction and<br />
the quality of care.<br />
“Success isn’t exclusively solving<br />
for one,” he says. “We’re trying to<br />
balance all three.”<br />
SHIFT IN APPROACH<br />
For more than two years,<br />
Providence has been focused on<br />
population health. Then it elevated<br />
its commitment by bringing Dr.<br />
Medows in and launching a division<br />
last summer. In the months<br />
since, members of this team have<br />
been working on developing tactics<br />
and strategies to achieve the<br />
ambitious goals outlined under the<br />
auspice of population health.<br />
If you haven’t already felt a difference,<br />
it’s coming.<br />
“The ultimate goal is to have the<br />
population be healthy as a group,”<br />
Dr. Collins says. “Every group is<br />
made up of individuals, and every<br />
individual counts.”<br />
Even more than that, Dr. Medows<br />
says, “everyone wins.”<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 17
WALK IN,<br />
HAVE SURGERY,<br />
WALK<br />
OUT<br />
THE PROVIDENCE SURGERY AND<br />
PROCEDURE CENTER PROVIDES EASY<br />
ACCESS TO QUALITY MEDICAL SERVICES,<br />
NO HOSPITALIZATION NEEDED.<br />
18 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
STORY BY SHELLEY FLANNERY<br />
PHOTOS BY GARY MATOSO<br />
Most people with labral tears<br />
of the hip have contact sports<br />
like football or hockey to thank for their<br />
troubles. Not Frank Slak.<br />
“Mine wasn’t from anything as cool<br />
as that,” Slak says. “It was more of a<br />
Lemony Snicket situation—a series of<br />
unfortunate events.”<br />
The former Gonzaga University professor<br />
says the pain started in spring 2015<br />
and worsened quickly. So quickly, in fact,<br />
that he had to miss the last two weeks of<br />
the semester.<br />
“I used to stand and move around<br />
the room a lot during my lectures,” the<br />
68-year-old says. “I would start to turn<br />
or pivot and the pain was just excruciating.<br />
The pain got progressively worse, to the<br />
point where I could barely walk.”<br />
Slak’s physical therapist friend set him up<br />
with orthopedic surgeon Bryan S. Mitchell,<br />
M.D., who provided a diagnosis.<br />
“I got an MRI that revealed not only a<br />
labral tear, but also two growths on top of<br />
my femur that had been wearing through the<br />
labrum, causing bone-on-bone action,” he<br />
says. “They’re not caused by anything specific.<br />
Some people are just lucky enough to<br />
have those growths, and I’m one of them.”<br />
The treatment options were cortisone<br />
injections, which last about 30 days per dose,<br />
or surgery. Slak opted to have one cortisone<br />
Frank Slak’s hip<br />
was so painful that<br />
he could hardly<br />
walk. After outpatient<br />
surgery followed by<br />
rehabilitation, he’s<br />
back to doing the<br />
activities he loves.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 19
At ambulatory surgery centers,<br />
says orthopedic surgeon<br />
Bryan S. Mitchell, M.D., people<br />
are less likely to have their<br />
procedures postponed.<br />
injection to hold him over until he<br />
could have surgery to repair the tear.<br />
Slak scheduled his procedure<br />
with Dr. Mitchell at the Providence<br />
Surgery and Procedure Center at<br />
Providence Medical Park, which<br />
is about 10 miles from his home in<br />
Spokane. According to Slak, well<br />
worth the trip.<br />
CENTERED ON<br />
SURGERY<br />
The Providence Surgery and<br />
Procedure Center is an outpatient<br />
surgical facility, also called<br />
an ambulatory surgery center, or<br />
ASC. ASCs have been around for<br />
more than 40 years; before their<br />
inception, virtually all surgeries<br />
were performed in hospitals. But<br />
dedicated surgery centers do only<br />
one thing—surgery—and can focus<br />
all their efforts on doing it efficiently<br />
and effectively, without the<br />
patient needing to be hospitalized.<br />
“With regard to the patient<br />
experience, everything is incredibly<br />
streamlined in the center,”<br />
says William T. Page, M.D., an<br />
orthopedic surgeon who operates<br />
at Providence Surgery and<br />
Procedure Center. “From what<br />
time you check in to what time<br />
you leave, everything is decreased<br />
dramatically when compared with<br />
the hospital setting.”<br />
A lot of thought and research went<br />
into the layout and design of the<br />
Providence ASC, which welcomed<br />
its first patient in February 2015. The<br />
“I THINK MY SURGERY WAS SCHEDULED FOR<br />
8:30 A.M. WE CHECKED IN AT 8, AND I WAS<br />
HOME BY NOON.” —FRANK SLAK<br />
design team paid particular attention<br />
to a patient’s care journey.<br />
“Not only is it a beautiful building,<br />
but it’s also very efficient,” says<br />
Kim Lett, the center’s director.<br />
“Patients are greeted upon arrival<br />
in registration then directed to the<br />
surgery center on the second floor,<br />
where they’re met by the surgery<br />
center staff and prepared for their<br />
surgical procedure. Once prepared<br />
for surgery, they’re taken into an<br />
operating room adjacent to their<br />
room, eliminating unnecessary<br />
movement throughout the center.”<br />
The building’s small footprint<br />
helps with time management as well.<br />
“At the center, everything is<br />
designed to decrease steps,” Dr. Page<br />
says. “That means patients can be<br />
in and out in literally half the time<br />
spent at a hospital.”<br />
Naturally, an ambulatory surgery<br />
center hosting fewer patients at a<br />
time also means more individualized<br />
care than a hospital might be<br />
able to provide, and fewer delays.<br />
“In a hospital setting, there’s<br />
always the potential that someone<br />
20 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
else’s emergency surgery could put<br />
off your procedure,” Dr. Mitchell<br />
says. “Plus, with fewer patients at<br />
the center, there’s the ease of parking<br />
and check-in.”<br />
For all these reasons, many times<br />
surgical procedures at ASCs are less<br />
expensive than hospitals. And yet,<br />
ASCs like Providence Surgery and<br />
Procedure Center offer access to<br />
advanced equipment and surgical<br />
staff expertise.<br />
“The center follows the same<br />
patient care guidelines and quality<br />
metrics you would find in a hospital<br />
setting,” Lett says. The center<br />
received Joint Commission accreditation<br />
in June.<br />
RIGHT PATIENT,<br />
RIGHT REASON<br />
The types of surgeries available at<br />
Providence Surgery and Procedure<br />
Center grow with each passing<br />
month of operation.<br />
“We currently offer procedures in<br />
gastroenterology and orthopedics,<br />
including hand, shoulder, foot and<br />
ankle surgery, as well as sports medicine<br />
surgeries like ACL repairs and<br />
hip scopes,” Lett says. “We’re looking<br />
to expand our services to also<br />
include general surgery, ENT [ear,<br />
nose and throat] and potentially<br />
neurological surgery.”<br />
But not every person is a candidate<br />
for surgery at the center.<br />
People with complex cases or certain<br />
chronic conditions and those<br />
at high risk for surgical complications<br />
will need to visit a hospital<br />
for treatment.<br />
“We consider the age of the patient,<br />
his or her health history, including<br />
chronic issues like severe sleep apnea<br />
or kidney disease, and their disease<br />
state,” says Karyl Pickard, clinical<br />
manager of Providence Surgery and<br />
Procedure Center.<br />
“Some patients just won’t be candidates<br />
for procedures here,” Lett<br />
adds. “It has to be the right patient<br />
for the right reason at the right time.<br />
It’s all about the patient’s safety.”<br />
RAVE REVIEWS<br />
Slak was pleased to learn he was a<br />
candidate for surgery at the center,<br />
not because of the efficiencies, the<br />
cost benefits or the ease of access.<br />
He chose to have surgery 10 miles<br />
from home because of the staff.<br />
“The center is a sociological<br />
phenomenon,” Slak says. “The<br />
staff is incredible. Honest to<br />
goodness, from the ground-floor<br />
receptionist to the scheduler to<br />
the nursing staff, anesthesiologist<br />
and operating staff, you can tell<br />
everyone really loves their job and<br />
wants to be there. Those people<br />
really care.”<br />
Of course, Slak appreciated the<br />
center’s ability to get him in and<br />
out in a timely manner, too.<br />
“I think my surgery was scheduled<br />
for 8:30 a.m.,” he says. “We checked<br />
in at 8, and I was home by noon.”<br />
Slak’s surgery was a success, and<br />
because he followed his postoperative<br />
instructions and committed<br />
to physical therapy, he was back on<br />
his feet in no time.<br />
“I went in for a follow-up with<br />
Dr. Mitchell 10 days afterward, and<br />
he couldn’t believe how well I was<br />
doing,” Slak says. “I said, ‘I feel<br />
great. I think I could walk without<br />
the crutches,’ and he said, ‘Show<br />
me.’ So I did.”<br />
Slak’s procedure was July 30,<br />
and he went back to work teaching<br />
in time for the fall semester. More<br />
important, he went back to his<br />
hobby of fly-fishing.<br />
“It’s the love of my life, next to<br />
my wife and kids,” he says. “I usually<br />
fish from a boat, and when<br />
my hip was acting up, sitting in<br />
a restricted place was out of the<br />
question. I really couldn’t do much<br />
fishing the whole spring. But since<br />
I got the surgery, I’ve been right<br />
back at it.”<br />
AMBULATORY SURGERY<br />
CENTERS BY THE NUMBERS<br />
Ambulatory surgery centers, or ASCs,<br />
are efficient, cost-effective alternatives<br />
to hospitals for certain patients and<br />
certain procedures. Here’s a look at<br />
the numbers.<br />
1970<br />
Year the nation’s first ambulatory<br />
surgery center opened in Phoenix<br />
23 million<br />
Number of surgeries performed at<br />
ambulatory surgery centers in the<br />
U.S. each year<br />
31.8 minutes<br />
Procedures performed in ambulatory<br />
surgery centers are a half-hour<br />
shorter, on average, than procedures<br />
in hospital outpatient units<br />
92%<br />
Nationwide, ambulatory surgery<br />
centers claim a high patient<br />
satisfaction rate<br />
$2.4 billion<br />
Medicare would save this amount<br />
each year if just half of eligible<br />
surgery patients chose ambulatory<br />
surgery centers rather than hospital<br />
outpatient facilities<br />
Source: Ambulatory Surgery Center Association<br />
FIND OUT WHETHER<br />
YOU’RE A CANDIDATE<br />
If you need surgery and<br />
want to check your eligibility<br />
for the Providence Surgery<br />
and Procedure Center, call<br />
509-944-8920.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 21
Chris Murphy and Pam Sheldon look on as<br />
Northwest MedStar’s fixed-wing plane—<br />
equipped to maintain a NICU environment<br />
during flight—approaches the hangar.<br />
CARE<br />
in theAIR<br />
THE NORTHWEST MEDSTAR TRANSPORT<br />
TEAM DELIVERS CRITICAL SUPPORT FOR<br />
PATIENTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION.<br />
22 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
STORY BY WILL MORTON<br />
PHOTOS BY GARY MATOSO<br />
AMELIA, a name known for<br />
flight. “She flew before her sisters,”<br />
says Amelia’s mom, Jane Harrington,<br />
45, of Lewiston, Idaho. Then again,<br />
Amelia wasn’t quite 2 days old at the<br />
time of her courageous trip, and her<br />
health condition was critical.<br />
On Jan. 12, 2015, Jane and her family<br />
arrived at St. Joseph Regional Medical<br />
Center in Lewiston for a scheduled<br />
delivery. Amelia was full term, but she<br />
was breech. Her doctor successfully<br />
turned her head down, and after inducing<br />
labor, the delivery went quickly.<br />
Amelia’s Apgar score—a measurement<br />
of appearance, pulse, responsiveness,<br />
muscle activity and breathing—<br />
appeared normal, but she was not acting<br />
like a healthy baby.<br />
“She didn’t want to breast-feed.<br />
She couldn’t latch,” Jane says.<br />
Amelia was also hypotonic, or<br />
“floppy,” as one doctor described it,<br />
and jaundiced. Her blood pressure and<br />
glucose levels were low. Soon, Amelia’s<br />
neonatal care team had a diagnosis: sepsis,<br />
a potentially life-threatening inflammatory<br />
response caused by infection.<br />
“At that point, she was never back<br />
in my room,” Jane recalls.<br />
DECISION TIME<br />
Doctors moved Amelia to the neonatal<br />
intensive care unit (NICU) at St.<br />
Joseph and started her on antibiotics.<br />
They called Sacred Heart Medical<br />
Center in Spokane—one of two hospitals<br />
in Washington with a Level IV<br />
NICU capable of caring for the sickest<br />
babies—to consult. The decision: Get<br />
Amelia to Sacred Heart, fast.<br />
With early diagnosis and treatment,<br />
full-term infants like Amelia are not<br />
expected to experience long-term<br />
health problems associated with sepsis;<br />
however, infection is a major cause of<br />
With baby Amelia’s<br />
life in the balance,<br />
Jane and Shane<br />
Harrington relied on<br />
Northwest MedStar to<br />
fly the young patient<br />
100 miles to Sacred<br />
Heart Medical Center.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 23
fatality during the first month of<br />
life, contributing to 13 to 15 percent<br />
of all neonatal deaths.<br />
Jane’s husband, Shane, who had<br />
gone home the night before with<br />
their 14- and 16-year-old daughters,<br />
made it back in time to see them off<br />
as mother and baby were transported<br />
to a nearby airport and the waiting<br />
Northwest MedStar fixed-wing plane<br />
that would fly them to Spokane.<br />
As the pair took off, Shane<br />
hopped in his car and hit the road. It<br />
would take Jane and Amelia 30 minutes<br />
in the air and two 20-minute<br />
ambulance rides—one in Lewiston,<br />
one in Spokane—to get to Sacred<br />
Heart. Shane, over two hours.<br />
“The drive,” he says, “was a blur.”<br />
ON BOARD<br />
The Pilatus is a turboprop aircraft<br />
that hits a cruising speed of 300 mph<br />
at a maximum altitude of 28,000<br />
feet. These planes as well as the helicopters<br />
in the Northwest MedStar<br />
fleet are equipped to maintain the<br />
critical care environment of a NICU<br />
during flight.<br />
On board, flight perinatal nurse<br />
Pam Sheldon and flight respiratory<br />
therapist Chris Murphy sat buckled<br />
in their seats, back to back, with<br />
Amelia next to them and Jane a<br />
few feet away to the rear, watching<br />
everything. Patients are transported<br />
in isolates—self-contained<br />
neonatal care units that are guided<br />
by hoist and cable into the plane<br />
and then secured.<br />
“I try to keep in constant communication<br />
with the parent,” says<br />
Sheldon, a 30-year flight nurse. Not<br />
only are patients and their families<br />
experiencing a medical emergency,<br />
but also they are flying in a turboprop<br />
plane, and sometimes flying<br />
for the first time.<br />
The decision to use the fixedwing<br />
plane over one of the helicopters<br />
depends upon availability and<br />
weather. (Helicopter pilots operate<br />
in visual flight mode, which means<br />
“if you can’t see it, don’t do it,”<br />
Sheldon says.)<br />
Jane and Amelia’s flight to Spokane<br />
was smooth. Sheldon administered<br />
glucose to Amelia during<br />
the trip and made sure Jane knew<br />
what every movement meant, even<br />
just a thumbs-up for assurance.<br />
REALITY SETS IN<br />
For Jane, the trip was “very surreal.”<br />
She hadn’t had time to process<br />
it all. Getting through the<br />
journey had been at the forefront of<br />
her thoughts: There was the ambulance<br />
ride to the Lewiston airport.<br />
The flight. The landing at Spokane’s<br />
Felts Field. Another ambulance<br />
ride to Sacred Heart. Each leg<br />
Chris Murphy and Pam<br />
Sheldon are trained and<br />
ready to deliver critical care<br />
to patients during flight.<br />
Northwest MedStar’s<br />
coverage area is vast—<br />
primarily eastern and<br />
central Washington,<br />
northern Idaho, Montana<br />
and eastern Oregon. The<br />
nonprofit organization<br />
also provides patient<br />
transport to Seattle and<br />
other facilities throughout<br />
the U.S. and parts of<br />
Canada. Most recently,<br />
Northwest MedStar began<br />
serving Providence St.<br />
Patrick Hospital and<br />
Community Medical<br />
Center in Montana.<br />
24 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
entailed transferring Amelia in the<br />
312-pound isolate.<br />
Time slowed down again when<br />
she entered the NICU. She realized<br />
that she’d only had a little time in<br />
the birthing room for skin-to-skin<br />
contact with her baby and that<br />
Amelia was in a struggle for her life.<br />
“It was like reality slapping me in<br />
the face,” Jane says.<br />
NICU PREPARED<br />
Neonatologists at Sacred Heart<br />
had the whole picture—from the<br />
moment Amelia was born to when<br />
she entered their care, including<br />
updates from the nurses in the<br />
fixed-wing. “We’re in constant<br />
communication with them prior to<br />
their arrival,” says Meagan Clemmens,<br />
Sacred Heart NICU assistant<br />
nurse manager.<br />
But the care providers are also<br />
very aware of the parents. “We<br />
know they’re overwhelmed with<br />
information and take it slowly with<br />
our explanations from the moment<br />
we move the patient from the isolate<br />
to our monitors,” she says.<br />
Amelia was in the NICU for<br />
two weeks before she responded<br />
well enough to continued antibiotic<br />
treatment to be moved to a<br />
step-down unit for the rest of her<br />
Sharing a Name—and a Mountain View<br />
Pam Sheldon’s role in baby Amelia’s story ended when the Sacred Heart<br />
neonatal intensive care unit staff took over for her Northwest MedStar critical<br />
care transport team. But Sheldon notes her job as flight perinatal nurse<br />
allows her reflective moments to cherish transports that end well. Sitting<br />
buckled in the Pilatus turboprop, flying back to base, sometimes she just<br />
enjoys the snow-covered mountains at sunset. Perhaps it’s the same view<br />
that another Amelia admired also. Like baby Amelia, Amelia Earhart passed<br />
through Felts Field as a passenger—in a Ford Trimotor plane in 1933.<br />
recovery. In the many hours he sat<br />
vigil on the third floor of Sacred<br />
Heart, Shane heard helicopters<br />
landing and taking off from the<br />
roof. His fears turned to gratitude<br />
when he realized Amelia would<br />
make it.<br />
“She had all the care and love<br />
and compassion in the world<br />
around her from the minute she<br />
got there,” he says.<br />
LOOK AT HER NOW<br />
Doctors still don’t know exactly<br />
what caused Amelia’s infection.<br />
The usual bacterial suspects have<br />
been ruled out, but organisms<br />
with increased antibiotic resistance<br />
have emerged that further<br />
complicate management of the<br />
infection. Early-onset sepsis usually<br />
results from an organism acquired in<br />
the birth canal and develops within<br />
six hours of life.<br />
Amelia was discharged Feb. 9. Her<br />
entire ordeal lasted four weeks. Today,<br />
at 13 months old, she loves to armycrawl<br />
and play pat-a-cake. “Looking at<br />
her now, you wouldn’t have known,”<br />
Jane says. “She’s very happy.”<br />
CHOOSE MEDSTAR<br />
You have a choice for air medical<br />
transport. Talk to your provider<br />
and ask for the Northwest<br />
MedStar transport team.<br />
GET TO KNOW NORTHWEST MEDSTAR’S AIRCRAFT<br />
HELICOPTER<br />
Name: Airbus Helicopter H135<br />
Ideal for: Landing at accident<br />
scene or hospital; moving<br />
patients over shorter distances<br />
(less than 150 miles)<br />
Cruising speed: 158 mph<br />
On board: 3 crew, 1–2 patients<br />
FIXED-WING PLANE<br />
Name: Pilatus PC-12/47E<br />
Ideal for: Smooth loading and<br />
unloading of patients; longer<br />
transports (5 hours of fuel);<br />
inclement weather<br />
Cruising speed: 270–300 mph<br />
On board: 3 crew, 1–2 patients<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 25
COMMUNITY<br />
HOW WE’RE IMPROVING OUR HEALTH<br />
To learn more about Providence Health Care’s<br />
community benefit program and community<br />
health needs assessment, go to phc.org and<br />
click “Community Support.”<br />
Creating Healthier<br />
Communities, Together<br />
How Providence identifies—and meets—<br />
our communities’ greatest needs.<br />
As health care continues<br />
to evolve, Providence is<br />
responding with dedication<br />
to its Mission and<br />
a core strategy to create healthier<br />
communities. One way we’re doing<br />
this is by partnering with community<br />
organizations to conduct<br />
a formal community health needs<br />
assessment. The goal is to learn<br />
about the greatest needs of the<br />
most marginalized groups of people<br />
in our communities. This assessment<br />
helps us create solutions to<br />
fulfill unmet needs and guides our<br />
community benefit investments,<br />
not only for our own programs,<br />
but also for many partners.<br />
In 2015, we began with baseline<br />
data gathered in a 2013 communitywide<br />
needs assessment<br />
conducted by Priority Spokane,<br />
a civic leadership group made up<br />
of the local government, businesses,<br />
nonprofit organizations<br />
and local funders. Working with<br />
this group and with the Spokane<br />
Regional Health District, Providence<br />
solicited further input.<br />
Dozens of participants from<br />
throughout the community and<br />
representing multiple organizations<br />
provided feedback.<br />
THINKSTOCK<br />
26 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
OUR STARTING POINT: COMMUNITY HEALTH MEASURES IN 2015<br />
Providence used results from 2015 surveys and data from the health district to establish current<br />
community needs and top priority needs for 2016–18:<br />
PRIORITIZED NEED SPOKANE COUNTY MEASURES FOR 2015<br />
Mental health Nearly 11 percent of adults self-report poor mental health<br />
28.5 percent of youth suffer from depression<br />
48 children out of every 100,000 are victims of child abuse<br />
Diabetes One quarter of youths and adults are overweight<br />
10 percent of adults have diabetes<br />
Only 55 percent of surveyed adults are regularly physically active<br />
Dental Nearly 30 percent of people do not receive regular dental checkups<br />
Immunizations Only 40 percent of preschoolers receive on-time immunizations<br />
More than 6 percent of school-age children have vaccine exemptions<br />
Stable housing In 2014, Spokane County had 1,149 people who were homeless,<br />
including 146 families with children<br />
MEASURING OUR PROGRESS<br />
The research in 2015 also included a review of Providence’s last community health needs assessment.<br />
Providence conducts a thorough assessment every three years, which directs our work until the next<br />
assessment. In 2012, the assessment identified and prioritized the following health concerns:<br />
Mental health and substance abuse<br />
Access to care and care coordination<br />
Obesity and diabetes<br />
In response, Providence made a significant investment in time, resources and funding to programs<br />
that were most likely to have an effect on these needs. Below is a sample of the work that was done<br />
with community partners in 2013–15 to improve the overall health of our community.<br />
PARTNER TYPE OF PROGRAM OUTCOMES OUR SUPPORT<br />
Christ Clinic<br />
Low-cost clinic;<br />
behavioral health<br />
5,813 patient visits;<br />
1,290 unique patients<br />
served<br />
Funding given<br />
Community Detox Service<br />
of Spokane<br />
Partners with Families and<br />
Children/Child Advocacy<br />
Center<br />
Homeless Respite Program<br />
at House of Charity<br />
Spokane Prescription<br />
Drug Access Network<br />
Dental Emergencies<br />
Needing Treatment<br />
Sobering services<br />
Child neglect/abuse,<br />
specialty exams<br />
Recuperative care for homeless<br />
after acute hospital care<br />
No-cost, reduced-cost<br />
medications<br />
Reduces emergency<br />
department visits for<br />
dental emergencies<br />
577 total admissions<br />
from emergency<br />
department<br />
772 children served;<br />
547 caregivers served<br />
195 homeless men and<br />
women served<br />
351 patients served;<br />
259 prescription refills<br />
provided<br />
1,160 patients referred;<br />
701 appointments<br />
Program funded and<br />
operated by Providence<br />
Funding given<br />
Funding given<br />
Funding given<br />
Funding given<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 27
FOUNDATION<br />
HOST A FUNDRAISER OF YOUR OWN!<br />
For more information and ideas about<br />
making a difference in the community,<br />
call 509-474-4917 or visit phc.org/giving.<br />
To learn more about Cancer Can’t, visit<br />
cancercant.info.<br />
Comforts of Home<br />
A cancer patient raises money to transform<br />
hospital rooms into healing spaces.<br />
Imagine spending three<br />
weeks out of every month<br />
away from home. Now imagine<br />
it in a hospital room,<br />
receiving aggressive chemotherapy,<br />
away from your spouse<br />
and children. That was Jonathan<br />
Van Keulen’s reality for nine<br />
agonizing months as he battled<br />
osteosarcoma, a rare and serious<br />
form of bone cancer.<br />
During Van Keulen’s long stay at<br />
Providence Sacred Heart Medical<br />
Center, he yearned for the simple<br />
comforts of home. Oncology rooms<br />
are designed to help caregivers<br />
administer treatment, but they can<br />
be utilitarian. Van Keulen and his<br />
wife, Becky, began to ask themselves<br />
what it would take to create a more<br />
homelike environment. A comfy<br />
recliner. A fridge stocked with favorite<br />
foods and a microwave to heat<br />
them. Walls with beautiful art rather<br />
than a cluttered bulletin board.<br />
And so a nonprofit organization,<br />
Cancer Can’t, was born.<br />
Cancer Can’t hosted a golf<br />
tournament and dinner last fall<br />
and raised $123,000—enough<br />
to totally refurbish 16 rooms in<br />
Sacred Heart’s Oncology Unit.<br />
“Jonathan and Becky’s efforts<br />
have truly been spectacular,” says<br />
Joyce M. Cameron, chief development<br />
officer of Providence Health<br />
Care Foundation. “We are so<br />
grateful that they used their personal<br />
experience with cancer to<br />
pay it forward. These new rooms<br />
will make such a difference to our<br />
cancer patients.”<br />
For the Van Keulens, the refurbished<br />
oncology rooms are just<br />
the beginning. Cancer Can’t and<br />
its board of directors are exploring<br />
many other ways to support area<br />
oncology patients. “We can give far<br />
more than cancer could ever take<br />
away from us,” Van Keulen says.<br />
“Cancer can’t, but we can!”<br />
During Jonathan Van Keulen’s battle<br />
with bone cancer, he and his family<br />
started a nonprofit organization to help<br />
add softer touches to treatment areas.<br />
STARR IMAGES<br />
28 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
M.D. SPOTLIGHT<br />
Doing the<br />
Right Thing<br />
Difficult questions come up routinely<br />
in health care. Andi Chatburn, D.O., M.A.,<br />
explains how clinical ethicists can help<br />
bring clarity.<br />
ANDI CHATBURN, D.O., M.A., MEDICAL<br />
DIRECTOR FOR ETHICS, PROVIDENCE<br />
HEALTH CARE, EASTERN WASHINGTON,<br />
AND PALLIATIVE CARE PHYSICIAN,<br />
PROVIDENCE SACRED HEART MEDICAL<br />
CENTER & CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL<br />
AND HOLY FAMILY HOSPITAL, SPOKANE<br />
Q: What do you do in your role as<br />
medical director for ethics?<br />
A: At its core, my job is to focus on how we ought to<br />
care for one another. Part of that means making sure<br />
that our hospital policies empower us to care for our<br />
patients in a way that is consistent with our Mission<br />
and values. Another part is to maintain an internal<br />
culture of ethics through ongoing staff education. And<br />
the rest of my job is to be available to patients and families<br />
for ethics consultations.<br />
Q: What is an ethics consultation?<br />
A: Ethicists are often called in to help resolve tough<br />
questions in difficult situations, such as how much<br />
medical intervention, if any, is right for a patient near<br />
the end of life. We meet with the patient and family and<br />
ask questions like: What matters most to you? How do<br />
you prefer to receive care? What would be a good outcome<br />
for you? Our role is to ask, to listen, to hear the<br />
patient’s story and to respect the patient’s values and<br />
preferences. If the patient is unable to make decisions<br />
for himself, we work to make sure that the people he<br />
trusts are involved in his care.<br />
Q: What drew you to your specialty?<br />
A: As an undergraduate, I studied religion and philosophy<br />
in addition to pre-med. One class, called Suffering<br />
and Meaning, was pivotal for me. It explored all aspects<br />
of suffering, from the Buddhist teachings of suffering<br />
as a part of all life, to the biblical story of Job, to Rabbi<br />
Harold Kushner’s book “When Bad Things Happen to<br />
Good People.” That led me to pursue palliative medicine<br />
and a master’s degree in clinical ethics. I feel that<br />
the work of clinical ethics ties directly into my call to<br />
medicine to relieve suffering of all kinds: physical, emotional,<br />
spiritual, relational and metaphysical.<br />
Q: What have you learned through<br />
your work?<br />
A: When I ask people questions like, “What matters<br />
most to you?” I get answers such as, “Being married to<br />
my spouse for 70 years” or “Being able to give to my<br />
community.” In the midst of the most difficult medical<br />
situations, these are the things people are thinking<br />
about. It’s a constant reminder of what’s important,<br />
and it helps me stay centered in my own life.<br />
HOW TO REQUEST AN<br />
ETHICS CONSULTATION<br />
Patients and families in any of Providence’s<br />
eastern Washington hospitals can request<br />
an ethics consultation through their doctor<br />
or nurse or by paging 509-880-2935.<br />
OUR ROLE IS TO ASK,<br />
TO LISTEN, TO HEAR THE<br />
PATIENT’S STORY AND<br />
TO RESPECT THE PATIENT’S<br />
VALUES AND PREFERENCES.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 29
CALENDAR<br />
Classes, Events<br />
and Activities<br />
Winter/Spring 2016<br />
SEE MORE EVENTS<br />
Check out the full<br />
calendar of events at<br />
phc.org/heartbeat. Hover<br />
over “Health Resources,”<br />
then choose “Calendar<br />
of Events.”<br />
INHS COMMUNITY<br />
WELLNESS CLASSES<br />
To register, go to wellness.inhs.<br />
org (unless otherwise noted).<br />
RESPECTING CHOICES<br />
Join us for this free advanced-care<br />
planning workshop, where we will<br />
help you begin to reflect upon,<br />
understand and start those important<br />
conversations about your goals,<br />
values and beliefs for your future<br />
health care choices.<br />
HEALTH COACHING<br />
Meet one on one with a registered<br />
dietitian, a certified diabetes educator,<br />
a tobacco cessation educator or<br />
an exercise physiologist to discuss<br />
and execute your personal health<br />
goals. For an appointment, call<br />
509-232-8138.<br />
INBODY<br />
The InBody machine gives you a<br />
complete picture of your body composition.<br />
Take a one-time test for<br />
$20, or buy three and get one free.<br />
LIVING WELL WITH<br />
DIABETES<br />
This six-week program will help<br />
you take control of your diabetes.<br />
Family members or support people<br />
are welcome to attend.<br />
QUIT FOR GOOD<br />
Let us help you kick the tobacco<br />
habit for good. This free four-week<br />
program is available to you<br />
anywhere via a live, interactive<br />
webinar.<br />
BABY-SITTING BASICS<br />
This fun class will help provide<br />
the skills and training young<br />
baby sitters need to be safe<br />
and successful.<br />
LUNCH-AND-LEARN<br />
WEBINARS<br />
Join us on your smartphone, tablet<br />
or computer for fun, interactive<br />
presentations on a variety of health<br />
and wellness topics. Hosted on the<br />
third Thursday of each month from<br />
noon to 1 p.m.<br />
1 in 3<br />
American women say heart disease<br />
is their greatest health threat<br />
GO RED FOR WOMEN<br />
GET READY FOR BLOOMSDAY<br />
Free Bloomsday training clinics will<br />
be at Spokane Falls Community<br />
College gym on Saturdays starting<br />
at 8:30 a.m., March 12 through April<br />
23. Hear from training experts,<br />
stretch and warm up with a personal<br />
trainer, then walk or run weekly<br />
routes at your own pace. To register,<br />
visit phc.org or call 509-474-2397.<br />
PROVIDENCE HEALTH &<br />
FITNESS EXPERIENCE<br />
Located at the Spokane Convention<br />
Center on April 22 (4–9 p.m.),<br />
April 23 (10 a.m.–6 p.m.) and April<br />
24 (10 a.m.–3 p.m.). Visit spokane<br />
womensshow.com for details.<br />
Come together in the fight against heart disease, the No. 1<br />
cause of death among women. Mark your calendars for a fun-filled<br />
day that will include a lunch, a keynote speaker, heart-healthy presentations,<br />
a silent auction and health screenings.<br />
WEAR RED AND JOIN IN THE HEART-HEALTHY ACTIVITIES!<br />
MARCH 9, 9 A.M.–2 P.M., SPOKANE CONVENTION CENTER,<br />
BALLROOMS 100AB<br />
OPPOSITE PAGE: THINKSTOCK<br />
30 HEART BEAT WINTER/SPRING 2016
HEALTH TIP<br />
Joint Solutions<br />
If you’re worried about developing arthritis—or even<br />
if you’re not—there are ways to lower your risk.<br />
Arthritis is a general term<br />
referring to more than a<br />
hundred conditions, including<br />
osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis,<br />
fibromyalgia and gout. Being female<br />
and having a family history of<br />
arthritis does increase your risk for<br />
developing one of these conditions,<br />
according to the Arthritis Foundation.<br />
But it doesn’t necessarily<br />
mean you’re bound to the same fate<br />
of joint pain as your mother.<br />
Osteoarthritis is the most common<br />
joint condition and is what<br />
many people refer to when they<br />
say “arthritis.” The disease occurs<br />
when the tissue and cartilage<br />
between joints break down. The<br />
symptoms of osteoarthritis are<br />
joint stiffness, pain and swelling.<br />
WHAT YOU CAN DO<br />
Researchers are still trying to<br />
pinpoint an exact cause of osteoarthritis,<br />
but for now, moderation<br />
seems to be the path to prevention.<br />
Being overweight raises your risk<br />
of developing osteoarthritis, as<br />
does having a prior sports injury.<br />
52 mil<br />
Estimated number of U.S.<br />
adults who have a form of<br />
doctor-diagnosed arthritis.<br />
Experts recommend engaging in<br />
moderate-intensity exercise for<br />
30 minutes per day.<br />
If you begin to notice the symptoms<br />
of osteoarthritis, see your<br />
doctor sooner rather than later.<br />
And start a joint-pain journal, jotting<br />
down when you experience<br />
pain and stiffness, what you were<br />
doing just prior and what, if anything,<br />
alleviated the pain. That<br />
will help you and your doctor<br />
determine how best to manage<br />
your condition.<br />
TREATMENT OPTIONS<br />
Physical activity. Light exercise,<br />
such as walking, yoga or tai chi,<br />
can help reduce pain and preserve<br />
range of motion. Strengthening the<br />
muscles surrounding an arthritic<br />
joint can help take pressure off the<br />
joint, thereby reducing pain.<br />
Medication. Medication is available<br />
in the form of pills, syrups,<br />
creams or injections. It may take<br />
some time to find one that works<br />
for you, which is why your joint<br />
journal will be important.<br />
Physical therapy. Working with<br />
a therapist, you’ll strengthen jointsupporting<br />
muscles, learn proper<br />
form for everyday activities and<br />
work on range-of-motion stretches.<br />
Assistive devices. Lots of<br />
products are available today that<br />
make living with arthritis easier,<br />
including canes, walkers, scooters,<br />
splints, orthotics, jar openers and<br />
steering-wheel grips.<br />
Surgery. If other treatments<br />
stop working, your doctor may<br />
recommend joint repair or replacement<br />
surgery. Artificial joints and<br />
the surgical techniques to place<br />
them are better than ever and can<br />
even get you back to doing many<br />
of the activities you love.<br />
TAKE THE NEXT STEP<br />
Want to know more about your<br />
options? Call your primary care<br />
provider and ask for a referral<br />
to an orthopedist in your area.<br />
READ ON YOUR TABLET OR PHONE: PHC.ORG/HEARTBEAT 31
Providence Sacred Heart<br />
Medical Center & Children’s Hospital<br />
101 W 8th Ave<br />
Spokane, WA 99204<br />
NON-PROFIT<br />
ORG<br />
US POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
HEART BEAT<br />
ROLE MODEL<br />
Clark Peterson, Chaplain<br />
Soul Support<br />
Clark Peterson works the evening shift as a<br />
chaplain at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.<br />
Late into the night, he sits with patients and families,<br />
offering support and solace as they face medical<br />
emergencies, traumas and, sometimes, goodbyes.<br />
Peterson is part of a team of chaplains that covers<br />
the hospital 24/7 to make sure that spiritual services<br />
are available to every person who needs it. Although<br />
people sometimes assume that the chaplain’s role is<br />
to promote a particular religious belief, “that couldn’t<br />
be further from the truth,” Peterson says. “Our role<br />
in the hospital is to try to help each individual draw<br />
strength from whatever is sacred or holy to them.<br />
“The Sisters of Providence didn’t separate the healing<br />
of the body and the healing of the soul,” Peterson<br />
adds. “They knew it was a whole package, and by<br />
caring compassionately for the whole person, they<br />
demonstrated the love of God.”<br />
Clark Peterson and his fellow<br />
chaplains help people draw spiritual<br />
strength while in the hospital.<br />
WANT SOMEONE TO TALK TO?<br />
Chaplains are available around the clock in<br />
Providence hospitals to provide respectful,<br />
confidential support, with sensitivity to each<br />
individual’s culture and beliefs. For more<br />
information, ask your provider.<br />
GARY MATOSO<br />
OUR MISSION IS TO REVEAL GOD’S LOVE FOR ALL, ESPECIALLY THE POOR AND VULNERABLE, THROUGH OUR<br />
COMPASSIONATE SERVICE. OUR VALUES ARE RESPECT, COMPASSION, JUSTICE, EXCELLENCE AND STEWARDSHIP.