Best of Edmond
Exceeding the Needs by Melanie Phillips Clemens
U
ntil 1947, Edmond residents had to travel the dirt roads to Oklahoma City for medical attention. Fortunately, a group of physicians and businessmen saw the need and opened what is now known as OU Medical Center Edmond. The hospital, originally housed on the top floor of the Broncho Theater on Broadway, is now at 2nd and Bryant. While “The Sound of Music” no longer plays in the background, their services remain “second to none” and are bringing in patients from all over the state. “Our wound care specialist, Dr. Gregory Morgan, M.D. trained with the doctor who first began using hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of chronic wounds,” said Leslie Buford, communications director for the Edmond campus. Shane Hull, D.O., pulmonary disease specialist, uses an endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) to view regions of the lung and chest area. Unlike traditional lung biopsies, the EBUS is less invasive and faster results mean quicker treatment. “Our first patient to undergo the ultrasound with
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Dr. Hull had sought treatment in multiple ER’s for five years with the same diagnosis. They kept prescribing medication for asthma and pneumonia but our ultrasound showed something different so we put her on a medication program that helped. Before she came to us, she couldn’t walk down stairs, and now she can travel across the country to visit her daughter.” Expectant mothers can look forward to the new labor/delivery unit scheduled to open in September. “We’ll have alternative laboring options such as tubs for women who don’t want to take drugs during labor. Also, moms will be in the same room throughout labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum. Mom and baby will stay together with the same nurse taking care of both. Another first in the OKC metro is our MRI machine which is the latest, most innovative on the market. It’s faster, the images are clearer, it can accommodate patients up to 450 pounds and has an iPod dock for patients who’d rather listen to their own music,” said Buford.
Leslie Buford,
OU Medical Center Edmond
With facility updates and advanced technology, OU Medical Center Edmond is equipped to handle the changing needs of the community without compromising the quality care their patients have come to expect. “We’re licensed for 94 beds, staffed with 150 active doctors and over 250 nurses. We want people to feel that they’re taken care of,” said Buford. “Since we’re a smaller hospital, some think we’re not as advanced as bigger hospitals, which is simply not true. We have the same technology and an amazing staff. We’re the best secret in the metro.”
