A Diagnosis of Good Health New hospital of fers patient comfor t and advanced technolog y
The Heart of the Matter Cardiac recover y is best when it’s close to home
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Harnett Health
A Diagnosis of
Good Health New health system offers patient comfort and advanced technology
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www.bjrh.org
New hospital rendering (preliminary phase); Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital
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fter years of preparation, an all-new, full-service hospital is about to take shape in Harnett County. When completed, the $56 million hospital in Lillington will fulfill a longstanding need for quality and easily accessible health care for central and western Harnett County. Combined with the new hospital’s sister campus, Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, the two facilities will be known as Harnett Health. Together, these two facilities, along with a wide range of affiliates, will serve as one of the region’s most technologically advanced health-care systems. “The central hospital will feature state-of-the-art technology and superior patient care,” says Ken Bryan, president and CEO for Harnett Health System. “As the community’s health-care leader, we provide a vital link to healthy lifestyles and quality of life. The opening of the new hospital will further our commitment to Harnett and the surrounding counties.” The new, 50-bed hospital in Lillington has been designed to promote an open and relaxed environment that pairs perfectly with its modern design concept. Far from the winding corridors you might expect in a hospital, the new facility will feature an open, inviting interior courtyard that allows for easy access to hospital services, and artfully utilizes natural sunlight and wayfinding. Patient rooms will also be designed to let in more sunlight. According to research, the effect of ambient light is nurturing and restorative. Patients who recuperate in cheerful and sunny environments typically have an easier recovery. Equally important to patient care is the comfort and support provided by family and friends. Patient rooms in the new hospital will be spacious enough for extended visitation without creating a feeling of “being-in-the-way.” “Friendly design” happens to be one of the biggest challenges facing hospital designers today. The architects for the new central hospital, the nationally acclaimed firm Perkins + Will, say today’s task is to create a non-threatening health-care center where patients experience welcoming and low-stress surroundings while receiving high-tech care. This design concept also allows for the utilization of
best practices for patient safety and more efficient care. The hospital will be part of the newly formed Harnett Health System and will be located at the county’s Brightwater Science and Technology Park. Perkins + Will has designed the hospital to be as “green” as possible by being sensitive to its environmental location, water usage and utilizing renewable and non-hazardous construction materials. When finished, the new hospital will come fully equipped with the latest in medical technology and offer everything you’d expect in a state-of-the-art facility. “One of the most immediate and crucial needs the new hospital will fulfill is emergency care closer to home for residents of central and western Harnett County,” Bryan says. “The close proximity of advanced critical services will be significant in helping to save lives of the critically ill or injured patients.” And this is only the beginning, as the hospital has been designed to allow for incremental, long-term expansions and growth. As new advancements in medical technology and services emerge, along with the expertise of the partnership with WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Harnett Health’s central hospital and Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital will continue to be a source of great health care. This special section is published for Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital by Journal Communications Inc.
CU S TO M M AG A Z INE M ED I A
For more information, contact: Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital 800 Tilghman Drive • Dunn, NC 28334 Phone: (910) 892-1000 • Fax: (910) 694-1316 www.bjrh.org ©Copyright 2009 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved. No portion of this special advertising section may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent. On the cover: Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital Photo by Todd Bennett
Harnett Health
Wellness Begins Here
Improving quality of life and maximizing independence
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or patients of the Rehab/Wellness center at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital, the benefits can be lifesaving, or just life-affirming. “Our center specializes in unique, individually designed rehabilitation programs designed to meet the growing needs of the communities we serve,” says Vicki Allen, chief nursing officer and vice president for patient care services. “Our innovative approach to patient care, combined with caring professional specialists, helps patients maintain a safe, consistent recovery process from their illness or injury.” The dedicated Betsy Johnson rehab team is comprised of certified and licensed health-care professionals. This highly trained team provides physical, occupational, aquatic, and speech and language therapy to help patients regain their functional independence. Located on the Betsy Johnson campus, the Rehab and Wellness Center features a 12,000-square-foot, state-of-theart rehab gym with a full array of Cybex fitness equipment. The center manages critical recovery programs for patients who may have suffered a stroke, trauma or heart attack, rehabilitation of athletes recovering from sports injuries, as well as easing burn victims back into the process of everyday motion. The center also focuses on cardiac rehabilitation for patients recovering from heart surgery. The latest addition to the Rehab/Wellness Center is the Wound Care Program, which includes a healing dimension to patient care. Patients with diabetes, circulatory and kidney disorders, malnutrition, paralysis or immobility are particularly vulnerable to skin breakdown. “This specialized program provides a multidisciplinary approach to wound care to ensure continuity of care and to promote preventative skin care for both our inpatients and outpatients,” Allen says. “Our goal is to identify and correct healing deficiencies responsible for problem wounds, allowing our patients greater comfort and improved quality of life.” Other services provided include lymphedema management, orthopedic, pediatric, neurological and post-acute care. The center also helps a large number of children with language challenges – as well as older patients whose language and cognitive skills may have been affected by a medical condition. Aquatic therapy occurs in an indoor 24-by-24-foot pool that serves patients referred by physicians to address specific physical rehabilitation, and people who are
Kent Walterhouse monitors Lea Anna Godwin in the Rehab/ Wellness Center. Right: Dr. Brent Ellmers, medical director of the Wound Care Program, with nurse Rhonda Bowles.
interested in improving their overall fitness through our community aquatics program. “The Rehab and Wellness Center treats a wide variety of patients who have significant recovery needs from illness, injury or surgery, as well as helping local residents who are searching for improved health,” says Debbie Ragan, manager for the Rehab/Wellness Center, “and that’s what we are here for, to meet the needs of the communities we serve.”
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PHOTOS BY TODD BENNETT
www.bjrh.org
Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation Scott Wright, left, monitors Daniel Deaton in the cardiac rehab center.
The Heart of the Matter Cardiac recovery is best when it’s close to home t Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation department, the work is one part healing and one part life improvement. “It’s not enough to help our patients regain their heart health,” says Scott Wright, the program’s director. “We want to give them a better understanding of how to stay healthy. And that means also working with them on lifestyle changes, including their diet and dealing with stress.” Helping the communities we serve is what prompted Betsy Johnson to open the cardiac
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rehabilitation department in late 2006. Local residents needed all the usual rehabilitation care that accompanies heart surgery or heart disease. But they had to drive 30 miles or more to find it at other medical facilities. And those miles were often a roadblock. “Most local residents were not making the drive which hindered their recovery and put them at risk for future heart related events or illnesses,” Wright says. “Cardiac Rehab was greatly needed.” The new program obtained accreditation from the American Association of Cardiovascular
and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, in addition to the required state accreditation. It was an extra effort for the higher standards, but it brings an added level of reassurance for patients and physicians, Wright explains. Primarily, it means that Wright’s team monitors patients with continuous telemetry, which sets them apart from other programs “We also try to make this a fun and relaxed place to come,” he adds. “You have to recognize that our patients are people who have just experienced a traumatic event.”
Harnett Health
A Positive Betsy Johnson offers a new breed of caregivers
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TODD BENNETT
Difference
www.bjrh.org
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f you were a patient at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital recently and your care was under the direction of one of our “hospitalists,” you are part of a trend that many medical centers across the country have adopted. The concept of hospitalists providing care exclusively within the confines of a hospital has been present since the early 1990s, but over the last five years, this practice model has become the fastest-growing trend in the United States. Studies have shown that hospitalized patients under the care of a hospitalist, a physician dedicated to caring for patients within a hospital, received better care, and valuable medical resources are utilized more efficiently. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, a hospitalist is present at BJRH. This availability ensures that patients under the care of a hospitalist will be seen faster and even more frequently if the patient’s condition warrants the necessity. “When you are admitted to BJRH, a hospitalist will be assigned to you,” explains Hospitalist Medical Director, Dr. Olalekan Folarin. “Your primary care physician will be in communication with the hospitalist team and kept up to date on his or her patient’s hospitalization. Our hospitalist will direct your care and once stable for discharge, the
patient will be directed back to his family physician.” The hospitalists are all board-certified or board-eligible physicians that do not maintain an office practice, i.e., they practice only within the hospital, hence the name “hospitalist.” Once a patient is discharged from the hospital, the hospitalists do not provide any further treatment. Because hospitalists do not have outside office responsibilities, they are focused on the care of hospitalized patients. If a patient’s condition was to change acutely, the availability of our hospitalists allow immediate physician presence at the bedside to assess the patient’s needs. Hospitalists help coordinate patient care with all subspecialists and multidisciplinary teams. At discharge, the hospitalist will provide prescriptions for any necessary medications or medical necessity services such as home oxygen or home health care. “Today’s health-care environment is exhibiting a continuous variation of challenges to the measurement of quality inpatient care,” says Ken Bryan, president and CEO of Harnett Health System. “One of our top priorities is to provide patients with an exceptional experience in a caring and safe environment. Working with the hospitalists has definitely enhanced our patients’ total experience.”
Dr. Okalekan Folarin, medical director for the Hospitalist Program, and Debbie Harrison, manager of the Critical Care Unit, monitor patients at a nurses’ station at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn.
New Technological Tools Digital mammography offers women a better experience ne of the newest investments in technology at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital is intended to be one of the most delicate. A new digital mammography system, acquired with the help of the Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital Foundation and Friends of the Foundation Fighting Cancer in September, represents an improved approach to mammograms for women in the Harnett County area. The upgrade should be a welcome advance for patients. It not only captures a more precise scan of the breast – it also does so easier. It is no secret that many women report for their mammography exams with some amount of dread over the discomfort it entails. Until now, traditional mammography devices worked like medical cameras. To examine a breast for signs of tissue mass that might be associated with early cancer, a radiologist had to take a thorough photographic scan. The scans were captured on film that was then examined by doctors.
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But to obtain an effective film scan, the traditional technology required a great deal of breast compression. The new system at Betsy Johnson’s Women’s Breast Care Center relies on a digital scan of the breast that requires less physical compression. The digital scanner captures much higher resolution digital image of the breast tissue. For the physician, the search for signs of tissue mass is improved. For the patient, discomfort is reduced. The system is particularly effective for women younger than 50, according to a report by the National Cancer Institute. The fourth-annual Simply Pink Benefit Weekend in September helped raise funds for the equipment, says Jennifer Franklin, public relations and foundation department manager for Betsy Johnson. “Our friends and supporters made this stateof-the-art digital mammography system possible,” Franklin says.
Harnett Health
Important Telephone Numbers Please visit our Web site, bjrh.org, for our Physician Directory. Cardiac Rehabilitation ........................................................................... 892-1000, ext. 4610 Cardio Pulmonary .................................................................................. 892-1000, ext. 4152 Community Education Classes .............................................................. 892-1000, ext. 4111 Gift Shoppe ..............................................................................................892-1000, ext. 4088 Government Affairs ...................................................................................892-1000, ext. 4960 Health Information Management .............................................................892-1000, ext. 4129 Medical Staff Services ...............................................................................892-1000, ext. 4116 Outpatient Registration ......................................................................... 892-1000, ext. 4163 Patient Advocate .......................................................................................892-1000, ext. 4162 Patient Financial Services ...................................................................... 892-1000, ext. 4904 Public Relations ...........................................................................................892-1000, ext. 4960 Rehab/Wellness Center ........................................................................ 892-1000, ext. 4610 Benson Rehab/Wellness Center ............................................................ 894-1057 Sleep Disorder Laboratory ........................................................................892-1000, ext. 4152 Volunteer Services ................................................................................. 892-1000, ext. 4107 Wound Care .......................................................................................... 892-1000, ext. 4610 Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital Foundation ................................... 892-1000, ext. 4483 Physician Practice Premiere Pediatrics of Harnett Health ............................................ 892-4248
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