PULSATIONS
A Healthy Dose of News from Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota
Lung Screening: Early Detection Saves Lives If Bill Roush hadn’t gone through the lung screening it might have been too late by the time the cancer was found. Orthopedic Update
Welcome Six New Physicians
Heart Seminar Series
Bemidji Heart & Vascular
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Altering Our Course for a Better Tomorrow By Paul Hanson, President Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota
We are fast approaching the end of 2012.
This past calendar year has introduced us to the many challenges of integration and the excitement of implementing our plans for program and service line growth. Specifically, we have made great strides in the recruitment and retention of our medical staff and have now, for the first time in our history, become home to more than 100 physicians. Orthopedics and Cardiology are two specialty areas in which we have invested a considerable amount of human and financial resources. Within the next 45 days, our investment in cardiology will yield new clinic space and a new dedicated heart catheterization lab for our providers. Heart care is a service that has long been discussed in our region. We have now moved well beyond talk with the addition of competent providers, welltrained staff, state of-the-art equipment
and commitments from our medical community to have the best cardiology program in Minnesota. The new orthopedic clinic is taking shape, and is on target for a completion date of June 2013. As we continue to recruit Orthopedics and Cardiology into our Bemidji family, these investments will further demonstrate our commitment to enhance our operations, and make a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people in our region. While we continue to grow and succeed, we also face the challenges all health care providers are experiencing. These issues include expanded demands through regulatory requirements, unfunded mandates, the increasing need to be more productive with limited resources, regulatory readiness to assist in future program development or enhancement and the need to constantly improve our quality and patient satisfaction results.
Every health care organization faces these same challenges, but the greatest challenge in our current environment is to meet our own expectations for greatness and be the benchmark for others of similar size, scope and complexity of service. Integration and care coordination is not easy. It takes great effort, patience and resolve to do what is right for the organization, and the very best for the patients we serve. It is nearly impossible not to feel the stress of our growth and development initiatives in the face of industry challenges. Having a team rise above and perform beyond what even we believed possible is our goal, and we believe we have the team to achieve that. Sanford Bemidji has been, and will continue to be, “up for the challenge.� Thank you to our physicians, staff and volunteers for their dedication, and to our region and patients for their support and trust.
Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Center Construction Update
Construction continues despite the wet weather. Anticipated opening is June 2013.
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Southwest view with the elevator shaft and the stairway wrapping around to the 2nd floor.
Roof assembly at the north end of the building.
Lung Screening Saves Lives
Bill Roush would be the first to tell you he thought it was a waste of
his time to participate in the new low-dose lung CT cancer-screening program being offered at Sanford Bemidji. Roush would also be the first to tell you doing so saved his life, or at the least, saved him from the trauma and pain that would have accompanied advanced lung cancer. “It was a pretty big shock to find out I had lung cancer,” said Roush, who lives with his wife, Gayle, near Squaw Lake, MN. “I think this is an amazing service. The test is simple and it doesn’t hurt.” When the screening revealed an abnormality, Roush was scheduled that same week for procedures that confirmed and staged the cancer. Because the cancer was caught early, surgery was the only intervention he needed. He’s grateful that his wife and Radiation Oncology Nurse Manager Kim Olson, RN, teamed up to convince him to make time in his busy schedule for the screening. Because he was a former smoker and had worked in the aircraft industry where he was exposed to chemicals, Roush was at higher risk for developing lung cancer - the nation’s number one cancer killer. Sanford’s lung cancer screening program uses low-dose radiation technology to get detailed pictures of the lungs, helping detect cancer in early stages before people experience symptoms. These painless exams take no more than 15 minutes.
It took some convincing before Bill participated in the new low-dose lung CT cancer-screening program. It was a “pretty big shock” when lung cancer was detected. Bill with Radiation Oncologist Dr. John Bollinger.
“I felt fine, but a year or so from now when I started feeling bad, it could have been too late,” Roush said. “If I had to have this experience, I couldn’t have had it in a better place. My wife and I have had excellent care at Sanford Bemidji. We’ve both had treatment there. She had breast cancer and I had prostate cancer treatment. The oncology staff is great. They’ve become like my family. It’s a good feeling just walking in there.”
Sanford Bemidji Cancer Center Team
John Bollinger, MD Radiation Oncology
Mohamed Hussein, MD Medical Oncology/ Hematology
Jayan Nair, MD Medical Oncology/ Hematology
“I’m so happy this program is out there and I hope that more people become aware of it and take time to get checked,” he added. “Those of us who live in rural areas probably don’t realize how much Bemidji has to offer. There are so many new specialists and good services. We’re happy to have this kind of healthcare right down the road.”
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Heart Services Close to Home
R
eading the newspaper one morning, Bemidji resident John Ostrem welcomed the announcement of a new cardiac catheterization program at Sanford Bemidji. Just a couple of weeks later, Ostrem became the cardiac lab’s first patient to have a stent placement in his heart. Ostrem believes the procedure saved him from an eventual heart attack. Scheduled for a diagnostic exam after he sought assistance at Sanford Bemidji Walk-In Clinic, Ostrem was surprised when Interventional Cardiologist Jeffrey Watkins, MD, told Ostrem two of his arteries had an 85 percent blockage. “I’m lying there thinking I’m just having this angiogram to figure out what’s wrong when Dr. Watkins tells me about the blockage,” Ostrem said. “He asked if I wanted him to take care of it right then and I was already there, so I said to go ahead. That’s pretty fast service!” Ostrem’s procedure was among the first elective procedures that took place in October 2011 in Sanford Bemidji’s endovascular lab. In January 2013, a new dedicated Heart and Vascular Center with a cardiology clinic, cardiac catheterization lab and prep and recovery area will open in the “heart” of the hospital’s main floor. The new Heart and Vascular Center will allow Sanford Bemidji to offer interventional services with unparalleled treatments and technologies in this region. Once the hospital opens the dedicated cardiac lab, emergency services with coverage seven days a week, 24 hours a day will gradually be added in 2013. Plans call for adding regional referral options by the end of next year. The new center will handle up to 1,100 cardiac cases per year. According to Barry Royce, director of Heart & Vascular Services at Sanford Bemidji, the cath lab’s opening quickly demonstrated the void that had existed in heart services. Dr. Watkins did more than 300 procedures in the first year, and waiting time for patients seeking cardiac referrals grew. Sanford Bemidji began looking for additional cardiologists with the advanced expertise and demonstrated patient experience that the program required. They found those qualities in Dr. Nur Jameel, an interventional cardiologist, who joined the heart program this year. Interventional Cardiologist Dr. James Dewar will arrive later in 2013. Dr. Kris Anderson, an internal medicine specialist, who provided cardiology services prior to Dr. Watkins’ arrival, will continue to be a part of the cardiology team. Medical experts agree that treatment for heart attacks should occur within 90 minutes of patients entering the emergency room. Beyond that, the risk of permanent heart damage, or death, increases. With no services in north central Minnesota, patients currently are being flown to Fargo, Grand Forks or Duluth, diminishing that 90 minute window of opportunity with time spent in the air.
Sanford Bemidji Heart & Vascular Team
Jeffrey Watkins, MD Interventional Cardiology
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Nur Jameel, MD, PhD Interventional Cardiology
Kris Anderson, MD Non-Invasive Cardiology
Kevin Schoepel, MD Vascular Surgeon
James Wagner, MD Vascular Surgeon
“Our times now for sending patients to Fargo are pretty good, but it’s exciting to think that in keeping them here, we’ll be able to get it down to 60 minutes from the time patients enter our ER to getting that vessel opened up for them,” Royce said. “That’s a big difference where it really counts.” Outreach services are already available in Baudette and Thief River Falls. With additional Interventional Cardiologists, more sites and services will be added, further improving patient access and care. “This has been a huge project with a large group of people doing a lot of solid groundwork to make it happen,” Royce asserted. “They deserve so much credit for where we are today and especially how this service is going to significantly benefit the people we care for. I may be the conductor in the orchestra, but all these people working together have made the music.” John Ostrem is singing his own song, a song of thanks that his decision to head to Sanford Bemidji Walk-In Clinic that day may have prevented a heart attack down the road.
Future home of N W
Dr. Watkins in the cardiac catheterization suite.
HEART E
Proposed Floor Plan
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Pre & Post Procedure Rooms
Lobby
Physician’s Workroom
Clinic Exam Rooms
Cath Lab
Stress & Echo Rooms
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Welcome, New Physicians
J. Adam Hamilton, MD
Orthopedics
Dr. J. Adam Hamilton, a board-eligible orthopedic surgeon, joins Drs. Jason Caron, Terrance Johnson and Patrick Moriarty at Sanford Bemidji Main Clinic and Orthopedic Clinic. Dr. Hamilton received a medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine at Omaha, NE, in 2006. Following medical school, he completed an orthopedic surgery residency at Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, at Dayton, OH, in 2011. Prior to his arrival in Bemidji, Dr. Hamilton practiced at Lake Region Healthcare at Fergus Falls, MN.
Dr. J. Adam Hamilton is an orthopedic surgeon at Sanford Bemidji.
Ethan O’Connell, MD
Emergency Medicine
Dr. Ethan O’Connell, an emergency medicine physician, earned a medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten, Netherlands, Antilles, in 2008. He then completed a yearlong general surgery preliminary residency (PGY1) at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, MI, followed by a family medicine residency at the University of Wyoming in Casper. Dr. O’Connell is a member of the American Academy of Family Practice, American College of Surgeons and the American College of Physicians—Internal Medicine. He is fluent in written and spoken Spanish. He comes to Sanford Bemidji from Casper, WY, where he was a practicing emergency medicine physician and chief resident at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Ethan O’Connell is an emergency medicine physician at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center.
Nur Jameel, MD, PhD
Interventional Cardiology
Dr. Nur Jameel, an interventional cardiologist, has joined Sanford Health in the Bemidji Main Clinic. He earned a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery from Aga Khan University Medical School in Pakistan in 2002. At the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, he completed an internal medicine residency in 2006, a Cardiology Fellowship/Physician Scientist Pathway and a PhD in physiology and integrative biology in 2011. This year, he completed an interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of Minnesota prior to starting practice at Sanford Bemidji. Dr. Jameel is board certified by several national organizations, including the American Board of Internal Medicine in the areas of internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, the Certification Board of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology and the National Board of Echocardiography.
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Dr. Nur Jameel is an interventional cardiologist at Sanford Bemidji.
Matthew F. Sanford, MD
Radiology/Women’s Imaging
Bemidji native Dr. Matthew F. Sanford, a board certified radiologist, has joined the Sanford Bemidji Radiology Department. He graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health at Grand Forks, ND, in 2001 and completed an internship there in 2002. He continued his medical education by completing a residency in diagnostic radiology and a musculoskeletal radiology fellowship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He worked as a radiologist and partner at Saint Paul Radiology, P.A. until 2011 when he left to complete a fellowship in women’s imaging at Brown University in Providence, RI. Following that, he returned to his hometown to begin medical practice in Bemidji. Dr. Matthew Sanford, radiologist at Sanford Bemidji, specializes in women’s imaging.
Jesse Heuer, DO
Family Medicine
Dr. Jesse Heuer, a board certified family medicine physician originally from Mora, MN, recently joined Sanford Bemidji 1611 Anne St. Clinic as a full-time family medicine physician. Dr. Heuer graduated from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine at Biddeford, ME. He completed an internship in 2007 and a family medicine residency in 2009, both with the Rapid City Regional Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in Rapid City, SD. Dr. Heuer comes to Bemidji from Rainy Lake Medical Center in International Falls, MN, where he practiced family medicine, including obstetrics. Dr. Jesse Heuer is a family medicine physician at Sanford Bemidji 1611 Anne St. Clinic.
Mateen Rahman, MD
Infectious Disease
Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Mateen Rahman is a new member of Sanford Bemidji Main Clinic Internal Medicine Department. Dr. Rahman is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. He received his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degrees from Karachi University, Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan. His postgraduate education included completion of an internal medicine residency at Catholic Health Systems, University of Buffalo, in Buffalo, NY, and an Infectious Disease Clinical Fellowship at the University of Buffalo.
Dr. Mateen Rahman is a physician specializing in infectious disease at Sanford Bemidji Main Clinic Internal Medicine department.
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Board of Directors Rod Will, MD, Chair Pete Aube Jason Caron, MD Mark Dwyer, MD Paul Hanson Kari Howe Glen Lindseth Mary Marchel Bruce Meade Becky Nelson Judy Roy Jim Russ Margaret Ryan Mark Shanfeld, MD Dean Thompson Andy Wells, III
Sanford Health VISION
Improving the human condition through exceptional care, innovation and discovery.
Sanford Health MISSION
Bemidji Heart & Vascular Seminar Series
Dedicated to the work of health and healing.
Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota VISION
Every Tuesday, Nov. 27 – Dec. 18 Sanford Bemidji Medical Center - Education Center 4:30 p.m. 5 p.m. 6 p.m.
By January 2014, Sanford Health will be northern Minnesota’s premier regional, innovative, rural healthcare delivery organization.
Heart healthy appetizers Seminar Construction tours of the new Heart & Vascular Center
Seminar Schedule: Nov. 27 Women’s Heart Health
Dec. 4 Advances in Cardiology
JoEllen KohlmanPetrick, MD, Cardiologist
Tom Haldis, MD, Cardiologist
Dec. 11 Sanford Bemidji Cardiology
Jeffrey Watkins, MD, Cardiologist
These free educational seminars are open to the public.
Nur Jameel, MD, PhD, Cardiologist
Dec. 18 Peripheral Vascular Diseases & Heart Disease
Kevin Schoepel, MD, Vascular Surgeon
James Wagner, MD, Vascular Surgeon
Pulsations is a publication of Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota. Advice offered in this publication is provided for informational/educational purposes only and is not intended for the purpose of diagnosing or prescribing. Consult your physician before undertaking any form of medical treatment and/or advice contained in this publication. If you would like to receive through direct mail, contact (218) 333-5654. Providing the highest level of care is important to us and we welcome your comments. Please feel free to contact our Patient Relations Department at (218) 333-5996 or provide feedback through our Web site at bemidji.sanfordhealth.org.
Registration is required. Call (218) 333-5505.
Pulsations A Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota publication.
Sponsored and hosted by: Sanford Health Foundation of Northern Minnesota
Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota 1300 Anne St., NW, Bemidji, MN 56601 (218) 751-5430
www.bemidji.sanfordhealth.org