Recent technological advances and

revolutionary procedures can make a

huge difference for surgical patients with

benefits that include smaller incisions,

shorter hospital stays and quicker

recoveries.

Surgeons at Meriter Hospital have

been quick to embrace innovative

techniques that improve outcomes for

their patients. Here are a few examples

of unique procedures now available at

Meriter:

Disc replacement surgery

Lumbar fusion – surgically fusing two

or more vertebrae together – has been

the traditional treatment for people with

chronic low back pain from degenerative

disc disease. While that procedure stops

the pain, fusion restricts movement in

the problem area, and it creates greater

strain on the healthy spinal segments

above and below.

Patients are now having excellent

results from an alternative to spinal

fusion, which has been available in

Europe for over 17 years, and recently

received FDA approval. Disc

replacement surgery is performed at

Meriter Hospital through a joint

program of UW Health Neurosurgery

and Orthopedics. The artificial disc is

arranged like a sandwich with a

polyethylene (very hard plastic) core

between two metal endplates. The device

is shaped so the endplates pivot in a way

that imitates the normal motion of the

two vertebrae.

Neurosurgeon John Sandin,

M.D., explains, "Discs wear out

as a natural part of aging and

from stress and strain. This

procedure effectively

addresses the chronic

and debilitating pain

found when discs in

the lower back fail.

Disc replacement

saves adjacent

levels of the

spine by not

immobilizing one

level and forcing

adjacent levels to

support the resulting

stresses."

Orthopedic surgeon

Craig Dopf, M.D.,

says that the surgery

is performed from

the front of the body

through a small

incision near the

naval, and adds, "Pain

relief post-operatively

appears to be much

quicker with artificial

disc replacements than

with spinal fusions."

While it is too soon to

know long-term results

for patients in the U.S.,

a recent European study of 226 disc

replacement patients concluded

that nearly 80 percent maintained

good or excellent clinical outcomes

at over 10 years' follow-up.

FDA-Approved Hip

Resurfacing

Orthopedic surgeon John

S. Rogerson, MD, is among

the first surgeons in this

country and the first in

Wisconsin to provide

patients who suffer hip pain

the remarkable new

Birmingham Hip Resurfacing

(BHR) technique.

This alternative, which has

been offered in Europe and

other countries for almost a

decade, won approval from

the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) in May.

It is the only FDA-approved hip

resurfacing system currently

available in the United States.

Rather than replacing the

entire hip joint, as in a total hip

replacement, hip resurfacing

simply shaves and caps a few

millimeters of bone within

the joint.

The bone-conserving approach

of hip resurfacing preserves more

of the patient’s natural bone

structures and stability, covering

the joint’s surfaces with an

N E W S A N D V I E W S O N D A N E C O U N T Y H E A L T H F A L L 2 0 0 6

HEAL THIS DAY

Innovative Techniques are Revolutionizing Surgery

Continued on page 2

UW Health Orthopedic

Surgeon Craig A. Dopf, MD*

2 MERITER FOCUS

all-metal implant that more closely

resembles a tooth cap than a hip

implant.

“This is one of the most exciting

procedures I’ve seen in years,” says Dr.

Rogerson. “I am pleased that the

Birmingham hip resurfacing

replacement was the first resurfacing

prosthesis to win FDA approval because

it is the best design, metal and

instrumentation

with the longest

track record on

the global

market.”

Dr. Rogerson

adds, “I see hip

resurfacing as the

ideal solution for

many young, active

patients who suffer

from hip pain. We are

seeing patients who

develop arthritic hip

pain through either

extremely physical

work or leisure

activities. They don’t

intend to slow down. BHR is an

alternative to total hip replacement that

accommodates both age and lifestyle.”

Rogerson’s patients can participate in

an innovative approach to rehabilitation

with a seven-day program – modeled

after a proven protocol in Europe – that

moves them from hip resurfacing

surgery to rehabilitation to home. The

rehabilitation phase, HipHab, offers

private apartments, 24-hour access to

nursing care, and intensive physical

therapy –

including warm

water therapy

– at the Meriter Heights

Wellness Center in downtown Madison.

“Patients have found that strolling

around the Capitol Square is an

enjoyable way to practice walking,” says

Rogerson, “and they are delighted to

discover that walking trips to the

Farmers’ Market, concerts or

restaurants can be part of their therapy.”

Laparoscopic Supracervical

Hysterectomy

Hysterectomies – the second most

common major surgery for women – are

performed to treat a range of conditions

including fibroids,

endometriosis,

pelvic support

problems and

cancer.

Until recently,

most hysterectomies

were performed

through a large

abdominal incision,

which means a long

recovery and visible

scar. Laparoscopic

Supracervical

Hysterectomy (LSH)

– a minimally-invasive technique that

dramatically reduces pain and trauma to

the body – is a better option for many

women.

Klaus D. Diem, MD, the first to offer

LSH at Meriter, says that he uses a thin

5-millimeter telescope-like instrument,

called a laparoscope, along with small

surgical instruments. All are inserted

through three tiny incisions (less than

1/4 inch each) in the navel and abdomen.

The uterus is separated from the

cervix and removed through one of the

openings. The cervix is left intact, Diem

explains, to reduce the chance of future

pelvic floor support problems and to

hasten the return to normal sexual

functions.

Diem adds, “With this procedure,

women experience less scarring, less

pain and a shorter recovery than with

the traditional open abdominal surgery.

It can be done on an outpatient basis, so

women can be home resting comfortably

the same day and resuming day-to-day

activities within a week.”

HEAL THIS DAY

Laparoscopic Hysterectomywww.meriter.com/mih

Klaus Diem, MD*UW Health – 20 S. Park(608) 287-2830

Barbara Hostetler, MD*UW Health – 20 S. Park(608) 287-2830

Barbara O’Connell, MD*Meriter WomanCare Clinic(608) 267-5433

Erick Wait, MD*UW Health – Fitchburg(608) 274-5300

Disc Replacementwww.meriter.com/spine

Craig A. Dopf, MD*UW Health - 20 S. Park(608) 287-2700

John A. Sandin, III, MD*UW Health - 20 S. Park(608) 255-4223

FDA-Approved Hip Resurfacing www.meriter.com/hip

John S. Rogerson, MD, SC(608) 231-3410

For More Information

*UW Health Physician and UW School of Medicineand Public Health Faculty Member

HIP,HIP,HOORAY!

John Rogerson, M.D., is the only Wisconsinsurgeon to perform the Birmingham

Hip Resurfacing procedure.

(actual size)

Introducing Hip ResurfacingOnly at Meriter Hospital

A Breakthrough Alternative to Hip ReplacementMeriter is honored to be the first Wisconsin hospital to offer hip resurfacing—a revolutionary new procedure.

Orthopedic surgeon John Rogerson, M.D., is one of only 40 U.S. physicians initially approved to perform the Birmingham HipResurfacing (BHR) procedure. This is the only FDA-approved device currently available in the United States.

Hip resurfacing differs from hip replacement in that it:

• Preserves more of your body’s natural bone structure• Restores the hip joint’s functional motion• Frees you to pick up your normal active life

It’s an ideal option for younger, more active patients who would likely wear out a conventional hip replacement.

If you don’t wish to slow down, and think hip resurfacing suits your age and lifestyle, learn more about the procedure on our web site.

www.meriter.com/hip(608) 231-3410

This procedure has been approvedfor coverage by Physicians PlusInsurance Corporation.

Meriter takes pride in introducing innovative

procedures to the community.

SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES

In keeping with its mission to embrace

excellence always, Meriter currently has

several construction/renovation projects

in progress. When completed, the

projects below will serve community

members across the lifespan.

Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery Unit

Construction of a new, state-of-the-art

newborn intensive care unit (NICU) is

progressing on schedule. When

completed in early 2007, the new unit will

provide an environment unmatched in

the area for infants who need specialized

care after birth by combining a quiet,

healing environment with leading-edge

medical and technical care. Features

include thirty private rooms with sleeping

areas for parents in each room, a sibling

play area, a family resource area and a

family lounge.

Heart Hospital

The Meriter Heart Hospital will raise

the standard for cardiovascular care in

our region when it opens next year. The

“hospital within a hospital” will

consolidate cardiovascular services on

two floors, and will provide a

comprehensive range of diagnostic,

treatment and therapy services for all

stages of cardiac and vascular disease.

The hospital will include a 45-bed

inpatient unit and a 16-bed short-stay unit

– both units will offer private patient

rooms.

Meriter Retirement Community

Meriter Retirement Services is

renovating two facilities in its downtown

Madison continuing-care retirement

community. These changes will be phased

in over five years and are needed to

provide today’s seniors with the design

features and amenities they’re seeking.

Meriter Heights, which opened in 1975,

offers independent-living apartments. A

$12 million renovation will create

spacious apartment homes, many with

spectacular views.

Meriter Health Center is a skilled

nursing care facility that opened in 1980.

A $2.5 million renovation will enhance

dining and family spaces, and will convert

some semi-private rooms to private.

Retirement Community residents have

easy access to a variety of learning and

recreational opportunities, including the

onsite PLATO lecture series cultural

performances.

MERITER FOCUS 3

Building for the CommunityInvest in yourcommunity’sfuture

As a not-for-profit healthcare

system, Meriter reinvests every

dollar back into its mission.

However, major construction

projects such as the new NICU,

Heart Hospital and Retirement

Services renovation are beyond

what can be financed through

operating margins alone.

Meriter Foundation Board Chair

Joan Burke says, “Philanthropy

through the years has played a

major role in building the

hospitals we have in Madison

today. We must continue to invest

in hospitals as core assets of the

community.”

“We rely on support from the

community, including gifts from

individual and corporate donors,”

adds Meriter Foundation

President Patty Franson, “We must

work together to ensure that

Meriter continues to provide the

highest quality healthcare and

retirement services for future

generations of southcentral

Wisconsin residents.”

You can be part of Meriter

history through charitable giving.

Visit www.meriterfoundation.org

to learn how gifts are changing

lives every day. To contact Meriter

Foundation, call (608) 267-5300 or

send an e-mail to

foundation@meriter.com.

When it opens in mid-2007, the Meriter Heart Hospital will have five diagnostic and

interventional labs (two more than currently available).

HEAL THIS DAY

The most important call that was made

from the Lake Windsor golf course on the

evening of May 1 was not “fore” following

a wild drive. It was a“9-1-1” cell phone call

from the ninth hole reporting that avid

golfer Lee Syvrud was having chest pain.

After driving from the tee, Syvrud knew

he couldn’t continue.

That phone call was just the first critical

step in the race against the clock.

DeForest Emergency Medical Services

(EMS) responded, equipped with new,

unique equipment that has the potential

to drastically reduce the time needed to

treat a heart attack.

“In cardiac medicine, we know ‘time is

muscle,’” says Joseph Bellissimo, MD,

Wisconsin Heart cardiologist and medical

director of Meriter’s Cardiology and

Chest Pain Center. “This new technology

can dramatically reduce the time from

the initial contact with the patient to the

time that blood flow is restored and the

heart attack is stopped.”

Meriter helped fund the addition of

equipment and hosted the training for the

new 12-Lead program of the Dane

County EMS.

The EMS providers are now able to send

high-resolution, diagnostic quality 12-Lead

electrocardiograms (ECGs) to the hospital

emergency department via cell phone

while patients are in the ambulance.

ECGs provide important information in

the diagnosis of a heart attack.

“Our goal at Meriter is to turn the

advance notice we get from the EMS into

a real patient advantage,” says Marko

Pease, RN, PhD, clinical nurse specialist

for cardiac medicine.

“Now the treatment of heart attack

begins in the ambulance before the

patient arrives at the hospital,” Pease

explains. “The EMS have given us the

opportunity to further reduce the heart

muscle damage and improve the patient’s

quality of life.”

Based on the ECG sent by the DeForest

EMS, the Meriter emergency physician

called in the catheterization team prior

to Syvrud’s arrival at the hospital. After

the abnormal ECG findings were

confirmed by the emergency room

physician, Syvrud was promptly taken to

the catheterization lab for the blood-flow

restoring angioplasty with a stent.

The time from when Syvrud arrived at

the hospital to the time at which blood

flow was restored was only 46 minutes.

The national standard of care for “door to

balloon” is 90 minutes.

“I immediately felt better than I had in

weeks,” Syvrud reports. So good that just

two days after he was discharged from the

hospital, he was back on the golf course

finishing that ninth hole.

Golf Game Interrupted, Life Saved

4 MERITER FOCUS

Meriter Hospital was

honored by the South Central

Wisconsin American Heart

Association/American Stroke

Association during its recent

“Celebration of Heroes” event.

The Door-to-Balloon

Improvement Team at Meriter

was recognized for providing

outstanding cardiac services to

Dane County residents.

Formed in 2004, the team

working to decrease the time

from when a patient

experiencing acute myocardial

infarction (AMI) enters the

emergency room until the

balloon is inflated for

angioplasty.

Since forming, the group has

streamlined the door-to-

balloon process by shaving

minutes from steps within the

process—thereby preventing

delays, coordinating hand-offs

and assuring that AMI

evidence-based medicine

protocols are met.

“Door-to-Balloon”Efforts Recognized

Lee Syvrud is ‘back on course’ following a heart attack in May ... thanks in large part toDane County EMS’ new 12-lead program and Meriter’s rapid door-to-balloon process.

EMBRACE EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

MERITER FOCUS 5

EMBRACE EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

Parish Nurse Earns Award

Meriter Parish Nurse Cheryl Munns

was honored recently by the South

Central Wisconsin American Heart

Association/American Stroke Association

during its recent “Celebration of Heroes”

event. Munns was recognized for her

leadership and commitment to increasing

awareness about heart health and stroke

prevention.

Online Gift Shop Now Open

Sending fresh flowers, baby items and

other gifts to patients is now easier with

the secure online Friends of Meriter Gift

Shop at www.meriter.com/giftshop. All

gifts except balloons and flowers arrive in

a complimentary gift bag with colorful

tissue, and include a card with your

personal message.

Meriter Named Best for Commuters

The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency and U.S. Department of

Transportation recently recognized

Meriter Health Services as one of the Best

Workplaces for Commuters for providing

“outstanding commuter benefits which

help meet the National Standard of

Excellence.”

New Patient Meal Service

Meriter Hospital recently launched a

new concept in hospital meal service that

lets patients decide what and when they

eat – much like hotel room service. The

service is available 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.,

seven days a week. Menus are available

in English and Spanish.

Meriter News in Brief

Meriter is one of 173 hospitals in the

United States—and one of three in

Wisconsin—to earn recognition for patient

care through the American Heart

Association/American Stroke Association

Get With The Guidelines program. The

quality-improvement program helps

hospitals ensure that patients consistently

receive cardiac and stroke care in

accordance with the most up-to-date

guidelines and recommendations.

Meriter received the Initial

Performance Achievement Award in the

Coronary Artery Disease Module. That

module focuses on specific interventions

that include smoking cessation

counseling, lipid-lowering therapy, ACE

inhibitor use and many others. For more

information about the program, visit

www.americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.

We’re Turning Guidelines Into Lifelines

Welcome, New Physicians

The physicians who have

practiced at Meriter and its

predecessor hospitals

throughout the last 106 years

have helped sustain the

tradition of caring for the

community.

Today, the partner

relationship with the physicians

who practice at Meriter is an

essential ingredient in our

mission to Heal, Teach, and

Serve.

We are pleased to welcome

the following physicians who

were appointed to our medical

staff in January-July 2006:

Ronald P. Guiao, MD*Orthopedics

UW Health

David R. Hendricks, MDAddiction Medicine

Meriter Hospital

Anne Volk-Johnson, MD*Family Medicine

UW Health

Barbara Knox, MD*Pediatric Child Protection

UW Health

Peter Pryde, MDAnesthesiology

Madison Anesthesiology

Consultants

Joyce Teng, MD*Dermatology

UW Health

John Wollaeger, MD*Orthopedics

UW Health

For a directory of all

Meriter physicians, visit

www.meriter.com/doctors.

*UW Health Physician and UW School of Medicineand Public Health Faculty Member

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMADISON, WIPERMIT #1181

Meriter Health Services, Inc.202 S. Park StreetMadison, WI 53715

www.meriter.com

EMBRACE EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

MERITER’S MISSION IS: to heal this day

to teach for tomorrow

to embrace excellence always

to serve our communities —

for a lifetime of quality health care.

FOCUSEditor: Elizabeth J. KastContributors: Steve Gasser, Mae Knowles Design: Debbie Grosenick

Focus is published three times per year by:

Meriter Health Services, Inc.Marketing Department202 South Park StreetMadison, WI 53715

Phone: 608-267-5620

To view this edition electronically,visit the Meriter Newsstand atwww.meriter.com/newsstand

WHAT’S INSIDE?

FOR THE COMMUNITYConstruction Continues, Page 3.

INNOVATIONRevolutionary SurgicalProcedures, Page 1.

CARDIAC CAREGolfer is Back on Course, Page 4.

This mouse icon is a visual cue toremind readers that there’s moreinformation on www.meriter.com

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Baby-Friendly USA has awarded Meriter

Hospital the prestigious international

recognition as a Baby-Friendly birth facility.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is

sponsored by the World Health Organization

(WHO) and the United Nations Children’s

Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize

facilities that provide optimal levels of care

for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

Meriter is one of only 54 Baby-Friendly

hospitals and birth centers in the United

States.

“We are very proud of this achievement,”

says Pat Grunwald, RN, Meriter assistant

vice president of Women’s Health. “This

award reflects the staff’s commitment to the

health and wellness of moms and babies.”

The designation is given after a rigorous

on-site survey is completed. Based on the

UNICEF/WHO Ten Steps to Successful

Breastfeeding, the award recognizes birth

facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers

the information, confidence and skills

needed to successfully initiate and continue

breastfeeding their babies.

At Meriter, 88 percent of all new mothers

breastfeed while in the hospital, compared

to 70 percent nationwide. Meriter is the

second largest birthing hospital in the state,

with about 3,600 births a year.

“We encourage breastfeeding because of

its many benefits to mom and baby,” says

Kathie Russell, RN, and certified lactation

consultant. “But it is important to note that if

a mother chooses to use formula, we will

support her. Our goal is to give every baby

the best start possible.”

To learn more about the Birthing

Center at Meriter Hospital, visit

www.meriter.com/birthingcenter. Lydia is one of nearly 3,200 babies born

at Meriter each year who are breastfed

Region’s First Baby-Friendly Hospital