Winter 2010

IN THIS ISSUEExplore Our New Web Site

Start Your Year With HMR

Comprehensive Heartcare

Therapeutic Hypothermia

St. Bernards & Social Media

Focus on our Centers of Excellence

Senior ServicesWomen’s & Children’s ServicesCancer Treatment

Focus on ourCenters of Excellence

HeearrtcaareSenior ServicesWomen’s & Children’s ServicesCancer Treatment

HHHHHHHHH

The Right Place for Your Heart

Surgeons at St. Bernards are the first in this area to improve the lives of patients using incisionless surgery for the treatment of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). To find out more about Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF), contact the St. Bernards HealthLine at 931-5055 or toll free at 888-782-4555.

Helping GERD patients Through incisionless surgery

Follow us online

For Information Call the HealthLine at 870-931-5055 or toll free at 888-STB-4555

CALENDAR OF EVENTSJanuary ___________________________________

Women’s Advisory Council’s Stories in the Forest

3 p.m. St. Bernards Fun Forest

at The Mall at Turtle Creek ................................. January 2

Free Seminar for Treatment of Chronic GERD

Call HealthLine for Reservations

6 p.m. at the St. Bernards Auditorium ............... January 21

February __________________________________

Heart Health Screening At The Mall at Turtle Creek ..................... February 5 & 6

Women’s Advisory Council’s Stories in the Forest

3 p.m. St. Bernards Fun Forest

at The Mall at Turtle Creek ............................ February 6

HMG Pink Zone At the ASU Women’s Basketball Game

3:05 p.m. at the ASU Convocation Center ....... February 27

St. Bernards Healthy Heart 2 Miler 9 a.m. beginning at St. Bernards Auditorium ... February 27

March _____________________________________

Women’s Advisory Council’s Stories in the Forest

3 p.m. St. Bernards Fun Forest

at The Mall at Turtle Creek ............................... March 6

April ______________________________________

HMG Health & Fitness Expo

8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday,

ASU Convocation Center .......................... April 10 & 11

Arkansas Ride for the Cure

beginning at the Blue Entrance,

ASU Convocation Center

For times and to register go www.hmg.md ........... April 10

Associated Radiologists HMG Family Fit 5K

beginning at the ASU Convocation Center

For times and to register go www.hmg.md .......... April 10

with your favorite social networks

his fall, St. Bernards entered the realm

of social media through Facebook,

Twitter and YouTube. One of our first

ventures was to conduct a virtual opening

to coincide with the official openings of

the Flo & Phil Jones Hospice House at

St. Bernards.

Laura Pickens, vice president for marketing

and public relations at St. Bernards, talked with

some of our Hospice nurses about the impor-

tance of the role of Hospice care, and those

interviews were posted online. Facebook fans

and Twitter followers were directed to the St.

Bernards YouTube Channel throughout the

week for more videos from donors, volunteers

and workers. Pickens and Hospice Director

Tammy Hawkins walked through the Hospice

House to give viewers a closer look at the

facility. Donors and patrons unable to attend

the public events were able to follow the vir-

tual opening throughout the week, culminat-

ing in the public open house.

During both a special donor reception and

community open house, we sent out tweets

posting images and quoting speakers so peo-

ple could follow the event in real time. Video

clips from the events were posted to YouTube

and Facebook as well.

We plan to utilize social media in a number

of ways in the coming months.

Several of the St. Bernards entities are

already on Facebook and Twitter. Join

hundreds who are fans of St. Bernards

Healthcare, the Flo & Phil Jones Hospice

House, the St. Bernards Development

Foundation and Pink for Life. Start by

visiting the new St. Bernards web site at

www.stbernards.info and click on the social

media icons.

T

Community Healthcare 3

Now

Elaine Wallis

Before

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AAf

t’s the time of year for new beginnings…and for many

the time to start better health journeys that include

losing weight. Almost half of Americans make New Year’s

resolutions…and without fail, weight loss is among the

top three.

The St. Bernards Center for Weight Loss can help

you achieve your weight loss goals through the unique

medically supervised HMR weight loss program.

We have partnered with Health Management Resources,

the leading medically supervised weight loss program in

the United States, to teach skills necessary for lifelong

weight management.

There is no better time than now to start, with free orien-

tation classes scheduled every Thursday in January at 5:30

p.m. Orientations provide an overview of our program with

diet options and class options available. Seating is limited, so

please call 336-5677 to register.

Hundreds of area residents already have found success

through the HMR program. They have learned to change

habits, and they have seen weight loss translate into living

better…and living longer. To date participants have lost

nearly 5 tons of excess weight.

The HMR program is designed for people who

want to lose as few as 10 pounds or as many

as 100 or more, explains Gina Powell, RN,

patient care manager for the Center for

Weight Loss. As a matter of fact,

15 people have lost more

than 100 pounds each in

our program.

“Our goal is not just to help

people lose weight but also to

teach lifestyle changes that enable

them to succeed in managing weight

for the long term,” Powell stresses.

There are options for both rapid weight loss with medical

supervision and for more moderate weight loss.

The former is called the “decision-free” diet, and it uses

nutritionally complete meal replacements in the form of

weight loss shakes, portion-controlled and calorie-restricted

entrees and energy bars. It’s especially beneficial for people

who want to lose 30 pounds or more and are on a variety

of medications. Those people are followed closely by our

medical staff.

The more moderate weight loss plan is referred to as the

“healthy solutions” approach. These participants use the

nutritionally complete weight loss shakes and entrees, but

they also add fruits and vegetables to their diets.

All attend weekly classes and have one-on-one coaching

from the Center for Weight Loss staff, a group that includes

a physician serving as medical director, an Advanced Practice

Nurse and health educators. They learn easy ways to lower

fat and calories and simple strategies for increasing physi-

cal activity in daily routines. The HMR program is highly

structured to keep patients accountable and give them sup-

port to achieve their weight loss goals.

The initial weight loss phase is typically 12 weeks—

though some choose to lose for longer periods of time. That

is followed by a maintenance phase, something that also

involves weekly class attendance at which participants get

continued support while learning more about strategies for

successful long-term weight management.

Even people who can’t commit to weekly meetings can

benefit from the HMR At Home with Auto Delivery pro-

gram. Participants can sign up at the HMR Retail Store at the

Center for Weight Loss. Auto delivery participants receive

free shipping and 10 percent off every order. Purchasing

HMR has never been easier. Log on to our web site at

www.stbernardsweightloss.com and get started today!

tt

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L i f e S p i r i t E n e r g y C o n f i d e n c e H e a l t h

New Year. New Program. New You!

Find out more about HMR

by calling the St. Bernards

Center for Weight Loss

at 870-336-5677 or

by visiting the center

at 505 East Matthews,

Suite 105. You also can get

information by logging on to

www.stbernardsweightloss.com

Community Healthcare4

f you are looking for heartcare, you need look no

further than St. Bernards. We are the region’s only

medical center designated as a Blue Distinction

Center for Cardiac Care and the leading provider of

cardiac services in Northeast Arkansas.

“St. Bernards is one of only three medical centers in

the entire state singled out by the Blue Cross and Blue

Shield Association for superior capabilities in providing

a full range of cardiac services,” stresses Kevin Hawley,

vice president for patient support services who oversees

cardiac services. “Centers so designated must meet

high quality standards established by an expert panel

of physicians, surgeons and other healthcare profes-

sionals. Blue Distinction Centers

have documented expertise in the

specialty. They focus on quality.

And they have a history of positive

patient outcomes.”

Over three decades St. Bernards

has developed its heartcare program so that patients

do not have to leave home to receive the very best

care. “Heart disease is the number one cause of death

among men and women in the United States, and our

region ranks near the top nationally in the number of

patients suffering from it. Because of that, we have put

into place specially trained heartcare teams that include

board certified cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons

as well as highly trained nurses and others who care

for patients.

“We laid the groundwork for an outstanding heartcare

program more than 30 years ago,” Hawley continues.

“And we continue to build on that strong foundation,

caring for our patients with some of the most sophis-

ticated technology available today. Our dedicated staff

excels at meeting heartcare needs of our patients.”

Most of our heartcare services are provided in the

77,000-square-foot Heartcare Center on the main St.

Bernards campus, a facility that houses three cardiac

cath labs, an electrophysiology lab, noninvasive cardiol-

ogy services and nuclear medicine services.

“At St. Bernards, exceptional heartcare begins the

moment a patient comes in…whether that’s through

the Emergency Department or through scheduling

of an outpatient procedure. We are ready to meet the

gamut of needs ranging from routine ECGs to complex

electrophysiology studies or cardiovascular surgery.

“Our healthcare teams stand on

the front line, ready to intervene

with swift responses that save lives

and ensure the highest quality of

life possible for our patients. We

have specialized protocols to get

patients who come into the Emergency Department

with ST-elevation myocardial infarctions—a type of

heart attack caused by sudden, total blockage of a coro-

nary artery—into our cardiac catheterization lab within

minutes so blood flow to the heart can be reestablished

quickly, saving heart muscle and insuring the greatest

possible quality of life for patients. We also are among

only 80 medical centers in the United States prepared

to use therapeutic hypothermia in appropriate patients

who are brought to our facility following sudden cardiac

arrest. (See related story on Page 7.)

“Our teams deliver highly specialized and compas-

sionate care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

We put the heart in heartcare.”

Focus on our Centers of Excellence

HeearrtcaareSenior ServicesWomen’s & Children’s ServicesCancer Treatment

HHHHHHHHH

Emergency Department

The St. Bernards Emergency Departmern offers immediate care twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for patients who come in with chest pain. The emergency staff is trained to handle virtually all cardiac emergencies, and cardiologists are on call around the clock. Special protocols are in place for dealing with patients who come in

with specific types of heart attacks.

Cardiac Catheterization

St. Bernards has three cardiac catheterization labs where our cath teams utilize the most definitive means of evaluating patients for coronary artery disease and determining the best course of medical or surgical treatment. Interventional treatment options include balloon angioplasty, placement of stents (including both drug-eluting and traditional stents) to reopen specific coronary and peripheral vessels, intravascular velocity testing and use of ablation and implantable devices (such as Pacemakers and internal cardiac defibrillators)

to deal with rhythm disturbances.

Electrophysiology

St. Bernards has the only electrophysiology lab in this area and has on staff the only electrophysiologist, a cardiologist who has specialized training in diag-

nosing and treating problems with heart rhythm.

Cardiovascular Surgery

St. Bernards provides a complete range of open heart surgery, including procedures such as repair and replacement of heart valves, cardiac revascularization and repair and reconstruction of intrathoracic vessels. Surgeries are performed using heart-lung bypass machines (to provide outside-the-body circulation and oxygenation of blood during surgery) as well as off pump. Procedures address both congenital and acquired cardiac and coronary artery disease and can

include implanting devices to regulate heart rhythm.

Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit

The St. Bernards Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit is a highly specialized eight-bed unit in which patients who have had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery are cared for by specially trained nurses. The nurse-to-patient ratio is one-to-one for patients who have had CABG as

well as for patients being treated under sepsis protocol.

Coronary Care Unit

In this six-bed intensive care unit the nurse-to-patient ratio is never more than one to two. Heart patients

cared for in this setting have not had bypass surgery.

Non-Invasive CardiologySt. Bernards offers a number of diagnostic non-invasive cardiology services:

heart’s electrical activity as a graph on a moving strip of paper

visualization of cardiac structures on patients who normally are difficult to image

Doppler testing

dimensional ultrasound

ologists to review studies from off-campus sites

Nuclear CardiologyAmong procedures offered in Nuclear Cardiology are:

pharmalogical stress

ventriculogram, a multi-gated acquisition scan

Progressive Care Unit

This specialized unit has a lower nurse-to-patient ratio and is designed for post-cardiac surgery

patients. Patients are continuously monitored.

Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation

Both inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs offer specific educational and progressive rehabilitation for all patients with diagnoses of coronary artery disease, heart attack, angina, balloon coronary angioplasty, coronary stent placement and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Most insurance pays for outpatient cardiac rehab programs. Pulmonary rehab also is available for all patients with chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder. In addition,

St. Bernards sponsors a Heart Club that meets monthly.

Community Education & Screenings

St. Bernards regularly sponsors a variety of workshops, seminars and special health screenings that relate to heart health. One is the annual heart health screening held each February at The Mall at Turtle Creek. Screenings include cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index (BMI).

Other Services Important to Heart Patients

Though not direct components of the St. Bernards Heartcare Center of Excellence, there are other services offered through St. Bernards that are important for many heart patients. Those include:

Sleep Disorders Center Studies

Cardiology-based referrals to the St. Bernards Sleep Disorders Center are fairly common because some patients have nocturnal cardiac arrhythmias though they have no problems while they are awake. Those patients undergo sleep studies to determine whether they have obstructive sleep apnea, a condition which causes oxygen levels to drop dangerously low, causing the electrical system of the heart to exhibit rhythm disturbances. For those patients, the treatment of the sleep apnea will regulate oxygen levels,

and, in turn, will regulate the heart rhythm.

Diabetes Management Center

Through the St. Bernards Diabetes Management program, patients learn to self-manage diabetes to lessen the risk of heart disease associated with diabetes.

Center for Weight Loss

Because obesity significantly increases the risk of heart disease, the St. Bernards Center for Weight Loss can help patients alter some heart disease risk factors by losing weight and choosing healthier lifestyle habits. St. Bernards has partnered with Health Management Resources, a national healthcare company with more than a quarter of a century of experience, to offer the medically supervised HMR weight loss program for people who want to lose as little 10 or as many as 100 pounds or more. Participants who want to lose 30 pounds or more receive complete medical screenings prior to starting the program, with medical supervision provided as necessary throughout the weight loss regimen. (See story on page 3.)

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t. Bernards has had an extreme web site makeover…and we can’t wait

for you to check us out.

We have updated our appearance, included lots of new video information

and made navigation easier. You’ll be greeted with a home page that features

colorful rotating banners that highlight some of our programs. One of the

banners offers a virtual tour of the newly opened Flo & Phil Jones Hospice

House at St. Bernards.

You also will find on the homepage a video welcome by St. Bernards

Administrator Chris B. Barber. There is information on the “History Hall”

that connects the parking garage with the main portion of the medical center

and even a heads up about one of our most popular spots—the Coffee Shoppe,

where you can get freshly brewed Starbucks coffee seven days a week.

It’s easy to find out about upcoming classes and other events and to locate

information on our services and specialties. For example, from our home

page, you can click on the Center for Weight Loss under the “Specialties &

Services” column, and you will find out about the St. Bernards HMR medi-

cally supervised weight loss program as well as surgical weight loss options.

On the Centers for Weight Loss page you will find a link to the site where

you can order HMR meal replacements and other products and have them

delivered directly to your home.

From the left navigation of the home page you will find a link to our online

nursery to see newborns of family members and friends. It’s no surprise this

is one of the most popular pages of our site! From the left navigation you also

can learn more about each of our four Centers of Excellence through written

material as well as video clips. Some of the videos are pulled from past “Issues

in Health” programs that have aired on KAIT-TV.

This year for the first time, we are making our annual Quality and Safety

Report and our Cancer Report available exclusively online. We continue to

offer a Health Q&A, a tremendous 24-7 medical information resource with

accurate and up-to-date information to answer a wide variety of health-related

questions. We have links to the St. Bernards Development Foundation web

site. And, of course, you still can find out about career opportunities through

the site.

You can contact us, e-well a patient, find a physician or apply for a job all

from this one site. Or you can link to the St. Bernards Healthcare Facebook

fan page, YouTube Channel and Twitter accounts.

S

Explore ournew web site!

Community Healthcare 7

At St. Bernards, we take pride in leading the way in

quality healthcare. With the largest medical staff in the

region, we continually look to improve patient care.

Because of that we recently established a unique proto-

col that has given a Panama City, Fla., marathon runner

a new lease on life.

William Zahler, 67, ran in the Mid-South Champion-

ship Marathon in Wynne Nov. 7 and then collapsed and

for all practical purposes died five steps after crossing

the finish line. But he was in the right place.

When the retired Air Force officer went down, his

heart was in ventricular fibrillation…it was quivering,

not pumping. Life-saving proce-

dures were started on the spot,

and he was taken to CrossRidge

Community Hospital where

his heart was restarted. However, Zahler did not

regain consciousness.

When Wynne personnel called the St. Bernards

Emergency Department about a pending airlift,

Jonesboro cardiologist Barry Tedder and St. Bernards

emergency physicians knew Zahler might benefit

from therapeutic hypothermia, or lowering of

body temperature.

Studies in Europe and Australia have shown that

patients who suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and

were resuscitated but did not wake up had better chanc-

es of meaningful survival if their body temperature

was dropped to 32 to 34 degrees Celsius/89.6 to 93.2

degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 24 hours. A St. Bernards

committee that focuses on best practices for heart

patients established a protocol for using therapeutic

hypothermia. Then heartcare teams were trained.

At Tedder’s direction, the cooling was started before

transport by strategic use of ice packs. When Zahler

arrived, the St. Bernards team was ready. They started

an IV infusion of iced saline and sandwiched him

between cooling blankets. In the cath lab, Tedder found

a 95 percent blockage in one vessel and “fixed” that

heart issue with a stent.

In general, patients who have no pulse for 10 to

15 minutes and are resuscitated without waking

up have about a 25 percent chance of meaningful

survival, Tedder says. But when therapeutic hypo-

thermia is used, those odds jump to 50 to 60 per-

cent. But because Zahler had been without a pulse

for 40 minutes or so, physicians didn’t really know

what to expect.

Still, the cool-down was done to the slow the meta-

bolic rate of brain cells and to help reduce brain injury

from a lack of oxygen during the time he had no pulse.

He was under anesthesia

and on a ventilator while

his core temp was kept at

32-34 degrees C. Then the

slow rewarming began, with diligent monitoring to pre-

vent reperfusion injury associated with hypothermia.

To the astonishment of Tedder and others, when

Zahler woke up from the anesthesia, he completely

woke up. He came to asking when the race would start.

He did not remember traveling to Arkansas. He did not

remember the race itself.

Other than some short-term memory loss, Zahler

appears to have no residual effects from his near death

experience, Tedder says, adding, “He has made a

remarkable recovery.” He was hospitalized for about a

week before going home. And his St. Bernards experi-

ence was the subject of local media coverage as well as

mentions on CNN.

Zahler credits God with his astonishing recovery. “God

is in control of everything. The Lord has other plans for

me.” But the Akron, Ohio, native also praises Tedder

and the staff at St. Bernards. “This is a terrific place…

with a great staff.”

It is. And it’s one of only 80 hospitals in the country

where teams are ready to use therapeutic hypothermia

when appropriate. There’s no doubt. Zahler was in the

right place at the right time.

“God is in control of everything. He has other plans for me.”

—William Zahler

Living to Race AgainNew cardiac procedure saves runner's life

Winter 2010

IN TH S ISSUE

Explo e Our New Web S te

Sta t Your Year W th HMR

Comprehen ive Heartcare

Therapeutic Hypothe mia

St. Be nards & Social Media

Focus on our

Centers of Excellence

Sen or Ser ices

Women s & Chi dr n s Se vic s

Cancer rea m nt

Focus on our

Centers of Excellence

carear carHearHea

Sen or Ser ices

Women s & Chi dr n s Se vic s

Cancer rea m nt

HHHHHHHH

The Right Place for Your Hea

St. Bernards Hospital225 East Jackson AvenueJonesboro, Arkansas 72403

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Subscribe online today!www.stbernards.info

PUTTING PATIENTS FIRST, TREATING PEOPLE WELL.Ask your doctor to send you to St. Bernards. 931-DOCS

SAVE THE DATE!

The HMG Health & Fitness Expo is a unique physician-led event open to the public. Featuring 200 exhibitors, free health screenings and free educational seminars, it’s a special weekend dedicated to you and your family’s health.

Join us as we give back to our community and be part of one of the largest health- related events of the year. Sponsorships and booth spaces are available.

Mark your calendar now!

ASU Convocation Center