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Medical DialogueKEEPING PHYSICIANS ABREAST OF THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION AT DIGNITY HEALTH – ST. MARY MEDICAL CENTERWINTER 2024Welcome Incoming Medical Staff OfficersPlease welcome Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center Sta Ocers for -, led by Arlene Vernon, MD, our rst female Chief Of Sta in our hospital’s history. Dr. Vernon and the following ocers serve as a liaison between the Medical Sta and Hospital Administration and assist with complying with The Joint Commission standards, Medical Sta bylaws, rules and regulations, and state and federal regulations.DEPARTMENT CHAIRPERSONS Department of Anesthesiology: Matthew Vo, MD*Department of Emergency Medicine: Won Ki Chae, MDDepartment of Medicine: Visal Nga, MDDepartment of Obstetrics & Gynecology: Jose De La Rosa, MDDepartment of Pediatrics: Jacob Sweidan, MD*Department of Radiology: Douglas Rusnack, MD*Department of Surgery: Jonathan Pryor, MD*Denotes chairpersons who were re-elected.Thank YouWe’d like to express sincere gratitude to Mauricio J. Heilbron, Jr., MD, our Immediate Past Chief of Sta -, for all of his hard work and dedication. Arlene Vernon, MDChief of StaffEssam Maasarani, MDVice Chief of StaffSherry Haghighat, MDSecretary/TreasurerWelcome New Physicians to the St. Mary Medical Center FamilyDiagnostic RadiologyAshwani Gore, MDEmergency MedicineAlexandra Hasen, PA-CElizabeth Kaufmann, PA-CAlexander Tran, PA-CFamily MedicineChristopher Phillips, MDHematology/OncologyMichael HK Nguyen, MDInternal MedicineChristopher Ng, DONeonatologyBhupala Raghavender, MDInterventional/Diagnostic RadiologyDavid Moon, MDSarah Raza, MDRaj Shah, MDMichael Swikehardt, MDOphthalmologyDarren Knight, MDAjay Manchandia, MDOtolaryngologySoroush Farnoosh, MDAbie Mendelsohn, MDPhysical Medicine & RehabNicholas Peterson, MD
2 St. Mary Medical DialogueCARE Center’s New LocationThe CARE Center is pleased to be in our new location at Elm Avenue, Suite . Adorned with artwork from a former patient, the CARE Center continues to oer comprehensive services that are inclusive and sensitive to the LGBTQ community. Our holistic approach to care includes HIV treatment, social services, dental care, health education, and housing assistance to our community. These services are oered, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.HIV Medical and Support ServicesCARE oers the following services:•Specialty HIV medical care•HIV and STI testing•AIDS drug assistance ADAP•Health Insurance Premium Assistance OA-HIPP•Benets counseling and housing assistance•Food and nutritional services•Hepatitis C screening and treatment•Case managers from the comfort of home•Medical care coordinationPrEP and PEP ServicesIn addition, CARE is recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis PrEP Center of Excellence. PrEP is a once-daily pill or a bi-monthly injection that can prevent people from contracting HIV. Longer-lasting bi-monthly injections for PrEP also oer the same protection without a daily pill. PEP post-exposure prophylaxis can prevent HIV infection if someone has had a recent exposure to HIV and is not currently on PrEP. Dental CareCARE Dental Services include comprehensive dental care hygiene, white llings, crowns, bridges, partial and full dentures and more. CARE has a multi-lingual sta, two full time dentists, a hygienist and multiple treatment rooms.Behavioral HealthThe CARE Program oers individual, partner and relational therapy for patients and their loved ones. We also oer various support groups that provide compassionate care.Food PantryOur food pantry is part of the non-prot organization that distributes food to CARE Center patients lacking adequate food to sustain good health. Patients can see the CARE Center Registered Dietitian for more information regarding enrolling for this service. CARE Center Clients must see the CARE Center Dietitian before attending the pantry.If you have patients who would benet from the CARE Center’s services, please have them call our New Client Intake, Medical Clinic at -.Learn more about the CARE Center by scanning or clicking the QR code.In the NewsSt. Mary Medical Center and our physicians are often featured in media stories. Here are a few recent news clips.St. Mary Medical Center Unveils CARE Center on 35th World AIDS DayCarolyn Caldwell, SMMC President and CEO, and Paul Lovely, Executive Director of the CARE Center, were featured on NBC Channel 4 News, FOX Channel 11 News and Telemundo Channel 52, as well as in the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Long Beach Post. The stories focused on the World AIDS Day event hosted by St. Mary Medical Center and the CARE Center. This event served as an opportunity to remember those who have gone before us, celebrate our progress and share the Grand Opening of the CARE Center with everyone in attendance.Ali Jamehdor, DO, Medical Director of Emergency Medicine, was featured on ABC Channel 7 News, Fox Channel 11 News and KNX Radio where he discussed the acute uses of ketamine, which was the cause of death for actor Matthew Perry. He was also interviewed on KTLA Channel 5 News where he discussed the surge in respiratory infections across California, and ways to help limit exposure.Carolyn Caldwell, President and CEO, cutting the ribbon at the CARE Center’s Grand Opening.Carolyn Caldwell, President and CEO, with Paul Lovely, Executive Director of the CARE Center, in front of the patient artwork.
St. Mary Medical Dialogue 3What’s New in Your OR?St. Mary Medical Center is proud to be the only hospital in Long Beach to oer the Stryker Platform for minimally invasive surgery. This latest generation endoscopic camera system features a ” K OLED surgical monitor that can display more than one billion colors, enabling clearer observation of ne tissue types and structures at a variety of angles. Plus the SPY Contrast, Overlay and ENV modes provide a clearer delineation of uorescence signal, resulting in an improved visualization of perfusion and critical anatomy.The 1788 4K MIS Camera Platform & SPY PHI Handheld Imager Open Camera Platform Features:•” K OLED Surgical Displays•Connected OR Hub Digital Capture System•PneumoClear Insuator•L Light Source•K Camera & SPY PHI with SPY Fluorescence imaging to assess blood ow and tissue perfusion as well as visualize the lymphatic system, including lymphatic vessels and lymph nodesSPY Fluorescence Imaging Applications:•Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy•Bowel Resection•Gastric Bypass, Sleeve & Revision•Esophagectomy•Lymphatic Mapping •Lighted Ureteral Stents•Coronary Bypass Graft•Breast Reconstruction•Flap Based Reconstruction•Organ Transplant•Amputation•Breast & Gynecologic OncologyWe’re pleased to now oer this advanced platform to enhance our surgeons imaging procedures and improve patient care.Surgical Case UpdatesNew Guidelines Help Ensure First Case On-Time StartsTo help promote and maintain patient and physician satisfaction, new start time guidelines for surgical cases were implemented this past November. This helps to ensure the rst case begins at a.m. and avoids delays in subsequent cases. •The Anesthesiologist will arrive at a.m. to complete his/her assessment•Surgeons are to arrive no later than a.m. to conduct their assessmentLate Start TimesA late start time is dened as arriving minutes after the scheduled start time. A -minute grace period will be allowed for the rst late occurrence. Subsequent occurrences in a rolling three-month period will result in that practitioner losing access to the a.m. time slot on the OR schedule for the following month. Surgeons reporting more than minutes after their scheduled start time may have their case pushed back, and those arriving over one hour late are subject to their case being rescheduled.Thank you to all of our surgeons for your punctuality and commitment, which helps keep our surgery schedule running smoothly and avoids unnecessary delays in patient care.New Patient Positioning Policy and Required Competency Assessment for Anesthesiologists and SurgeonsTo help prevent injury to our patients, the updated practice for patient positioning includes a brieng of the planned position as part of the Anesthesia Time Out. It also includes verication upon completion of the positioning prior to prepping and draping. This verication will be recorded on the Count Board under “Position Veried.” Surgeons are strongly encouraged to participate in this verication to ensure the positioning is adequate to perform the procedure. All Anesthesiologists and Surgeons are required to review the new policy and demonstrate competence of proper patient positioning.
4 St. Mary Medical DialogueCALL FOR ARTICLES: We encourage members of the St. Mary Medical Staff to submit information or articles for publication. We welcome your input! Issues are published quarterly (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring).Article submissions are due to the Communication Department a month in advance of the next quarterly issue.Please call Tracie Gipson, Medical Dialogue Editor at 818.522.4574 or email TracieCheesemangipson@CommonSpirit.org.EDITORIAL TEAMChristina ZicklinExecutive EditorTracie GipsonMedical Dialogue EditorShannon VinsonMedical Staff DirectorBonnie MathewsMedical Staff Coordinator1050 Linden Avenue • Long Beach, CA 90813 | 1.888.4STMARY (1.888.478.6279) | dignityhealth.org/stmarymedicalOur values are the core principles that enable us to deliver humankindness.CommonSpirit Values: Compassion | Inclusion | Integrity | Excellence | CollaborationCentennial Ball!To close out , St. Mary Medical Center hosted an evening of festive dining and dancing as we celebrated our th anniversary! Thank you to our incredible Foundation team for their thoughtful planning that made for a beautiful event and to all our physicians, board members, donors, and community friends whose attendance made for a fun-lled night.Dr. Watson Desa, Cardiologist, with his wife.Dr. John Young, Internal Medicine, with his wife.Dr. Mamak Eatesman, Hospitalist celebrating at our Centennial Ball.Dr. Joseph Vardayo, Vascular Surgeon, enjoyed dancing at the ball.Revised Delineation of Privileges FormsThe Medical Sta would like to make physicians aware of the recently revised delineation of privileges forms.•Department of Surgery – Ventilator Management has been added to the Trauma Core privileges•Department of Medicine – Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy PEG has been added to the Critical Care Special ProceduresIf you have any questions about these revisions, please contact Shannon Vinson, Medical Sta Director at -.Dialysis Access Imaging ServicesSt. Mary Medical Center’s Interventional Radiology Department would like to make all of our physicians aware of the services available to your patients. We oer the following comprehensive dialysis access services: •Hemodialysis and peritoneal catheter placement•Dialysis shunt stulograms/declotting/interventions•Treatment of central veno-occlusive disease•Many other related interventions, including peripheral arterial disease endovascular treatmentFor more information, please call -.