KEEPING PHYSICIANS ABREAST OF THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION AT DIGNITY HEALTH – ST. JOHN’S HOSPITALSSUMMER Medical DialogueNew Ion Robot Helps Treat Lung Cancer Earlier Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, and more people die from it than any other type of cancer. Finding and treating lung cancers early is critical to saving lives. Now, doctors at Dignity Health – St. John’s Regional Medical Center SJRMC have the most advanced robot available to diagnose lung cancers earlier and less invasively.“Early stages of lung cancer are dicult to diagnose and often go undetected due to its location deep within the lung,” states Dr. Raj Bhatia, ICU Medical Director and Pulmonologist at SJRMC. “The ability to diagnose, stage and start treatment in days instead of weeks is a game-changer in improving patient outcomes.”With its ultra-thin and maneuverable catheter, the Ion robot, made by Intuitive, is capable of navigating deep into the peripheral areas of the lung, through smaller airways, where the robot allows doctors to perform minimally invasive lung biopsies with exact precision and provide real-time information about whether the tissue is cancerous. During the robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, a doctor uses a controller with a display to navigate a -millimeter size catheter along a pre-planned path through the lung airways. With its ability to maneuver degrees in any direction, the Ion is capable of reaching all segments of the lung. Once the targeted area is reached, a exible needle is used to biopsy the suspect tissue.“When I rst came to this hospital a little over a year ago, I realized there was a relative shortage of lung cancer care options in Ventura County,” says Barry Wolfman, President and CEO of St. John’s Regional Hospitals. “Once the need was recognized, we invested in new technology and brought together leading pulmonologists, surgeons and intensivists to ensure we could meet the needs of our communities so that patients don’t have to leave the area to receive the best possible care.”Photo Credit: Intuitive
CT Equipment Upgrade at SJHCSt. John’s Hospital Camarillo SJHC has ocially received approval by the California Department of Health Care Access & Information HCAI to replace our CT scanner. The new CT will be closer to the Emergency Department ED and will house a new top-of-the-line, -slice Siemens GoTop CT scanner.Construction is anticipated to take approximately four months. Once completed, SJHC will have the most state-of-the-art CT scanner with advanced stroke and cardiac imaging capabilities. With the new CT scanner located closer to the ED, we will have a quicker imaging turnaround time for strokes and other medical emergencies.Construction will not impact patient care as the existing CT scanner inside the hospital and the mobile CT trailer will continue to remain operational. We look forward to this upgrade, which will greatly improve the quality of care we deliver at SJHC.Photo Credit: SiemensHealing Hands AwardsCongratulations to our physicians who were recently recognized with Healing Hands Awards. This prestigious honor, which takes place quarterly, recognizes a physician who demonstrates exceptional bedside manner, embodies excellence in care and skill, and goes above and beyond to touch the lives of our patients, their families and the communities we serve. Dr. Dennis Chang was recognized with the Healing Hands Award this past spring. Dr. Akinwunmi Oni-Orisan was recognized with the Healing Hands Award this past winter.Dr. Karan Singh was recognized with the Healing Hands Award this past spring.Dr. Vashdeo Harjani was recognized with a Healing Hands Award this past winter.2 St. John’s Medical DialogueTicket to Culture to Prevent HAIsIn our eort to ensure patient safety, St. John’s Hospitals has launched “Ticket to Culture.”The purpose of “Ticket to Culture” is to identify high risk cultures. When patients have Foley catheters or central lines in for more than two calendar days, and blood or urine cultures are sent to the lab, those cultures are considered high risk for a potential hospital acquired infection, including CAUTI and CLABSI.Ticket to Culture Process• Ticket to Culture is a form “tool” for the RN to complete when cultures are ordered both blood or urine.• If the RN determines the patient is high risk, Infection Prevention is to be notied and will take it from there.• Infection Prevention will look for other sources of infection wounds, look at previous cultures from the current hospital admission, assess trajectory of treatment, and follow up with the ordering MD for recommendations.Thank you for your diligence in treating high-risk cultures and keeping patient safety a top priority. St. John’s Hospital Camarillo St. John’s Regional Medical Center
Advanced Bariatrics Services for Your Patients St. John’s Center for Surgical Weight Loss provides comprehensive, individualized care from expert providers to help your patients on their weight loss journey.Our program has performed thousands of successful operations with the most combined clinical experience in the eld with one ultimate goal–excellent patient care. Our team includes board-certied surgeons, a registered dietitian, psychologist, certied nurse practitioner, certied bariatric nurses, and patient support facilitators.Weight Loss Surgery Procedures & Treatments• The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is considered the gold standard in bariatric surgery and is the most widely used weight loss surgery procedure for patients seeking signicant results and resolution of associated comorbidities.• Sleeve gastrectomy is a restrictive bariatric surgery procedure in which percent of the stomach is removed.• Single Anastomosis Gastric Bypass combines the principles of restriction and malabsorption, which are achieved by creating a long and narrow gastric pouch and bypassing part of the small bowel.• In the duodenal switch or “DS” procedure, the portion of the small intestine is divided and connected to the last part of the small intestine to create a stomach, so that when the patient eats, the food goes through a newly created tubular stomach pouch and empties directly into the last segment of the small intestine. • Revision surgery may be the best solution when an ineective procedure results in weight regain. • Obesity Medicine, a comprehensive, multifactorial approach combining evidence based therapies to help overweight and obese patients reach their goals. Our Experienced Bariatric TeamIf you have a patient who is a candidate for bariatric surgery please refer them to the bariatric program coordinator at -.Bariatrics Team Hosts Special GuestsSt. John’s Regional Medical Center recently hosted two surgeons from around the country – Dr. Cori McBride, University of Nebraska, and Dr. Ryan LeGrand, University of Missouri – who came to learn about our specialized bariatrics surgical procedure, Single Anastomosis Gastric Bypass. Dr. Billy pictured right has been instrumental in the innovation of this procedure alongside the team from Medtronic and says it was an honor to share his knowledge. St. John’s Medical Dialogue 3Helmuth Billy, MD Daniel Fleming, MDAmir Mehran, MD Terry Simpson, MD
4 St. John’s Medical DialogueCALL FOR ARTICLES: We encourage members of the St. John’s Hospital Camarillo and St. John’s Regional Medical Center Staff to submit information or articles for publication in the Medical Dialogue. We welcome your input! Please contact Tracie Gipson, Editor, at 818.522.4574 or tracie.cheesemangipson@CommonSpirit.org.EDITORIAL TEAMLynn Jeffers, MDCMO, St. John’s Hospital Camarillo and St. John’s Regional Medical CenterRenee ShimitzSenior Director, Medical Staff ServicesTracie GipsonMedical Dialogue EditorCardiac Care HonorBecker’s Hospital Review has named St. John’s Regional Medical Center one of the “Top Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Heart Programs” in the nation. This distinction is awarded to healthcare institutions that demonstrate exemplary cardiac care, patient outcomes and leading technologies in the eld of cardiology. Congratulations to all of our cardiovascular physicians for making this honor a reality.Welcome New Physicians to St. John’s HospitalsEmergency MedicineIoan Belovarski, MDJenna Cacchillo, DOInfectious DiseaseByungwoo Choi, MDInternal MedicineDaniel Ayala, MDWilliam Convalecer, MDOphthalmologyDavid Stark, MDOtolaryngologyBrent Geen, MDPodiatric SurgeryBrayton Campbell, DPMPsychiatryAmy Jaey, PhDTele-RadiologyChristopher John, DORobert Tucker, MDTele PsychiatryAmina Sutherland-Stolting, MDDr. Lynn Jeffers Honored by AMA FoundationCongratulations to Dr. Lynn Jeers, Chief Medical Ocer, for receiving the Dr. Edmond and Rima Cabbabe Dedication to the Profession Award from the AMA Foundation! This honor recognizes Dr. Jeers for her commitment to expanding knowledge through teaching, research and publishing, while demonstrating active and productive improvement to the profession of medicine.Physicians in the NewsWe’d like to thank and recognize the following physicians who were recently featured in the local media. Raj Bhatia, MD, ICU Medical Director & Pulmonologist, was featured in the Citizens Journal and Pacic Coast Business Times publications in articles featuring the Ion robot see page . Chirag Dalsania, MD, Medical Director of Hematology/ Oncology, was featured on ABC Channel 7 News discussing a report published by the World Health Organization that classied aspartame as a possible carcinogen.Jeery Davies, DO, Co-Emergency Department Medical Director, was featured on ABC Channel 7 News in a story about signs, symptoms and treatment of venomous snake bites.Omid Fatemi, MD, Medical Director of Structural Heart, and David Schmidt, MD, Medical Director of Cardiovascular Services were featured on NBC Channel 4 News and KNX 1070 Newsradio, respectively, in stories about -year old Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, who suered a cardiac event during practice at USC.