Fall 2014 HeartbeatsMagazine SurgerySurgery atat IslandIsland pp 1212 In-Home Relief for Your Care Pain p 9 p 5 Commissioner’s Message Kathy Garde MD elected Check facility prior to any IH Chief of Medical Staff athleen A. Garde MD, an obstetrics and surgical procedure Kgynecology specialist, has been elected to serve as Chief of Medical Staff at Island Hospital. by Chip Bogosian MD During the 2015-2017 term, her duties will Commissioners include maintaining high-quality patient care; oan Rivers, one of my favorite come- working with medical staff, hospital employees Jdians, recently died in New York after and Administration to provide first-rate health- a “minor” and “routine” throat procedure care services and acting as a liaison between Kathy Garde MD because she “stopped breathing”. This didn’t Medical Staff and the community. make sense to me since as an anesthesiolo- Dr. Garde received a Bachelors degree from Seton Hill University, gist I have stopped literally thousands of Greensburg, PA and Masters and Doctorate of Medicine degrees from patients from breathing without this horrif- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH. ic result, so I looked further. She completed an internship and a residency in Obstetrics and Chip Bogosian MD It turns out that Ms. Rivers entered the Gynecology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Cleveland, where she Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic in New York City received advanced training in urogynecology, a medical subspecialty for a simple procedure on her vocal cords, which would require a dedicated to the treatment of women with pelvic-floor disorders. number of different anesthesia techniques to provide the optimal Prior to joining Fidalgo Medical Associates in 2001, Dr. Garde was operating conditions. It hasn’t been made public what she was affiliated with Keystone Health Center, Chambersburg, PA . She is given to achieve this condition but the press states that she had a certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and is a cardiac arrest with subsequent brain damage. member of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Another factor that should have been considered in Ms. Rivers’ As she approaches her tenure as Chief of Staff, Dr. Garde sees the treatment was her age (81 years old). Older people typically do not challenges facing Island Hospital as twofold: Ongoing efforts to com- tolerate the physiologic stress of treatments as well as younger ply with exacting quality standards and integration of electronic med- patients. ical records, plus decisions related to affiliation by the hospital with a The margin of error in older patients is much smaller. So as larger partner. Personally, she hopes to reinforce the idea that “all who patients you have to think like airline pilots do and prepare for the work at Island Hospital have an equal opportunity every day to influ- worst — as physicians we always try to do this and always ask the ence how the community and beyond relate to what we do as an “what if” questions and prepare to handle the emergencies. institution and how well we do it.” Why, you ask, is this important to the patients we serve at Island Dr. Garde has made her home in Anacortes for 13 years and has Hospital? Very simply, we at Island Hospital have a standard we three children. have to live up to that not only involves the latest in medical equip- ment, but a staff readily on hand to help out in these types of emer- gencies. We plan and practice for emergencies so when they hap- pen we are prepared! Before receiving medical services at an outpatient facility you, as a consumer, should ask questions such as: • Does the clinic have a board-certified anesthesiologist han- dling the spectrum of anesthesia care such as sedation, gener- al anesthesia, nerve blocks, etc.? • Are all physicians’ credentials verified for education, license, training, experience, insurance, etc.? In Ms. Rivers’ case, an involved physician was not even authorized to practice at Yorkville Endoscopy and had not had a credentials check required by state and federal law, according to the New York Times. • Is the clinic staff prepared to handle medical emergencies? In Ms. Rivers’ case, a drug that may have helped her breathe – succinylcholine – was not even on hand at the clinic. Be an advocate for yourself in all incidents of your medical care. Before having any surgical procedure done, check to ensure that the facility’s staff and procedures offer professional standards of safety, quality and preparation. I know for a fact that Island Hospital does. 2 | Heartbeats | Fall 2014 Our Mission: We will deliver quality, As I See It... compassionate and By Vince Oliver, IH Chief Executive Officer personalized healthcare to the Local medical-information network earns major grant communities we serve. Island Hospital n 2009, Island stone of care for our patients in the district (defined (Skagit County Public Hospital District No. 2) Hospital joined with by the 98221 zip code, comprising Fidalgo, Guemes, is governed by a Board of Commissioners. I Correspondence to commissioners can be sent to: Skagit Regional Health and Sinclair and Cypress islands), as well as those to the CommIssIoners United General Hospital to sponsor a health-infor- west (San Juan County) and south (north Whidbey c/o Administration mation exchange (HIE) that would enable secure Island). This grant allows us to better connect with 1211 24th st. medical record portability. MIN-NS (Medical providers in these rural areas as well as those on the Anacortes, WA 98221-2590 Information Network - Northwest) is the organiza- I-5 corridor, where patients may go off-island for PosItIon 1 tion responsible for development of the HIE and has care. Jan Iversen (President) achieved cutting-edge results. MIN-NS electronically connects healthcare pro- PosItIon 2 Recently, MIN-NS was awarded an $870,000 viders of northwest Washington by supplying a com- C.W. “Buzz” Ely MD grant to enrich the HIE with online medical services munity health record. These records are securely PosItIon 3 Paul Maughan PhD (tele-health) and certified, secure email capabilities, accessible wherever patients need care, whether at PosItIon 4 essential for cost-effective delivery of rural healthcare clinics, hospitals, emergency departments, skilled- Lynne M. Lang PhD services. The grant also enables MIN-NS to integrate nursing facilities, etc. A nonprofit organization, MIN- PosItIon 5 electronic medical records of independent rural NS strives to improve the quality and reduce the cost A.J. "Chip" Bogosian MD medical providers in Skagit, Island, San Juan and of medical care by securely providing immediate Whatcom counties. access to patient records. For information, visit www. Heartbeats is published by the Community relations/ Island Hospital is the official grant applicant and min-ns.org. education Department. recipient. The grant, from the U.S. Department of Island Hospital and our clinics will continue to Health and Human Services (HHS) - Health focus our efforts on providing the highest quality Comments or suggestions to: (360) 299-1310 Resources and Services Administration, is one of care possible and meet the needs of our district and only 15 Rural Health Network Development communities we serve. I always encourage your com- CommunIty relAtIons/ EducatIon Program grants issued nationwide this year. This ments, concerns and suggestions. Feel free to contact DIreCtor Dennis richards award follows a successful planning grant from the me at [email protected] or at (360) 299-1300 same agency issued to Island and MIN-NS several ext. 2411. HeAltH resourCes CoordinAtor Aubre Adams years ago. CommunIty EducatIon CoordinAtor The staff at Island Hospital provide the corner- Claire Zaugra CommunIty RELAtIONS/ DIGItAl MEDIA COORDInATOR Robert Prins MD named Chief Medical Officer Barb leDuc ighly regarded physician Robert Administration,” said Oliver. “Dr. Prins has Graphics/Design HPrins MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology, considerable understanding of, and stra- teresa l. Pierzchala has been selected as Island Hospital’s tegic vision for the delivery of health- WrIter Dee oliver first Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. care, government programs and financ- PHOTOGrAPHy Prins will remain in his practice at es.” kp-studios.com Fidalgo Medical Associates and serve as In 1969 Dr. Prins received his INTERN the part-time CMO. Doctorate of Medicine at Johns Hopkins, Breijanna ney In his new role, Dr. Prins will work Baltimore, MD, where he also completed closely with IH Chief Executive Officer his internship and the first year of his Vince Oliver and Administration to maintain, residency. He completed his residency in 1974 at update and implement the medical staff develop- the University of Southern California, Los Angeles our ment plan; participate in provider recruitment; col- County Hospital. laborate with the Chief of Staff – currently Kathy Prins was certified by the American Board of Promise Garde MD, Obstetrics/Gynecology at FMA (see arti- Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1976 and since 1977 cle page 2) – on medical-staff policy implementa- has been a Fellow, American College of Your best healthcare tion; along with other physician-focused oversight Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Prins was for- experience begins at responsibilities. In addition, he will work to improve merly an associate professor of Ob/Gyn at the Island Hospital. patient-care-management processes, clinical quali- Oregon Health & Science University. He is a mem- We always place ty and patient