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INDIANAPOLIS – Surgeons at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers are among the first in the nation to use a new device and procedure to reduce the risk of stroke for patients undergoing heart surgery.
The system is called the AtriClip Gillinov-Cosgrove Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion and it recently was given approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is used to diminish the risk of stroke related to cardiac arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation. These abnormal heart rhythms occur more frequently with aging and are especially common around the time of surgery.
Led by Marc Gerdisch, M.D., director of cardiothoracic surgery, the team successfully implanted the device in a 79-year-old man yesterday (June 28) at the St. Francis Heart Center. Surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic also performed a similar procedure the same day.
“This is an exciting, safe and effective therapy,” said Gerdisch, co-director of the St. Francis Heart Valve Center. “During the FDA trial for the Atriclip, we recognized the advantages it offered over the available technology.”
St. Francis enrolled 17 patients during ArtiClip’s trial phase – the largest number of participants in the national study.
Here’s how it works: The rectangular-shaped device is implanted around the left atrial appendage, a muscular pouch. The AtriClip is then clamped, preventing blood flow into and out of the appendage.
“It’s estimated that as much as 90 percent of blood clots occurring in patients with atrial fibrillation, form in the appendage,” said Gerdisch, a partner at Cardiac Surgery Associates. “If a clot detaches, it can travel through the bloodstream and cause a stroke.”
Patients with arrhythmias like afib have a significantly higher stroke risk than those without the condition, according to the landmark Framingham Heart Study.
AtriClip is manufactured by the AtriCure, Inc., a medical device company headquartered in Cincinnati.
Use of AtriClip builds on other breakthroughs in cardiovascular care at St. Francis. Gerdisch and his surgical team were the first in the world to use the CorMatrix Extracellular Matrix (ECM) ™ to modify and repair cardiac structures, allowing heart tissue to re-grow inside the beating hearts of surgery patients.
The ECM is a unique biomaterial that harnesses the body’s innate ability to repair damaged heart tissue. Over time, it is replaced by the patients’ own tissue. You can learn more about this at www.cardiactissuerepair.net
The St. Francis Heart Center is the only round-the-clock comprehensive heart center in south-central Indiana, providing everything from open-heart surgery to valve repair. For more information, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/heart.
Results appear in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing
INDIANAPOLIS – While many hospitals today struggle against high turnover rates and decreasing job satisfaction among their nursing ranks, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has developed a successful approach to reverse those trends.
In 2005, St. Francis was experiencing a 16.6 percent turnover among its registered nurses, and that rate among first-year RNs had skyrocketed to 32 percent. Those alarming statistics far exceeded the average turnover rates reported by the American Journal of Nursing and related national polling of nurses.
Led by the hospital’s vice president and chief nursing officer and directors and managers from education, human resources and other nursing areas, St. Francis in 2006 created a nurse mentoring program to address the retention issue.
Since that time, the turnover rate has plummeted to levels lower than national averages and other hospitals in central Indiana, according to an article in the The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing (July 2010).
“We began the pilot program by pairing 12 protégés (new hires) with 12 experienced nurses working in select nursing units,” said author Kathy Fox, R.N. “In matching the pairs we took into account several factors, such as having them assigned on the same shifts, education levels, generational compatibilities, and personality types.”
Fox, who directs Education Department at St. Francis, says the paramount matching factor is communication.
“They should have excellent communication skills and demonstrate the willingness to share knowledge,” wrote Fox, who directs educational services at St. Francis. “Communicating with a protégé in a non-judgmental way is another important attribute. Mentors were available to answer questions, such as getting along with a co-worker or how to insert an IV.”
Structure is vital to the nurse mentoring at St. Francis. After an initial and intense one-day training session, participants sign a contract formally sealing their relationship. In doing so, they understand what is expected of them, such as meeting regularly, filing reports, and evaluating and measuring progress.
A pay incentive is provided to mentor nurses who participate in the program based upon the retention of protégés, primarily staying with the same unit they worked that first year.
“While the bonus was a positive reinforcement for what mentor nurses gave to the program, they did not base their participation on the incentive alone,” Fox wrote. “Most mentor nurses were not aware of the available bonus until they attended the initial training seminar.”
The pilot program exceeded all expectations. All 12 of the mentored nurses chose to stay with St. Francis. By 2009, 200 nurse protégés have been matched with 125 mentors at St. Francis.
And the program spawned success among experienced registered nurses, where turnover fell to 16.6 percent – a rate that has continued to plummet to its current level of 10.3 percent. That is at a level consistent with other hospitals around the country with formal mentoring programs.
Finally, Fox said overall job satisfaction has improved measurably based on surveys of nurses participating in the program.
The mentoring program – which is now an established part of the process in the hiring of new nurses – has expanded to other departments such as respiratory, radiology, physical and occupational therapies and the pharmacy departments.
The St. Francis approach has earned the respect of other local hospitals. St. Vincent Hospital and Community Hospitals of Indianapolis have since built nurse mentoring programs based on the St. Francis model.
The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing is a monthly publication providing original, peer-reviewed articles on continuing nursing education. To learn more about it, go to http://www.jcenonline.com.
To view how two mentoring participants view their experience, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/Nursing/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=120 More information about nursing careers at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/nursing.
INDIANAPOLIS – Breastfeeding is more than just a lifestyle choice about how to feed babies. It’s an important health decision benefiting babies, mothers and society.
The staff at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is committed to supporting nursing mothers and improving breastfeeding initiation and duration. To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with “Baby Steps to a Healthier Indiana,” St. Francis will host a day-long event featuring breastfeeding information, resources, and support groups for underserved pregnant and nursing mothers.
From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 6, Classrooms I and II at St. Francis’ Indianapolis campus (8111 S. Emerson Ave.) will be filled with displays from local community organizations and businesses that promote, support and advocate breastfeeding.
Morning “Mother-to-Mother” circles will discuss postpartum issues, workplace lactation, skin-to-skin attachment parenting, and prematurity with breastfeeding. Afternoon “Ask the Expert” speakers will highlight infant nutrition, Indiana breastfeeding laws, and perinatal mood disorders.
Participating breastfeeding organizations include Ameda, Medela, La Leche League, Indiana Perinatal Network, the Indiana Mother’s Milk Bank, WIC, the Indiana Black Breastfeeding Coalition and Motherlove.
The U.S. Surgeon General's Healthy People 2010 Goal calls for 75 percent of women to breastfeed their infants at hospital discharge, 50 percent at six months of age, and 25 percent to breastfeed at 12 months of age.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme is titled “Just 10 Steps! The Baby-Friendly Way” to support the early days and weeks when mothers and babies take first steps in establishing a breastfeeding relationship. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated August 1-7.
To register for the event, call 317-865-5620.
For more information about breastfeeding or to talk to a certified lactation consultant, call the St. Francis Lactation Line at 317-865-5620 or visit the World Breastfeeding Week website at http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/.
INDIANAPOLIS – Stephen Eric Rubenstein, M.D., has joined St. Francis Medical Group Oncology & Hematology Specialists.
Board-certified in hematology, oncology and internal medicine, Rubenstein began his clinical work June 21. He specializes in medical oncology with special interests in hematologic malignancies, breast cancer and genitourinary neoplasms.
He most recently was a member of Southeast Florida Hematology Oncology Group in Fort Lauderdale and was an attending physician at Holy Cross Hospital, North Broward and Imperial Point Medical Centers. Prior to pursuing sub-specialty training, Rubenstein was affiliated with EMO Medical Care at three New York and New Jersey hospitals as a hospitalist and teaching attending.
A graduate of Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Israel, Rubenstein completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at State University of New York at Brooklyn. Has was a medical resident at Jacobi Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Rubenstein, who also has earned graduate degrees in physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University, was a research resident with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He received his undergraduate degree in biology at Indiana University.
He holds memberships in the American Society of Hematology, Southwest Oncology Group, Florida Medical Association and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
To learn more about Oncology & Hematology Specialists – located on the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis campus at 8111 S. Emerson Ave. and at 9002 North Meridian, suite 214 – go to www.StFrancisDoctors.org.
More information about the full range of services and programs at the St. Francis Cancer Center are at http://stfrancishospitals.org/cancer.
INDIANAPOLIS – The ancient martial art of Tai Chi uses slow and gentle movements and its practice is known to have myriad health benefits.
That’s why St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is offering Tai Chi for Health Series featuring Richard A. Cornell. The class meets each Monday beginning June 29 through Aug. 9 (no class on July 5). The class, which is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., is at 3131 E. Thompson Road at Carson Square Mall.
Tai Chi is designed to improve physical and mental health and includes exercises to improve breathing, relaxation and mobility. It also has found to be effective in improving balance, strength and promotes greater endurance for people with arthritis.
“With Tai Chi, you’re always moving, but always under complete control,” said Michele Wood, R.N., who is coordinating the class. “A participant’s internal energy circulation actually helps prevent disease and debility.”
Cost of the class is $30 and payable at time of registration. For more information, contact Wood at 317-865-5864, or at Michele.Wood@ssfhs.org.
INDIANAPOLIS – Surgeons at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers are among the first in the nation to use a new device and procedure to reduce the risk of stroke for patients undergoing heart surgery.
