St. Francis Heart Center earns echocardiography national accreditation

INDIANAPOLIS – The St. Francis Heart Center has been awarded three-year accreditation with the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL).

The rating comes in the wake of an extensive peer-review by ICAEL physicians and sonographers, who evaluated all aspects of echocardiography laboratories and patient outcomes at St. Francis. The accreditation applies to the hospital’s Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville campuses where the echocardiography procedures are conducted.

The program is spearheaded by cardiologist Richard J. Shea, M.D., and Mary Ellen Stewart, technical director of echocardiography. Shea provided the oversight and medical direction for the St. Francis Medical Group’s accreditation at the Indiana Heart Physicians’ office several years earlier.

Echocardiography is a noninvasive diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasound to study structure and motions of the heart, and used to detect cardiac disease.

“This effort has been under way for nearly two years and is a testament to the quality and scope of the work performed at St. Francis,” said Michael Hertel, executive director of the St. Francis Heart Center. “The accreditation is highly regarded in the health-care industry and a distinguishing program characteristic.”

The ICAEL was incorporated in 1996 in response to the need for standardization and improvement of the quality of echocardiographic laboratories.

To learn more about programs and services at the St. Francis Heart Center, go to www.MyHeartCare.net.

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Temporary closure of Heart Center entrance

Beginning Aug. 2, the St. Francis Heart Center main entrance will temporarily close due to the inpatient construction construction. The Heart Center patient and visitor access will temporarily shift to the Women & Children’s Services entrance, located just south of the Heart Center. Heart Center staff and volunteers will be in the Women & Children’s Services lobby providing directions and assistance.

The entrance closure should only last 45 days or less, and we are working to ensure you continue to have convenient access to the Heart Center.

Parking remains available in both the Heart Center and Women & Children’s parking lots.

(Download a parking map.)

A free shuttle service is offered Monday through Friday from 4:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. To call the shuttle directly, please call 416-8725.

We apologize for any inconvenience the construction may cause and appreciate your cooperation during this time of transition. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 851-1580.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Tuesday, Feb. 3

Blog chat with COO addresses construction, consolidation plans

INDIANAPOLIS – St. Francis Chief Operating Officer Keith Jewell will answer questions about the Indianapolis construction project and the possible future uses of St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove after medical services are consolidated at the Indianapolis campus in early 2011.

The chat will occur from Noon until 1 p.m.

Visit the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis construction blog at http://stfrancis-Indianapolis.blogspot to post questions to Jewell.

Those unable to participate in the chat session can e-mail questions in advance to the St. Francis Community Relations team by 10 a.m., Feb. 3. http://stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=141.

This chat session is real conversation. For this reason participants should observe the same etiquette when participating in the chat session as they would in day-to-day conversation.

Reporters who visit the site and want to pose questions are asked to identify themselves and their news organizations.

Contacts:
Joe Stuteville
Media Relations Manager
317-782-7986 (office)
317-946-9930 (cell)
317-906-0079 (pager)
Joe.Stuteville@ssfhs.org

Robbie Schneider
New Media Manager
317-782-7996
Robbie.Schneider@ssfhs.org

St. Francis COO goes on-line to answer construction, consolidation questions

INDIANAPOLIS -- Whether looking southward from a downtown Indianapolis skyscraper or motorists glimpsing a towering crane near Interstate 65, it’s hard to miss the construction at the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis campus.

St. Francis is offering a live blog chat with Chief Operating Officer Keith Jewell from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, to answer questions about the construction project and what it means for medical services on Indianapolis’ south side.

Jewell also will field questions about the possible future use of St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove after medical services are consolidated at the Indianapolis campus in early 2011.

Visit the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis construction blog at http://stfrancis-Indianapolis.blogspot to post questions to Jewell.

Those unable to participate in the chat session can e-mail questions in advance to the St. Francis Community Relations team by 10 a.m., Feb. 3. http://stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=141.

This chat session is s real conversation. For this reason participants should observe the same etiquette when participating in the chat session as they would in day-to-day conversation.

Those who would like to post comments should observe some simple conversational guidelines below. St. Francis reserves the right to delete comments it thinks may be offensive to the audience at large.

Weight Loss, Diabetes and Integrative Health Centers move to new location

INDIANAPOLIS – The St. Francis Weight Loss Center and the Franciscan Center for Integrative Health have moved to their new location at 5230A E. Stop 11 Road, Indianapolis, 46237.

The expanded offices are across Stop 11 Road from St. Francis Hospital – Indianapolis, west of the Indiana Heart Physicians building.

The St. Francis Diabetes & Endocrinology Center treats adult patients with diabetes or endocrine disorders. The center offers an extensive list of diabetes education programs, recognized by the American Diabetes Association. The diabetes center can be reached at (317) 865-5904.

The Franciscan Center for Integrative Health uses both conventional treatments, as well as “complementary” or “alternative” therapies to provide care for patients. Health and healing are based upon addressing patients’ physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, as well as examining the impact of their connections within the community. The Franciscan Center can be reached at (317) 788-0907 or visit stfrancishospitals.org/altmed.

The St. Francis Weight Loss Center is an American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The center offers medical and surgical treatments for obesity, including physician-supervised weight loss, LAP-BAND, gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, group weight management programs and StomaphyX. Call (317) 782-7525 or visit stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.

Cord blood donor program earns ‘hero’ status for health care achievement

INDIANAPOLIS – The cord blood donor program at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers was recognized as a finalist at the 2008 Indianapolis Business Journal Health Care Heroes Awards ceremony today (March 7).

The cord blood donor program was recognized in the Community Achievement in Health Care category. The annual Health Care Heroes Awards honor companies, individuals and organizations for their contributions to improving health care in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, including Marion and surrounding counties.

"This has been a very exciting program for our families and our nursing staff in the labor and delivery area," said Lori Warner, R.N., director of Women & Children’s Services. "We’re honored that the program was nominated and has been recognized for its contributions."

The program was nominated for the award by EndGenitor Technologies, Inc.

St. Francis and EndGenitor launched the donor program in early 2007, giving parents at St. Francis Hospital—Indianapolis the option of donating blood from the umbilical cord after the birth of their babies instead of discarding the cord.

More than 900 units of cord blood have been donated since the program began.

Cord blood is a rich and valuable source of adult stem cells and contains the building blocks for creating blood vessels, cells of the immune system, organs and tissues.

The cord blood donated to EndGenitor is used for the research and development of adult stems cells, which can be used to develop potential treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease and other disorders.

"The impact of this research on the future treatment of disease is immense," said Program Coordinator Cheryl Boys-Fore, R.N., St. Francis nurse practitioner.

St. Francis’ Institutional Review Board – the internal group that reviews all of the hospital’s research projects – approved the collection protocols and EndGenitor’s adult cord blood stem cell research initiatives. That company’s methodologies for such research are within the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care.

Labor and delivery physicians and nurses at St. Francis obtain informed consents from patients who volunteer to be donors.

There’s no risk to mothers and children to donate cord blood after delivery, and the identities of donors in the EndGenitor-St. Francis program are kept confidential.

EndGenitor, the first adult endothelial stem cell company in Indiana, provides cord blood collection kits to St. Francis and also handles the transport of the material. The company also sponsors continuing education to the hospital’s nursing staff through the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation.

Former St. Francis patient, med staff featured on ‘Mystery Diagnosis’

INDIANAPOLIS – Sean Keefer’s star was on the rise as a tennis player at Hillsdale College in 1997 when a burning sensation in his eyes and headaches sent him to a physician. He was diagnosed with pink eye, but the medication he was given only made his eyes worse.

A variety of other maladies plagued Keefer after he completed his education and began his professional career. In April 2007, Keefer – now married, a father and working as deputy commissioner for the Indiana Department of Labor – underwent a series of tests that ruled out an earlier diagnosis.

Unsure of what to do, his family physician referred him to Michael Stack, M.D., a rheumatologist affiliated with St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. The physician asked Keefer a series of questions that accurately described the multitude of symptoms he had been suffering over the years.

A series of laboratory and imaging tests at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis finally pinpointed the source of Keefer’s illness, a rare arthritic condition, and successfully map out a therapy that ended his 10-year medical odyssey.

Keefer’s story is the subject of an upcoming segment of Mystery Diagnosis. It will air 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on Monday, March 10 on Discovery Health. Please check local listings.

Both Keefer and Stack are featured in interviews in the program. Also, several St. Francis emergency room nurses and technicians from Radiology and the St. Francis Heart Center are included in re-enactments.

Mystery Diagnosis, which debuted in 2005, features episodes detailing real-life health struggles of people and the physicians and other medical professionals who seek to diagnose and treat their illnesses. For more information about the show and episode guides, go to http://health.discovery.com/fansites/mystery-diagnosis/mystery-diagnosis.html.

St. Francis has hospitals on Indianapolis’ south side, Beech Grove and Mooresville. St. Francis is part of a network of 13 hospital campuses in Indiana and Illinois owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., one of the largest health-care systems in Indiana.

Pediatrics RN appointed manager at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS – Nancy J. Mosier, R.N., has been appointed manager for pediatrics at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis.

She most recently served as a pediatrics clinical nurse specialist, coordinating care for children in a variety of areas. From 2003 to 2006 she was clinical educator for the pediatrics department and oversaw continuing education for employees.

In addition to her new role, Mosier will continue in her position as manager of St. Francis’ school nurse program.
Mosier, who has been associated with St. Francis since 1979, has been a staff nurse in the hospital’s pain clinic and an emergency room nurse at the hospital’s Beech Grove facility.

She also served as clinical educator for the Emergency Department for four years and has worked in Educational Services as coordinator of Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

Mosier earned a master’s degree at the Indiana University School of Nursing and her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Ball State University. She received associate degrees in nursing and health technology at the University of Indianapolis.

A resident of Indianapolis, Mosier is the current president of the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Pediatric Nurses and is treasurer of Sigma Theta Tau (Lambda Epsilon Chapter), an honor society of nursing.

RN selected manager of St. Francis Hospital post-surgical unit

INDIANAPOLIS – Lisa K. Peters, R.N., has been appointed manager of the post-surgical unit at St. Francis Hospital-Beech Grove.

She comes to St. Francis from Indiana University Hospital where she was clinical manager of a multi-specialty unit and seizure unit. Peters held a variety of other roles at the IU medical facility including managing the pre-operative and post-operative recovery units and nursing resource pool.

Peters, a resident of Greenwood, Ind., earned a master’s in nursing administration and bachelor’s of science in nursing from IU.

A former adjunct faculty member of the IU School of Nursing, she is board-certified in nursing administration by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

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Colorectal surgeon honored with prestigious fellowship

INDIANAPOLIS – Bridget Sanders, M.D., has been named a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Sanders practices with the Kendrick Regional Center for Colon and Rectal Care on the campuses of the St. Francis Mooresville and Indianapolis hospitals. She specializes in the treatment of pelvic floor disorders, as well as laparoscopic colon and rectal surgery.

A 1998 graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine, Sanders completed her general surgery residency at IU and finished her fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida.

Sanders attained board certification from the American Board of Surgery and was board-certified in colon and rectal surgery in 2006.

She is a member of the ACS, American Women Surgical Association, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Association, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and SAGES.

Sanders was named a Fellow during the ACS’s 93rd annual Clinical Congress, held recently in New Orleans.

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The organization has more than 72,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

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St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis welcomes its first baby

Media contact:
Teresa Clark
Community Relations Coordinator
317-906-1101 (pager)
Teresa.Clark@ssfhs.org

St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis welcomes its first baby
of 2008

INDIANAPOLIS -- Kevin and Jolene Green are the parents of St. Francis Hospital—Indianapolis’ first baby of the New Year, James Donald Green.

James was born Tuesday, Jan. 1, at 1:07 a.m. He weighs 7 lbs., 1/2 oz. and is 20 inches long. The Green family, including big sisters Abby, 4 1/2, and Izzy, 13 months, are residents of Greenwood. Mother and baby are doing well.

A photo of the family is attached. For more information, please page Teresa Clark at (317) 906-1101.