HOSPITAL NEWS KAISER
SFVAMC
Saint Francis
Robert Mithun, MD
Diana Nicoll, MD, PhD, MPA
Patricia Galamba, MD
Now that the Justices of the Supreme Court have made their decision regarding various aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it’s time to continue the work of implementing the many provisions of the law, leading up to and beyond 2014. One relevant component of the health care reform discussions is the mix of “patientcentered health care” and “population-based medicine.” This means we aim to deliver personalized care to patients while using evidence-based approaches to care. Both approaches help reduce waste and reallocate resources appropriately. When done well, patients receive the best care while contributing to the study of best practice for the larger population. This goal is not easy to achieve, and health care organizations all over the country have created pilot projects to mesh these two approaches to patient care. At Kaiser Permanente, we’ve been investing resources and expertise in this combined model for decades with culturally competent care providers, electronic medical records, and evidence-based medicine with a focus on population health. According to Sharon Levine, MD, a pediatrician and associate executive director of the Permanente Medical Group, “Our ability today to measure and monitor the effect of illnesses and interventions gives us information about people who are like the patient. From that we begin to understand the needs, preferences, and clinical concerns of the patient in front of us.” If we continue to apply the basic principles of both patient-centered health care and population-based medicine at Kaiser Permanente and throughout the country, we can begin to truly deliver on the affordability, accessibility, and quality that are so urgently needed moving forward.
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Sleep disorders are common among the elderly; up to 40 percent suffer from sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea. Dr. Kristine Yaffe, chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC), initially evaluated the sleep patterns of more than 1,300 patients over the age of seventy-five. Five years later she assessed their cognitive ability. She found that there was an association between sleep disorders and dementia: Twice as many patients with sleep disorders were found to have developed dementia, compared to those without disturbed sleep. These findings were presented at the annual conference of the Alzheimer’s Association, held in July in Vancouver. More studies are needed to determine the exact nature of the relationship between sleep disorders and cognitive decline. The San Francisco VA Medical Center’s (SFVAMC) outpatient catchment area extends north from San Francisco to the Oregon border, with primary care clinics in Eureka, Ukiah, and Clearlake, California. An expanded telemedicine program increases access to specialty care consultation for veterans in these rural areas by simultaneously linking several primary care providers in different rural communities within our service area to a specialist at SFVAMC. The exchange of information that ensues enables rural primary care clinicians to gain the knowledge needed to provide care that was not previously available to patients in their clinics. Additionally, some veterans with chronic conditions that require complex care can avoid traveling great distances to obtain the care they need.
San Francisco Medicine October 2012
Saint Francis has teamed up with the America’s Cup Oracle Team USA as its official hospital partner. We will provide more than 140 team members, staff, and their families with fast-track admitting in our emergency department as part of our enhanced Concierge Program. This partnership was made possible through the relationship of orthopedic spine surgeon and Saint Francis Trustee Clement Jones with One Medical Group. This sports partnership helps further position Saint Francis as the preferred health care provider for sports teams in the Bay Area. In addition to Oracle Team USA, Saint Francis and Dignity Health also combine as the official health care provider for the San Francisco Giants, and just this past season we became the official health care provider for the San Rafael Pacifics, a minor league baseball team. It seems almost impossible, but we are coming up to the holiday season, and the Saint Francis tradition has been to kick off events with the “Holiday Hobnob on the Hill.” December 7 at the Fairmont Hotel will mark our twenty-fourth annual fund-raising event. Hosted by the Saint Francis Foundation, the evening will begin with a cocktail party and silent auction, followed by a sit-down dinner and dancing. Our guest speaker is New York Times best-selling author Kelly Corrigan, a cancer survivor. Over the years the monies raised at the Holiday Hobnob have gone to support many programs and facilities here at Saint Francis, including our new emergency room, our new surgical department, the reconstruction and expansion of our Bothin Burn Center, the new intensive care units, digital mammography . . . and the list goes on. For more information, contact Bridgett Hart Lanza at bridgett.hart002@dignityhealth.org.
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