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SPOTLIGHT SCOPE THIS OUT Endoscopy renovations complement a skilled team of doctors, nurses, techs Page
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2 BY THE NUMBERS
Facts and figures about Endoscopy
3 IN YOUR WORDS
What do you think of the GI Lab renovations?
6 BETTER MEDICINE
An interview with Eric Appelgren
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T H E
N U M B E R S
Endoscopy
Number of continuing education and skill enrichments activities held each year for staff
23
Registered nurses on staff
8,428
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What do you think of the GI Lab renovations? How do you think these changes will affect patient care?
Numbers from Fiscal Year 2015
Patients served in 2015
20,075
Our winner:
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Technicians on staff
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Support staff (Scheduling, registration)
Physicians who perform procedures in the suites SPOTLIGHT
Percentages of outpatients/ inpatients seen in 2015
Lisa Eldridge
Care Management 3
It seemed quite organized and better geared toward the patient and family. Chris Kestermont Patient Accounts
All GI and Endoscopy patients, family members and friends will find peace and comfort in St. Anthony’s Medical Center’s beautifully and newly renovated GI and Endoscopy Lab. The beautiful surroundings of the lab are outstanding! Cynthia Steiger
Endoscopy procedures performed
22 72/28
The new GI lab is welcoming, bright and streamlined. It is fresh and updated, which was long overdue. Compared with my last visit as a patient in January 2015, the layout makes more sense and doesn’t feel like a temporary location as I perceived it back then. Patients and families will appreciate not having to wait in the old waiting area. I’m betting they will tell their friends more about the appearance of the entire suite, which wasn’t likely to occur before the renovation. The care was already excellent. Now the aesthetic matches the service.
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Staff nurses recognized as GI Nurses of the Year in St. Louis
Information Desk
Essentially the entire GI lab is more aesthetic compared to the way it looked simply three months ago. This can make a patient feel a little more comfortable with his or her experience here at St. Anthony’s. Robert Middleton Central Supply
The new GI lab renovations look great!! I think patient care satisfaction will be much improved by the changes that have been made. I enjoy seeing all the new changes we are making to better serve our community. Julie Davidson Patient Relations
The endoscopy renovations are amazing. They have accomplished making it modern while still being welcoming and comfortable. June M.F. Potts
The new GI Lab looked fantastic. It was well laid out and served both the patient and staff as to its efficiency and logistics in getting the patient from registration to service through to discharge. Add to that the great attitudes and caring of the staff and you have a great place to come to get your endoscopy services. Brent Singer CFO
The new Endoscopy Department is very nice and it is well lighted, unlike before ... once you enter the suite, you will feel relaxed because of the ambience ... this is a nice place to have your endoscopy done because of the “refreshful” atmosphere it has. Edna Mamangon Laboratory
Marketing; Communication Specialist
SEPTEMBER 2016
Kathy Corder, R.N. Years at St. Anthony’s: 25 I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. I love to help people get better, and to be there for them during their illnesses. It’s rewarding to know that you made their stay comfortable and you did whatever you could that they needed. We do take call here, because it’s a 24-7 unit area. We may get called in because a patient has food caught in the esophagus, so we need to be available. I’ve always loved working for St. Anthony’s – we’ve got a great group of people here.
Ironclad foundation
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Endoscopy renovations complement a skilled team of doctors, nurses, techs Above: Lisa Mayer, R.N., and Yazan Abdalla, M.D., review test results.
Alissa Boehner, B.S.N., R.N. Years at St. Anthony’s: 16 Our physicians are very much into teaching. If you’re in a procedure with biopsies or tissue samples, they want to make sure you know where that part of the body is and the result of the test – what medications is the patient going to take. It’s gaining the knowledge and the understanding of why you’re doing what you’re doing, and they’re awesome with that. As a manager I have always supported continuing education; I want our employees to tour the lab and understand what we do.
SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT
n August, the Endoscopy lab completed extensive renovations that make it more efficient for its doctors, nurses and techs and improve its flow and experience for patients and their family members. “The staff and physicians have done a great job collaborating with Building Services, contractors, and support staff to see a vision through to completion,” said Carrie Gregory, B.S.N., CNOR, Director of Surgical Services. “Endoscopy Manager Alissa Boehner was integral to its success and worked tirelessly to ensure that the transitions through the phased construction happened as painlessly as possible for patients and caregivers. It was an honor to be a small part of seeing this project come to fruition.” And at the center of the shining finishes and improved patient flow, there’s a skilled and dedicated crew. The 22 doctors who perform procedures in the lab serve as mentors to staff. Four veteran nurses have been recognized over the years as GI Nurses of the Year in St. Louis, and the department was recognized in 2016 by the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA) for its Infection Prevention Champions program. Three Endoscopy employees have worked at SAMC for more than 35 years, seven for more than 20, and seven for more than 10 years.
“We have a lot of employees who are very passionate about St. Anthony’s and endoscopy nursing in general, because it is a specialty form of nursing,” Alissa said. “New members tell me they are very welcomed by the current staff. We work very closely in the lab; we spend eight hours together, five days a week. So we build a lot of close relationships. We’re there for each other through celebrations and difficult situations in life, and I think that is reflected in the way that we take care of our patients and the way we work as a team.” Gastroenterologist Yazan Abdalla, M.D. agreed. “The multiple-step process of getting patients through a procedure definitely takes teamwork,” Dr. Abdalla said. “We must work very closely together to keep the process efficient, safe and comfortable. The care in this department and the staff expertise are at a level that keeps our patients coming back.” To build on that teamwork, all nurses are trained in every area – admitting, prep, procedure and recovery – and work them on a rotating basis. Lisa Mayer, R.N., a 12-year St. Anthony’s veteran, said she enjoys being able to rotate through the different areas. “You’re not doing the same exact thing every day,” Lisa said. “We stay really, really busy; every day is a little different. We’re dealing mostly with outpatients, but we do a fair number of inpatients as well. And the renovations are great! There’s a really good flow to everything now.” The Endoscopy staff recognizes that colonoscopies and other procedures are of a delicate nature, and patients may be uneasy or apprehensive. “We’re very professional, but we’re also here to be very comforting and make you feel at ease,” Alissa said. “You’ll meet caregivers with smiles on their faces and a warm touch, and they’re going to say, ‘It’s going to be okay,’ and ‘Don’t worry – we do this a lot.’ We’re here from beginning to end with our patients and their experience.”
Karen Myers, C.N.A. Years at St. Anthony’s: 12
I love patient care. We escort patients in wheelchairs, take them to the restroom, offer warm blankets, get drinks, take their temperature and other information, put leads on them and hook them to monitors, and clean up after them. We also wash the scopes (there are several different types, for babies, upper and lower GI tracts, etc.) in a multi-step procedure. And then they go into a machine where they are sterilized, and we hang them up for use again.
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Lisa Mayer, R.N. Years at St. Anthony’s: 12
Scope this out Recent renovations to Endoscopy: • New admitting area • 12 new private prep rooms • Recovery bays expanded from 8 to 12 • New nurses’ station in Recovery • Five new procedure rooms, developed by nursing staff and physicians
I’m one of two in the department specially trained to perform specialty procedures called manometries. We use special equipment to evaluate or measure either esophageal muscles, for people who are having trouble swallowing, or rectal muscles, for people who are having problems with incontinence or constipation. We also do colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and small bowel capsule studies, and put in feeding tubes and stents for patients. SEPTEMBER 2016
For some years you worked with patients directly as a practicing anesthesiologist at St. Anthony’s. What have you learned about patients and their needs? No matter how much change is occurring within health care, whether it be payment reform, regulatory requirements, reimbursement, litigation or quality, our core basic relationship with the patient remains unchanged: we have been blessed with the ability to provide care. We all have our areas of specialty and expertise. And it’s a blessing to be able to have people come to us in their time of need, and we have been given this responsibility to try to make their lives a little bit better. If we continue to focus on that – not as St. Anthony’s, not as doctors or nurses, but simply as people – we will always be able to drive toward doing the right thing.
An interview with
Eric Appelgren M.D., M.B.A. Vice President of Operations & Clinical Services An interview with
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As Vice President of Operations & Clinical Services, Eric Appelgren, M.D. oversees: • Imaging, Pulmonary and Neurodiagnostics • Pharmacy Services • Laboratory Services • Surgical Services • Therapy Services • Urgent Care and Occupational Health • Supply Chain • Environmental Services and Nutrition Services Dr. Appelgren has served on the staff of St. Anthony’s for 11 years.
SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT
Dr. Appelgren, how does St. Anthony’s diversity of departments fit into the overall picture of medical care? Health care today is complex, and it takes many different departments working together in a cohesive manner to produce the best results. There’s no one department or person who can come in and deliver the best care. It takes coordination, communication, compassion and understanding of each other to deliver the best for our community. Care today is specialized, whether Radiology, the Lab, Pharmacy or Pulmonary. It’s unrealistic to assume a physician can be an expert on all these different modalities. Integrated and engaged ancillary departments not only deliver care but also serve as a resource for physicians who are constantly being bombarded with new information. These local experts in the different ancillary departments can help drive education and information out to the physicians and the nurses.
Dr. Appelgren hauls in a red grouper on a recent fishing trip.
As a veteran flight surgeon in the United States Air Force, you served in Southwest Asia, Kenya and Tanzania, among other locations. How do your fellow employees at St. Anthony’s compare to the military personnel in the Air Force? When I first left the Air Force, I was amazed when I walked down the hallways of the hospital where I did my residency. People looked at their feet, didn’t make eye contact, didn’t say hello. In the Air Force if you passed someone, you either had to salute them, they saluted you, or at a minimum you said hello to them. I was surprised at how unfriendly leaving the military seemed to be. Similar to the Air Force, there are a lot of people at St. Anthony’s who aren’t afraid to make eye contact and say hello. They are committed to the patients and try to make a difference in their lives, not because they’re making a lot of money doing it, or because they are being told to do it, but because the core of their being is to serve others. You see the same in the military, where people leave their families to serve a higher purpose, our country. I see the same behavior in many of the people at St. Anthony’s. They feel a connection to our community and it shows by the willingness to give of themselves.
You live nearby in South County, and your wife, Rebecca, is an anesthesiologist at St. Anthony’s. Please tell us about your personal life. My wife Rebecca is an absolutely wonderful anesthesiologist and an even better person, and I admire her for the way she approaches her life and for the way she approaches taking care of patients. We have one child who is 10 years old, and we are an active family: we like to spend time outdoors. My hobbies include hunting, fishing, playing golf and being out in the country. It’s just nice to get away. We have a little farm a short drive away, where my cell phone doesn’t really work. I like getting on the tractor and listening to music. It’s quiet: it’s my little slice of heaven.
SEPTEMBER 2016
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NEW AND IMPROVED!
Endoscopy renovations are complete St. Anthony’s Endoscopy department has always been a busy one, serving some 8,000 patients last year. Now, with a streamlined layout and numerous improvements, it’s more efficient for its doctors, nurses and techs and more attractive for its patients and their family members. The renovations cap a planning process that began with department managers and senior leaders in December 2014, said Alissa Boehner, B.S.N., R.N., Endoscopy Nurse Manager. Endoscopy is located on the ground floor near the employee and Cancer Center entrances, across the hall from the Closed-Door Pharmacy.
“We developed what we thought would be the most efficient for the privacy of our patients and for the needs of our physicians,” Alissa said. “Our goal was to build the GI lab self-contained, because this is a sensitive procedure for our patients.” In addition to a new waiting area, the Endoscopy suite boasts 12 new private prep rooms, two new bariatric rooms, 12 recovery bays, a new nurses’ station and new cosmetic finishes, and five brand-new procedure rooms that were built to the specifications of physicians and nursing staff. Each area flows into the other with easy navigation.
Spotlight is published quarterly by the Marketing Department of St. Anthony’s Medical Center. Writer: Robbi Courtaway, ext. 4003 Photography: June Potts, ext. 4934 Graphic Designer: Stephen Walker, ext. 4767