From the CEO's Desk: "Advancement & Growth at Franciscan Alliance"

Submitted by Gene Diamond, chief executive officer of Franciscan Alliance's Northern Indiana Region. This was also published in the 2011 Quality & Innovation special section of The Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper.

The hospitals that serve Franciscan Alliance's Northern Indiana Region continue to be at the forefront of innovation, not only in their nationally and locally recognized provision of health care, but in management and fiscal practices that help us operate efficiently – and lead to growth.

That growth is evident in our recent acquisitions of Calumet Surgery Center of Munster and Hammond Clinic's three area locations.

Our latest advances in care are numerous. Examples include:

• Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City is scheduled to open a new, state-of-the-art Cancer Treatment Center next April. The 20,000-square-foot facility will combine the most advanced technologies. What's more, the hospital recently was recognized by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancerwith an Outstanding Achievement Award.
• Franciscan St. Anthony Health will open a Chesterton Health and Emergency Center early next year that will include onsite laboratory, MRI and CT scans, primary care and 24-hour emergency coverage.    
• Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point recently opened a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Early next year, the hospital will open a 27,000-square-foot outpatient surgery center at its Franciscan Point health complex located along U.S. 231, near Interstate 65. In late fall, it is expected to open a revamped and relocated Radiology Oncology Department that will be the new home of a linear accelerator, which will make cancer treatment more efficient and effective.
• Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer and Hammond just opened a Family Birthing Center at its Dyer Campus, in addition to the obstetrics unit at the Hammond Campus. It also offers what has been called the "quintessential" wound care center in the Chicago area – the Wound Healing and Prevention Institute. Its Bariatric Institute likewise offers unsurpassed care.
• Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Munster is the first in Indiana to purchase the Trabectome minimally invasive glaucoma treatment program that provides better treatment through reduced risk and cost effectiveness. It likewise offers a new catheterization laboratory that provides the latest equipment for interventional cardiology and endovascular procedures.

Our advancements are made possible by employing the smartest and most efficient business practices, needed more than ever with the challenges brought by health care reforms that threaten the very existence of some hospitals.

Enter Lean and Six Sigma, a nationally recognized set of business and management practices we have followed since 2005 to help eliminate defects in processes and assure utmost efficiency. Our advancements are too numerous to list, but Dr. Paul Strange, Franciscan Alliance corporate vice president of quality, sums it up well: "Lean and Six Sigma models for process improvement and elimination of waste in health care mean improvements in the quality of our care, making our systems safer and cost effective."

Yes, the changes brought by latest health care reforms present the greatest challenges we have faced.

But our culture of care, advancement and working as efficiently as possible, will prove invaluable in weathering the storm.

FPH Joins Nation’s Top Health Care Providers With New Glaucoma Treatment System

Franciscan Physicians Hospital is the first hospital in Indiana to purchase Trabectome minimally invasive glaucoma treatment, according to NeoMedix, Inc.

Trabectome, developed by NeoMedix, Inc., Tustin, CA, is an FDA-cleared device that removes glaucoma-causing tissue, improves natural drainage pathways of the eye and eliminates pressure safely without the aid of mechanical implants or shunts. Trabectome is featured on the Glaucoma Research Foundation website as breakthrough technology for the treatment of glaucoma: http://www.glaucoma.org/.

As the first area provider of this new treatment in Indiana, Franciscan Physicians Hospital is joining several other nationally recognized health care institutions including Jules Stein, Mayo Clinic, Bascom Palmer, Duke, and Yale Medical.

Trabectome surgery is performed through a small incision and does not leave a permanent hole or pocket in the eye wall, allowing patients to return home the same day. The Trabectome procedure, taking approximately 20 minutes, maintains a remarkably high success rate in reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) with minimum side effects.

Trabectome procedures at Franciscan Physicians Hospital will be performed by Karen Briggs, DO, and Aurabind Balagani, MD.

"This system will open up a whole new horizon in treating patients with glaucoma. This is a minimally invasive system, which is the best choice because it minimizes the chance for infection now and even years after a surgery case," Briggs said, adding, "Although anyone can develop glaucoma, some people are at a higher risk than others. For instance, persons over age 60 are at a higher risk for developing glaucoma, as well as Latinos and people with a family history of glaucoma. Glaucoma is also the leading cause of blindness for African Americans. It's important that anyone in these risk groups receives an eye pressure check and dilated pupil eye exam every year."

Barb Greene, president of Franciscan Physicians Hospital, states, "The Trabectome system is a great advancement for the community. It's just one more example of how we're providing minimally invasive care to serve our patients with reduced risk and cost effectiveness. We're looking forward to the expansion of this system as we lead the NWI region with this new method of care."

For more information, visit http://www.franciscanphysicianshospital.com/ or http://www.neomedix.net/.

About Glaucoma
Glaucoma, the second-leading cause of blindness, is a disease that causes irreversible damage to the optic nerve from increasing pressure within the eye. The Glaucoma Research Foundation states that glaucoma loss is not curable, vision lost cannot be regained, and that over 4 million Americans have glaucoma, yet only half know it. The Foundation adds that the most common form of glaucoma, called open angle glaucoma, has virtually no symptoms and generally no pain associated with the increase in eye pressure. The first sign of glaucoma is loss of peripheral vision that is usually not noticed by the patient until it affects the central vision.

Glaucoma: The Blinding Truth

This January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, and Franciscan Physicians Hospital is here to provide you with some important information about the disease and how you can stay alert toward its occurrence. Dr. Karen Briggs, DO, brings us the following beneficial information.

What is glaucoma?
"Glaucoma is a disease of potential blindness. It is the #2 cause of blindness in the U.S. and the #1 cause in African American patients. Glaucoma is an elevation of pressure in the eye that destroys the optic nerve. The elevation of pressure causes minimized blood flow to the eye. The damaged nerve eventually kills the other nerves."

How long does glaucoma take to have a detrimental effect on an individual's vision?
"Each person is different. There are different types of glaucoma and depending on the individual, it progresses at different rates."

How many people in the U.S. have glaucoma, roughly?
"They figure that one in fifty people have it and don't even know. The number one age group is non-Hispanic white females above 80. The Hispanic population has emerged as especially susceptible to glaucoma. The chance of Latino individuals becoming blind is now equal to that of African American individuals. Macular Degeneration risk is the same as well."

What is the average age for acquiring glaucoma?
"Glaucoma can come on at any age, which is the problem. The misconception is that glaucoma only affects the elderly population. Patients should be screened much sooner than they often are. You should always have your eye pressure checked when you have an eye exam. Not every place takes eye pressure readings, which can be a mistake."

What are some early symptoms of glaucoma?
"Primary glaucoma, the most common form, has no symptoms until the patient has suffered such severe nerve damage that their side vision is affected. The goal in the United States is to catch that before it happens and the disease speeds up. Also, primary glaucoma has no pain, so it can't be physicially detected in the patient."

Can glaucoma be prevented?
"No, there is no prevention at this time."

How does someone with glaucoma treat the condition?
"in the U.S. the first role of treatment is eye drops."

What is considered normal eye pressure?
"Eye pressure below 21 with no nerve damage is considered normal. Unfortunately, there is a form of low tension glaucoma. People with this type have eye pressure in the normal range, yet they still face damage."

How is glaucoma diagnosed?
"Family history comes first. After risk and prevalence from family history is assessed, we take the eye pressure by dilating the patient and looking at their optic nerve. Nearly 50% of glaucoma is missed if you dilate the patient and don't take the eye pressure. Pressure can be normal at the doctors office, but it can also fluctuate from the time of day and from day to day. After assessing the patient's eyes, they determine if there is damage or not. If so, they do visual fields to determine side vision and many doctors now do nerve fiber analysis to measure the thickness of the nerves. They compare results with averages from age, sex and race."

How long does glaucoma treatment last?
"Each patient is different but almost always it's the rest of the patient's life. If surgery is successful, patients can stay off eye drops for a while, but they will eventually be back on them due to digression of the condition."

What are the risks and side effects associated with treatment?
"one of the risks associated with treatment is medication. Medications can cause increased pigmentation of the iris, dryness of the eye, and beta blockers can cause breathing problems in patients with asthma and COPD. Depression and slow heart rate can also occur. Patients have to be very forward about their medical history so that there aren't any confrontations."

As glaucoma treatment and research continues to expand, so does the knowledge of physicians at Franciscan Physicians Hospital. Dr. Briggs is exceptionally knowledged in glaucoma diagnosis and treatment. A special thanks to Dr. Briggs for the information she provided!