We Stand For Care

Stanford Hospital & Clinics is proud to debut their ADVANCEMENT in imaging technology, with Room 9, the hybrid room. Whether it’s called a hybrid room or an interventional platform, Room 9 at Stanford Hospital & Clinics is that singular space where a patient can stay in one place to be diagnosed and treated, either with surgery or the latest interventional procedure, in an environment as sterile as an operating room, with all-important imaging devices, microscopes and monitors right at hand.

The improved detail enhances patient safety as well as diagnosis and treatment. “It’s much safer for the patient,” said Shelly Reynolds, RN, Interim Director of the Hospital’s Cath-Angio Interventional Services Lab. “If someone has their brain exposed, it’s not really ideal to be moving them down the hallway.” Until Room 9 opened, however, that was the only option.

Room 9 was designed specifically to allow on-scene COLLABORATION between specialists in neurosurgery and neuroradiology. The room’s centerpiece machinery captures all-around images of the brain without having to turn the patient from side to side. Because fewer images are required to build the 3D images that offer the required precision of detail, the patient is exposed to less radiation and less contrast dye injection.

“It’s a quantum leap up,” said Robert Dodd, MD, PhD, who is both a Stanford neurosurgeon and interventional neuroradiologist. “We can have a full operating team in the room and we won’t have to move the entire team and patient down the hall, up the elevator and back down again.”

For more information about Room 9 and how it will be used in the new Stanford Hospital, click here.

The Dermatology Clinic, located at Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center in Redwood City, was recently featured on KRON 4’s Best of the Bay. The news feature showcased their outstanding patient care and ADVANCEMENTS medical dermatology.

Anne Change, MD, Director of Dermatological Clinical Trials and Instructor of Dermatology at the Stanford School of Medicine, discusses how the clinic translates discoveries from the laboratory into BETTER MEDICINE for treating patients’ skin conditions. “We look at the skin, which is the largest organ in the human body as a window to your underlying medical condition. We screen for skin cancers and pre-skin cancers, and we treat those as well,” stated Change.

To view the segment, click here.

Over the years, Susan Karnstedt had gotten used to the intermittent pain in her abdomen, chalking it up to her diet, or perhaps to her physically active lifestyle, as a water skier and yoga enthusiast. Little did she know that her pain could be traced to a filter that had been inserted more than 18 years ago in her inferior vena cava (IVC), the big vein that goes from the lower half of the body to the heart. Part of it was now poking through her intestines.

Removing this permanent-type umbrella-shaped device would not even be considered at most hospitals today, but Karnstedt was fortunate to be referred to interventional radiologist William Kuo, MD, at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. His team was able to FIND ANSWERS and is believed to be the first in the world to successfully retrieve permanently embedded IVC filters, and Stanford is currently the only hospital in the country where these procedures are routinely performed.

Kuo, who has seen patients referred to him from around the country for treatment of problematic IVC filters cases has been inspired by his patients to pioneer BETTER MEDICINE in alternative methods that can be used to safely remove these devices. “Every filter patient is unique, and thus the treatment must be meticulously planned and personalized to fit the patient,” Kuo said.

On April 13, Kuo performed the procedure, with no need for open surgery and no stitches — just a Band-aid on her neck site. Side effects? “None,” Karnstedt said. “I was done at 2 p.m., and home by 6 p.m., having dinner with my family.”

To fully appreciate Karnstedt’s remarkable recovery, click here.

Scientists and physicians in pediatric radiology at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford University have garnered an exceptionally large number of awards and honors recently from a professional association of pediatric radiologists.

For the second year in a row, researchers at the hospital and university nabbed the prestigious John Caffey Award for Best Basic Science Research Paper (SRP) at the annual meeting of the Society for Pediatric Radiology in April. The award recognized four papers by the research group led by Roland Bammer, PhD, an assistant professor (research) of radiology showcasing the research and ADVANCEMENTS being made at LPCH and Stanford University.

“The receipt of the two major SPR awards by one institution in a single year is a great honor and may be unprecedented,” said Richard Barth, MD, a professor of radiology and radiologist-in-chief at Packard Children’s.” The pursuit to FIND ANSWERS reflects the imaging advances made possible by converting our department from a generalist model to a sub-specialist model.”

About five years ago, Barth began working to advance the pediatric radiology program at the hospital and Stanford by recruiting sub-specialists—that is, radiologists with a particular expertise in, say, pediatric-cardio imaging or pediatric-neuro imaging—as well as non-clinical researchers steeped in basic science and imaging technology. Promoting COLLABORATIVE-research projects between the two groups, he said, has been key to the program’s success in fielding awards.

“It’s a real team effort between the radiologist sub-specialists and the imaging scientists,” Barth said.

For more information on the award recipients and research papers, click here.

The sound of hammers, power tools, rakes and shovels could be heard at the home of long time East Palo Alto resident, Roselyn Womack on Saturday, April 24, as a group of directors from SHC worked to paint her house, fix her roof and re-landscape her yard.

The Director’s Group at SHC selected National Rebuilding Day as a way to get to know one another better outside of work and to have an opportunity to MAKE A DIFFERNCE in the community at the same time. National Rebuilding Day is an annual event sponsored by Rebuilding Together®, a national nonprofit organization that preserves affordable homeownership and revitalizes communities by renovating houses.

SHC directors worked in COLLABORATION with Stanford University Housing Services and Stanford Catholic Community. “It was a rewarding experience to help someone else and to do so with my fellow directors at SHC. Working side by side and getting filthy dirty is a great way to get to know each other,” said Laurie Quintel, Director of HR | Employee Labor & Relations.

Click here to view a video showcasing the seeds planted by the volunteers and the difference they made in Roselyn Womack’s life.

Not long after Victoria and Justin Nelson became overjoyed first-time parents, they received the most terrifying news. The Nelson’s had known since before her birth that daughter Moriah would be born with a complex congenital heart defect. But now, when Moriah was just a few months old, doctors at their Southern California hospital told them her condition was inoperable.  The Nelson’s wanted BETTER MEDICINE and they sought to FIND ANSWERS.

They eventually found references to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Frank Hanley, MD, a pioneer of an innovative surgical procedure called unifocalization. After review, Dr. Hanley agreed that Moriah was a good candidate, and in November 2008 the Nelsons made the drive up to Palo Alto.

Though Moriah’s heart defect had been successfully repaired, her situation became complex and a variety of separate issues necessitated a stay at the hospital’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU). Moriah spent an astonishing eleven months there.

It was only at Packard Children’s, the Nelsons say that they felt they received COMPASSIONATE CARE. “But at Packard they were so concerned about Moriah that they really listened to us when we’d describe what was going on. And that ended up MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE,” he says.

In October 2009 she was moved into the Children’s Recovery Center in Campbell, CA, where today she receives ventilator therapy to help her lungs work properly. “You’re embracing every little moment… And we’re just so thankful for the care she’s gotten, and that she’s progressing well,” Justin said.

For more information about Moriah’s condition and her progress, click here.

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital was honored to have Governor Schwarzenegger and Apple CEO Steve Jobs (who had a liver transplant in 2009) host a press event announcing legislation to increase the organ donation opportunities. Jobs is MAKING A DIFFERENCE, along with Governor Schwarzenegger and State Senator Elaine Alquist, to help create the first living donor registry for kidney transplants – The California Living Donor Registry – to better connect those who want to donate with those in need of a transplant.

“I was almost one of the ones that did wait for a liver in California last year, I was receiving great care here at Stanford, but there were simply not enough livers in California to go around. I was advised by my Stanford doctors to enroll on a list at a Memphis hospital, because it was more favorable to get a liver there. I was fortunate,” Jobs said because he had the ability to fly cross country in the four-hour window needed to transplant a healthy organ.

The extraordinary care that LPCH provides was recognized by the Governor, who specifically choose LPCH for the press announcement. His appearance is a testament to our TEAMWORK and ADVANCEMENT at the hospital.

For additional news reports of the event, click here.

On January 18, 2010, carpooling nurses from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) witnessed a serious auto accident that flipped a car of five people, including one child. Nurses Ann Mace, Ben Terry, Jackie Giannelli, Amy McDuffie and Colleen Mulcahy immediately stopped to help care and stabilize the injured.

“We triaged the situation, all of us took roles, and I think we were really proud of what we did. It was exciting,” stated Ben Terry, RN at LPCH.

Helping care for patients and their families in an extraordinary situation is second nature at LPCH.  The quick response from the LPCH nurses showcased their skills and COMPASSIONATE CARE in a difficult situation.

Click here to view a video discussing the event and how our nurses TEAMWORK prepared them for this unexpected role.

On Jan. 12, a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, killing thousands and injuring many, many more. A team of seven COMMITTED Stanford Hospital & Clinics emergency medicine clinicians were among the first groups of outside physicians to arrive. They returned home Jan. 30, exhausted from 14 days of nearly round the clock work to save lives, under the most desperate circumstances.

“I joined to help people, and thanks to support like this, we have the capacity to help to the fullest,” said Anil Menon, MD, a clinical instructor at Stanford School of Medicine.

Employees’ responses for the team of physicians and nurses from SHC that went to Haiti and showcased their COMPASSIONATE CARE in the relief efforts can be viewed in a heartfelt video message.

To view the video and read more about the team’s two weeks in Haiti assisting in the relief effort, and a letter from team leader Dr. Bob Norris, click here.

Doctor’s at Stanford Hospital & Clinics (SHC) are consistently MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the lives of the patients they see every day. They are always trying to find the best solution, especially when it comes to how long patients are in the waiting rooms.

So what if you could wait in your car for a drive-thru medical clinic? Your car can become an effective examination room, especially one that prevents the spread of infectious diseases from patient to patient, and patient to caregiver. A group of physicians at SHC conducted a full-scale exercise in September 2009 and were able to FIND ANSWERS that were not only feasible, but a preferred type of alternative care in the event of a serious flu pandemic.

Eric A. Weiss, MD, first author of the study, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and medical director for disaster planning at SHC, said, “It can expedite and facilitate seeing large numbers of patients while mitigating the spread of infectious diseases by providing a social distancing mechanism. And it not only can be used during a pandemic, but also would be an excellent strategy for bioterrorism, or for other emerging infectious disease events.”

With the TEAMWORK of Red Cross volunteers, the study was able to demonstrate that the drive-through diagnoses and treatment decisions matched what had occurred with the real-life patients when they visited the Stanford emergency room. Automobiles, it turned out, made excellent moving examination rooms, as well as self-contained isolation compartments. “Plus you don’t have the delays inherent in having to turn over a fixed number of rooms, waiting for patients to be discharged, having to change linens,” Weiss said.

With the results of the study, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department subsequently awarded a grant to the SHC and LPCH Office of Emergency Management to continue work on the new approach. “We developed a general drive-through plan for all the hospitals in the county,” Weiss added. “It’s essentially a playbook that shows how to set up one of these centers at your own hospital.”

For more information about the ADVANCEMENTS of an emergency drive-thru study, click here.