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Show ft ?! ft ?! wajs. nimwn HPJMW jaagJW!lifiitU-- rt- i t . c- tf t c AN ESTIMATED 450 LIVES are saved in a single year due to more effective prescribing of discharge medications, improving IHCs already nationally recognized program. Mortality rates for cardiac surgery are 24 lower than national averages would predict. Surgical infections, already far lower than the national average, are reduced by half. The percentage of diabetic patients who receive a key blood test increases to nearly 90, compared to a national average of less than 40. The list goes on and on. And such results are not isolated to one or two hospitals but are achieved broadly through a large health care system a system that cares for hundreds of thousands of patients. These are significant medical breakthroughs cases in which speak for themselves, but the real measure of success is the experience of patients and their families. Here are the stories of several patients who have benefited from the medical advances of IHCs clinical programs. That was nearly three years ago. Last January, Reid and his clinical team at LDS Hospital celebrated Reid's 1,000th day on the LVAD. He feels great and has resumed a fairly normal life, running his businesses, traveling, and even skiing. No other Utahn has lived that bng with the device, and just two other patients worldwide have attained such a record. the standards of clinical excellence have been meaningfully raised. They were achieved through years of painstaking scientific research by doctors, nurses, and other health professionals working on IHC clinical program teams (see page 4). The teams study the way care is delivered at IHC facilities. They review patient care data in the context of the latest research and medical best practices suggested by national physician specialty associations. Then they propose care guidelines for patients treated at IHC. Physicians are always free to depart from the guidelines when they deem it necessary, but these instances are discussed and, if appropriate, the guidelines are revised. Thus the caregiving team is always learning what works best and perfecting the processes of care. The clinical results the small pump is implanted below a patient's heart, not replacing it but assisting its work in pumping blood. LVADs were initially designed as a bridge to a heart transplant, but LDS Hospital was one of about 20 American hospitals approved to implant the device as a permanent alternative to a heart transplant. Reid received his LVAD, with the hope of eventually receiving a transplant Hospital's Artificial Heart Program is widely regarded as a world leader. A recent article published by program members in the New England Journal of Medicine LDS demonstrates the LVAD's effectiveness as an option for heart patients with failure. "It's estimated more than end-sta- HELPING THE HEART Provo businessman Reid Clark was reaching the end of his life as he grew weaker and weaker from congestive heart failure. Because of his age and condition, he was not expected to live bng enough to receive a heart transplant One hope remained: An experimental program at IHCs LDS Hospital involving implantation of a device to assist his failing heart. Called a Left Ventricular Assistance Device (LVAD), ge 50,000 people maybe even 100,000 have this degree of heart failure and are not eligible for a transplant," said James Long, MD, the program's director. Reid is one of some 75 patients who received the LVAD at IHCs LDS Hospital. TEAMING UP TO FIGHT CANCER It's 7 a.m., and a group of some 25 caregivers has gathered to discuss the progress of breast cancer patients being treated at IHC facilities in the Salt Lake Valley. The team physicians, oncologists, surgeons, plastic surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, and other clinical experts has been meeting weekly for more than three years to ensure patients receive care that is in light of the latest research. multi-disciplina- ry state-of-the-- day is a gift, and I try to make the most of it," said Reid. Tve lived in many different parts of the world, and I can tell you the health care available here is among the best on the planet." "Every Rochelle Wenger is one of those patients. Her annual mammogram reveabd some abnormalities, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. |