A Focus on Your Needs

A vision for burn victims

Our Regional Burn Center is a pioneer in objectively measuring burn scars (using equipment shown here with surgeon Sigrid Blome-Eberwein, M.D.). We’ll use the results of that research in a new Image Enhancement Center offering scar treatments and cosmetic techniques to help burn victims recover their self-esteem.

Room service in the hospital

At the new Lehigh Valley Hospital—Muhlenberg, patients like Paul Mikulcik of Whitehall can order from a restaurant-style menu anytime they’re hungry from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sandra Geiter and her colleagues in food services offer guidance. The aim: very satisfied patients!

"How would I want to be cared for if I were in the hospital?” It’s a question our caregivers often ask themselves. Health care professionals tend to focus on the clinical side of medicine. But at Lehigh Valley Hospital, we know the human side is every bit as important. We were national pioneers in changing the way we deliver care to make it more patient-focused. For example, Lehigh Valley Hospital doesn’t have central nurses’ stations—our nurses do all their work near the bedside, so they’re more available to patients. Unlike in many hospitals, our patients don’t see a stream of new faces each day. Instead, they get continuous care (and emotional support) from the same team. And all our new facilities have private rooms.

We constantly study our patients’ needs and design programs to create what we call the “ideal patient experience.” A striking example is maternal fetal medicine—the team of specialists who care for women (like Carolyn Thomas) with high-risk pregnancies. In the past, the team worked closely with obstetricians around the region. This year, we expanded the program so patients who need it have direct access to our specialists throughout their pregnancy and delivery. As Carolyn Thomas would tell you, expert care makes all the difference to a worried mother-to-be.

When someone is in the hospital, the family needs care and support, too. Our neuroscience intensive care unit has begun an expansion of family visiting hours. Research shows that families are less anxious when they can visit at almost any time, and they also have easier access to physicians to hear their loved one’s progress. We’re developing another new program to help family members: a color-coded electronic system tracking the status of patients in surgery. A password-protected kiosk in the waiting room will provide constant updates.

Sometimes there is no one to visit a patient—a heartbreaking situation when the patient’s life is at an end. Unit coordinator Heather Ward encountered such a patient last year and spent hours sitting with the woman and giving her comfort. That simple act spurred our palliative care team (which focuses on controlling symptoms and reducing suffering) to begin a formal program called No One Dies Alone. “Our research shows that up to 30 percent of people who die in the hospital may have no one there to keep them company,” says palliative care specialist Daniel Ray, M.D. The new program, which began its pilot phase this fall, brings in specially educated volunteers to be with dying patients.

ARTICLE TOOLS: