St. Anthony Medical Center Offers High-Tech, Patient-Centered Services
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You’d be hard-pressed to find a more hands-on hospital administrator than Susan Nordstrom Lopez.
When it comes to new‚ non-invasive procedures at St. Anthony Medical Center‚ the president and CEO often is first in line to try out high-tech equipment. The experience gives the executive a patient’s point of view.
Recently‚ she checked out a new generation MRI. The equipment‚ representing a $2 million investment‚ provides an improved way to diagnose problems with the brain‚ spine‚ skeleton‚ chest‚ abdomen‚ pelvis and blood vessels. Lopez also took cardiac tests and had a state-of-the-art mammogram‚ all with a goal to refine health-care services that are second to none in the Northwestern Indiana area.
“We care about the people in our community‚ and we want to offer them the highest quality care in their geographic location‚” she says. “Our residents prefer to stay in their own community for medical services. They like being served by people that they know.”
That high-tech‚ hands-on attitude governs how the 251-bed‚ comprehensive acute-care hospital provides medical services. As a part of the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. umbrella‚ the facility also offers many tertiary services that have required investments of technology and training.
For example‚ the hospital’s Heart Institute continues to lead the way with the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment to fight coronary disease. It brings together‚ under one roof‚ all of its outpatient cardiac programs and services from emergency intervention to surgery and rehabilitation.
“Technology changes so fast‚ but we have a sincere commitment to high-quality cardiac care‚” Lopez says.
Recent advances include the acquisition of an all-digital cardiovascular imaging system in the Cardiac Catherization Lab. A mobile Positron Emission Technology (or PET system) offers early and highly accurate detection in the fields of cardiology‚ neurology and oncology. A specialized CT imaging test detects the presence of calcified tissue in the coronary arteries.
For women‚ The Breast Care Center at St. Anthony has a home-like atmosphere‚ while offering revolutionary computer-aided mammogram screening technology that improves detection rates by as much as 20 percent.
Lopez notes that the future holds more advances for St. Anthony’s. With emergency department visits up 13 percent over the last year‚ the hospital will continue to expand these services. In the hospital’s neurosurgery area‚ capabilities will expand for neurological and spine surgery. A $2 million renovation of St. Anthony’s same-day surgery center is in answer to the growing popularity of outpatient services.
“We’re redesigning that entire area with the consumer in mind for a much more personal and patient-centered facility‚” Lopez adds. “While technology and offering good care are important‚ patient satisfaction is our number one priority here.”
Story by Sharyn Matthews
Photo by David Mudd
