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 BELLEVILLE, N. J. -- Patients requiring spinal surgery or total joint replacement surgery to mend a painful, damaged, or arthritic joint will find comfort in the introduction of the new Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute at Clara Maass.
Using a nationally recognized patient management program called JointVentures®, The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute at Clara Maass will provide guidelines for patients to follow both pre-operatively and post-operatively. Education is an essential component of the program, and is designed to lessen anxiety before surgery and enable easier rehabilitation following surgery. Patients will not only gain moral support from the staff but also from other patients going through the same surgical procedure at the same time.
Orthopedists involved with the program will follow established protocols that are proven to lead to improved clinical outcomes. Taking a systematic approach in the operating room will lead to decreased surgical time, and less exposure to surgical risks such as infections and blood clots. An orthopedic nurse manager will lead a team of orthopedic nurses and a product line manager will oversee the entire day-to-day operation of the Institute.
The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute at Clara Maass will be housed on a dedicated nursing unit within Clara Maass Medical Center. Educational posters will adorn the walls, and patients will wear their own clothing instead of hospital gowns. A rehabilitation gym located on the unit will begin patients on the road to recovery quickly following surgery. Even amenities such as the service of a hairdresser and a gourmet meal served prior to discharge are a standard part of the program.
"The idea to implement the JointVentures Program at Clara Maass involved streamlining patient care to eliminate as many variables as possible, because the less variables you have the better the chance for a positive outcome," notes Carl Mercurio, M.D., Medical Director of Surgery at Clara Maass. "Technology, efficiency, technique, and a team approach are what good surgery is all about. JointVentures will enable us to do the same things we are doing now but in a more cohesive way, which we are confident will result in increased patient satisfaction."
Besides eliminating the variables in patient care, JointVentures aims to systematize the patient care process, standardize and simplify the clinical process, and make the patient experience as satisfying as possible. The program has been implemented at more than 300 hospitals worldwide with results that are making orthopedists stand up and take notice.
In 1999, the JointVentures program, developed by TVC, Inc., was selected by the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management and the University of Pennsylvania Health System as the First Place winner of the National Achievement Award in Health and Disease Management. In addition to achieving better clinical outcomes and higher patient satisfaction, hospitals having success with the program have also reduced patient length-of-stay and costs. This fact is significant in itself, but especially in light of the fact that the number of total joint replacements performed yearly is expected to increase due to a growing elderly population and higher life expectancy.
"By incorporating this program into The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute, we will be educating people and letting them know what can be done for them. The biggest obstacle for patients facing this type of surgery is fear, and fear comes from facing the unknown," says Frank Femino, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Clara Maass who performs many joint replacement surgeries. "Once a patient has made the decision to go forward with surgery, the health care team from the Institute will speak with him/her and discuss what to expect before and after surgery. Patients will watch educational videos and attend a pre-operative orientation class prior to surgery. The guidelines and critical pathways that are put in place will insure that there are no gaps in patient care."
While care will continue to be customized for the individual patient, expectations will still be the same. For instance, total-joint patients will get out of bed and walk on Day One. On Day Two, group therapy begins, and patients are taught how to dress themselves, as well as other activities of daily living. In addition to exercising together, patients in the Institute will even eat some of their meals together.
"Patient care will be enhanced because everyone - doctors, nurses, and patients will be on the same page," says Dawn Bibbo, RN, program manager for the Institute. "The environment of The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute at Clara Maass will be one of wellness, not of sickness. The new Institute will treat these patients as well patients who have made a conscious decision to return to the active lifestyle they once knew and enjoyed."
The Orthopedic Spine & Joint Institute at Clara Maass offers regular community education programs which provide valuable information on the diagnosis and treatment of back and joint pain. To receive a listing of upcoming lectures, please contact The Institute at (973) 450-2399.
Clara Maass Medical Center, an affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, provides a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey. Located in Belleville, Clara Maass offers acute care services through Clara Maass Medical Center; skilled, rehabilitative care through the Continuing Care Center at Belleville; assisted living and long-term care through the Continuing Care Center at Kearny; home health care through Jersey Care Home Health; and diagnostic radiology services through the Progressive Imaging Center.
Other centers of medical excellence include the Women's Health Center, nuclear medicine, The Cancer Center, diagnostic cardiac services including cardiac catheterization and rehabilitation, The Wound Center at Clara Maass, the Pain Management Center, the Orthopedic Spine & Joint
Institute, same day surgery, and maternal/child health programs.
For more information on Clara Maass programs and services, please
call 1-800-CLARA MAASS.
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