In September, Delaware County Memorial Hospital announced the reopening of its 5 East nursing unit as the newly named Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit.
“Our team made a concerted effort to streamline processes and provide a seamless experience to our patients,” says William McCune, chief operating officer of Delaware County Memorial Hospital and CKHS vice president. “One great benefit that patients of the Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit experience is that they receive specialized care from highly skilled physicians and health care professionals. They truly experience the best of both worlds — superior care in a supportive environment. ”
The Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit provides care for patients before and after surgery. One initiative by this nursing team is to enhance the care of the surgical orthopedic patient through the CKHS Human Motion Institute initiative. The DCMH Joint Replacement Team was developed and includes staff from Surgical Services, Nursing, Rehabilitation Services and Home Care Services. The team’s primary goal was to implement ways to enhance each joint replacement patient’s surgical and recovery experience. As a result of their efforts, nursing staff recently received in-depth supplemental training on care of the orthopedic patient. In addition, the team created individualized care paths for hip and knee replacement patients and instituted a patient satisfaction tracking mechanism (which has returned overwhelmingly positive results). They are currently addressing ways to enhance patient comfort.
These initiatives are welcome additions to a nursing unit that thrives on looking at ways to streamline the inpatient experience and educate its patients. They have had great success with traditional programs such as the monthly joint replacement patient education classes — which give a comprehensive overview of the entire surgical and recovery period — and the Unit Council, a staff-driven initiative devoted to addressing issues to improve the work environment and deliver high-quality care to all surgical patients.
Eugene Elia, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and HMI coordinator for Delaware County Memorial Hospital, says that “DCMH’s Joint Replacement Team has worked very diligently to address issues that can enhance patient satisfaction as well as their stay in the hospital. The Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit is a testament to their efforts and will continue the tradition of providing our patients the high-quality care that DCMH is known for.”
The Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit at DCMH is a 26-bed unit that is designed and equipped to meet the special needs of patients who have undergone general surgery or surgeries for joint replacement, sports injuries, and fractures. The goal is to provide a personalized plan of care that takes into account each patient’s special needs to get them back to normal function as quickly as possible.
The Surgical and Orthopaedic Unit is a part of the Crozer-Keystone Human Motion Institute. The Human Motion Institute is a comprehensive program of musculoskeletal services provided across the health system including orthopedic/joint care, sports medicine, hand care, outpatient rehabilitation, foot/ankle care, and spine care. Services include surgery, therapy, education, medical management and more.