Pamela V. Brown
Write Path, an L.L.C.
Kauai Business Report July 2004
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Pamela V. Brown Write Path, an L.L.C. |
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Kauai Business Report July 2004 |
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Healing Presence: Personal Touch, Technology Draw KVMH Patients
By Pamela V. Brown
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WAIMEA - It's a special brand of medicine practiced at Kauai Veteran's Memorial Hospital, one which combines cutting-edge technology with the warmth and nurturing of a close-knit family.
Originally opened in 1938 as the Waimea Dispensary and operated by the sugar plantations for the plantation community, the hospital isn't and never was a veteran's hospital. Its name was chosen to honor contributions made by the island's military veterans who served the country during wartime. The entire campus of the West Kauai Medical Center also includes the West Kauai clinics in both Waimea and Hanapepe, which offer outpatient services. The hospital and clinics are open to the public.
From the moment a patient walks in the front door of the Kawailoa Medical Building, the comfortable-looking furniture and large windows that allow in lots of Kauai sunlight alleviate one's medical jitters.
Distinctly missing is the typical overly-sterile hospital smell. It seems so normal in here. |
Wall of Baby Feet Photo by Pamela V. Brown |
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That's exactly how the folks at KVMH like it. There's evident pride in staff members' voices as they express pleasure in being able to offer the best of care while still maintaining a personal touch. Long-time employees speak knowledgably about accomplishments and advances in all areas of the hospital, not just their own departments.
"We can balance the aloha-style spirit with a high level of care," said Virginia Beck, a nurse practitioner with the clinic, who specializes in women's health care.
"We even have time here to walk the patient out to their car," chimed in Ray Poteete, radiology supervisor.
Those personal touches are the icing on the cake. It's the actual technology, the expertise of the medical staff and the ease in scheduling timely appointments that patients can rely upon. |
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Ray Poteete, radiology supervisor in Kauai Veteran's Memorial Hospital Photo by Pamela V. Brown |
For example, KVMH practices what Poteete calls OB teleradiology, a technique in which a pregnant woman can have an ultrasound done at the hospital in Waimea, and have the images beamed to Kapiolani Medical Center on Oahu to be viewed by a specialist. The patient and doctor can watch each other in real time on television screens while the doctor can direct the ultrasound technician's movements.
"If a pregnancy looks like it might be high risk or have complications, we can hook them up with virtual appointments," Beck said. It saves the time, expense and extra risk of an expectant mother traveling to Honolulu to get the necessary care.
Because many of West Kauai's residents are more comfortable speaking Hawaiian than English, the language barrier often poses a deterrent to flying to Honolulu for care. With OB teleradiology, one more hurdle between a new mom and good health care is removed.
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"It's part of our whole philosophy of family-centered care," said Beck. "The physician decides if he needs the Honolulu doctor's expertise. This way the family can be involved," because the patient stays right here at home.
"People just feel safer in their own community," Beck said.
The trickiest part of OB teleradiology is finding a time that's convenient for the patient, the KVMH physician and the Kapiolani doctor, a process made simpler because KVMH is a smaller facility with less demand than a larger hospital. With only about three virtual appointments per month, KVMH can afford to hold the room if the Honolulu doctor is running a bit behind schedule.
KVMH staff share the ease and convenience of teleradiology with several smaller hospitals statewide, clinics that can take x-ray pictures but don't have enough daily work to employ their own radiologist to read the results. Facilities in Kohala and Hilo (Big Island), in Hana (Maui), Leahi (Diamond Head on Oahu) and Mahelona Hospital in Kapaa all send their film via secure computer network to KVMH to be read by Dr. Stuart Spielman, radiologist and KVMH's chief of staff.
In Hana the x-ray files used to be driven two hours by car to the nearest x-ray office where they could be read and a report would be snail-mailed back to Hana, Poteete said. "It took two weeks to get them back."
"Now geography is not an issue anymore," Spielman said.
Facility Needed on West
Side
"We all elected not to stay in big places because the style of medicine is not as personal," Spielman said.
"We all could work at Queen's (Medical Center on Oahu)," Poteete said, who has been at KVMH for 27 years.
"We love this part of the island," Beck said, finishing Poteete's thought. "It's a very gentle family feel here."
The population served by KVMH is larger than one might think and the need for good medical facilities more imperative that it might seem at first glance. The catchment area for the hospital is considered by some to begin west of Knudsen Gap, near the Tree Tunnel, which is technically closer to Lihue than Waimea. But driving west from that point is usually faster. By some estimates there are at least 30,000 people living or working west of the Gap.
"If a woman is pregnant and bleeding, it could be an hour into Lihue if you hit traffic," Beck said. "If you are in a car accident or if you're having a stroke, you can't wait an hour to get medical attention. This community needs its own hospital."
This 110,000 square foot facility - about the size of Kauai's Kmart - has 45 beds and averages 45% occupancy. Almost half the beds are reserved for long term care patients. There's also a surgical unit, an intensive care unit, OB/GYN, an emergency room, a dialysis center, physical therapy, occupational therapy and a pharmacy.
It's not just West Kauai residents who appreciate the services offered at KVMH. "We get people from as far away as Princeville and Kapaa who just like it here," Beck said.
"They like that they can schedule appointments much quicker than at other places. We can schedule you for a mammogram within a couple of days and even on Saturdays," Poteete said. "We can do special clinics for groups of people like corn field workers who can't easily get in during conventional hospital hours."
Beck notes that for mammograms, hospital staff even warm up the compression plates. "The things we can make warm, soft and comforting, we do," she said.
Family Birthing Center
Several spacious birthing rooms look like hotel or bed and breakfast rooms, outfitted with things to keep mom, new baby and other family members comfortable. There's a kitchen in which family members can store snacks for long hours at the hospital. Some rooms have queen-size beds, Jacuzzi showers and large, cozy furniture trimmed in oak.
Unlike traditional facilities where newborns are placed in a nursery, KVMH staff members encourage mother and baby to stay together as much as possible. "It just really facilitates the whole breast-feeding and bonding thing," Beck said. "It's so delicious because dads get to be part of it."
"Sometimes we have births with 12 family members there," Beck said. "On the west side, family is really important."
Beck, a fount of creativity, recently developed the clever Ten Times Healthier Babies program, with help from a March of Dimes grant. The program's aim is to connect expectant mothers with medical professionals early on in their pregnancy - in the first 10-12 weeks - to provide extra prenatal education.
Women are taught how to have a healthier pregnancy, how to reduce the risk of premature births and to provide proper care during the 10 months after the baby is born. A premature birth can cost the community between $1 million and $6 million in health care, Beck said, so getting moms into the medical care process early is a win-win situation.
Local merchants donate incentives to help with events like the Pregnant Moms Food and Fun nights, to make pregnancy easier and more fun for women.
"Everything we can do to reduce the stress on mom and baby is helpful," Beck said.
Beck, a tireless advocate for KVMH and West Kauai Clinic's special brand of medicine, is glad that she and her co-workers are available to bring good health to their part of the island.
"There's a whole lot happening on the south and west sides and people need our services," she said.
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Contact Information: Pamela V. Brown (808) 651-3533 cell (808) 821-1027 fax |
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"Individuality of expression is the beginning and end of all art." --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Proverbs in Prose |
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© Copyright 2004 Write Path, an L.L.C. and Pamela V. Brown All material, pictures, concepts, intellectual property and rights reserved. |
© Copyright 2004 Magical Concepts §©ª¨ |
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