For the majority of patients, general musculoskeletal injuries take about six to eight weeks to heal. But proper pre- and post-operative orthopedic care can significantly expedite the healing process. Over the past five years, Englewood Health has taken significant steps to improve quality of life, minimize pain, and maximize mobility for patients needing a hip or knee replacement or spinal surgery. To achieve these goals, the health system, comprising Englewood Hospital and the Englewood Physician Health Network, has committed to an interdisciplinary approach.
In 2016, Englewood Health launched the Comprehensive Joint Replacement Program, a Medicare-initiated care model that supports better and more efficient care for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements, the most common inpatient surgeries for Medicare beneficiaries. Bringing together representatives from 15 disciplines, the model encourages hospitals, physicians, and post-acute care providers to work together to improve the quality, safety, and coordination of care from pre-surgical assessments to hospitalization and through recovery.
“Within 18 months of the program’s inception, the number of patients discharged from the hospital directly to their homes increased from 15 percent to 56 percent,” said Stephen Brunnquell, MD, president of Englewood Health Physician Network. “In the second year of the program, our complication rate was zero percent.”
In the same year, Englewood Health earned recertification by The Joint Commission for total hip and total knee replacement, and became the only hospital in New Jersey to be Joint Commission-certified in spinal fusion. Englewood Hospital also expanded its main operating room with four new state-of-the-art operating rooms dedicated to orthopedic and neurological surgery. The rooms include advanced imaging tools, digital technology, and other features to support patient safety and high-quality care.
Asit Shah, MD, PhD, chief of orthopedics at Englewood Health, said his team is constantly following the latest improvements in engineering. “Robotics are making their way into orthopedic surgery more and more,” he said. “And technology is constantly enhancing in-office optics and diagnostics. We can now insert an 18-gauge needle into the knee and do an arthroscopy in the office—without anesthesia—instead of going into the operating room. There are also new materials being introduced. Components like bond materials and artificial cartilage are definitely enhancing.”
In addition, Englewood Health is focusing on minimizing the use of medication for pain management by incorporating services such as acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and yoga into the patient recovery process through its Graf Center for Integrative Medicine.
Posted July 9, 2018