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Hayward�s St. Rose Hospital: A Community Hospital Reinventing Itself

Many of the hospital�s updated services focus on women health.

Issue: May 2008

Women in the Hayward community are under surveillance, but not in a negative way. Rather, St. Rose Hospital is utilizing state-of-the-art technology to help women obtain diagnostic services in a better, faster and more comfortable manner with the opening of their newly-designed Women’s Imaging Center.

One of the center’s main features is a MAMMOMAT NovationDR digital mammography system from Siemens Medical Solutions, which enables physicians and clinicians to better pinpoint disease and plan treatment. Dr. Michael Faer, Medical Director of Radiology Services at St. Rose Hospital, says with the new system, screening and diagnosis can be performed on a single unit. As an adjunct to these diagnostic imaging tools, St. Rose also offers stereotactic and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy.

MAMMOMAT NovationDR is also designed to reduce the discomfort often associated with mammography. This new system uses MammoPads, which are soft foam pads that create a cushion between the patient and the mammography machine. The new technology allows for ease and comfort in patient positioning.

The system enables a direct conversion of X-ray to digital information, and also features MammoReportPlus, a multi-modality workstation for mammography with the ability to accept Computer Assisted Diagnosis (CAD) markers from approved vendors—this helps increase cancer detection rates. MammoReportPlus provides ultra-fast, high-volume mammogram reading, permitting users to switch between eight-view mammographic studies in less than one second.

Bone mineral density testing is also offered via the center’s Bone Mineral Densitometry, which provides high resolution images of the all skeletal sites to measure the amount of calcium in the bone.

“Our concept is that women are important to the healthcare of the nation—they take care of themselves and their families,” explains Dr. Faer. “We are about preventing and managing the early stages of breast cancer and osteoporosis, both of which will affect a large number of women. Women need to be treated early so they can avoid a major life change--breaking a hip and ending up in long-term care, for example. We want to get the word out, get women tested and make a solid diagnosis. Our goal is to catch it early, treat it locally, keep it manageable and keep it where it starts.”

Dr. Faer notes that a growing concern among women is the risk of exposure to toxins, which the center limits through the use of ultrasound adjunct to mammography. “In addition to ultrasound as a means of diagnosing breast cancer, we also use ultrasound to diagnose thyroid conditions, gallbladder disease, other upper body ailments, and in screening for kidney disease,” he adds. “We have a state-of-the-art ultrasound unit, and we’re able to image motion and show movement in real time.” The center’s new Philips iU22 Ultrasound System is complete with three-dimensional and four-dimensional scanning capabilities. It allows clinicians to actually visualize movement--for example, as in seeing a baby’s moment during a uterine ultrasound--and share this with patients.

Balancing high-tech with high-touch, women who visit the new Women’s Imaging Center are treated to a spa-like atmosphere, including a soothing color palette, an inviting reception area and soft cloth gowns, in vivid contrast to the typical “clinical” environment.

The Heart of the Matter

As a designated Cardiac Receiving Center, St. Rose Hospital is part of an innovative county-wide program designed to provide immediate intervention to patients experiencing heart attacks. Through the 911 Emergency Medical Services (EMS), patients suspected of having a heart attack are transported to the closest available Cardiac Receiving Center. St. Rose is one of only four hospitals located throughout Alameda County to have met the criteria for this important designation.

To be a Cardiac Receiving Center, St. Rose had to demonstrate that the quality of cardiac care met or exceeded the standards established by the American College of Cardiology (ACC). One of those standards is “Door-to-Balloon Time,” which indicates the time it takes the interventional team to perform the procedure. According to the ACC guidelines, when a person is having a heart attack, effective treatment should be initiated between 90 and 120 minutes after arrival at the hospital. Currently, St. Rose Hospital averages 71 minutes, one of the lowest treatment times in the county according to….

St. Rose cardiologist Aditya Jain explains, “Because of our door-to-balloon time, we have a faster rate of recovery, which makes a significant difference in the mortality of the patient [for the better]. We’re hoping to come to 60 minutes in the near future. Our goal is to improve the outcome of patients and limit the damage to the heart muscle, thus improving quality of life.”

“Lowering the door-to-balloon time is only possible because of teamwork between the hospital administration, nurses and doctors,” adds Dr. Jain. “We come together to make it happen. That’s the only way to make a difference--working together for the better of the community.”

St. Rose Hospital is also involved in a “Women in Red” annual campaign, which promotes heart health awareness to both patients and other health care providers. According to Dr. Jain, not everyone knows that the various signs and symptoms of heart disease are different for women than they are for men. “Women need to be treated as aggressively as men are,” he notes.

Special Delivery

St. Rose’s recently remodeled Family Birthing Center is another area where high tech meets high touch. It’s new furniture, decorations, curtains, soothing color scheme, and hand-painted murals all lend a mom- and baby-friendly feel to the space.

“Our labor and delivery is a low-risk unit for those at or near term, so there’s no need for a clinical environment. We want it to feel homey,” says OB/GYN Helen Matthews. “We’re helping people on a happy day, and the remodeled center reflects that feel.”

The Family Birthing Center “now has the look of a unit where babies are born” relates Dr. Carolyn Hudson, Pediatrics Chief of Staff, who says the level-one nursery offers routine care for newborns who are jaundiced, have pneumonia (if no extra long-term oxygen is needed), or, in some cases, even sepsis. They also handle premies, depending on how stable they are (their rule of thumb is under 34 weeks, stabilize and transfer).

St.Rose Hospital provides other OB services, including emergency care to the community, delivery for women who are cared for in a clinic setting and for those with private insurance, general OB care, hospital and routine ultrasounds, women’s imaging, anesthesiology for women in labor, c-section availability, minimally-invasive surgeries (for cysts, etc.), and urological services.

Dr. Matthews points out that the fetal monitoring equipment used at the hospital is also state of the art. “We have a central viewing station for the nurses and the ability for remote chart view. We also have telemetry monitoring, so patients can move around and they are not tethered down,” she adds.

Community Focused

“We offer a great community-education component, including a women’s support group for new moms to help with transition issues, and free Lamaze classes for women who deliver at St. Rose,” notes Dr. Matthews, explaining the importance the hospital places on education and outreach.

Says Michael Mahoney, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, ”We’ve moved the Women’s Imaging Center out of the hospital to give all women the opportunity to access services in an environment with technical experience and a healing atmosphere. Our commitment as a not-for-profit is to provide services with no barriers based on financial standing in the community. We also provide education regarding undeveloped areas for women, such as heart disease. The hospital needed to invest in technology related to the needs of the community, and we’re managing our resources effectively to provide access to all.”

The management of resources includes the tackling of seismic retrofitting now, rather than filing for an extension. “We hope to begin this summer, and it’s cost effective [less than $6 million] to retrofit the main tower to 2030, which will also add an additional 30 private-patient beds on the fifth floor of the tower,” Mahoney explains.

The hospital is currently licensed for 163 beds, and sees approximately 9,000 in-patients, 38,000 emergency patients and 15,000 pediatric patients annually. Overall, St. Rose has about 300 physicians on its medical staff and has added somewhere between 35 and 50 physicians over the last few years, some filling the void of retired physicians.

St. Rose Hospital opened on October 22, 1962, with a capacity for 129 patient beds, to serve the small but growing Hayward community. The hospital became independent in September 2005, dissolving its Catholic ties and affiliation with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wichita, Kansas, to become an independent, community-based healthcare facility. The hospital is now governed by a local Board of Trustees.

The population of Hayward continues to grow (according to 2007 California statistics and demographics, Hayward’s population was 140,606), and the City has experienced a population growth rate of 0.41% since the year 2000. For residents in the area, including the estimated 70,540 women and well over 30,000 children, St. Rose Hospital is a viable option in preventive care.

Today, with an improved Women’s Imaging Center and Family Birthing Center, state-of-the-art equipment, educational campaigns and proactive approaches to medicine, St. Rose Hospital is empowering women to better care for themselves and their families, and saving lives in the process.

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