“We need good measures of emergency care, and of emergency room care for children in particular,” said James Marcin, professor of pediatric critical care medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the co-principal investigator for the study. “While some quality instruments have been developed for pediatric emergency care, few have been tested or applied as we’re proposing on such a large scale.”
The study, funded through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will examine the effectiveness of the Pediatric Emergency Department Quality Assessment Tool, developed at UC Davis and used to successfully identify factors associated with quality of care in a small group of rural Northern California emergency departments with very sick pediatric patients.
The study will expand the research to include more than 600 diverse pediatric patients in 12 emergency departments in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), the only federally funded pediatric emergency care research network in the U.S.
PECARN is organized into four research nodes, including one led by UC Davis. The study will retrospectively review the medical records of children presenting to PECARN emergency departments, with records randomly selected from three hospitals in each of the research nodes.
The researchers will review the records for quality of care using the instrument, which assesses initial data-gathering about acute problems; integration of information and development of appropriate diagnoses; the initial treatment plan and orders, and the plan for patient disposition and follow-up.
The study will also identify whether such factors as emergency department volume, type of emergency department and physician training are associated with differences in the quality of pediatric emergency care.
“Once validated across a large and diverse sample, this tool will assist in the identification of areas where emergency departments can make a significant, positive difference in quality of care for children,” said Madan Dharmar, study co-principal investigator and assistant research professor in the UC Davis Department of Pediatrics.
Other study investigators include Nathan Kuppermann, professor and chair of emergency medicine, and Patrick Romano, professor of internal medicine and pediatrics and a noted quality-of-care expert. PECARN is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program.
The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its research and primary-care programs.
The school offers fully accredited master's degree programs in public health and in informatics, and its combined M.D.-Ph.D. program is training the next generation of physician-scientists to conduct high-impact research and translate discoveries into better clinical care.
Along with being a recognized leader in medical research, the school is committed to serving underserved communities and advancing rural health.
For more information, visit www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/medschool.
Flu shots will be given Monday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Patients who already have a scheduled appointment will be given a vaccine during their clinic appointment.
The clinic, which is located at 15145 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, opened for patient care on Nov. 1.
For more information about the Clearlake VA Clinic call 707-995-7200.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Every newborn at St. Helena Hospital Clearlake is “wrapped in love,” thanks to the Ladies of the Lake Quilt Guild.
It’s become somewhat of a tradition, according to guild member Marlene Brudvig, who estimates the group – about 110 members strong – has sewn some 2,000 quilted baby blankets over the past nine and a half years.
As a volunteer stationed at the St. Helena Hospital Clearlake reception desk, Brudvig often hears someone call out, “Look, there’s the quilt lady!” — music to her ears.
“This project is an absolute joy for us,” said Brudvig. “We want to make sure no newborn leaves for home without a quilt.”
Today the guild delivers about 25 quilts a month to the hospital’s Women’s Care Unit.
“The moms go crazy over our little quilts,” added Brudvig. “Some of them have told us this is the only new thing they have for their baby.”
“It’s a wonderful service for our new mothers,” said Leeann Darby, RN, director of Surgical Services and Women’s Care Unit at the hospital. “The baby quilts are beautiful, and very high quality. Our patients absolutely love them.”
“This is a terrific example of the community coming together to give warmth and love to our newborns,” added Darlene Hamm, RN, who works the Women’s Care Unit night shift. “We literally wrap them with love.”
Brudvig and project co-chair Lel King are continuously on the hunt for material that “looks baby.”
After purchasing material, they deliver quilt kits to the members, who then sew them. Most quilts have cotton tops with flannel backing, and some members add quilted designs as an extra personal touch.
Brudvig noted that members often donate materials, and many make quilts on their own to donate in addition to the kits.
“Choosing a quilt is often a family affair,” said Hamm. “Sometimes brothers and sisters help make the selection. We can see that the quilts become heirlooms for some families, who bring in a quilt received for a previous family delivery to wrap the newest member in. They are well used and loved.”
Every year the hospital holds an appreciation tea for the guild. Last year the hospital staff donated fabric and raised $300 to help the guild with project expenses.
To help underwrite the costs of this and other projects, the guild holds a variety of fundraisers including an annual raffling of an opportunity quilt. The quilt travels to local festivals, farmers' markets and other events, where guild members man tables to sell tickets.
Andreas Sakopoulos, MD, is among the first cardiac surgeons in the U.S. to use Angioslide’s Embolic Capture Device, which was FDA-approved in March for use in the U.S.
During angioplasty, a surgeon inserts a balloon in an artery to remove a blockage and restore blood flow to the heart or legs.
“The process, however, can result in damage and split fragile diseased arteries causing debris to break off,” explained Angioslide company spokesman Todd Crandell. “The debris then washes downstream into the artery forming a clot. If the patient already has poor blood flow the resulting clot can lead to heart attack, stroke or amputation. Our device creates a kind of vacuum, allowing the surgeon to capture and contain the debris from the body much like a syringe plunger.”
Cutting edge cardiac surgery with a major focus on patient safety is nothing new to Dr. Sakopoulos and his colleagues John Jacobson, MD and Emmett Tetz, MD.
Over the course of a recent three-year clinical research project led by St. Helena Hospital cardiovascular surgeon Andreas Sakopoulos, MD, the surgeons performed 227 consecutive coronary artery bypass surgeries with no strokes using another groundbreaking device called a HEARTSTRING.
“Since 2004 we have been utilizing this tool on virtually all patients undergoing beating-heart coronary artery bypass operations with no strokes,” Dr. Sakopoulos said. Beating-heart surgeries are performed without the assistance of heart-lung machines. “Low stroke rates are found in the best heart surgery programs.”
About being an early adopter of new like the HEARTSTRING and Angioslide technologies, Dr. Sakopoulos noted, “There are many new fads that come and go in all aspects of our lives, including medicine. It is important to have the wisdom to understand which are true advances and adopt them. These clearly offer benefits to our patients.”
For more information, visit www.sthelenahospital.org.