Steven M. Klein has been elected to a two-year term on the CentraState Healthcare System Board of Trustees. Read more here.

Prime Surgicare, a new surgical practice of Seun Sowemimo, MD, has opened an office at the Star and Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus at CentraState Medical Center. Read more here.

CentraState now offers single-incision, laparoscopic surgery for gallbladder, appendix and colon procedures. This advanced technique allows surgeons to perform certain procedures with multiple, specialized instruments through a single incision at the navel, which reduces patient recovery time and the possibility of wound infection. Read more here.

CentraState recently held a public panel discussion on H1N1 and seasonal flu. Members of the panel included representatives from CentraState’s Emergency, Infection Control and Employee Health Departments; Freehold Area Health Department and Freehold Regional High School District. To view a video of a portion of the discussion, click here.

 

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services is operating a toll-free line for the public regarding H1N1: (866) 321-9571. It is staffed weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

More information on seasonal and H1N1 flu strains is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/. Specific information for pregnant women about the H1N1 vaccine is available at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/pregnant_qa.htm. For additional information, go to the NJ H1N1 Resource Website which provides timely updates for H1N1 and a flu shot locator: www.nj.gov/health

Join us for our live webinars this fall:

Watch. Listen. Ask and get answers.

 

Click here for more information and to register.

The medical center dedicated a new, high-tech Critical Care/Step Down Unit at a "Lights Up" ceremony on September 14. Health system officials unveiled the $15-million unit by "lighting up" the electronic glass (e-glass) that surrounds each private patient room, turning the e-glass from opaque to clear in an instant, by the flick of switch. Read more here.

CentraState is pleased with our improved patient quality scores. For heart failure, we implemented a plan to improve our documentation of providing written instructions to heart failure patients, and our new score reflects this improvement. For surgical care, we initiated internal quality improvement steps and have shown positive results to the benefit of CentraState patients. Patient safety indicators are included in this year's report, and we are glad to see them. This is our first opportunity to draw statewide comparisons on these very important indicators. While CentraState has performed well in the majority of these indicators, there are others we need to improve. We are especially looking into documentation and coding which form the basis of this data. We will use these indicators to improve the quality of care we provide.