FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Since Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital opened our doors, we’ve been focused on creating the ideal hospital experience for our patients. Leading physician pioneers from several specialties built and opened the hospital in 2003. We’ve made important choices at every step along the way based on our commitment to the patient. We believe you’ll feel the difference on every level of care at Heartland.
The choices began with creating a patient-centered environment in our hospital.
>> Finish reading this article from Dr. Gonzalez
How to know its time
for spine surgery
How to determine if you need back surgery: Spine surgeon offers helpful hints
Back pain will affect more than 80 percent of all Americans at some time in their lives. But orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. John M. Ciccarelli, says spinal surgery should almost always be the last resort. Ciccarelli's practice, Premier Spine Care in Overland Park, KS, is made up of fellowship trained orthopedic spine surgeons with advanced training in spinal surgical problems. Ciccarelli performs surgery at Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital.
He suggests people with back pain explore other treatments before consulting a spinal surgeon. "In our practice, we are very conservative. Spine surgery is always the last option," he says.
>> Finish reading the five steps to assessing the need
for back surgery
Dr. Brad Storm likes the challenge of a varied practice
The complex skills required for plastic surgery make it a creative and challenge field of medicine, according to Dr. Brad Storm of Premier Plastic Surgery in Olathe, Kansas. He focuses his practice on hand surgery and cosmetic procedures. Storm also does reconstructive microsurgery.
Plastic surgeons need to be artful in their cosmetic procedures, and often have to think outside the box.
Storm explains that becoming a plastic surgeon begins with training as a general surgeon, plastic surgeon or orthopedic surgeon, followed by advanced training in plastic surgery.
>> Finish reading about the variety in plastic and reconstructive surgery
Greg Duran MA, RT (R) explains how our 3.0 Tesla MRI is different
When most people are told they need an MRI, they're not aware that different types of MRI machines may give different results. At Heartland, the MRI is a short bore 3.0 Tesla. But what does that mean?
Greg Duran, director of the radiology department, explains that Heartland's high-strength scanning system is faster and provides better scanning than many other systems. The important difference at Heartland is that the magnet is a 3.0 Tesla. The closed MRI systems in the Kansas City area vary from 1.0 to 3.0 Tesla. Heartland currently has the only 3.0 Tesla in the region, which makes scanning of the brain, spine, joints and extremities more precise.
"Tesla refers to the field strength of the magnet," Duran says. "As good as 1.5 Tesla MR images are, they just can't characterize some subtle abnormalities as well as 3.0 Tesla can."
>> Finish reading about how the 3.0 Tesla magnet, the most advanced in the Kansas City region
Employee spotlight
Heartland MRI Technician Harley Creek, Takes Time to Explain the Details
When Heartland outpatients fill out a survey about their treatment, they often mention the great service they got from MRI technologist Harley Creek. They use words like exceptional, considerate, and caring to describe their interaction with Creek.
Creek downplays his personal attention to patients, saying he's part of a team in the Heartland Radiology Department who all share the same goal. "We try to tell the patient up front what will happen," he says. "We try to explain in detail, to take the extra time to makesure they understand."
>> Finish reading about Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital's Radiology department
Navy Diving Unit and Heartland Spine & Speciality Hospital
Connections Lead to Successful Surgery for Commander's Wife
What's the connection between the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and Heartland Spine & Specialty Hospital? More specifically, why did Jenn Matthews, wife of the Experimental Diving Unit's Commander, travel from the base in Panama City, Florida to Kansas for spine surgery with Heartland founder Dr. William Reed?
Matthews says there are lots of connections and they all added up to one great outcome - quick recovery from successful surgery for a five-year disc problem.