Wichita Hospitals Improve Care With New Technology, Services
Published Aug 18, 2009
Dr. Patty Tenofksy, left, and Terri Peters, RN, coordinate Wichita Clinic’s Breast Center.
In recent months, Wichita’s health-care community has expanded physical capacity and enhanced care by debuting new services and technologies. While the additions are diverse in nature, the bottom line for each provider is the same: to positively impact outcomes by focusing on the needs of patients and their families.
Via Christi Wichita Health Network
For Via Christi, patient-centered care means a continual investment in technology such as da Vinci robotic surgery and state-of-the-art CyberKnife radiosurgery.
That commitment to care has resulted in the system receiving numerous awards, accolades and specialty accreditations. HealthGrades, a national hospital ratings company, recognized Via Christi Regional Medical Center for a third year in a row for overall quality that ranks in the top 5 percent in the nation.
Wesley Medical Center
With a recent expenditure of $60 million in capital improvements, Wesley Medical Center is equally committed to excellence. “All the time new technologies are being made available, and we want to be able to provide cutting-edge treatments for our patients,” says hospital spokesperson Paul Petitte.
In April 2009, the hospital added the minimally invasive da Vinci robotic system for gynecologic and urological surgeries and the $3.2 million Trilogy stereotactic radiation therapy system, which is designed to kill tumors while sparing surrounding tissue.
The medical center has also invested $51 million in projects that expanded and renovated the facility’s operating rooms and created a new Cardiovascular Center. Wesley now has 27 ORs and five catheterization labs, including two outpatient cath labs and an electrophysiology lab.
Additionally, Wesley has implemented a Patient Action Line, a bedside hotline in every room that goes to an administrator or senior manager for any unmet need. In September 2008, the hospital also debuted redesigned private patient rooms outfitted based on the latest research in healing environments.
Wichita Clinic
With 160 physicians, 40 specialties, and a dozen locations throughout the greater metro area, Wichita Clinic is focused on providing quality care with patient convenience in mind. Taking a patient-centric approach, Dr. Patty Tenofsky and Terri Peters, RN, have collaborated to launch new services for those diagnosed with breast abnormalities. “The idea behind the Breast Center is to integrate the care,” Tenofsky says.
Peters has taken on a new role as Nurse Navigator, directing all aspects of patient care including the rapid coordination of appointments, which has significantly cut the gap between receiving a cancer diagnosis and beginning treatment. “It has been shown that a well-coordinated breast center does improve outcomes,” says Tenofsky.
The duo organizes tumor conferences where all the clinical providers – from nurses and surgeons to radiologists and oncologists – sit down and go over cases, and they have also created the My Breast Cancer Journal educational tool to answer many questions for patients.
“My goal is to make sure the patient has the best possible care available,” Tenofsky says. “The second goal is to help them get through the process of having breast cancer in the
least stressful way possible.”
Story by Cindy Sanders
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