MDNews - Central New York

LORETTO LAUNCHES FIRST AND ONLY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS IN CNY Loretto is now offering peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal dialysis is a daily treatment for kidney failure, which works by filtering patients' blood inside their own body. Unlike the more common hemodialysis, which removes blood from the body in order to filter it and is typically performed at a hospital or dedicated dialysis center three days a week, peritoneal dialysis is less invasive, can be performed during the day or while the patient sleeps, requires fewer dietary restrictions, and allows for greater flexibility and improved rehabilitation. Loretto is the only healthcare system to offer peritoneal dialysis in a 73-mile radius. Binghamton is the next closest location of - fering this service. "Our rehabilitation residents can now receive peritoneal dialysis in a more home- like environment, which gets patients out of the hospital and rehabilitation faster, and will help lower hospital readmissions," says Meredith Boss, Director of Nursing at Loretto. "We have seen a high demand for this service in Central New York, and we are already receiving calls from people in the Oswego and Watertown areas, too." HOW IT WORKS • A few weeks before a patient starts perito- neal dialysis, a surgeon places a soft tube, called a catheter, in the patient's abdomen. • When the patient starts treatment, the dialysis solution — water with salt and other additives — flows from a bag through the catheter into the patient's abdomen. This takes about 30 minutes. • When the bag is empty, it is disconnected, and a cap is placed on the patient's cath - eter so he or she can move around and perform normal activities. • The dialysis solution inside the patient's abdomen absorbs waste and extra fluid from the patient's body. • After a few hours, the solution gets drained out into an empty bag. "Having the ability to deliver perito - neal dialysis at Loretto enables patients to continue on their existing peritoneal dialysis regimen, while starting the rehabilitation they need," says Salil Gupta, MD, President of Nephrology Hypertension Associates of CNY, P.C. "This alleviates the need for another procedure (hemodialysis) and transporting the patient to an outside facil - ity, which means their rehabilitation stay is much more conducive to their health care." Clinical teams at Loretto have been highly trained in this service, and Loretto is ac - tively recruiting employees in this area, and others, of the organization. "In addition to our staff, the residents who receive this dialysis are trained to help them better understand the process and their treatment," Boss says. If you or a loved one is interested in the Dialysis Program at Loretto, visit lorettocny.org/services/peritoneal-dialysis or call 315-413-3400. ST. JOSEPH'S HEALTH RECEIVES NATIONAL 'A' SAFETY GRADE St. Joseph's Health Hospital was the only hospital in Central New York (with- in 100 miles) to be awarded an 'A' in the fall 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a national distinction recognizing St. Joseph's Health Hospital's achievements protect - ing patients from harm and providing safer health care. This is the second consecutive 'A' rating for St. Joseph's Health. The Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization driven by employers and other purchasers of health care committed to improving health care qualit y and safet y for consumers and purchasers. The Safet y Grade assigns an 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' or 'F' grade to all general hospitals across the countr y based on their per formance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harms to patients in their care. "Transparent third-par t y exper t rat - ings like The Leapfrog Group reflect our commitment to keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical er- rors," says Leslie Paul Luke, President and CEO at St. Joseph's Health. "Leapfrog analyzes ever y thing from our culture and our leadership, to our staf f 's com - munication with each other and with patients, to patient recover y, infection rates, and even hand hygiene. This rating fur ther demonstrates the success of our ef for ts to continuously improve qual - it y, safet y and ef ficacy of care across our continuum." "Hospitals awarded an 'A' show that their leadership protects patients from preventable medical harm and error," says Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "It takes genuine commitment at ever y level — from clini - cians to administrators to the board of di- rectors — and we congratulate the teams who have worked so hard to earn this A ." Developed under the guidance of a national E xper t Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safet y Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safet y data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals t wice per year. The Hospital Safet y Grade's methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. n Medical Briefs 1 4❱❱❱❱❱ M E D I C A l B R I E F S

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