CentraState - Healthy Directions

Prompt Treatment in the CentraState Emergency Department W hen 56-year-old Clarksburg resident Jeff Friedman and his wife, Mary Ann, were involved in a car accident one Friday night in May 2011, they were fortunate enough that it happened just blocks from CentraState Medical Center. They were rushed to CentraState's Emergency Department (ED). When Jeff was admitted to the ED, he was complaining of a headache and couldn't remember if he had hit his head during the accident. A computed tomography (CT) scan was immediately ordered by the on-duty staff, which included the emergency physician, Edward Adrian, MD, who is a member of the CentraState stroke response team; Lisa Mason, NPC, certified nurse practitioner; and Robert Gulbin, RN, emergency nurse. "People tell me I was awake and alert after the accident, but I remember very little of that night," Jeff says. "I'm just glad they took the time to order the CT scan, or else I might have walked out of there thinking I was fine." When Gulbin returned to check on Jeff shortly after the CT scan, he found Jeff lying in a fetal position on the bed. When results from the CT scan arrived, they confirmed Gulbin's suspicion that Jeff's case required immediate attention. Jeff had a sizable subdural hematoma (collection of blood on the surface of the brain). "We realized Jeff needed surgery and alerted the neurosurgeon on call," Gulbin says. A RACE AGAINST TIME David Estin, MD, FACS, neurosurgeon with Neurological Associates of New Jersey and on the medical staff at CentraState, was on call that night and immediately called the Operating Room (OR) to have it set up for emergency surgery. Dr. Estin ordered blood products to counteract the bloodthinners aspirin 8 November/December 2011 Prompt treatment by nurses and physicians at CentraState's Emergency Department helped Jeff Friedman overcome potentially fatal complications from a car accident. and Plavix® that Jeff had been taking. Gulbin arranged for the blood product to be sent from the blood bank to the OR, where Jeff was transported within 15 minutes. By the time Jeff arrived, everything was in place to perform the emergency neurosurgery he needed. During Jeff's craniotomy, Dr. Estin cauterized the lacerated artery that was causing the bleeding and successfully removed the clotted blood that was pressing on the brain. "The mortality rate for brain injuries such as Jeff's is around 50 percent," Dr. Estin says. "Because CentraState has advanced neurosurgical capabilities, Jeff didn't need to be transported to another hospital, and I was able to do the surgery in a timely manner. If the blood clot had been removed any later, I don't believe Jeff would have survived." "People who assisted with my case came to visit me in the Critical Care Unit after my surgery, just to see how I was doing," Jeff says. "That's a level of care that can't be taught, and it says a lot about the culture of the staff at CentraState. Without their quick thinking and compassion, I would most likely not be alive today." For more information about CentraState's surgical services, call (866) CENTRA7 (866-236-8727) or visit www.centrastate.com/surgery. HD Healthy Directions

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