SPH now offers telemedicine that saves time, and lives

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Staff nurses Peggy Frazier, Nicole Reynolds, Haylee Bradshaw and Grace Halsted train on tele-stroke equipment and supplies.

Every minute counts when someone is experiencing stroke symptoms.  And now, South Peninsula Hospital offers web-based telemedicine to allow a consulting neurologist to get their eyes on a patient within minutes of their arrival to the Emergency Room.

Offered through the telehealth program at Providence Alaska Medical Center, tele-stroke uses an electronic internet platform and portable equipment to connect stroke patients and the hospital’s ER doctors with a neurologist in Anchorage or Seattle. Using extremely high definition camera, the consulting neurologist can talk to the patient in Homer about their symptoms, evaluate the patient’s motor skills, view their CT scan, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States and time is very important when treating a stroke. A victim who is treated within three hours of a stroke has a significantly lower risk of permanent brain damage or death than one who waits for treatment.

Tele-stroke joins electronic-ICU as recent forms of telehealth offered at South Peninsula Hospital, allowing for more advanced care while keeping residents close to home.

Birthing Center Scores High Marks from CDC

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South Peninsula Hospital received a total score of 94 out of 100 in the 2015 Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care Survey.  This is a national survey of infant feeding practices in maternity care settings which is conducted every two years on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the most recent survey released in September for calendar year 2015, South Peninsula Hospital was reporting on practices for 141 births.

The hospital’s total score is an overall quality score that averages their seven sub-scores on care:  labor and delivery care (100); postpartum care (feeding of breasted infants (100), breastfeeding assistance (100), and mother to infant contact (94); discharge care (88); staff training (n/a); and structural/organizational aspects of care delivery (83).  South Peninsula Hospital met or exceeded the averages for sub-scores from reporting facilities in Alaska, and placed in the 91st percentile for total score compared to all facilities nationwide.

For more information see attached state report and visit www.cdc.gov/mpinc or http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/mpinc/index.htm

SPH Welcomes New Pulmonologist

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SPH Welcomes New Pulmonologist

South Peninsula Hospital welcomes Marek Martynowicz, MD, to the specialty clinic provider staff.  His special medical expertise is in the management of interstitial lung diseases and special bronchoscopic techniques. He currently practicing at Internal Medicine Associates in Anchorage.

Dr. Martynowicz attended medical school at the Silesian Medical Academy in Katowice, Poland. He completed his post-doctoral research fellowship at the Samuel Stratton Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and the Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. He did his residency training at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York and served as the chief resident.  He completed fellowships in both pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and recently became board certified in sleep medicine.

Dr. Martynowicz will be providing monthly outpatient clinics at the SPH Specialty Clinic on Bartlett Street, and provide inpatient rounding and consults as requested. His first scheduled clinic in Homer is December 15 and 16.  Call the Specialty Clinic at 235-0310 for an appointment or more information.