Breast Cancer Awareness Month at The Women's Center of St. Helena Hospital

ST. HELENA
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, The Women's Center of St. Helena Hospital wants to give away a free mammogram to at least 100 women who have never had one before. Anyone who refers a woman over the age of 40 for a free baseline mammogram will receive a gift basket from Free Time bath and body shop in Calistoga, while supplies last.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in the United States, but early detection greatly increases the chance for a cure. A mammogram can detect cancer years before it can be felt in a physical exam. The American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute suggest a mammogram every year for women who are age 40 or older.

Women are encouraged to discuss their family history and their individual need for screening with their physician. A doctor's order is required for the free mammograms. Free mammograms for women who do not have health insurance are always available at The Women's Center, funded by proceeds from St. Helena Hospital Foundation's annual Gala.

Other Women's Center events during October, include a special seminar on breast and women's health, and display of a friendship quilt created by the Breast Friends breast cancer support group.
Internist Mary J. Dylla, MD, will present, "Preparing for the Second Half of Your Life," a free seminar focusing on the health risks of women after middle age. She will discuss preventive care for breast cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease and other conditions on Thursday, Oct. 26, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. To RSVP, call 963-1912.

A friendship quilt being made by Helen Denton, a member of Breast Friends, will also be displayed at The Women's Center during October. Friendship quilts got started in the 1800s when women made them for friends that they were leaving behind as they headed across country with pioneer wagon trains. She is inviting any woman who has experienced breast cancer to stop by The Women's Center to visit the quilt and to sign it, if they wish. Several members of the support group have signed their names, and added personal messages.

"It's just for all of us," said Denton, who loves quilting, and started on the project earlier this year. "It seems to be a way to help you feel better."

Breast Friends meets twice a month, with speakers on the first Thursday of the month and a support group meeting, facilitated by Linda Mininger, PhD, on the third Thursday of the month. On Thursday, Oct. 5, speaker Margo Rivera-Weiss, librarian at the Women's Cancer Resource Center, will discuss, "Researching Resources for Breast Cancer and Its Treatment," from noon to 1:30 p.m. The lecture is free and an optional lunch is available for $11 (RSVP by Oct. 2). The support group will meet on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Call The Women's Center, located at 1299 Pine St., St. Helena, at 963-1912 for more information, or to make an appointment.


St. Helena Hospital Nears Completion of New Emergency Care Center

DEER PARK
Workers are putting the finishing touches on a $2.5 million expanded Emergency Care Center at Adventist Health/St. Helena Hospital in the Napa Valley. Patients visiting the Emergency wing will find a newly renovated waiting room and reception area, in addition to six new, private emergency exam rooms.

In addition, work is underway to renovate the Hospital's first and second-floor lobby areas and the Ancillary Building lobby, as well as to place new carpeting in Medical-Surgical patient care areas.

An open house is planned this fall for the public to tour the new Emergency Care Center, Hospital lobby areas and a new Outpatient Surgery Center that opened in 1999.
Visitors entering the Hospital through the Emergency wing now proceed down a long hallway with large windows looking out over the Valley and forested hills.

Partially funded by the Napa Valley Wine Auction, the Emergency Care Center renovation includes a new waiting room, triage room, nurses' station, doctor's dictation and sleeping area, staff lockers, clinical manager's office, ambulance dictation area and a decontamination room. Several of the rooms are dedicated to specific emergency health needs including orthopedics, trauma, pediatrics, eye care, psychiatric evaluation, obstetrics and ear, nose and throat care.

The expansion also includes new offices, exam and testing rooms for JobCare, St. Helena Hospital's occupational health program.

The new Emergency wing has more than doubled the space previously allotted for the Emergency Care Center and JobCare, expanding capacity for both programs, improving privacy and decreasing the waiting time for patients.

St. Helena Hospital Initiates Heart Institute New Organization to Coordinate Cardiovascular Care, Education and Research

DEER PARK
A core group of Napa Valley physicians and healthcare professionals met on Monday, June 19, for the inaugural meeting of the St. Helena Heart Institute, a partnership formed to promote physician teamwork and education, research opportunities and a multidisciplinary approach to cardiovascular issues.
"Building on our long history of expertise in cardiovascular diagnosis and surgery, the physicians and administration of St. Helena Hospital have decided to form this professional affiliation to enhance cooperation among cardiovascular professionals while meeting the Cardiac Center's goals for continued excellence," said JoAline Olson, St. Helena Hospital president & CEO.

The St. Helena Heart Institute will formalize a partnership between cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and St. Helena Hospital to further cardiovascular services in the Napa Valley and surrounding region and develop efficient and effective processes for providing care.
Developing opportunities for research and clinical trials, as well as fostering partnerships with larger tertiary care centers, are among the long-term goals of the Heart Institute, Olson said.

Another key goal of the Institute is to enhance community education and cardiovascular health by improving access to specialists who are familiar with the latest procedures and research results. Physicians will have access to the Heart Institute's toll-free number to reach cardiac services for their patients at 1-877-906-3388.
"Our vision is for the Heart Institute to interface with all the physicians in the Valley," said Linde Howell, director of business development at St. Helena Hospital. "Patients will benefit because their own personal physician will have access to any cardiovascular specialist from the Heart Institute and they will be able to attend all types of educational programs. Patients will also benefit from state-of-the-art treatment and community education."

Immediate goals of the new Heart Institute include:
developing the most effective means to deliver care with high quality and low cost;
meeting community needs and providing community education;
delivering care with the highest patient satisfaction;
improving relationships with insurance companies;
providing opportunities for education, both for improving skills of members and for    sharing knowledge with other cardiovascular professionals.

The Heart Institute also plans to increase participation in the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program, an outpatient follow-up program that helps patients manage their heart disease through exercise, nutrition, prevention and education.
The Heart Institute will offer quarterly educational sessions for physicians, open to any physician, including those not on the medical staff.

"St. Helena Hospital has physicians who are specialists in many realms of the cardiac field," said cardiac surgeon Stephen Jones, MD, who will chair the Heart Institute's Board of Directors. "We're very excited to form the Heart Institute, a partnership that will bring together these experts and make all of our services more accessible to primary care physicians and their patients."

About 50 people, including cardiovascular specialists and primary care physicians attended a dinner meeting on June 19, at Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford. William Grossman, MD, chief of cardiology at UCSF Medical Center addressed the group, kicking off the educational program of the Institute with a lecture on "Anti-Platelet Therapy for Acute Ischemic Syndromes."

In addition to Dr. Jones, other members of the Board of Directors include: cardiologist Whie Oh, MD, vice chair; cardiac surgeon Wilfred Huse, MD; cardiologist James Lies, MD; radiologist Dennis McDonald, MD; vascular surgeon Emmett Tetz, MD; and cardiologist Pieter VandenHoven, MD. St. Helena Hospital's Chief Financial Officer Buck McDonald and Olson will represent the Hospital on the board.

St. Helena Hospital's Cardiac Center Offers New Laser Procedure for Angina Sufferers

DEER PARK
The Cardiac Center at Adventist Health/St. Helena Hospital is the first in the North Bay region to offer a new treatment option for patients with severe chronic angina, a laser surgical procedure called transmyocardial revascularization (TMR).

Approved by the Food & Drug Administration a year ago, the procedure has been tested in clinical trials and is being introduced to hospitals around the country. Using a laser, surgeons drill 25 to 45 tiny channels (about the size of sewing needles) through the myocardial wall from the outside in. The surface of the channels heals almost immediately, but the channels themselves remain open, improving blood flow. The procedure is performed in the operating room with the patient under general anesthesia.
St. Helena Hospital's cardiac surgery team, including cardiothoracic surgeons Wilfred Huse, MD, Donald Wilson, MD, and Stephen Jones, MD, were all trained in the new procedure in March and have begun to perform it for appropriate patients. Eclipse Surgical Technologies manufactures the Holmium YAG laser used in the procedure.
The procedure is recommended only for patients with end-stage coronary artery disease who have exhausted standard options of relieving angina, such as medication, and for whom chest pain is interfering with normal activities.

While TMR does not cure patients of heart disease, studies have shown that it does provide relief from pain and improves activity levels for 76 percent of patients, with many continuing to report decreased pain three to four years following the procedure. In selected patients, it can also be used in combination with coronary artery bypass graft surgery to treat areas that cannot be revascularized conventionally.

The procedure may cause new blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis, although researchers do not fully understand how it works. Studies are continuing about the possible contributions of placebo effect, increased blood flow to the heart muscle and stimulation of the growth of small, new blood vessels within the heart muscle.
Angina sufferers should discuss with their cardiologist whether the procedure is right for them. For more information, call 707-963-6300.


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