“I”m not letting any of you out of this room until I tell you what I want,” Diedra Lagle R.N., said. It happened at Sutter Lakeside Hospital (SLH), Wednesday morning in the Family Birth Center.
There was a bunch of us there, including the District Attorney.
I could probably take her; I mean, if I were at all violent, I thought. She may have been even shorter than me and I”m 5-feet and 0-inches.
I wasn”t scared.
After all, she only wanted some portable fetal heart monitors. She said the monitors are number one on her “wish list.” The request was made because she wants expectant mothers who are in labor to be able to walk around.
“With this type of monitor, the women can walk about a half a block instead of the approximately 5 feet they are limited to with the current monitors,” Lagle said.
The level of care, quality of equipment and moral fortitude I witnessed during my tour at the hospital were exemplary. The rural hospital boasts the latest in advanced technology and medical research.
Lots of technology is going mobile.
My father recently brought my attention to Dr. Victor Gura, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Gura is working on a wearable artificial kidney that may bring immense relief to dialysis patients. The goal is to eliminate the need for the patient to spend hours on a dialysis machine at a hospital each week.
The portable device weighs approximately 10 pounds and is powered by two 9-volt batteries. It would “enable patients to undergo continuous, gentle dialysis as they go about their daily activities,” according to a report published on Aug. 20 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Because patients don”t need to be hooked up to a full-size dialysis machine, it would give them freedom to walk, work, or sleep while undergoing dialysis. It is supposed to more closely approximate normal kidney function. The cost stands to be reduced greatly as well.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital is going mobile on a grand scale with its new medical mobile unit, the Mobile Health Services Unit (MHSU). The mobile clinic provides a way to bring health care to populations with barriers to accessing heath care. Tammi Silva, SLH Foundation director, channeled her passion for the project into a fundraising effort and made it happen.
After researching other mobile clinic models, talking to clinicians, and traveling to other locations currently operating mobile clinics to get input, Dr. Diane Pege, SLH V.P. of Medical Affairs, was able to attend a national meeting on mobile health clinics and brought the team back very useful information and insight.
Jamie Huston, director of materials management at SLH, found a reputable company, American Custom Coach from Redlands.
“We anticipate providing the spectrum of primary care to our clients including pediatrics, women”s health, general adult care and health maintenance screening and counseling. We also will provide social service referrals when needed and help clients enroll in any health insurance plans they might be eligible for. We will partner with local pharmacies to provide prescriptions, at no cost to the client if they are unable to afford them. We plan to offer our services free-of-charge or at a discounted rate to those uninsured and financially limited. We will bill insurance for those who are insured,” a press release stated.
The Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation announced that because of a generous donation from Charlie Mello, owner of American Custom Coach, the Mobile Health Services Unit is going to receive a solar power panel overhaul, which will help dramatically in reducing the day-to-day costs of running the unit by supplementing the generator power while the unit is in service providing care to patients.
For more information visit sutterlakeside.org or call 262-5189.
“The world”s my home when I”m mobile.” ? The Who
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
