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The strengths, challenges and every day miracles of the Valley’s largest health care network.
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I got a sickening feeling this past Saturday at Bulldog Stadium -- a feeling like not enough people care.
It was just minutes 'til the 2 p.m. kickoff and I sat in my seat ready to yell the Fresno State's football team to victory before having some Halloween fun later that evening. But I looked around and realized the stadium was less than three-fourths full -- turns out the announced crowd of 27,721 was the lowest in coach Pat Hill's 13-year career (it had never before been under 30,000). It was a somber feeling for someone like me who takes pride in being part of making our hometown Fresno great.
I'm proud of Fresno. Proud of the whole Valley. Fresno State. The sports programs. The businesses. The ag. The world-class health care. The diversity. The schools. The outdoor recreation. The music. The people who were born or raised here and are doing great things.
Make no mistake, there are plenty of things that need fixing in our Valley. Heck, we hear about 'em all the time from Web site and magazine polls calling us the least intelligent or most polluted or highest rate of this or that. But maybe we don't take enough time to recognize all the positives happening here, all the things we're good at and all the things we should be proud of.
Just take Community Medical Centers as one example. Within the past month or so we've announced a new national reality TV show featuring our employees and doctors, a visionary $285 million expansion at Clovis Community and 5-star ratings in vascular care at Fresno Heart & Surgical. Community's recent Best Practice Summit at the Fresno Convention Center had a whole conference room full of ideas to be proud of.
Stuff like that doesn't happen without people being hungry to reach new heights, determined to compete with the very best and motivated to find a solution if we see a problem -- it's the "why not us?" attitude. Pat Hill has talked about that "why not us?" attitude since the day he got here, and it's helped Fresno State's football program generate as much national exposure as anything in our Valley. But that attitude doesn't just apply to college football. It applies to anything positive for our community to support, and anything worth being proud of.
Whether you were born here or just moved here recently, be proud of where you live. Be a part of what makes us great. Let's start now by sharing our ideas. What are you proud of at Community? What makes you proud of Fresno or the Valley overall?
Click the comment button and share your thoughts.
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I usually don’t get to the north part of Fresno very often (I work downtown and live in Clovis). So it was a big surprise to me when driving west on Herndon just before Palm and I see this huge, what looks to be four story building tower.
My first impression was “What the heck is that monstrosity?” Once I got closer I realized that it was the dish and receiver for the new Univision building. Then I thought to myself, “Nice - packaged quite uniquely.” (Kudos to who came up with the design on that).
Once again, this got me thinking … I wonder how many locals, including the north folks, know what we have going on at Community Regional Medical Center? If you remember back in April 2007 the hospital transitioned University Medical Center Hospital to the downtown campus, during the same time the hospital opened up a new building tower. Well, since then we have completely remolded four of the 10 floors in the original hospital, built a new 1500 space parking garage, broke ground on a new 4-story medical office building (scheduled to open very, very soon) and broke ground and built the exterior on a new outpatient clinic.
Understanding that no one really likes to go to the hospital unless they need to, I would encourage you to call and take a tour. It really has changed from the old Fresno Community you may have remembered.
Bottom line… I need to get out more often, as should you. Call me at (559) 459-6211 and I will personally take you on a tour of our 58-acre campus and the new hospital, Community Regional Medical Center.
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Saturday, Sept. 26 marked the final airing of MedWatch, Community’s weekly TV show on KSEE 24. In that time, we have interviewed hundreds of physicians and nursing staff, patients who’ve overcome life-altering illnesses and injuries, and even local celebrities and community leaders such as Bob Mathias, Gary Scelzi and Devin Nunez.
I considered it a privilege to witness and capture the work of some of the most talented physicians and nurses who perform heart surgery or remove brain tumors or straighten a leg that had been deformed for decades.
But the most extraordinary person I ever interviewed didn’t graduate from medical school. She’s not a nurse, or a local celebrity, or a politician. She is a mom named Yolanda whom I met shortly after launching MedWatch in 2003. My meeting with Yolanda so moved me that I could hardly write about it, yet I’ve thought about her a thousand times since.
Yolanda, through one courageous act, saved multiple lives.
Her middle son Kevin was eight years old and enjoyed being outside and playing with friends after school. Nearly every day he would beg Yolanda to let him go and buy candy at the convenience store just a short walk from his home. Finally, she agreed, but only if he went with some older kids from the neighborhood. That was the last time she saw him alive. A car struck Kevin while in a crosswalk on his way to buy candy.
Later that night Yolanda chose to donate Kevin’s organs.
I, and our videographer James Wallace, was invited to Yolanda’s home a few months later to interview her for a story about organ donation. Since Kevin’s death, Yolanda had become an advocate for the Central California Donor Network. Community Regional Medical Center works closely with this organization and is one of the leading hospitals in the state when it comes to resuscitation and stabilization of organ donors.
What struck me immediately when I walked into Yolanda’s living room, was a tank with the largest goldfish I had ever seen – must have been a foot long. Kevin won it at a school carnival the week he was killed. In the corner of the living room were photos of Kevin, pictures he had drawn and a few of his favorite things. Yolanda found solace in these items and the fact that Kevin’s organs saved four lives.
When I asked Yolanda how she came to the decision to donate Kevin’s organs, she answered by handing me a book that Kevin made in school. It was made of construction paper. Each page had a partially written sentence that was completed by Kevin and enhanced by a Crayola illustration. Yolanda pointed to a page that said, “If I had a rainbow…” and Kevin answered, “… I’d give it away.”
This season Community launches a new, nationally televised TV program called Healthcare Heroes. It will air locally on Sunday evenings at 5 p.m. on ABC 30. I am excited about another great opportunity to shed light on the heroic work our doctors, nurses and clinical staff do every day.
Still, in my view, there are none more heroic than Yolanda who found a rainbow after a terrible rain and gave it away.
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In sharing the news about all the great savings available get next year on medical benefits, I was shocked to hear a colleague say she had never signed up for C-fit. (The savings on 2010 medical benefits are only available to C-Fit members.) This is arguably the most health concious person I work with. She had a major health scare a few years ago and is meticulous about her health. She gets regular physicals, medical screenings, always watches what she eats, exercises regularly and she encourages others to do the same. But she had not signed up for our employee wellness program.
"Why not?" I asked. She shrugged. Maybe it's because she already gets and pays for things she'd get free from C-Fit --- annual checks of cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, BMI and blood pressure, plus wellness coaching. Maybe she doesn't understand how much she'd really benefit.
Another colleague who is a regular in doctors offices and surgical suites, told me his C-Fit wellness advocate acts as a free second opinion for him. A recent suggestion from his wellness advocate encouraged his doctor to consider another approach to lowering his blood pressure -- one that worked, without the worry of side effects from statins.
Another employee told me, C-Fit literally saved her life. She signed up two years ago for the gift cards offered then as incentives for tracking fitness activities. She found out during her first visit she had really high blood pressure and cholesterol. She was a stroke waiting to happen. Her wellness advocate encouraged her to find a primary care physician and work to get medications to get it immediately in check. Now she's working on lifestyle changes, walking every morning with friends and eating healthier.
All these things are great reasons to join. But I think it was the promise of saving on her medical insurance next year that got my health-concious colleague to say she was going to look into C-Fit. Her eyes lit up at "no deductibles on the PPO plan." Plus there's reduced co-pays for office visits, free physicals and mammograms, and enhanced hospitalization coverage. It's a $306 savings on the PPO plan for individuals if they belong to C-Fit.
Just this week I recommitted to C-Fit. I took 5 minutes to fill out my online Health Risk Assessment. I got an e-mail a few hours later with a voucher for free lab work. Two days later on the way to work, I dropped in at the Community Regional campus lab that's a block from my office. I spent 15 minutes getting my blood drawn. And I've made an appointment to spend an hour with my wellness advocate. I figure when I'm done it will have taken me less than 90 minutes to become a "C-Fit participant." And for that 90 minutes, next year I'll get a whole host of savings on my PPO medical plan through Community.
How about you? What's holding you back?
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Last week I had the opportunity of lifetime…I was able to observe a triple bi-pass, beating heart surgery. And it was amazing. Beating-heart surgery is operating on the heart while it continues to beat. How cool is that!
One of the perks of my job is I get to work with video crews and producers when there is filming in the hospital that involves one of the service lines I work with. And just to add more “cool” on top, I work with some pretty interesting service lines; Cardiac, Neuroscience, NICU and Orthopedics, just to name a few. For someone that does not have any clinical training I get the opportunity to learn a lot of what we do in our hospitals.
Back to the surgery … There were three surgeons, an anesthesiologist, and four nurses in the room. One of the surgeons was working at getting to the heart and the other two were removing (known as grafting) a healthy vein from the patients left leg. The vein (or artery) is used later when the surgeon attaches one end of the graft to an area of the heart above the blockage and the other end is attached to an area of the coronary artery below the blockage… sort of like a detour. Once the graft is attached, blood flow to the heart is restored though the new “bypass”.
The other surgeon has the chest open and is getting ready to cut into what looks like a pouch around the heart… This is about the time my jaw is on the ground. I am actually going to see a real-live beating heart … It was beautiful! I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is the best word to describe it. It was pretty, and pink, and thump-thumping a perfect beat.
The surgeon then used a special device to stabilize the part of the heart that he would start operating on -- where the new artery was being placed. The heart continued to beat and circulate blood to heart muscle the entire time. The reason the surgery is performed this way is because operating on a beating-heart helps reduce the risk for complications associated with temporarily stopping the heart during surgery.
Next it was time, for two of the surgeons to work collectively to sew a portion of the new vein (grafted from the left leg) to the coronary artery. Wow! I could not even begin to tell you how tiny the needle and thread was, I could barely see it. I could not even think about how I would stitch that tiny needle in to a beating heart. Needless to say it was amazing.
I learned during my observing that beat-heart surgery has been gaining favor among leading surgeons around the world in the last 10 years, and how this technically demanding surgery requires specialized skills and training.
Something I bet most of you didn’t know, that this is the leading type of cardiac surgery here at Community Medical Centers, and that we have some of the most experienced Cardiovascular/Thoracic surgeons’ right here in the Valley.
If you would like more information on beating heart surgery you can visit MedWatch today http://www.medwatchtoday.com/1006.htm or watch a video about the procedure http://www.communitymedical.org/videolibrary/default.aspx?segmentID=527
I wanted to personally thank Dr. Pervaiz Chaudhry and Dr. Peter Birnbaum for allowing me to observe the surgery and for the education they provided. I loved watching and learning.
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We have all heard the statement “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”.
Mostly I heard about that when I was looking for my first job and it was true. My first “real” job out of college was found by the assistance of a family friend. And so were my second and my third for that matter.
Well, recently I had the opportunity to help a friend. Not to find a job, but to find a specialist that she needed immediately. I read an update she had posted on FaceBook I called her and asked what was happening. After hearing her problem, I knew nothing about what was wrong with her, but I did know someone that would. I was fast to list several doctors she should inquire about once she arrived at the emergency room.
My friend had surgery yesterday and is recovery comfortably in her room today. She was extremely grateful and could not stop talking about how wonderful her doctor was, and how great the nursing staff treated her.
This all got me thinking… working in marketing I have learned that the best advertising is word of mouth, especially in health care. So with over 6,000 employees working for Community Medical Centers just think of the power of our word of mouth.
If you are as proud to work for this organization as I am, tell a friend about it. If they are looking for a new doctor, a new job, or need emergency services tell them about Community.
If you don’t work for Community and you need a doctor call our physical referral line at (559) 459-CRMC.
It felt really good helping my friend.
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Two weeks ago my younger sister, Shelle called me and said, “It’s time!” Those are the two words a pregnant woman can’t wait to say.
My sister is a Rock Star! And this is why …
Shelle had her weekly appointment with her OB/GYN at 11 a.m. When she arrived she told her doctor that she’d been having contractions since the night before and that she was going to go the hospital. At 11:30 a.m. she is arrived at the hospital to give birth to her fourth child.
By 12:15 p.m. she was in a labor and delivery room, and by 1:15 p.m. she was given an epidural and was feeling comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one could feel in labor. We sat around joking about past deliveries, talking about baby names, etc. At 3 p.m. she started to feel more pain and felt like the epidural was no longer working. Her husband stepped in to the hall and told the nurse who was on the phone with Shelle’s doctor. The nurse knew what was happening and told the doctor that she needed to head over, it was time.
By 3:15 the doctor was there, everything was set up and she was ready to go! My sister didn’t so much as whimper, or break a sweat. She had two contractions and at 3:29 p.m. baby No. 4 was here… She was a Rock Star!
As with all her other deliveries at Clovis Community, she was impressed by the staff and the care provided, but one thing different. She was wheeled in to a post-partum room with THREE other new moms, she was shocked.
Truth is Clovis is busy! In fact the 109 bed hospital delivered 368 babies that month; an all-time monthly delivery record for Clovis. With only 11 Labor & Delivery Rooms and 25 Post-Partum beds, they were busting at the seams.
Good thing Clovis is working on funds to move toward on a new four-story tower that would add over 100 beds to the hospital, house 16 private labor and delivery rooms, plus an eight-bed special care nursery.
If you are interested in becoming involved in the exciting expansion of Clovis Community Medical Center, please consider a gift today or contact a Foundation representative to discuss these and other available opportunities.
Oh, I almost forgot. My sister had her fourth boy! Brock Allen, 8lb. 4oz. She says she won’t be having anymore children, and joked about how the next time we are in labor and delivery at Clovis it will be to meet our grandchildren. I'm counting on it being in the new tower -- with the community's help!
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Yes, I am a sushi snob and could eat it every day, even though the news says you can catch parasites and they can eat your intestines. The way I look at it is everything in today’s world can harm you. Whether it’s the water bottles you drink from to the veggies you buy … I’m not going to let these fears get in the way of living my life or eating sushi. To me, its media hype. I may eat my words one day, (no pun intended) but today I am a sushi lover.
I have some favorite sushi “hot spots” around town and if you would like to know … I am more than happy with just sashimi salmon (raw salmon) and I can’t even eat it cooked anymore. But, when I’m sharing and with those that don’t like raw fish—I’ll give in and get the California rolls or fun fried rolls with everyone. As long as I get a plate of raw fish, I'm happy.
I do understand that we live in the Valley and people say it’s not fresh, but we have a great fish market downtown that most of the restaurants get their fish from; the fish is both fresh and frozen. The coast is not that far away, even though we may sometimes feel stuck in a bubble.
When I can’t get away from the office I will run down to the cafeteria at Community Regional Medical Center and grab a sushi roll. Many people who work downtown—employees, patients and loved ones come to the cafeteria to grab and go or sit and relax. The rolls are delicious! And the rest of the food there is cooked healthfully and to perfection. The sushi is made off site by a local sushi house and they monitor it daily to insure freshness and taste and all ready to eat sushi are discarded at the end of the day-if not sold. Besides sushi, there is a fresh salad bar and a variety of hot meals served every day.
I can’t forget Clovis Community Medical Center and Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital’s cafés that also serve the public and have provided me with some fantastic meals, but Community Regional located just a few feet from my office. So, to all of you who don’t have time to run out to a restaurant, hit up one of our hospitals and grab a bite, you won’t be disappointed. It’s about time for some sushi. Yum!
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