Archives 2006

FARMINGTON - John Buffington, a 30-year veteran of San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC), has been named chief operating officer at the hospital. He started his career at SJRMC in 1976 in the Human Resources Department as personnel director and most recently held the position of vice president of professional services before accepting his new assignment as chief operating officer.

Mr. Buffington reports directly to President and CEO Steve Altmiller and serves in the hospital's top leadership role when Altmiller is out of the office. Buffington is also in charge of the newly created Operations Council at SJRMC, along with oversight duties of the Cardiopulmonary, Physician Clinics, Quality Systems, Radiology, Medical Staff Services, Physician Recruitment, Risk Management and Human Resources departments.

"John has been with SJRMC for 30 years and has served in several management roles," Altmiller said. "He has a solid understanding of the community and our organization. He is well prepared to lead operational improvements and initiatives that will make SJRMC a personalized quality healthcare organization. With his sense of humor, the road to this success should be fun, as well as rewarding."

A 1971 graduate of Farmington High School, Buffington has a degree in business administration with a management major from New Mexico State University. When he started working at SJRMC in the mid-1970s, the hospital employed 280 people. Today, San Juan Regional has about 1,400 employees.

"We've certainly grown substantially during the time I've been here. We've always been focused on providing the best possible care and services to a growing region," Buffington said.

"We are committed to serving everyone who comes through our doors with quality medical care," Buffington added. "Our non-profit, community-owned status has been a very successful model and I am very proud to be associated with this organization."

Providing San Juan County with a specialized acute hospital, San Juan Regional Medical Center is a major factor in both healthcare and economics throughout the entire Four Corners region. The hospital, with a licensed capacity of 168 acute inpatient beds, also operates: a Level III Trauma Center, the SJRMC Urgent Care Center serving non-emergency care needs, a ground ambulance system serving all of San Juan County, a regional air ambulance system, a comprehensive Cancer Center, and owns the 18-bed San Juan Regional Rehabilitation Hospital.

Each of these services, along with state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory and imaging services, is utilized by patients in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. SJRMC is a privately owned, community-governed, non-profit hospital.

SJRMC is also nearing completion of an East Tower expansion project that will add 72 private patient rooms, eight new operating suites, an outdoor Healing Garden and a host of other state-of-the-art amenities. The East Tower expansion is scheduled for an August 2006 opening.

Contact: Eric Fisher, public relations coordinator, San Juan Regional Medical Center, (505) 324-2242.

San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) will celebrate National Hospital Week May 7-13 with a variety of activities that are focused on commemorating a rich history of compassionate care in San Juan County.

When a celebrity has a stroke, it makes headlines. Chances are, you’ve read how Kirk Douglas and Dick Clark are battling the effects of stroke. And just recently, Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett died of a stroke at the age of 45. But stroke is a silent killer that doesn’t discriminate between the famous and the rest of us. Stroke occurs in all age groups, in both sexes and in all races in every country in the world.

An automobile passenger is thrown head first through the windshield in a collision and lies unresponsive on the ground. A child falls from a limb of a tree. These are scenes that evoke panic in family, friends and bystanders… and with good reason. About 100,000 Americans die each year and another 90,000 are permanently disabled […]

Heart attack is the leading killer of American adults, and chest pain is widely recognized as the most prominent symptom. You may in fact carry in the back of your mind a frightening image of yourself clutching at your chest in agony.

San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) is introducing a new patient assessment program for the common medical condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep-lying vein, often in the legs. This type of clot is dangerous and can be life-threatening since the clot may break loose, travel through the bloodstream and then block arteries in the lungs. The American Heart Association estimates up to 2 million Americans are affected each year by DVT. However, according to a national survey sponsored by the American Public Health Association, more than seven in 10 Americans have little or no awareness of DVT.

"We want to prevent patients from getting DVT. With that goal in mind, we will be screening all patients on admission for risk factors. Based on the screening results, we will provide treatment as needed," SJRMC Surgical Floor Manager Barbara Galvan said.

In addition to Galvan, Dr. James Spence, Intensive Care Unit/Critical Care Unit Manager Kris Cuthair and Nursing Clinical Director Suzanne Smith were integral in the implementation of the DVT program based on recommendations from the SJRMC Trauma Committee.

DVT may occur when blood moves through deep veins in legs more slowly than normal or when there is a factor that makes blood more likely to clot. Patients who are bedridden after surgery or those who sit for long periods of time are examples of risk factors, along with stroke, congestive heart failure, varicose veins, some cancers and smoking.

About half of the people with DVT have no symptoms until a clot blocks a major vein. When DVT does cause symptoms and blocks blood flow, those symptoms may include a general swelling in the calf, foot, ankle or thigh; increased warmth of the leg; redness; pain in the leg; night leg cramps; or bluish discoloration of the skin on the leg or toes.

Following diagnosis of DVT, the goals of treatment include the prevention of more clotting, the prevention of clot complications, such as stroke, and allowing time for the clot to dissolve. Blood-thinner drugs are used to treat DVT.

"This is a national movement that we are taking part in to help prevent DVT among patients at San Juan Regional. The screening tool is a program that will automatically calculate the patient's risk and will download the current evidence-based literature for the doctors to complete the admission orders," Galvan added.

The month of February is a good time to think about your heart. Flowers and chocolate are good ways of being heart-friendly, but you can also make your heart healthy and happy in other ways - by decreasing the risk of hypertension for instance.

What is hypertension?
Hypertension is the term for blood pressure that is consistently higher than normal. Blood pressure is the force of blood against artery walls as the heart pumps blood through the body. Blood pressure can be unhealthy if it is above 120/80. The higher your blood pressure, the greater the health risk. High blood pressure can be controlled if you take these steps:

• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Be physically active.
• Follow a healthy eating plan, which includes foods lower in salt and sodium.
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

As noted in this list, diet affects high blood pressure. Following the DASH diet and reducing the amount of sodium in your diet will help lower your blood pressure. It will also help prevent high blood pressure.

What is the DASH diet?
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is a diet that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. The DASH diet also includes whole-grain products, fish, poultry, and nuts. It encourages fewer servings of red meat, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages. It is rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium, as well as protein and fiber.

How do I get started on the DASH diet? The DASH diet requires no special foods and has no hard-to- follow recipes. Start by seeing how DASH compares with your current eating habits.

The DASH eating plan shown is based on 2,000 calories a day. Your health care provider or a dietitian can help you determine how many calories a day you need. Most adults need somewhere between 1600 and 2800 calories a day. Serving sizes will vary between 1/2 cup and 1 1/4 cups. Check the product's nutrition label to determine serving sizes of particular products.

Make changes gradually. Here are some suggestions that might help:

• Drink milk or water with lunch or dinner instead of soda, sugar-sweetened tea, or alcohol. Choose low-fat (1%) or fat-free (skim) dairy products to reduce how much saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, and calories you eat. If you have trouble digesting dairy products, try taking lactase enzyme pills or drops (available at drugstores and groceries) with the dairy foods. Or buy lactose-free milk or milk with lactase enzyme added to it.
• Read food labels on margarines and salad dressings to choose products lowest in fat.
• If you now eat large portions of meat, cut back gradually--by a half or a third at each meal. Limit meat to 6 ounces a day (2 servings). Three to four ounces is about the size of a deck of cards.
• Have 2 or more vegetarian-style (meatless) meals each week. Increase servings of vegetables, rice, pasta, and beans in all meals. Try casseroles and pasta, and stir- fry dishes, which have less meat and more vegetables, grains, and beans.
• Use fruits canned in their own juice. Fresh fruits require little or no preparation. Dried fruits are a good choice to carry with you or to have ready in the car.
• Try these snacks ideas: unsalted pretzels or nuts mixed with raisins, graham crackers, low-fat and fat-free yogurt and frozen yogurt, popcorn with no salt or butter added, and raw vegetables.
• Choose whole grain foods to get more nutrients, including minerals and fiber. For example, choose whole-wheat bread or whole-grain cereals.
• Use fresh, frozen, or no-salt-added canned vegetables.

Remember to also reduce the salt and sodium in your diet. Try to have no more than 2000 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, with a goal of further reducing the sodium to 1500 mg per day. Three important ways to reduce sodium are:

• Use reduced-sodium or no-salt-added food products.
• Use less salt when you prepare foods and do not add salt to your food at the table.
• Read fool labels. Aim for foods that are less than 5 percent of the daily value of sodium.
• The DASH eating plan was not designed for weight loss. But it contains many lower calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. You can make it lower in calories by replacing higher calorie foods with more fruits and vegetables. Some ideas to increase fruits and vegetables and decrease calories include:
• Eat a medium apple instead of four shortbread cookies. You'll save 80 calories.
• Eat 1/4 cup of dried apricots instead of a 2-ounce bag of pork rinds. You'll save 230 calories.
• Have a hamburger that's 3 ounces instead of 6 ounces. Add a 1/2 cup serving of carrots and a 1/2 cup serving of spinach. You'll save more than 200 calories.
• Instead of 5 ounces of chicken, have a stir fry with 2 ounces of chicken and 1 and 1/2 cups of raw vegetables. Use a small amount of vegetable oil. You'll save 50 calories.
• Have a 1/2 cup serving of low-fat frozen yogurt instead of a 1 and 1/2 ounce milk chocolate bar. You'll save about 110 calories.
• Use low-fat or fat-free condiments, such as fat free salad dressings.
• Eat smaller portions--cut back gradually.
• Use food labels to compare fat content in packaged foods. Items marked low-fat or fat-free may be lower in fat without being lower in calories than their regular versions.
• Limit foods with lots of added sugar, such as pies, flavored yogurts, candy bars, ice cream, sherbet, regular soft drinks, and fruit drinks.
• Drink water or club soda instead of cola or other soda drinks.

For more information, see the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Web site at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/.

FARMINGTON - Deborah Kendall-Gallagher, RN, JD, MSN, is the new director of Quality Systems at San Juan Regional Medical Center (SJRMC). A native of Farmington, Kendall-Gallagher has a wealth of experience in leading and implementing quality improvement processes in hospital and health systems during a 25-year career in healthcare.

The director of Quality Systems at SJRMC administers multiple departments, implements strategic direction and recommends policy changes for quality and performance improvement throughout the hospital.

"I think San Juan Regional is very committed to continuous quality improvement issues," Kendall-Gallagher said. "We are focused on placing the patients at the center of everything we do. We need to always strive to improve our processes and performance, and that's where quality initiatives come into play."

Mostly recently, Kendall-Gallagher served as research and health science specialist for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver. Also an attorney, Kendall-Gallagher has additional leadership experience in quality improvement programs at hospitals and healthcare systems in Alexandria, Va.; Albuquerque and Seattle, along with a time as a legislative analyst and attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.

Kendall-Gallagher, currently a PhD distance student at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Denver, started her healthcare career as a registered nurse (RN) at hospitals in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. She is a 1970 Farmington High School graduate and earned her nursing degree from the University of Arizona in 1975. She also has a master of science in nursing degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and is a member of the New Mexico and Washington State Bar Associations.

She added that she is pleased to be back home in Farmington to help with SJRMC's quality improvement programs.

"It's exciting and interesting to see how things have changed both in Farmington and at the hospital. The partnership between the community and the hospital here is great. I'm pleased to be a part of it all now," Kendall-Gallagher added.

Contact: Eric Fisher, public relations coordinator, San Juan Regional Medical Center, (505) 324-2242.