Health Literacy

Archive for January, 1970

On March 14, 2005, Laser Spine Institute opened for business with just three physicians and nine employees. Working in a 2,500-square-foot space, the small team averaged about 15 procedures per month. Five years later, Laser Spine Institute has grown into the leader in minimally invasive spine procedures. In fact, no surgical provider in the world can match the 400 spine procedures that LSI performs on average each month.

Why has the company experienced such phenomenal growth? Certainly there has proven to be a tremendous demand for a gentle alternative to traditional open back and neck surgery … one that allows patients to be back on their feet in about an hour, and back to normal activities in just a couple of days.

Today, Laser Spine Institute boasts 18 physicians and nearly 300 employees who are committed to “Above and Beyond” patient care. Stacy Danahy, LSI’s director of medical operations, explains, “As I look back on the past five years, I truly love the difference we make in people’s lives, whether it is surgical, educational, medical or personal. I believe in our leaders and surgeons, assisting people who have often tried so many alternatives find real relief and get their lives back.”

The company now performs endoscopic procedures in surgical centers in Tampa, FL; Scottsdale, AZ; and Philadelphia, PA. In addition, patient consultations are also provided in convenient medical facilities in Beverly Hills, CA; San Diego, CA; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; and The Villages, FL.

To keep up with the unprecedented interest in its outpatient procedures, Laser Spine Institute hosts free educational seminars in cities throughout the United States and Canada. In 2009, more than 16,000 people took advantage of the comprehensive presentations, which are highlighted by the opportunity for attendees to have their MRI films or CT scans reviewed by board-certified physicians.

Laser Spine Institute is proud to celebrate its 5th anniversary of helping people find relief from debilitating pain.

Published in Laser Spine Institute’s monthly newsletter, The Spinal Column, March 2010, Volume 2, Issue 3.

Source: Admin

A few weeks ago, I blogged about our San Diego medical consultation center – LSI’s first of four medical offices in the U.S. During the first year of the San Diego office, we noticed many patients were traveling from the Los Angeles area to meet with Dr. Richley and learn about LSI’s endoscopic approach to spine surgery. In fall of 2009, we opened a Los Angeles medical consultation facility in Beverly Hills.

What I have learned over the last year about the west coast from traveling to our medical offices and attending many seminars throughout the great state of California is that California residents truly enjoy life and won’t let anything affect their lifestyle. I completely understand because there are so many things to enjoy in California; hiking, biking, skiing, surfing, driving along the coast, dining at many fine restaurants and traveling to various parts of the state from San Francisco and Napa Valley to the desert of Palm Springs. I have traveled throughout California and loved every region. If you are a California resident, I don’t blame you for enjoying every minute!

If you live an active lifestyle, but are faced with chronic back or neck pain, don’t suffer any longer. Let me know what conservative treatments you have tried and how they have worked for you.

Source: Admin

In 2009, 4-million people in the U.S. reported that they were candidates for spine surgery or exhausted all other alternatives, but only 1.2-million people actually elected to do surgery! People always ask me why people are hesitant about spine surgery. My answer is always “fear.” Fear of the pain of the procedure; fear of the unknown potential complications from surgery and fear of the length of time to recuperate. I am certain if more people knew about minimally invasive spine surgery that more people would elect to take the plunge and get on with their lives.

I avoided a three-level cervical spine fusion that would have required a plate and six screws. In one surgery that lasted 50 minutes, the LSI foramintomy and laminotomy procedures treated my spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and facet arthritis. I returned home one hour after my cervical surgery. Later that afternoon, I walked a mile and a half. I went back to work in two days and played golf in eight days (of course that was not recommended by Dr. St. Louis. LOL)

If the 2.8 million people living with pain and afraid of spine surgery knew about the caring medical staff at LSI; they would feel better about treating their spinal conditions sooner rather than later. If you are living with pain, please don’t wait because of fear. Take the next step toward getting your life back.

Source: Admin

The infection preventionists at Laser Spine Institute have designed a coordinated infection prevention and control program to protect everyone who comes into the facility, including patients, healthcare workers and the public. Here are the steps we have taken at Laser Spine Institute to reduce the risk of infection.

Our program incorporates evidence-based practices from leading authorities in infection prevention including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). In addition, we comply with regulations from government agencies such as the state and local health departments, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSHA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as accrediting bodies, such as the American Association of Ambulatory Healthcare.

The essential elements of an infection prevention and control program to prevent healthcare-associated infections include:

• Rigorous hand hygiene practices that ensure healthcare providers clean their hands before and after providing patient care and after having contact with the patient’s environment.
• Patients as well as visitors need to practice good hand hygiene.  We encourage our patients to be partners in their care and talk with their healthcare providers about hand hygiene.
• Use of barrier precautions, such as gloves, gowns, masks, caps, etc. by healthcare workers and visitors.
• Separating patients with serious infections from other patients to prevent the transmission of infection.
• Proper disinfection of the patient’s skin prior to surgical procedures.
• Environmental cleaning and decontamination of equipment, especially items that are frequently touched or are close to patients, such as bedrails and bedside equipment.
• Monitoring the cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of instruments and equipment used for patient care.
• Staff education on best practices to prevent infections including the spread of resistant organisms such as MRSA (Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureous) and VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci).
• Sharing information with patients and families so they understand the importance of infection prevention practices in all healthcare settings and at home.

In order to ensure patient safety, the medical team is trained to identify any breaks in infection prevention and control practices and prepared to intervene, if such breaks are identified.

Source: Admin