Lourdes Health Network: Lourdes treating patients’ minds, bodies and spirits

Last year Lourdes celebrated our 100th anniversary with the entire community - our patients, staff, neighbors and family. This year, we embark on our second century of caring for this community. While technology and medicine have evolved immensely, our mission has never wavered.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet established Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in 1916, making our mission an extension of the healing ministry of Jesus. We respond to the healthcare needs of our community with compassion and a Christian spirit… It’s what sets us apart.

Our mission and values are embodied in our associates and at the core of every decision we make. We don’t try to be everything to everybody. Instead, each day we ask God to guide us in responding to the healthcare needs of those we serve. Then, we focus our intention and energy on providing care that serves our community’s best interests.

That means ensuring our rapidly growing community has access to the right care when they need it. We focus continually on expanding our network of primary care providers and recruiting specialists our community needs.

This year we established the area’s only Center of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, with Dr. Wanda Good serving as medical director. Dr. Good is fellowship trained in robotic surgery and is one of the few surgeons in the region performing robotically-assisted weight loss surgery.

Our list of specialists providing robotic-assisted surgery to their patients continues to grow. Lourdes urologists, general surgeons and gynecologists work with our phenomenal surgical staff to offer this option for minimal scarring, reduced blood loss, less pain and quicker recovery.

Lourdes’ mission calls us to continuously improve community behavioral health services as well.

Last summer Lourdes opened a 12-bed facility offering social detox for alcohol and drugs. In the fall we took over operation of Crisis Services for Benton/Franklin Counties, providing on-site intervention for those whose mental state endangers themselves or others.

By 2018, we will complete a total integration of our behavioral health and primary care clinics, establishing easier access to vital services. Integrating behavioral health and primary care sends a clear message – mental health care is as necessary and acceptable as family medicine or orthopedic care. Removing the stigma around this type of treatment makes it easier for people to get help they need.

Simply expanding and adding new services is not enough. Lourdes has gained national recognition for our exceptional performance and outcomes in several areas:

• Lourdes’ Telestroke program was honored by Providence Healthcare Telestroke Network for prompt patient care. Of the network’s 16 hospitals, Lourdes delivered clot-busting medication the fastest – earning us the “door-to-needle” award. Faster times equate to better outcomes in stroke patients.

• For the third consecutive year, Lourdes was designated among the top 100 hospitals in the nation for joint replacement and orthopedic surgery by Healthgrades®, the leading online resource for information about physicians and hospitals.

• We earned the highest possible rating (5 stars) from Healthgrades® for: Gynecologic surgeries and procedures, spinal fusion, total knee replacement, total hip replacement, hip fracture treatment

In healthcare, safety is a critical component of quality.

• Lourdes was given Healthgrades® Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for the past two years. This distinction places us among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation in the prevention of serious, potentially preventable complications during hospital stays. We are the only hospital in the area to receive this honor.

At Lourdes, we treat people, not patients…mind, body and spirit. These values and our enduring faith in God will lead us in caring for our neighbors for another century to come.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lourdes Health Network: Lourdes treating patients’ minds, bodies and spirits."