Martin Memorial Emergency Center at St. Lucie West Celebrates First Anniversary

The doors to the Martin Memorial Emergency Center at St. Lucie West had not even opened yet when the first patient seeking care showed up on the morning of Sept. 1, 2009.

People have continued to receive care there at a remarkable pace, averaging nearly 2,000 visits per month since the emergency center began treating patients a year ago. Demand was high enough that Martin Memorial has already added an additional bed for a total of 13.

Located at 1095 N.W. St. Lucie West Blvd. in Port St. Lucie, the emergency center is an off-site emergency department designed to meet the critical medical services needs for western St. Lucie County by providing access to timely emergency care.

“When we opened this facility we believed it would be a valuable resource for the community and it has exceeded expectations,” said Steven D.M. Parr, DO, medical director of the emergency center. “We have been able to help a great number of people receive the care they needed quickly and close to home.”

The 9,100-square foot emergency center provides a wide range of care, treating everything from sprains to chest pains. Diagnostic imaging – including X-rays, and MRI and CT scans – are available on site, as well as a laboratory dedicated just for the emergency center.

While off-site emergency departments traditionally see patients with less serious illnesses or injuries – generally allowing them to treat patients more quickly – the physicians and nurses on staff are able to respond to acute injuries and illnesses as well.

The emergency center is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, but does not provide inpatient beds. It is staffed and equipped to handle many of the same emergencies a hospital would, though patients with more severe injuries or ailments are taken to appropriate facilities. Patients requiring inpatient admission are transported by ambulance to a hospital.

David L. Smythe Wound Center Offers Comprehensive Care for Non-Healing Wounds

For most people, wound healing is a natural, uneventful process. But for some, it becomes a complex medical problem requiring specialized treatment and care.

Since 2003, the David L. Smythe Wound Center at Martin Memorial has provided a multidisciplinary program of treatment and support for the management of acute and chronic wounds. Since problem wounds are often associated with underlying medical conditions, our program is designed to integrate wound care with ongoing health care.

If you are one of the more than five million Americans suffering from a non-healing wound, we may be able to help. Our specialists work together to provide individualized treatment and decrease the cost and time of your recovery. If you are suffering with any of the following, you may be a candidate for wound care:

• Diabetic foot ulcers
• Chronic venous ulcers (leg ulcers)
• Pressure ulcers bed sores)
• Chronic osteomyelitis (bone infection)
• Radiation-related tissue damage
• Any ulcer/wound that persists for more than six weeks despite care

At the David L. Smythe Wound Center at Martin Memorial, we have specially trained physicians, nurses and clinical staff who are experts in diagnosing and managing wounds.

We have won national awards for our program’s quality outcomes, in part because we take the proper steps to ensure patients receive the best treatment results possible.

For more information call (772) 223-5903 or visit our website at mmhs.com, then click on Services and Locations.

Music Cranked Up on Your Kid’s MP3? It Could Be Doing Long-Term Hearing Damage

Do you know how loud that music is your child is listening to? Did you know it could be loud enough to permanently damage their hearing?

At peak volume, iPods, MP3 players and other personal ear-level devices can reach 110 to 120 decibels, which approach the level of a live rock concert. Granted, few people actually listen to music at a painfully loud level, but indisputably, most listen louder than what is necessary.

While many personal devices now have a volume cap parents can set and lock, the issue these days is more than just the volume level. The longer, rechargeable battery life and greater music storage capacity people have grown to love and expect is also what encourages and allows people to listen longer and not give their ears a chance to recover. It is the combination of high intensity and long duration that creates risky conditions for early hearing loss. Physician studies have reported younger and younger patients with signs of early hearing loss.

Remember when your parents repeatedly yelled “turn that music down”? Well, with this generation that is plugged in 24/7, parents aren’t yelling that stuff anymore because parents can’t tell how loud the music actually is. Not to mention we’re also seeing a very different level of use than we did in the past.

Listening via portable music players has become more of a full-day listening experience as opposed to just when you’re jogging. Many adults and children are using these devices not just to enjoy music, but also to block out ambient noise on buses, in cars, on the street, in restaurants, etc. They tend to crank up the volume to compensate for the surrounding noise and don’t even realize they may be causing damage to their ears. This accumulated noise damage may take years before it causes noticeable hearing problems, but by then it’s too late.

Hearing is a complex process. Tiny hair cells in the inner ear amplify sound vibrations and convert them into signals the brain can interpret and understand. Exposure to excessively loud sounds damages these delicate hair cells and their ability to transfer sound to the brain, which causes noise-induced hearing loss.

The effects can be temporary, like after a single concert, and hair cells can recover. However, constant repeated exposure can weaken and eventually kill hair cells, causing permanent hearing loss. Children’s ears are even more sensitive than adults because their ears are so much smaller and sounds entering the ear canal become louder because they are generated in a smaller space. So the longer and louder you listen, the greater the potential for lasting damage.

But there is good news: use of these devices does not need to be eliminated to protect young people's hearing. Several studies over the years have determined that it is relatively safe to listen to a portable music player set to no higher than 60 percent of its potential maximum volume for one hour a day (not for hours at a time). If listeners are willing to turn the volume down even further, they can increase the amount of time they can safely listen.

One informal rule of thumb is if you have to remove the headset, or turn the volume down to hear people talking to you, it’s too loud. Concern over the risk of hearing loss also has some companies producing headset styles that aim to block out background noise so you can hear the music better at lower volumes. These products can be pricey, but worth it. And for all you techy parents out there, there is uHear, a sound app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that enables you to test your own hearing sensitivity.

Remember, turning down the music today will ensure your children will be able to hear the music in the future.

--Michele P. Phillips, Au.D., CCC-A
Clinical Audiologist

Beating the Heat Critical for Patients with Heart Failure, Other Chronic Conditions

Patients with heart failure and certain other chronic medical conditions should not exercise outside in very hot and humid weather. This is because their hearts have less reserve capacity to transport heat from the body and their hearts can become overworked.

In addition, many heart failure patients are also trying to balance the fluid levels in their bodies by taking diuretic medications that rid the body of excess water and reduce their ability to sweat. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can develop in heart failure patients just by their sitting in a house or car that is not air-conditioned or by being outside in the sun for too long on very hot days.

Tips for people living with heart failure:

• Continue your usual exercise, but move indoors to an air-conditioned space (try walking laps at the mall).
• Do not stay in a building, house or car without air conditioning.
• Weigh yourself daily at the same time and with the same amount of clothing. If your weight drops more than two to three pounds from your normal weight, call your doctor to see if your medications need adjusting.
• Be cautious and take frequent cooling breaks when you are outdoors.
• Drink cool water rather than cold water because the body absorbs cool water faster.
• Do not drink juices or sodas during exercise as they are not absorbed well during exercise.
• Sports drinks are not required for salt and mineral replacement if you eat a healthy diet.

If you experience symptoms of heat exhaustion, move to a cool place, remove any extra layers of clothing, begin drinking cool water and seek medical attention if you do not feel better after one hour. Symptoms of heat exhaustion can include:

• Heavy sweating
• Muscle cramps
• Dry tongue and thirst
• Weakness
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fainting

--Janice Meadows MBA, BSN, CEN
Assistant Vice President, Frances Langford Heart Center

“Christine’s Story” a Look at How Bariatric Surgery Can Greatly Improve Quality of Life

Christine began putting weight on after she was married, started having a family and concentrating on her business.

The pounds kept piling on, until one day she decided to do something about it. After much deliberation and research, Christine determined it was time to take action.

In 2008 the decided to have weight-loss surgery at the Martin Memorial Center for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery. That was in 2008. Today, she has lost 122 pounds and kept it off.

Losing the weight has allowed her to live without the pain she felt while maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle. She gardens, exercises and even completed a 5K run.

To learn more about her journey and the benefits of weight-loss surgery, please watch the video “Christine’s Story” below. If you have questions, you can call the center for bariatric and metabolic surgery at (772) 223-4916, or attend one of our educational sessions. The next one will be held Tuesday, July 17 at Martin Memorial Medical Center from 6:30-7:30 p.m. To RSVP, call 1-866-361-HOPE (4673).

Steve Wolfberg, Former Martin County Emergency Services Director, Joins MMHS

Steve Wolfberg, who served Martin County for nearly 28 years in emergency medical services, fire-rescue and emergency services, is taking on a new role at Martin Memorial Health Systems.

Wolfberg recently was named the director of transportation and fleet management services. Among his responsibilities, Wolfberg will oversee Martin Memorial’s Coastal Care Transportation, which provides advanced and basic life support for patients needing to be transported to and from the hospital setting, both locally and across the state. Coastal Care ambulances are stationed at several Treasure Coast locations, including Martin Memorial Medical Center, Martin Memorial Hospital South and the Martin Memorial Emergency Center at St. Lucie West.

“This is an exciting opportunity,” Wolfberg said. “I look forward to coming back to the Treasure Coast and being involved in the community. It’s like a homecoming for me.”

Wolfberg began his career with Martin County in 1980. He helped develop the county’s EMS program in the early 1980s, served as fire chief, and became emergency services director in 1997. He retired from that position in 2008 to work for Matrix Consulting Group, where he spent two years. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based group consulted with government agencies and businesses on public safety practices, law enforcement, fire-rescue and EMS programs, and emergency communications.

One of the primary goals in Wolfberg’s consulting work was to help organizations find efficiencies in existing programs that could also enhance the quality of care and improve safety. Now, he will be sharing that experience with Martin Memorial.

“I love innovation and cutting edge ideas,” Wolfberg said. “Many of those ideas come from the people doing the actual job, so I hope to be a catalyst for those ideas and help transition them into management practices that will benefit Martin Memorial’s patients and our organization as a whole.”