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Translating Innovations Into Better Patient Care
William D. PetasnickPresident and CEO, Froedtert Hospital
Many hospitals can acquire technology — in fact, in today’s competitive healthcare environment, technological advances are one way some facilities stay ahead of the curve. However, using that technology in scientific discovery that translates into better care is quite another matter.
One of Froedtert’s key missions has long been to advance scientific discovery. As part of an academic medical center that is gaining recognition in the national arena, we have a long history of active participation in research that helps drive standards of care in our own “backyards” and far beyond.
New treatments and technology have become everyday news — often heard in sound bites. At Froedtert, we have the privilege of writing the “story behind the story.” We’re in at the ground floor, helping a new cancer treatment come into being or helping keeppatients safer during treatment.
This year, we are excited to bring you the Tomotherapy Hi-Art System® — a new addition to the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center. Tomotherapy is a highly precise radiation therapy technology that makes it possible for us to treat cancers we couldn't touch with radiation earlier. Those include such challenging cancers as brain cancer and malignancies that grow close to the spine or other critical areas. Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin is one of only about 20 centers in the nation to be chosen as a Tomotherapy “center of excellence,” because we have the expertise, the facilities and the patient base necessary not only to provide treatment, but to develop its potential through research.
Medical College of Wisconsin physicians have been instrumental in furthering the development of Tomotherapy and other such radiation therapy techniques through clinical trials right here at Froedtert. Tomotherapy represents a true evolution in cancer treatment, and I'm proud to say we've been a part of that evolution for the past 25 years.
We are also part of the discovery team working with the “mini-transplant” — a type of therapy that lets one person “borrow” another person’s immune system to fight certain types of cancer. This very new technique is showing great promise in combating slow-growing malignancies.
We’ve recently activated another innovation for cancer patients called Intellidose®, a computerized chemotherapy drug ordering software we now use to monitor drug dosage for cancer patients. We are also phasing in the eMar computer system, which our nurses use to document patient medications electronically. Both innovations are effective in a part of healthcare that leaves little room for error.
I and the rest of my colleagues at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin remain firmly committed to our mission. We will continue to bring you updates such as those you'll read about in this issue of Froedtert Today.
Source: Froedtert Today Date: November 2004 |