AUGUST 11, 2017 | VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 32

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT NAMES MERCY MEDICAL CENTER – DES MOINES A BEST REGIONAL HOSPITAL

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Mercy Medical Center – Des Moines has been recognized as a Best Regional Hospital for 2017-18 by U.S. News & World Report. Mercy ranks third overall in Iowa and is recognized as “high performing” in seven areas: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, heart bypass surgery, heart failure, colon cancer surgery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hip replacement, and knee replacement.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 28th year, are part of U.S. News’ patient portal, designed to help patients make informed decisions about where to receive care for life-threatening conditions or for common elective procedures.

“We are truly honored to receive this recognition from U.S. News & World Report,” said Mercy Interim President Mike Wegner. “Being designated as a ‘high performing’ organization in seven categories is a validation of the skill and dedication of our Mercy colleagues and physicians. This recognition acknowledges Mercy’s commitment to providing excellent health care and a remarkable experience to everyone we are privileged to serve.”

For the 2017-18 rankings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide in 25 specialties, procedures and conditions. In the 16 specialty areas, 152 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care.

For more information, visit Best Hospitals and use #BestHospitals on Facebook and Twitter.

Amy Belloma

Sarah Cox

Jill Crawford

Skylar Courtier

Lisa Erb

Rachel Evans

Rusty Gheer

Joan Mccleish

Emily Montgomery

Mary Pope

Rebecca Porter

Megan Ridgely

Julie Schomer

Angela White

Miranda White

Look for more information on

how to sign up for this event in

future editions of the Bulletin

and in Mercy News Briefs.

The following individuals were recognized in July for Living Up and are the sweepstakes prize winners:

LIVEUP RECOGNITION SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS Your Mercy colleagues are continuing to receive recognition from their peers for Living Up. Want to see what people are saying? Check out

the recognitions at: https://mercydsmliveup.isrewards.com.

The Bulletin is published weekly for staff and friends of Mercy Medical Center, 1111 6th Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50314-2611

If you are interested in submitting information to be printed in the Bulletin, send it to PR and Marketing or call 515-247-3050.

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WHAT’S UP?STROKE PATIENTS HAVE NEW OPTION FOR TREATMENT

Mercy is proud to be the first in central Iowa to offer mechanical thrombectomy – a new, state-of-the- treatment for acute ischemic stroke patients. This surgical procedure completely removes a blood clot from a person’s brain with a special instrument called a stent retriever. Here’s how it works:· A catheter is threaded into an artery in the groin and up through the neck, until it

reaches the blood clot causing the stroke.

· Using X-ray guided imaging, a stent retriever is inserted into the catheter.

· The stent reaches past the clot, expands to stretch the walls of the artery so blood can flow and is “retrieved” – or pulled backwards – which removes the clot.

Its counterpart (and more common) treatment is a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment, which is given through an IV in the arm and works by breaking up the blood clot to improve blood flow to the part of the brain being deprived of blood. tPA needs to be administrated within three hours of having a stroke, while mechanical thrombectomy needs to be performed within six hours of having a stroke and only after a patient receives tPA. Mechanical thrombectomy is considered as a breakthrough in stroke treatment, as it’s a quicker and safer treatment that results in improved outcomes for stroke patients, by providing them with greater independence and mobility. This procedure significantly reduces stroke-related disability and mortality, allowing Mercy to not only save, but also change patients’ lives for the better. The first mechanical thrombectomy procedure at Mercy was performed earlier in the year and resulted in a successful outcome. In this case, the stroke patient regained speech and movement just one day following the surgery. This procedure is led by Dr. Einar Bogason, central Iowa's only fellowship-trained endovascular neurosurgeon, and a team of multiple specialists, including Dr. Michael Jacoby; Terri Hamm; and staff in the Emergency Department, neurosurgery, neurology, imaging, radiology, rehabilitation and the Neuro Trauma Medical Intensive Care Unit (NTICU).

Family medicine, pediatric and physical

therapy providers from Mercy Clinics

Waukee donated their time to offer free

physicals to students during a back-to-

school family resource fair on Aug. 1.

The clinic partnered with Waukee Area

Christian Services and the Waukee School

District for the event, which provided

resources to 175 families. The team

of (from left) Brianne Day, D.O., Chris

Etscheidt, M.D., Sarah Jackson, M.D.,

Adam Kruse, D.O., and Ashley Osgood,

DPT, provided 80 free school physicals

during the event.