Medical Campus ResearchEnlarged Prostate Treatment
County Collaborative for Best Practices
Pastoral CareMobile ICU
Arthritis in ChildrenFacial Nerve DisordersOtis Media
Neuro-Oncology Surgery
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The Executive Health Program |
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| Michael S. Farber, M.D., Director, Executive Health Program |
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| What is the Executive Health Program at Hackensack University Medical Center? A significant challenge that faces both male and female executives is achieving optimal physical condition to meet, compete and succeed in today’s business world. Hackensack University Medical Center is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading medical institutions with board certified physicians in all medical specialties. And our Executive Health Program features a level of personal attention and a quality of medical care that far surpasses any ordinary physical examination. Efficiently organized to make the best use of valuable executive time, while also accommodating an ongoing business schedule, this comprehensive, confidential health assessment and preventive strategy only takes one day at one convenient, friendly and comfortable location. Using the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art testing procedures and diagnostic equipment, it is specifically designed to help in the early detection of potentially serious conditions. To provide “peace of mind” with no waiting or undue stress, assessment results are available at the end of the day. The client receives individualized, one-on-one attention from a personal Executive Health Physician, including a health maintenance consultation; a complete and confidential report on health status; and a PIN number for secure, world wide internet access to his/her medical history in case of emergencies when traveling abroad. This thorough physical examination is one of the best available anywhere.
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Louis Ramazzotto, M.D.,
Chairman, Department of Research |
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| What are the benefits of conducting research on a medical center campus? Research is one of the key components that distinguishes a true University Medical Center from a community hospital. By conducting basic and clinical research, new information is acquired, disseminated, and incorporated into practice. This cutting edge information often translates into advances for better patient care. And the research atmosphere enables the institution to attract prominent physicians who have access to the latest information. There are basically two types of research conducted at the medical center. Basic laboratory research seeks to gain new information into the origin, treatment, and cure of diseases. This information often leads to the invention of new techniques, creation of new medical devices, and the generation of new drugs. The Clinical Research Program is chiefly concerned with the evaluation of new drugs and pharmaceuticals and devices and techniques for the treatment of serious and often life-threatening diseases. An institution with all of these components can obviously offer a wide range of up-to-date medical care that is not available at institutions without active research programs. What type of research is conducted at Hackensack University Medical Center? Hackensack University Medical Center has a comprehensive research program. The basic science program, located in our modern 56,000-square-foot facility, supports research funded by The National Institutes of Health and other scientific foundations. Scientists are working on mechanisms to understand the ideology, diagnosis, and improved treatment of serious diseases. The medical center also has active programs in developing early cancer detection methods, new surgical techniques, and formulations for new drug compounds. This comprehensive research program puts Hackensack University Medical Center on the cutting edge of medical science. Patients can be assured the most current information will be utilized in the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. For more information on The Department of Research at Hackensack University Medical Center, please call 201-996-2879. |
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The Bergen County Medical Collaborative for Best Practice |
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| Peter A. Gross, M.D., Chairman, Department of Internal Medicine |
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| Can you tell us about The Bergen County Medical Collaborative for Best Practice? During the past two years, Hackensack University Medical Center has been pleased to participate in an exciting initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The program, Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance, was developed to foster improvements and to raise nationwide standards in the treatment and prevention of disease. For the medical center, the goal of Pursuing Perfection was to identify and implement improvement strategies for numerous clinical areas and to facilitate the spread of effective improvements in service delivery. The Bergen County Medical Collaborative for Best Practice, which brings The Bergen County Department of Health Services, The Bergen County Medical Society, The Bergen Regional Medical Center, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, and Pascack Valley Hospital together with Hackensack University Medical Center, is the next and most exciting phase of this initiative. How will The Bergen County Medical Collaborative for Best Practice benefit the residents of Bergen County? It might surprise people to know that estimates show medical error is a contributing factor to the cause of death for as many as 98,000 people each year. While statistics vary from state to state and region-to-region, the national data compels us to do whatever we can to assure that each patient is treated with the best practice measures for his or her condition. Through the Collaborative, primary medical institutions and caregivers throughout Bergen County will be working together to facilitate the spread of effective clinical improvements across the broad spectrum of healthcare delivery in the region. We will begin by improving compliance with best practice guidelines for patients with the potential for heart disease and by working to lower the mortality rate for heart attack victims. Then, we will pursue other chronic diseases like diabetes and asthma. We will be looking at everything from administrative practices, to data collection, to communication, to clinical procedure, to aftercare. One of the things we’re already working on is the development of a common physician order sheet for all heart attack patients admitted to participating hospitals. By sharing our individual evidentiary-based findings, we will be developing one common intake form that delineates our collective evidentiary-based successes. As such, we can assure everyone in Bergen County that optimal measures will be taken from the moment a patient arrives at the hospital, throughout their stay, and afterwards. To find out more about the Executive Health Program and one-day executive health assessment at Hackensack University Medical Center, please call (201) 996-3166 in complete confidence. Back To Top
Are there any other special services offered? Yes, we offer a wide variety of specialty services, including electron beam tomography for early detection of coronary artery disease, nutrition and fitness counseling and access to all surgical sub-specialties. Spa services are also available upon request. Everything is convenient, private and confidential with special accommodations for a busy executive’s daily business needs. |
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Rev. Karen Gazzillo,
Pastoral Care |
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| How does Pastoral Care meet your needs in a medical center? Pastoral care provides person-centered care that focuses on the spiritual, rather than the physical or emotional, needs of patients. It is primarily a ministry of presence and compassionate care that involves active listening to the needs of a patient while acknowledging how their beliefs, values, and attitudes impact on their recovery process. It also requires chaplains to participate as members of an interdisciplinary healthcare team that seeks to provide comprehensive care plans that include strategies for spiritual care. When patients come into the hospital, they are routinely asked if they want to have their spiritual or religious leader notified and what their cultural, spiritual, and ritual needs may be. Chaplains are trained to have knowledge concerning the varieties of religious and spiritual traditions, cultural perspectives on spirituality, health and illness, as well as the principles of healthcare and palliative care. Chaplains are often asked to prepare, facilitate, and provide rituals such as communion and baptisms in emergency situations, as well as spiritual counseling, healing services, marriages, and funerals or bereavement services. What do chaplains, clergy, and volunteers do to support the spirit of body, mind medicine? Chaplains, clergy, and volunteers provide different levels of pastoral care visits such as routine visits, trauma interventions, and advocacy interventions. Routine visits include contacting clergy, and providing religious books, prayers, and objects of worship for diverse religious faiths. Clergy or chaplains are often called upon to explore deeper spiritual issues facilitated through discussion, reflection, and discernment. This type of visit encourages the patient to explore and express their spiritual needs. Trauma interventions refer to dealing with unexpected crisis such as accidents, untimely death or shocking circumstances where spiritual support may be needed. When people are involved in traumatic situations, Pastoral Care offers the caring presence of a chaplain who can provide spiritual support for patients, their family members or friends. Advocacy intervention involves the chaplain or clergy person in helping a patient to express their spiritual needs, while working cooperatively with other team members in implementing needed health strategies. This might involve decisions regarding end of life issues, as well as connecting the patient with internal and community groups for needed support. Ultimately, it is the goal of Pastoral Care to meet the spiritual needs of all patients while working collaboratively with physicians, nursing, and everyone involved in the patient’s medical care. |
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The Mobile Intensive Care Unit |
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| Ken Christensen, BS, MICP, Paramedic Coordinator |
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| What is The Mobile Intensive Care Unit? Started in 1974 as The Heart Rescue Team in conjunction with the City of Hackensack it was composed of a Physician and Nurse who responded to cardiac emergencies in the community. Later on in the late 1970s, Hackensack University Medical Center started the first training program in Bergen County for individuals to become paramedics and provide advanced life support services to the seriously ill and injured people of the community. In 1981, the paramedic program was expanded by the hospital to bring this life-saving service to more communities in the surrounding area. Today the paramedic program at HUMC, which is more commonly called The Mobile Intensive Care Unit, serves 18 communities surrounding the hospital and answers 10,000 requests for service each year. Paramedics respond in specialty equipped non patient-transport vehicles, sometimes referred to as “Emergency Rooms on Wheels.” With a staff of 50 paramedics, this service is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our paramedic teams are stationed in Hackensack, East Rutherford, and in Lodi. Working in conjunction with local public service agencies, it is our commitment to bring the highest quality patient care possible to the scene of an emergency. What training must you have to be a Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic? In order to be a Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic you must first complete an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) course that consists of approximately 120 hours of training that will prepare you to administer Basic Life Support care (BLS) in the community. Local emergency squads are staffed by EMTs to provide this level of emergency care in the field. Paramedic training takes up to approximately two years to complete and the candidate must successfully complete an oral, written, and practical examination. To be considered for this training it is essential to have a minimum of one year of solid Basic Life Support experience. Paramedics undergo specialized classroom and intensive hospital training. They are certified by The NJ State Department of Health & Senior Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services to perform advanced level life-saving procedures. Skills such as cardiac defibrillation, medication administration, advanced airway management for adequate ventilation and proficiency in cardiology and pharmacology concepts are some of the Advanced Life Support procedures taught to students. Additional educational programs are also required. For more information on the Mobile Intensive Care Unit at HUMC call (201) 996-2399. |
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Arthritis in Children |
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| Yukiko Kimura, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology, The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital |
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| How common is arthritis in children and what can be done for it? Arthritis is one of the most common diseases in children. One in 400 to one in 1,000 children under 16 develops arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease, just like juvenile diabetes. Autoimmune means that the body’s own immune system, whose job it is to protect the body against bacteria and other germs, instead begins to attack the body. And for some reason, this is what happens with arthritis: the immune system attacks the joints. There are many different types of arthritis that can occur in children. One type causes only one or two swollen joints, while another affects almost every joint in the body. Depending upon the type of arthritis and the age of the child, symptoms can vary from occasional aches and pains to pain and disability 24 hours a day. Twenty-five years ago, there was very little you could do besides give aspirin for treatment. Since that time, dozens of new and more effective medications have become available, including a new class of medications, called biologic response modifiers, that are incredibly effective. These new medicines are very focused and specifically target molecules that cause inflammation. They can often help children that are crippled and in terrible pain feel almost normal. Amazingly, these kids can even participate in sports after beginning some of these new treatments. What is the difference between growing pains and arthritis in children? Although growing pains is an old-fashioned term, it is not a misconception. There actually is something called growing pains, and although we don’t know if it is really due to growing, it does occur in children. In fact, many kids are told they have growing pains, before a diagnosis of arthritis is considered. Growing pains occur in children almost always at night. Children wake up crying because their legs hurt, usually in the long bones in the shins or calf. Given a little Tylenol and a massage, they are fine the next morning. The key to diagnosing growing pains is that they are all right during the day. Arthritis causes pain and stiffness during the day and at night as well. Morning stiffness is an important clue, because children with arthritis often wake up very stiff. They may refuse to stand up or to even go down the stairs. The stiffness usually ”gets better“ as the day goes on, except during periods of inactivity, which is a classic symptom of arthritis. Arthritis can also cause obvious swelling of a joint, or cause it to feel a lot warmer than the rest of the body. A board-certified pediatric rheumatologist can make an accurate and timely diagnosis. For more information, please call The Children’s Arthritis Center, a division of The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center at 201-996-5306. |
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Richard M. Winters, M.D.,
Medical Director, The Center for Facial Nerve Disorders and Facial Reanimation |
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| The Center for Facial Nerve Disorders and Facial Reanimation offers a unique program of comprehensive care for patients who experience facial paralysis, either from injury, surgical complications, stroke, virus, or other causes. Why did Hackensack University Medical Center decide to open this center? We opened this center–one of only a handful in the country–to meet the need for highly specialized diagnostic and treatment services for facial nerve disorders. Very often, patients with facial paralysis have been suffering with the problem for some time and don’t know where to turn. Sometimes, the problem inappropriately is viewed as purely cosmetic, which doesn’t reflect many of the medical problems that these patients face. These include eye difficulties and the inability to chew properly. We are proud to offer these comprehensive services within state-of-the-art facilities at Hackensack University Medical Center. What special medical expertise is needed to treat patients with facial nerve disorders? Facial nerve disorders can be difficult to diagnose and to treat because of the wide variety in severity, permanency, and cause. As such, they require highly specialized skills such as an intricate knowledge of anatomy and neurophysiology, as well as surgical expertise in reconstructive, microsurgical, and neurosurgical techniques. Our medical team includes board-certified plastic surgeons, otolaryngologists, neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, and neurologists. Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists round out the team. What services are available? We begin with a thorough diagnostic evaluation, which may include radiologic testing and provocative testing performed by a neurologist to determine the extent of the facial nerve paralysis. Our advanced treatment includes many types of medical and surgical methods, each of which is individualized to meet the patient’s unique needs. Our goals are to restore the patient’s natural appearance and function while in repose (at rest) and when animated, such as when speaking, chewing, and expressing emotions. For more information or an appointment, call The Center for Facial Nerve Disorders and Facial Reanimation at Hackensack University Medical Center at (201) 996-5588. |
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Otis Media |
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| Daniel S. Samadi, M.D. Pediatric Ear, Nose and Throat, Director of the Cochlear Implant Center, The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital |
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| What is middle ear infection; also known as Otitis Media (OM)? About 35 million visits to the pediatrician each year are a result of ear infections, and Otitis Media (OM) is one of the most common childhood illnesses in the U.S. OM is inflammation behind the eardrum that may occur as a result of a cold or respiratory infection. The space behind the eardrum may collect fluid that can become infected. About 75 percent of children have at least one episode of OM by the time they are three, and it occurs most frequently between the ages of six months and three years. Middle ear fluid is often not painful, but it can cause a mild sensation of ear fullness or discomfort. This fluid is harmful because it predisposes a child to an ear infection, and also reduces and distorts hearing. If ear infections or fluid in the ear go untreated or undiagnosed for a long period of time, they may result in hearing disability and speech and learning delays. While any child can develop an ear infection, here are some factors that may increase a child’s risk: being around someone who smokes; a family history of ear infections; a poor immune system; a daycare setting; absence of breastfeeding; having a cold; and being bottlefed while lying on the back. Symptoms of OM may include irritability, difficulty sleeping, tugging at the ears, fever, fluid draining from ear(s), loss of balance, hearing difficulties, and ear pain. Each child with OM may experience these symptoms differently. Untreated OM rarely causes permanent hearing loss but can affect speech and language development. What are the treatments for OM (Otitis Media)? Primary treatment for OM includes oral antibiotics or eardrops and pain medication. If fluid remains in the ear(s) for longer than three months, or if a child continues to have frequent ear infections, the physician may suggest small tubes be placed in the ear(s) to relieve the pressure in the middle ear. This small tube is placed through the eardrum to ventilate the middle ear and prevent fluid from accumulating. The child’s hearing is restored after the fluid is drained and the tubes usually fall out (on their own) after six to twelve months. Surgery is recommended for patients with recurrent ear infections and/or persistent middle ear fluid. It is usually a last resort when medical treatment has not resolved the problem. For more information, please call 201-996-5658. |
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Neuro-Oncology Surgery |
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| Viswanathan Rajaraman, M.D., Chief of the Division of Neuro-Oncology, TheCancer Center |
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| You practice neuro-oncologic surgery, a specialization that is available at only a handful of hospitals in New Jersey. What does this mean for patients to have your expertise available in their community? Neuro-oncologic surgery involves the surgical treatment of cancerous and benign tumors of the central nervous system. As a neuro-oncologic surgeon, I am skilled in treating brain and spinal cord tumors with a variety of surgical and non-invasive procedures. Patients of The Cancer Center’s Division of Neuro-Oncology have access to some of the most advanced diagnostic and treatment services in the world, with the convenience of being treated close to home. What are some of these advanced diagnostic and treatment options? Hackensack University Medical Center’s Department of Radiology has one of the largest neuro-radiology services– with seven full-time neuro-radiologists–in the tri-state area to diagnose brain tumors using sophisticated CT, MRI, PET, and MR spectroscopy imaging. The main goal of treating brain and spinal cord tumors is to remove as much of the tumor as possible without harming normal tissues that perform such vital life functions as speech, memory, or mobility. One tool we use to do this is the Stealth Neuronavigation System, which produces “live” images of the patient’s brain to help us plan surgery, carry it out, and review the outcome. We also use intra-operative mapping techniques to monitor a patient’s speech, language, movement, and other functions during surgery so that we can remove the tumor without harming normal brain tissue. My standards include using state-of-the-art microscopes during every brain surgery, something that is not practiced at every hospital. I also work with radiation oncologists at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Institute for Radiosurgery to perform stereotactic radiosurgery, a non-invasive outpatient treatment that uses precise beams of radiation to destroy some types of brain tumors, while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. We are also one of only two hospitals in the New York-New Jersey area to use the Gliasite Radiation Therapy System, which treats certain types of brain tumors that have recurred. For more information about The Cancer Center call (201) 996-5800. For cancers of the central nervous system, call (201) 996-4630. |
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