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SUMMER 1994 ISSUE ■ SINAI HOSPITAL
HealthNews
State-of-the-Art Facilities
Enhance Family Practice Specialty
Clinical Nurse Practitioner Joan O'Lear, R.N., pictured at right, provides educational support to patients at Sinai's Family Medical Center.
Many Needs, Many Roles
ou are a single mother of three. One child has
a rash, another has suspiciously pink eyes, the
third has a swollen ankle from a fall at base-
ball practice. Your periods are irregular, and
you are not sleeping well at night.
Do you make appointments with a dermatologist, oph-
thalmologist, pediatrician, orthopedic surgeon, gynecol-
ogist — and, for good measure, a psychiatrist because the
stress caused by all these appointments is almost too much
for you?
Not necessarily.
Although the family practice physician does not wear
a special costume and emerge from a phone booth, he has
become the superman of medicine, coming to the rescue
of families with multiple medical needs.
According to David Rothenberg, D.O., who recently
joined Sinai's Department of Family Medicine, it is the
family practitioner who makes it possible for patients
to find their way through the maze of today's healthcare
system.
Dr. Rothenberg, whose office is in Dearborn Heights,
appreciates the holistic approach of the family physician.
"By considering the family environment, work world and
SPEC IAL A DVERT ISE ME NT
y
the home life of each patient, family practitioners don't
just treat the ailment itself — they treat the whole patient,"
says Dr. Rothenberg.
With the help of clinical nurse practitioners, the fam-
ily practitioner also plays an important role as an educa-
tor. Family practitioners and clinical nurse practitioners
stress proper diet, exercise and preventive health
measures such as routine immunizations, mammograms,
Pap smears, and the new blood test for prostate cancer.
Once a patient is diagnosed with a disease such as
diabetes, the education process becomes even more im-
portant. Patients are referred to a clinical nurse practi-
tioner on staffwho takes the time to talk with each patient
and helps to outline a healthier lifestyle. Videotapes on
how to eat properly and prevent complications are also
an important part of the education process.
The days of running from one specialist to another are
slowly ebbing. Cost containment in:health care demands
it. This puts family practitioners in a unique position. Says
Peggy Galloway, Administrative Director for the De-
partment of Family Medicine at Sinai, "The family prac-
titioner is the future of health care and Sinai is
actively preparing for that future."
rr he demand for family medicine has led Sinai
to establish two family care centers — one on
. the hospital campus at the Blumberg Health
Center and, most recently, the Sinai Family
Medical Center in Oak Park. A third clinic is in the
planning stages.
The Oak Park Center, for example, offers pa-
tients sigrnoidoscopic and colon examinations for
the diagnosis of bowel diseases and culposcopic ex-
aminations for the diagnosis of female cervical can-
cer without requiring hospital admission. The
Center also offers obstetrical and prenatal care as
well as a complete array of birth control methods,
including the non-scalpel vasectomy. Convenient-
ly located on the southeast corner of Ten Mile (1-696
service drive) and Coolidge Roads, the Oak Park
Family Medical Center also features an on-site lab-
oratory and radiology services.
"The Oak Park office is a model for future fami-
ly practice centers," explains Dr. Kushner, Chair-
man of the Department of Family Medicine. "Busy
families are demanding quality health care for each
family member that is accessible, convenient and
in one location."
Dr. Kushner views this type of facility as "a hos-
pital without walls; a place to treat families, not just
individuals."
The Sinatimily Medical Center in Oak Park has become
a model for future family practice centers. High quality care,
convenient location and specialized services make the Sinai
Family:Center "just what the doctor ordered" for busy
families.
Free Prostate Screening
Planned for September
Approximately 35,000 men will die from prostate
cancer this year alone and another 165,000 men will be
diagnosed with the disease. Prostate cancer can be cured,
however, if detected early.
Two simple tests can help to improve the chances of
early detection and cure: a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)
blood test combined with a digital
rectal exam (DRE).
Plans are already underway at
Sinai to offer a second annual free
prostate screening for men 50
years of age and older or for men
40 years of age and older with a
family history of prostate cancer.
Last year, almost 100 men took advantage of the free
screening.
Date, time and location of the free prostate screening
are still to be determined. For more information, call Sinai
Hospital Corporate Communications/Marketing at (313)
493-5500.
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