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SUMMER 1994 ISSUE
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SINAI HOSPITAL
HealthNews
inai's Breast
Health Care pro-
gra.rn works with
many medical
disciplines to ensure co-
ordinated breast care.
With the help of experts
in the flelds of obstetrics
and gynecology, radiation
oncology, medical oncolo-
gy, medicine, surgery,
psychiatry and support
from the breast cancer
support groups, a con-
certed team effort keeps
women healthy.
Sinai strongly encour-
ages manirnogra.rns,
breast self exams and
phy sician exams in the
e against breast can-
surgery is neces-
mtd: orsan y
S
Sinai's uniquely responsive Women's Services program addresses the diverse needs of women.
Sinai Responds to the
Diverse Needs of Women
hen a woman picks up the
telephone to make a doctor's
appointment, it might be for
a variety of reasons.
It might be that she has discovered a
suspicious lump in her breast.
It might be that she has not missed a
period as she had hoped — and she is NOT
pregnant, a profound disappointment as
her child-bearing years wane.
It might be that she has experienced ex-
cessive bleeding and is fearful of a tumor.
Or it might be that she has been awak-
ened by profuse sweating in the middle of
the night, reminding her of a condition her
mother called "hot flashes."
All of these concerns are addressed by
the uniquely responsive Women's Services
program at Sinai Hospital directed by
David B. Schwartz, M.D., Chairman of
the Department of Obstetrics and Gyne-
cology.
Dr. Schwartz's professional career be-
gan in South Africa and later took him to
England. From hospitals with primitive
equipment to sophisticated healthcare
facilities, Dr. Schwartz has witnessed
remarkable changes in obstetrics and gy-
necology during his 30 years of practice.
Now at Sinai, he and the entire ob ✓gyn staff
are at the forefront of developing innova-
tive, personalized healthcare services that
protect mother and baby in ways scarcely
imaginable just a quarter of a century ago.
Dr. Schwartz oversees a full range of
women's health care services. These ser-
vices are available at Sinai Hospital, the
Louis and Vivian Berry Health Center,
which opened in Farmington Hills in 1991,
and at numerous physicians' offices locat-
ed throughout Southeastern Michigan.
The Berry Center provides a friendly, con-
venient site for outpatient surgery and also
houses the Women's Center staffed with
a gynecologic cancer specialist, an expert
in menstrual disorders and maternal-
fetal medicine specialists who provide a
full range of high-risk pregnancy services.
The Women's Center is located just a floor
above Sinai's exceptional outpatient Berry
Surgery Center.
PE IAL ADVE •TI IMIN011
W
Plans are underway for a new Women's
Center in the northwestern corridor which
will combine some of the newer satellite
services under one roof and include addi-
tional services and programs such as
breast care, urogynecology and adult
women's medicine.
In his precise, Queen's English, Dr.
Schwartz pays tribute to the expertise of
Sinai's physicians, nurses, technicians, so-
cial workers, coordinators and counselors
who compose what he calls an extended
healthcare team. "No one individual can
manage to have the multiple skills that
are needed by so many patients today. Peo-
ple have high expectations for their health;
they want absolute quality in the easiest
fashion with minimum inconvenience and
discomfort. This requires good communi-
cation and coordination in our depart-
ment."
gynecology, radiation
s „- And
lop
. .
me 'me, surgery, psychiatry,
rpups use a team effort to ensure
le.....
g
g'ec.
may provide telephone
support throughout the
patient's treatment expe-
rience.
At Sinai, breast health
goes beyond medical care.
"Patients and families al
most always feel a loss
of control over their lives.
We help women to regain
control by offering psy
,,,,,t cholog,ical and emotional
support," says. Ms. Diaz.
Sinai's High-Risk Pregnancy Team
inai's High-Risk Pregnancy Team is
composed of perinatologists (board-
certified maternal-fetal medicine sub-
specialists), neonatologists (board-certified
pediatricians who have received training
in the care of newborn babies), and obstetric
anesthesiologists who are available 24
hours a day. In addition, uniquely skilled
nurses -staff the antepartum and postpar-
tum units and the carefully monitored
nurseries. Sinai's maternal-fetal medicine
specialists include Director of Maternal-
Fetal Medicine Gregory L. Goyert, M.D.,
Debra Wright, M.D., Richard Bronsteen,
M.D., and David B. Schwartz, M.D., Chair-
man of the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology.
As with each of Sinai's obstetric patients,
the high-risk mother has access to the
services of highly trained ultrasound tech-
nicians, a genetics counselor and perina-
tal social worker. Nurses with advanced
S
training and certification provide educa-
tion and patient care under the direction
of Sinai's maternal-fetal medicine faculty.
Sinai's High-Risk Team uses a variety
of the latest techniques to monitor the
health and development of babies. Testing
procedures include advanced-level ultra-
sound (with color-flow doppler) to measure
growth and assess anatomy; non-stress
tests (NST) to evaluate fetal health;
biophysical profile testing to confirm a safe
intrauterine environment for the baby;
and amniocentesis to detect genetic
abnormalities.
Sinai also sees to the special needs of
mothers and infants during the exciting
time of labor and delivery. Anesthesia ser-
vices are available around the clock for
epidural pain relief or when cesarean births
become necessary. The cesarean birth rate
at Sinai is among the lowest in the region
and far lower than the national rate.
For infants who are at-risk after birth,
Sinai features a Level III neonatal inten-
sive care unit (NICU) staffed 24 hours a
day with board certified neonatologists.
These pediatric sub-specialists team up
with a superbly trained nursing staff to
handle even the most complicated newborn
problems.
Sinai's Director of Maternal-Fetal Med-
icine Gregory L. Goyert, M.D., says: "Oth-
er hospitals may offer the same clinical
'services for high-risk obstetric patients that
Sinai does. What sets us apart, however,
is that our high-risk pregnancy program
is tailored to meet the needs of each pa-
tient. Some patients may only require a
one-time consultation. Others may require
long-time co-management or direct man-
agement. Whatever their needs, Sinai's
High-Risk Pregnancy Team is there to
provide expertise and support to high-risk
moms."