The Main Street Post

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center

POTTSTOWN PA – The radiation oncology department at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center (PMMC), located on Medical Drive, has received full accreditation from the American College of Radiation Oncology.

The department underwent a peer review and comprehensive site visit by college representatives during September to determine if its practice met necessary accreditation requirements. Radiation oncology personnel, equipment, treatment planning and treatment records, patient safety policies, quality control and quality assessment activities all were assessed.

The accreditation indicates PMMC’s commitment to provide highest quality of care for patients and their families, a hospital statement said. For more information about the radiation oncology department, call 610-327-7301.

The 224-bed acute-care hospital also is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Its medical staff includes 260 physicians and 40 medical specialties.

Photo from PMMC

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center

POTTSTOWN PA – An open house is planned for Thursday (Feb. 2, 2012) from 5-6:30 p.m. to introduce the arrival of enhanced pediatric care services on the fifth floor of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, 1600 E. High St., Pottstown PA, which will be offered in partnership with the Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Tours of the unit will be provided to local referring physicians and others in the medical community. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

The secure in-patient unit will provide around-the-clock access to pediatric specialists and physicians who specialize in the complex care of children’s health issues, as well as emergency department consultations, according to the hospital.

POTTSTOWN PA – To brighten what might be the otherwise glum faces of children dealing with illness in the pediatric unit of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, mural artist Ed Luterio of Boyertown PA worked throughout New Year’s Eve (Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011) to install a whimsical, colorful, hand-painted wall-full of kids, grinning lions, pink elephants and lanky giraffes.

The bright new mural, now complete, is featured in photos on Luterio’s website, here, as well as in a YouTube video.

Mural painting is a Luterio specialty. He has rendered everything, he said, “from dinosaurs to races cars for private, professional and corporate commissions.” His paintings have graced the covers of Fishing Facts and Striped Bass magazines, and he produces monthly how-to illustrations for Salt Water Sportsman magazine. His work also can be seen at the Jersey State Aquarium, and in the Bass Pro Shops’ retail store in Denham Springs LA.

• Watch a video (above) of the new mural at PMMC, posted Wednesday by Luterio, or see it at the 67artman YouTube channel.

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center

POTTSTOWN PA – The for-profit owner of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and Phoenixville Hospital bought two more Pennsylvania hospitals last month (December 2011) to add to its portfolio, The Associated Press reported Wednesday (Jan. 4, 2012).

“Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS) announced the acquisition of the 217-bed Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton and the 25-bed Mid-Valley Hospital in Peckville,” The AP said in the article published by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The $152 million deal was approved by a Lackawanna County judge, it also noted.

Besides the Pottstown and Phoenixville facilities, CHS also owns Chestnut Hill Health System in Philadelphia, and Brandywine and Jennersville hospitals in Chester County. Tennessee-based CHS’ holdings now total 133 hospitals owned, leased, or operated in 29 states, according to The AP.

PMMC in Pottstown

POTTSTOWN PA – Positron emission tomography (PET) and nuclear medicine, which use small amounts of radioactive material to diagnose a variety of diseases, have been accredited for the next three years at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, East High Street, Pottstown PA, the hospital announced Tuesday (Oct. 26, 2011).

The  accreditation follows a recent review of the hospital and its practices by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Its accreditation gold seal represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety, the hospital said, and is awarded only to facilities that meet ACR Practice Guidelines and Technical Standards after an evaluation by experts in the field.

PET, also called PET imaging or a PET scan, is a type of nuclear medicine imaging. Doctors using it can discover many types of cancers, heart disease, and certain other bodily abnormalities.

ACR is a national professional organization with more than 34,000 members who practice medical imaging, radiation oncology, and comprehensive health care service delivery.

Photo from PMMC

Java's Brewin' In Limerick

LIMERICK PA – A restaurant business that started in Limerick (PA) Township four years ago and then expanded into a Pottstown location is growing yet again, and again inside Pottstown borough, The Limerick Patch online news service reported Thursday (Aug. 18, 2011).

Java’s Brewin’, the West Ridge Pike, Limerick, coffee house that later opened a satellite shop inside Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, 1600 E. High St., Pottstown PA, is due to open its third location in mid- to late-September at the Pottstown Farmers’ Market, 300 High St., Pottstown, the “large warehouse of local meats, seafood and produce that has been open for 40-plus years,” The Patch wrote.

Ben and Lisa Barretta own the local business; their daughter, Julie, operates the PMMC location, and now a second daughter, Amanda, will assume operations at the Farmer’s Market.

• Read a story by editor Kevin Haslam, titled “Java’s Brewin’ to Open Third Store” and published Thursday by The Patch, here.

POTTSTOWN PA – For many consumers, smart phones are an indispensable way to stay connected. For physicians at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center (PMMC), they’re also tools to provide state-of-the-art care for burn patients.

When a patient with severe burns arrives at PMMC’s Emergency Department, 1600 E. High St., Pottstown PA, doctors use the Lehigh Valley Health Network’s TeleBurn system to send digital photos of the wounds to burn specialists at the Regional Burn Center in Allentown PA. As specialists view images on their phones, they discuss best treatment options with PMMC.

The network’s burn center experts “are a great resource for us” in quickly deciding whether to treat a patient at the Emergency Department or to transfer them to the burn center, said PMMC Emergency Services Patient Care Director Brian Barth.

To use TeleBurn, emergency department staffers take digital photos of a patient’s wound, upload them to a secure Internet site, and send them to a burn specialist’s smart phone. After a phone consultation between physicians, the patient is transported to the burn center if it’s determined that specialized care is needed.

Although many patients sustain an injury serious enough to be transferred, TeleBurn has been able to keep in their local area for care more than 14 percent of patients seen, according to burn center Chief Dan Lozano. “This shows how TeleBurn is improving access to care and quality while reducing costs,” he noted.

Time-efficient interaction between physicians assures the best care is provided quickly, Lozano said. With TeleBurn, “physicians get fast access to information they need to consult about a patient,” Barth added. In turn, patient “chances for a complete recovery dramatically improve.”

TeleBurn is a recent innovation. When launched in 2008, it effectively sent pictures but burn specialists had to log into a computer system to see them. With technology installed last year, burn center doctors receive a phone call and simply log into a secure application on their phones to check photos and talk with emergency department physicians.

The burn center is the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania, with 18 beds and about 700 inpatient discharges annually. TeleBurn has expanded to serve 39 facilities.

“With certain medical conditions, the expression ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is literally true. Burns are one of those conditions,” says PMMC emergency medicine physician Dr. Richard McLaughlin.