Skilled Doctors Playing an Important Role

At Saint Vincent Hospital, we’re dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate care to those in our community. As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, our Hospitalist Program plays a critical part in providing you with support in getting the care you need. Hospitalists are doctors whose primary focus is providing general medical care for anyone admitted to our hospital.

What Do Saint Vincent Hospitalists Do?

Hospitalists are responsible for many important tasks, including:

Working in partnership with your primary care doctor to coordinate inpatient care
Working closely with nurses, ancillary staff and other specialists involved in your care
Being familiar with the hospital’s systems for ordering tests, analyzing results and arranging for treatment
Being trained to quickly recognize and respond to changes in the patient’s condition
Being available at the hospital 24 hours a day, so they can see patients as frequently as their medical conditions require
Promptly providing your doctor with a written report of your hospital visit to facilitate any follow-up care you may need

If you do not have a primary care doctor, the Hospitalist team will provide you with a list and arrange your follow-up care.

How Hospitalists Help Primary Care Doctors

Hospitalists practice full-time in the hospital, so they are readily available to help your doctor. When you enter the hospital, a Saint Vincent Hospitalist will immediately begin acting as attending doctor for the length of the hospital stay.

Hospitalists will:

Provide prompt admission and treatment
Oversee your entire hospital stay to provide quality care
Communicate ongoing patient status to your primary care doctor on a timely basis

Daily activities include:

Coordinating hospital admissions
Arranging diagnostic testing and specialty consultations
Explaining findings and discussing recommendations with patients
Orchestrating all patient care
Providing medical care for patients who need surgical treatment
Managing urgent situations that may arise during the hospitalization
Reviewing hospital treatment with insurance companies and payers

Career Opportunities

If you’re interested in a career as a Hospitalist at Saint Vincent Hospital, call (508) 363-6849 to learn more.

5 Signs You Might Need Knee Replacement Surgery

Resting and icing a knee may be common remedies to relieve knee pain, but how long until you feel the aches and pains again? If one of the below applies to you, it might be time to consider knee replacement surgery.

Persistent or reoccurring pain
The pain prevents you from sleeping
You have difficulty doing daily activities including walking or climbing stairs
Your knees are stiff or swollen
Knee deformity — a bowing in or out of the knee

Detroit Medical Center (DMC) orthopedic surgeons understand that you have a variety of goals for your surgery, including reducing pain, regaining mobility, improving quality of life and regaining the ability to participate in work and recreational activities. That’s why we offer Mako SmartRobotics™, a minimally invasive, robot-assisted option to perform partial or total knee replacements.

DMC is one of the top health systems in Michigan for the number of Mako surgeries performed each year and has been performing Mako SmartRobotic™ joint replacement surgeries since 2012.

Benefits of Minimally Invasive, Robot-Assisted Knee Replacement Surgery

In a minimally invasive knee replacement procedure, an incision of about four to six inches is made to allow for insertion of the knee replacement. This results in minimal damage to surrounding muscles and tendons around the knee. Compared to conventional surgery with a larger incision, benefits of minimally invasive surgery include the following:

Less discomfort, swelling and blood loss
Shorter hospitalization and rehabilitation
Ability to return to activities sooner

Minimally invasive knee replacement surgery is not suitable for all patients. Your doctor will conduct a thorough evaluation and consider several factors before determining if the procedure is an option for you.

If knee pain is controlling your life and limiting your activities, make an appointment with a DMC orthopedic specialist to discuss your options. We specialize in surgical and nonsurgical solutions for joint pain. To learn more about your options for treating knee pain click here or call 313-494-9440 to make an appointment with a DMC orthopedic specialist.

Source: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons

Hospitalist Program