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.

Nail it! Health Problems Fingernails Can Reveal

Your nails are a unique window to what goes inside your body. The nail shape and texture can be signs of potential medical conditions, including liver, lung and heart problems. Healthy nails are shiny and smooth with a visible pink nail bed and a slight curve on the white free margin. They are not cracked, rigid or broken; they are uniform in color and consistency and without spots or discoloration. Learn what your nails' color, shape and texture tell you about your health.

The lunula is the white half-moon shape found at the base of the nail just above the cuticle. An extended lunula, making the majority of the nails white in color except for a narrow band at the top, could signal cirrhosis, chronic renal failure or congestive heart failure. Having a blueish tint in the lunula could mean Wilson's disease, a rare inherited genetic disorder characterized by the accumulation of copper in the liver, brain and other organs. In contrast, a red lunula could indicate heart failure.

Changes in nail shape and texture

Nails that are dimpled or pitted may indicate psoriasis, a chronic skin disease characterized by scaly and inflamed skin patches on the scalp, elbows or knees. Psoriasis and thyroid disease can cause the nails to loosen and separate from the nail bed. Iron deficiency or overproduction may cause the nail bed's center to look like it had been scooped out, a condition known as spoon nails. Cardiovascular, pulmonary and gastrointestinal problems may also appear in the nails as curves around an enlarged fingertip, known as clubbing.

Lines on the nails

A dark-colored streak that runs the length of the nail or on or around the fingernail could mean melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Unfortunately, melanoma does not usually have noticeable symptoms, and the color of the nail may be the only indication of this disease.

An indented horizontal line on the nails (called Beaus' lines) could signify a previous serious illness, injury or shock to the body that caused the nails to stop growing temporarily. Beaus' lines may also be a sign of uncontrolled diabetes, the result of cancer treatment or, in patients with Raynaud's disease, a consequence of exposure to cold temperatures.

Changes in color

A blue hue in the nails may mean low oxygen levels in the blood, which is a warning sign of COVID-19. Yellowish nails may indicate chronic bronchitis and other lung diseases or fungal infections. However, this is more common in toenails than fingernails, while nails that appear white (a condition called Terry's nails) may be a sign of liver, kidney or heart problems.

In conclusion

Not all changes to the nail are bad. Some are completely harmless, while some are normal signs of aging or maybe a side effect of a medication. However, if you think there is something amiss with the texture and color of your nails and experience other symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath or stomach pain, consult a healthcare provider or go to the nearest emergency room. We're here for you, always.

Sources:
American Association of Retired Persons
National Center for Biotechnology Information

Hospitalist Program