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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.

More Information

Set New Year’s Intentions Rather Than Resolutions


Entering a new year is often filled with lofty goals as we follow the age-old tradition of setting New Year’s Resolutions. While it’s a good idea to embrace ways to be healthier, our mental health can suffer if we aren’t realistic.

That’s why Desert Care Network’s Dr. Anita Lara Chatigny, Ph.D., recommends developing New Year’s ‘intensions’ versus resolutions for long-term success and health benefits.  chatigny anita

“When we create a situation where we develop a pass/fail approach to making positive changes in our lives, we’re challenging ourselves with pie-in-the-sky goals that set us up for defeat,” said Dr. Chatigny. “Instead, wake up every day with the intention to exercise more, or eat healthier, or spend less money. When you’re looking at an ‘all or nothing’ experience, it is more likely you’ll give up. For example, if your resolution is to lose 20 pounds, but you find yourself eating a pound of See’s Candy that was left over from the holidays – you’ll likely feel your goal was dashed and stop working towards achieving it.”

Dr. Chatigny adds that it is better to choose one intention to focus on instead of 20.

“We also must balance what we need to do with a real understanding -- and gratitude – for the things we’ve done right in our lives,” said Dr. Chatigny. “A lot of times people lose sight of what they have accomplished, which can lead to that ‘glass looking half empty’ adage.”

Dr. Chatigny is one of the featured speakers at Desert Care Network’s upcoming Ringing in the New Year Health Fair on January 24, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Desert Regional Medical Center. In addition to speaking about how to set intentions, she will also cover psychological resilience.

“Our country has gone through a time of collective defeat, and when things feel out of control and we are concerned about health and environmental concerns like flus, RSV and the potential for another pandemic, we suffer the loss of resilience,” said Dr. Chatigny.

We must find internal mechanisms to rebuild resilience, she said, such as creating a different perspective.

“Our thinking and interpretation plays a powerful role in how our bodies and minds respond to challenge and defeat,” added Dr. Chatigny. “Instead of saying to yourself, ‘this is the worst possible thing that can happen,’ try, ‘tomorrow is a new day.’ It’s like if we have Mount Everest to climb but put on blinders so we can’t see the top and do it one step at a time, that’s more manageable and helps us gain confidence while minimizing catastrophic thinking.”

Without resilience, depression and hopelessness may result. So, it’s important to work on strengthening resilience. Hobbies and outlets for discovery and creativity can help bring back that positive outlook. Exercise can, too, because it carries oxygen to the brain and adds to our overall wellbeing.

Dr. Chatigny has been with Desert Regional since 1978, and on staff since receiving her Ph.D. in 1986. She is a medical psychologist, balancing the traditional role of a therapist and counselor with that of an educator who also manages medical symptoms to help with better outcomes.

To register for the Ringing in the New Year Health Fair on January 24, 2023, and learn more, go to https://www.desertcarenetwork.com/events#8017.

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