Medicine
St. Mary’s medicine program has a long tradition of excellence in patient care and continues to serve the diverse health care needs of patients in our community. Our medical program includes both inpatient and outpatient services. The inpatient units (general medicine) are located on the fifth and seventh floors of the hospital.
The interdisciplinary team, on these units serve patients with acute illnesses that require admission to hospital. Planning for your return home begins early in your hospital stay. Once acute medical treatment is complete, the health care team will work with patients and their families with the preferred goal of returning the patient safely to home with the appropriate supports.
The team firmly believes that life changing decisions are better made at home, rather than in hospital during a time of crisis.
Associated with the inpatient medicine program is the Inpatient Specialized Geriatric Medicine Consultation Service. This service conducts a comprehensive assessment and provides recommendations for older patients at St. Mary’s who have complex medical and functional issues. The team is composed of a Geriatrician and an Advanced Practice Nurse, and is supported by Registered Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Social Workers. Referrals are welcomed from all inpatient teams at St. Mary’s.
If a patient or family member at the hospital would like to receive a consultation from this service, discuss the possibility with the attending physician, who can send in a referral. Also associated with the medical program is an Outpatient Geriatric Service, located on the first floor at St. Mary’s. Associated with the inpatient medicine program is the Inpatient Specialized Geriatric Medicine Consultation Service, located on the first floor at St. Mary’s.
Endoscopy is a way of looking inside the body using a flexible tube that has a small camera on the end of it. This instrument is called an endoscope.
At St. Mary’s, Respirologists, Gastroenterologists and Surgeons perform more than 5,800 endoscopic procedures a year. The most common procedures in the Endoscopy Unit are:
- Colonoscopy
- Bronchoscopy
- Gastroscopy
- Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS)
Many of these procedures are undertaken because family history heightens the patient’s risk factors, or because they have reached an age where it is recommended.
If patients are experiencing symptoms, endoscopy is a form of investigation that can lead to a treatment plan if disease is detected. At St. Mary’s the Endoscopy Unit is available 24/7 for emergencies such as gastrointestinal bleeding that would require investigation and treatment.
Krysta Simpson
Director, Medicine, Allied Health and IPAC
519-744-3311 ext. 1999
Nancy Habermehl
Manager, Medicine, Patient Flow/Bed Management and GMCC Clinic
519-744-3311 ext. 5000
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