Washington University faculty physicians have assumed responsibility for providing medical care in the Emergency Department at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. The addition of Washington University emergency medicine physicians continues the enhancement of clinical services at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
“We continue to offer the highest quality healthcare to residents of West County,” says Andy Ziskind, M.D., president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and Washington University are committed to providing prompt, skilled and compassionate care to patients seeking emergency services.”
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide emergency medicine services at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital,” says Brent E. Ruoff, M.D., director of the division of emergency medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “We are committed to providing outstanding care to West county residents.”
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital recently renovated its emergency department using LEAN/Six Sigma processes. Through those techniques, the new emergency department has decreased patient wait times to a minimum. The addition of the Washington University emergency medicine physicians puts Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in a unique position to offer experienced, skilled emergency care with shorter wait times for residents of West County.
A new cardiac monitoring unit recently opened at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, expanding the scope of patients able to be treated in the emergency department. “Having a dedicated unit for heart monitoring means patients with chest pain can be evaluated in the emergency department and admitted for monitoring, if required,” Ruoff says.
Randall A. Howell, D.O., assistant professor of emergency medicine, will assume the role of medical director of the Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital emergency department. He has been a member of the faculty for 12 years and will supervise a team of 11 emergency medicine physicians. “Our physicians are board certified, maintaining the highest standards in emergency care,” he says. “We are pleased to work with the entire medical staff at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in providing high quality emergency medical needs.”
Besides Howell, other physicians in the Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital emergency department include David Davis, M.D., Joseph Gatewood, M.D., Thomas Hill, M.D., Bill Koller, M.D., Patel Ketan, M.D., Christopher Sampson, M.D., Sidney Sineff, M.D., Rick Tao, M.D., Brian Bausano, M.D., Christopher Holthaus, M.D. and Karen Maury, M.D.
The new arrangement for coverage of emergency medicine services is part of a plan to evolve and enhance the overall scope of clinical care provided by Washington University physicians with private medical staff on the Barnes-Jewish West County campus. Among the clinical offerings available now, or soon, are the full range of adult and pediatric medical specialists, selected surgery services and a major expansion of the Siteman Cancer Center.
The School of Medicine’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology already provides full subspecialty radiology services, including X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, CT, PET scans, mammography, bone density, nuclear medicine and some aspects of pediatric radiology, at Barnes-Jewish West County. Advanced imaging services such as musculoskeletal ultrasound, Breast MRI, 3-D imaging and advanced visualization analysis also are available. To increase the breadth and depth of coverage, other enhanced services that will be added this year include cardiac CT, virtual colonoscopy, ultrasound and CT guided biopsies, interventional radiology procedures and breast procedures. All subspecialty imaging services available at the Washington University Medical Center are available at Barnes-Jewish West County. Vamsi Narra, M.D., recently was named chief of radiology at Barnes- Jewish West County.
The medical school’s $7.5 million expansion project doubles the square footage of Washington University physician offices on the campus.
Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital is organizationally and strategically aligned with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and is member of BJC HealthCare. Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital is an 84-bed facility conveniently located in west St. Louis County just one mile west of I-270 on Olive Boulevard at Mason Road. The hospital’s medical staff is comprised of over 550 physicians, offering a unique model that is a mix of both community and academic physicians. Washington University physicians, who are also on staff Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital in the Central West End, have expanded their practices at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, with 172 adult and pediatric faculty. In 2008-2009, more than $17 million will be invested in Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital for advances such as a 64-slice CT scanner, a new cardiac monitoring unit and an additional location for the Siteman Cancer Center, including a linear accelerator for advanced radiation treatment.