Medical Center Adopts Planetree Method to Make Patients More Comfortable
comfortable, dwayne moss, health care, innovative program, medical, planetree, sleep disorder center, t.j. samson community hospital,
Most hospitals don’t allow pets in patients’ rooms‚ and they usually don’t air funny TV movies.
But this is frequently the scene at T.J. Samson Community Hospital‚ which is working to become a Planetree-designated facility.
Planetree is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to create an atmosphere of serenity and even playfulness in hospital rooms.
“Music and aromatherapy are other ways to create a calming effect on patients‚ along with touch therapy that communicates caring‚” said the late Dwayne Moss‚ former CEO at T.J. Samson Community Hospital. “The same goes for therapeutic full body or chair massage. All of these Planetree ideas are expanding the boundaries of health care here at T.J. Samson.”
As for pet therapy‚ Moss said a number of studies show that pets can have beneficial effects on health‚ including a lowered blood pressure‚ elevated mood and enhanced social interaction.
T.J. Samson is one of about 100 hospitals in the United States implementing the Planetree philosophy.
“We offer these kinds of therapies along with the normal clinical care that one would expect to receive in a top medical center such as ours‚” Moss said.
Besides the Planetree philosophy‚ T.J. Samson is one of two hospitals in Kentucky authorized to perform emergency angioplasty procedures on heart attack patients while not having a cardiac surgery program.
“The angioplasty initiative began in July 2005 as part of a three-year study being monitored by the commonwealth‚” Moss said. “We’ve probably saved the lives of 50 people because we were able to perform angioplasties on site‚ even though we don’t have a full-fledged‚ open-heart surgery program.”
Angioplasty involves inserting a catheter through the femoral artery in the patient’s groin and running the tube up to the heart‚ then into the blocked vessel that is causing the acute heart attack. The tube “balloons” in size‚ forcing the vessel to open.
“After the angioplasty study concludes in July 2008‚ a decision will be made on whether to allow the procedure at all hospitals statewide‚” Moss said.
T.J. Samson has also opened a Sleep Disorder Center to help treat patients with sleep problems. One of the disorders studied and treated here is obstructive sleep apnea‚ characterized by loud snoring and pauses in breathing that can lead to stroke or hypertension. Other sleep disorders being studied include restless leg syndrome‚ narcolepsy or excessive sleepiness‚ and REM behavior disorder in which people may act out their dreams.
“We have a lot going on at T.J. Samson these days‚” Moss said. “Everything we do here is for the benefit of our patients.”
Dwayne Moss passed away suddenly in March 2007. He made significant contributions to the health care provided at T.J. Samson Community Hospital‚ and he will be greatly missed.
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Michael W. Bunch
