MALVERN, Pa. and BELLEVILLE, Ill., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of a five-year, exclusive strategic alliance with Siemens Medical Solutions, St. Elizabeth's Hospital is renovating its cardiac catheterization (cath) laboratory facilities. The alliance, which combines the latest in diagnostic imaging, monitoring and therapeutic technologies from Siemens with more than 125 years of experience in healthcare from St. Elizabeth's Hospital, will provide improved healthcare to southern Illinois.
Current renovations to St. Elizabeth's Hospital include the creation of a new cardiac cath preparation room and the installation of the newest cath technologies from Siemens, including the first U.S. installation of the AXIOM Artis dTC, a fully digital ceiling-mounted cardiac imaging system equipped with innovative flat-panel detector technology.
"The renovations to our cardiac cath labs and technologies from Siemens will help us raise the quality of patient care in southern Illinois," said Timothy Brady, CEO of St. Elizabeth's Hospital. "By partnering with a medical technology leader like Siemens, we can combine our experience and focus on patient satisfaction with the latest systems. Together, we can change the way cardiac and radiological medicine is performed, improving both patient outcomes and satisfaction."
The new cath preparation room will increase patient comfort by allowing cardiac patients to arrive at the hospital the morning of their catheterization procedure and wait with their families until their procedures begin, while the state-of-the-art cath technologies will assist physicians in improving cardiac diagnosis and treatment.
"This new technology [AXIOM Artis dTC] allows the cardiologist to perform procedures with much more efficiency. It provides the physician with the optimum amount of information, while reducing the risk to the patient and the amount of radiation exposure," said Anil Shah, M.D., interventional cardiologist and medical director of St. Elizabeth's Cardiac Cath Lab.
The Southern Illinois Heart Institute (SIHI), owned and operated by St. Elizabeth's Hospital, offers a full range of cardiac services, such as cardiac catheterization, open-heart surgery and a comprehensive rehabilitation program. As part of the strategic alliance, St. Elizabeth's Hospital and SIHI will become a regional technology showcase center for Siemens, raising the visibility of St. Elizabeth's Hospital and Siemens in the Midwest. The alliance also will ensure that the hospital will be among the first to receive the newest radiological and monitoring technologies from Siemens.
"We are fortunate to have been chosen to assist St. Elizabeth's Hospital in enhancing its efforts to bring the best in healthcare, specifically cardiac care, to the residents of southern Illinois," said Thomas N. McCausland, president of the Customer Solutions Group, Siemens Medical Solutions, USA. "The partnership provides Southern Illinois Heart Institute with the cutting- edge cardiac imaging and cath lab technologies needed to make it one of the strongest cardiovascular programs in the region."
As part of the strategic alliance, Siemens will install the latest in diagnostic imaging technologies. In addition to the AXIOM Artis dTC, the hospital has already installed to date:
-- SIREMOBIL(R) Iso-C(3D), the only C-arm capable of generating three dimensional (3D), CT-like images. This product's intra-operative 3D imaging capabilities are especially important for the precise reconstruction of joint surfaces, complex fractures, and the exact positioning of screws and implants. -- The Infinity Patient Monitoring System(TM), a comprehensive patient information management solution that delivers vital signs data wherever needed, reliably, quickly and cost effectively. Implemented hospitalwide, the Infinity system adapts to the needs of every care unit with hardware and software designed to give maximum functionality, flexibility and responsiveness.
Because imaging and monitoring systems from Siemens are equipped with syngo(R), the company's standard operating system and user interface, all patient demographic data can be seamlessly shared throughout the hospital and to referring physicians in remote locations. This enables physicians to create a comprehensive patient report during the exam, including imaging studies, and to complete the report seconds after finishing the procedure.
Additionally, through the strategic alliance's collaborative effort, Siemens will also provide technology training programs, marketing efforts and support for St. Elizabeth's community programs, which include educational health and wellness events for area residents.
St. Elizabeth's Hospital is a 500-licensed bed acute care hospital offering a full range of services. Founded in 1875 by the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, St. Elizabeth's is affiliated with the Hospital Sisters Health System, one of the larger Catholic healthcare systems presently operating in the U.S. With more than 125 years of service to southern Illinois, St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, Ill. is committed to performing its mission of ministering to those in need of healthcare. St. Elizabeth's Hospital fosters its values of respect, care, competence, and joy by offering a wide range of community programs and medical services. In 1996, St. Elizabeth's introduced the Southern Illinois Heart Institute, which offers the full range of cardiac care from diagnostics to treatment and cardiac rehab. In just a short period of seven years, St. Elizabeth's and the Southern Illinois Heart Institute have treated in one form or another over 20,000 patients coping with heart disease. For more information on St. Elizabeth's Hospital and SIHI, visit http://www.steliz.org/.
Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Employing approximately 31,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 120 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 7.4 billion EUR, orders of 7.8 billion EUR and group profit of 1.1 billion EUR for fiscal 2003. More information can be found at http://www.usa.siemens.com/medicalpressroom.
Siemens Medical SolutionsCONTACT: LuJean Smith, Siemens Medical Solutions, +1-425-432-9601,lujean.smith@siemens.com; or Tom Vernier, St. Elizabeth's Hospital,+1-618-234-2120, ext. 1335, tvernier@sebh.org
Web site: http://www.steliz.org/
