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Englewood Hospital to train military, others in bloodless surgery techniques Friday, January 29, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY JANUARY 30, 2010, 12:07 AM BY MARY JO LAYTON THE RECORD STAFF WRITER
Englewood Hospital and Medical Center will receive nearly $4.7 million in federal funding to train military and civilian physicians in bloodless surgery and other medical procedures, Rep. Steve Rothman and hospital officials announced Friday.
The hospital’s Institute for Patient Blood Management & Bloodless Medicine and Surgery has treated 50,000 patients and trained nearly 100 physicians, both military and civilian from the U.S. and internationally. Hundreds more will be trained with the grant, officials said.
Bloodless medicine appeals to many doctors because it carries low risk of post-operative infection when compared with procedures requiring transfusions. It can also be useful during times of war or natural disasters when blood supplies are low or unavailable, said Dr. Aryeh Shander, executive medical director of the institute.
“Englewood Hospital is truly a national leader in this field and therefore worthy of being funded by the Defense Department to teach the entire U.S. military about bloodless medicine,’’ said Rothman, a member of the House Appropriations Defense Sub-committee.
“I’m very proud we were able to get this included in the defense budget,’’ Rothman said. “It not only saves lives and helps alleviate suffering for our military personnel and veterans, it will also save federal tax dollars.’’
Rothman toured the institute a few years ago and later introduced Shander to U.S. defense experts to explain the advantages of bloodless medicine: in addition to better outcomes, the practice saves money because fewer blood products are needed, Shander said.
“The process of blood management is extremely doable,’’ Shander said.
Since the program’s inception at Englewood in 1994, the hospital has reduced the use of blood by close to 50 percent by various techniques used in surgery and for other medical procedures.
For example, patients with a low blood count don’t need to be automatically transfused, Shander said. There are many other ways to treat anemia. Additionally, a patient’s blood can be collected during surgery, cleansed and re-infused.
The federal funding will also teach nurses and other professionals bloodless medicine and requires participants to monitor their progress.