BCHS emergency director to discuss
new perspectives in medicine
The local emergency department is not a place where
you should go to have a cold treated. But if you have
a life- or limb-threatening illness or injury, call 9-1-1
or go to the ED immediately. Knowing the difference is
sometimes confusing which means that more often than
not, patients go to the ED anyway, which often causes
more than a few headaches for them and the hospital staff.
Dr. Gregory Fuller, medical director of emergency services
at BCHS will unravel the myths of emergency medicine
on Tuesday, July 21 at Burnham Brook. He will discuss
how the hospital is improving its ED services regarding
door-to-triage, door-to-doctor, laboratory turn-around-time,
total-length-of-stay, and patients-who-leave-before-being-seen.
The program, which is free to the public, is sponsored
through Senior Health Partners in coordination with Battle
Creek Health System. A lunch will be served at 11:30
a.m. followed by Dr. Fuller's presentation at noon. Seating
is limited. Reservations can be made by calling the class/seminar
registration line at (877) GO2-BCHS (877-462-2247).
The hospital's goal is not only to see, treat, and get
the patient to the right place via admissions, transfer,
or discharge, but also to do that in a rapid and caring
manner that exceeds the patient's expectations. The challenge
for all emergency departments is to create a culture
where the patient feels they are being treated like family.
"It is estimated that nearly half of the 90 million
visits to the emergency department are not true emergencies," says
Dr. Fuller. "That means that over 40 million people
not only paid more for routine care then they would have
at a physician's office or urgent care center, but they
also probably wasted a lot of time because emergency
departments are not set up to care for routine illnesses.
"If that were not enough, emergency departments
do not work on a first-come, first-served basis as many
people mistakenly believe. They use a triage or sorting
system of evaluation so that critical cases, such as
people suffering from heart attacks or injuries from
serious accidents or violent crimes, are treated first.
Everyone else usually has to wait before being seen."
Senior Health Partners, a community partnership of Battle
Creek Health System, CentraCare, Region 3B Area Agency
on Aging, and Summit Pointe, works to expand wellness
and educational offerings to senior citizens in Calhoun
and surrounding counties.
Battle Creek Health System, sponsored by two parent
organizations--Trinity Health (the fourth largest Catholic
health system in the U.S. with 21 hospitals, 9 nursing
homes, 19 senior house facilities, 8 home health care
agencies, and 4 hospices in Michigan alone) and BCHS
Community Partners, is accredited by the Joint Commission
on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Battle
Creek Health System is a recipient of the 2008 HealthGrades
Orthopaedic Surgery Excellence Award(tm). HealthGrades
is a leading health care information company that provides
objective 'report card' ratings nationwide. BCHS provides
excellent health care for the community and promotes
wellness for the whole person with access and compassion
for all. For the latest medical information, visit the
BCHS web site at www.bchealth.com or call the BCHS Marketing
Department at (269) 966-8132.
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About the Presenter:
Dr. Gregory Fuller received his medical degree from
Des Moines University. He completed his internship and
residency at Peninsula Medical Center in Ormond Beach,
Florida. Dr. Fuller is board-certified in emergency medicine
and in family practice.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians,
the Association of Emergency Physicians, the American
College of Emergency Physicians, and the American College
of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians. He is also a Diplomate
with the American Academy of Pain Management.
Dr. Fuller was a member of medical/trauma teams in Haiti
and Afghanistan and received two awards - the Award of
Service from the Veterinary Association of New York City
and the NYC Veterinary Association Ground Zero Service
Award, both for K-9 work following the attack on the
World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. He currently
serves as a senior flight surgeon for the Federal Aviation
Physicians Administration.
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