coordinated health magazine - fall 2013

Anniversary Edition

The more youknow the better you feel.

10

6

26

8

12 Tradition

of Healing

17Home

Out-Patient Care

18We Have the

Students’ Backs

20 Endocrinology

22 Lehigh vs.Lafayette

24 Advanced Medicine

FIGHTING BACK AGAINST BREAST CANCERDr. Gittleman does a great deal of research on breast cancer, especially when it comes to genetics.

SHAPING HEALTHCARE’S NEW DIRECTIONDr. DiIorio has long been considered a visionary when it comes to the future of healthcare.

EMPLOYER SERVICESLearn how area businesses helped to shape Coordinated Health into what we are today.

THEN AND NOW See the progression of CH from the time we started to what we are today.

14 LEGACY FAMILIESFor a few lucky CH employees their co-workers are family.

Anniversary Edition

LETTER FROM THE EDITORHannah Ropp Managing Editor

This fall, Coordinated Health is proudly celebrating its 25th Anniversary. During that time Coordinated Health has grown from a single orthopedic

practice to an integrated hospital network with 15 locations throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I have had the unique opportunity

of seeing that growth from a multitude of standpoints; as the spouse of an employee, a patient and now as an employee.

Coordinated Health is actually the reason I call the Lehigh Valley home. My husband, an orthopedic surgical Physician’s Assistant, accepted a job at Coordinated Health ten years ago. His love for the job and the company he worked for was infectious. I have many fond memories of those early years; attending holiday parties, Lehigh vs. Lafayette tailgates and other functions with his co-workers who quickly became my friends as well.

A few years later when I hurt my back, I naturally called Coordi-nated Health. I was initially diagnosed with a herniated disc, but

the doctors were stumped as to why I wasn’t recovering. I saw doctors throughout the region who were unable to provide

me with answers. It was thanks to orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Hoffman’s persistence and dedication that I finally

received an accurate diagnosis and regained control of my life and my health.

The idea of working at Coordinated Health really never occurred to me. After all, there’s not a whole lot of opportunity for producers

and writers at a hospital. But, I was thrilled when I was offered a freelance position to write for the magazine. At the time, it was

much smaller and actually only available online. Now the magazine is not only printed and available in clinics, but it

is sent out to the community. What began as a freelance opportunity turned into a part-time job and then a full-time position.

Coordinated Health isn’t the only thing that has grown over the years. When my husband began at Coordinated Health we were

newlyweds just starting our journey. Today we have a house, two dogs and a beautiful two-year-old son.

During the course of putting this magazine together, I had the good fortune to hear so many wonderful stories

from employees about their time at Coordinated Health. Hearing the stories and meeting more people

just made my affection for the company stronger.

While this magazine is intended to honor Coordinated Health’s Anniversary, it’s also a tribute to the people who

have made Coordinated Health the success it is today, its employees. Thank you to all of the employees who come

in every day and make a difference. Cheers to 25 great years and here’s to looking forward to

the next 25!

Like us onFacebook!@CoordinatedHealth

CoordinatedHealth.com

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORSSCOTT FASNACHT

Want to be in our next magazine issue?Give us a callCoordinated Healthat (877) 247-8080or [email protected]

4 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

OUR TEAMENDRIT FASLLIAJPHOTOGRAPHY

HANNAH ROPPMANAGING EDITOR

JULIANN MASENHEIMERDESIGN

FLORENCE TRAPP EDITOR

MARTIN WAMBOLD PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography by Ryan Hulvat

25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION 5

MARTIN WAMBOLD PHOTOGRAPHY


S H A P I N G HEALTHCARE’S NEW DIRECTION

by SCOTT FASNACHT

or 25 years, Coordinated Health has built its reputation as a top-tier healthcare provider by fo-cusing on a patient-centric approach to medicine. From its roots as a small sports medicine clinic in Bethlehem, PA, to an integrated hospital network

with 15 regional locations that provides care for 11,000 pa-tient visits each week, Coordinated Health has committed to maximizing value for patients.

Dr. Emil DiIorio, CEO of Coordinated Health, shares his insights into healthcare reform, value-based healthcare and how Coordinated Health has positioned itself for the future.

What is the state of healthcare reform in the United States?

Healthcare is in a state of tumultuous change—change not seen since the introduction of Medicare in the 1960s. We’re seeing healthcare transforming from a fragmented system where providers are rewarded for treating a large number of patients, into integrated networks focused on accountability, efficiency and quality.

Of course, major disruptions of this type generate concern and some fears, but it is exactly what is necessary to achieve the healthcare reform so badly needed in the United States. We have to turn healthcare as we know it inside out. There is just no other way.

While the Affordable Care Act has extended coverage to more people, we are still left to sort out healthcare reform’s most fundamental question. For far too long our focus has been on trying to figure out how we can afford healthcare. We need to turn that question around and instead direct our best thinking to determine “How can we make healthcare more affordable?”

How does healthcare become more affordable?

Making healthcare affordable comes down to two essential elements—accountability and collaboration. Both health-care networks and insurers need to be held accountable for achieving high performance and establishing patient-centric goals. They must also collaborate and build partnerships to better define how healthcare institutions interact within their own walls and with one another.

It’s no secret that, in general, healthcare suffers from too many unsatisfied patients, and no effective way of measuring quality and ever-rising costs. That’s why healthcare providers and insurers must adopt value-based policies and practic-es where patients are at the center of care and payment is based on producing value for patients.

What does value-based healthcare look like?

In value-based healthcare, the goal of all stakeholders—in-cluding doctors, hospitals and insurers—is maximizing value for patients. That is accomplished when these organizations measure success through patient satisfaction, quality and cost.

Think about it. Customer satisfaction is essential in every facet of our lives and it should be no different in healthcare. Patient satisfaction is a critical benchmark because patients are more than just business to a healthcare provider, they entrust us with their lives.

Admittedly, quality is tough to measure in the U.S., but at the end of the day, quality is most important in terms of measuring patient outcomes. There are quality-of-care eval-uations that are currently available. We need to continue to push for simple quality standards that are easy to under-stand and are required by our patients.

The final piece of the value-based healthcare equation is cost. Hospital networks are mandated by the new healthcare law to deliver increased patient value at a reduced cost—even though it requires a significant investment to supply that enhanced value.

How has Coordinated Health embraced this value-based approach?

Quite simply, Coordinated Health’s entire operating model is built on a value-based approach. We’ve looked to other industries to see how those organizations are able to lower costs while maintaining the highest levels of customer satis-faction and quality.

We used that knowledge as a prototype for building our healthcare network. What did we learn?

First, we understood the importance of limiting our special-ties to four areas—orthopedics and musculoskeletal care, cardiology, women’s health and primary care. By limiting these specialty areas, we are able to provide service at a lower cost with greater patient satisfaction.

Next, we built a highly integrated system, which means that a patient’s care providers work closely together. This helps eliminate unnecessary tests and treatments. Our integrated IT and back office structure also enables us to reduce over-head expenses and better control our costs.

The final piece of the puzzle is access to care. We learned that when we focused our services, we needed to pair that with increased accessibility across the region. We’ve added service locations so it is easier for the patients and employ-ers we serve to access care while maintaining consistency and quality at every location.

Are you optimistic about the future?

Coordinated Health fully supports the move toward a consumer-driven healthcare model—a value-based model. We believe that an approach, in which both patients and employers have metrics to measure a hospital network’s performance, as well as its physicians’ performance, is the best way forward.

We are excited and energized by the changing healthcare dy-namics because we know a value-based approach works. We are proud to be among the statewide and national leaders in all three components of value-based healthcare—patient satisfaction, quality and cost.

We’re celebrating 25 years of service to the Lehigh Valley and beyond. I’m proud of our team and the commitment they make every day to making Coordinated Health better. We realize there is much more work to be done to make health-care more affordable and accessible, and we are ready for the challenge. Together we will continue to do our best to make a lasting contribution to our country’s new approach to healthcare.


F


TAKING ALOOK BACKCoordinated Health opened its doors 25 years ago as Lehigh Valley Sports Medicine. Since that time, Coordinated Health has evolved from a single office to an integrated hospital network with locations throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

There’s no doubt that a lot has changed over the last 25 years. Check out what some of Coordinated Health’s long time employees have to say about watching Coordinated Health grow.

"I started working with Dr. DiIorio before there was even a brick laid at Coordinated Health. I knew Dr. DiIorio because we worked with a lot of the same patients. He called me one cold day in January, 1985 and asked me to help him build the rehab part of his practice. I ended up working with him once a week. I always planned to just help him and then go back to my private practice, but I realized that we both had the same way of thinking and had so much in common. I went back to him and told him that I wanted work with him. Twenty-five years later I am still working at Coordinated Health. It's become part of me and who I am."

- Gary Schoenberger, PT

"I have a lot of fond and not so fond memories of that pool that used to be in Schoenersville. We used it for rehabilitation purposes, but we also had a lot of fun with it. I remember the therapists getting tossed into it on their last day of work. I also remember having to climb under the building to clean it consistently. Need-less to say, after that, I never wanted a pool myself."

- Tom Sparling, Director of Facilities

"When they built the hospital, people were so excited because it created an opportunity to treat a bigger pool of patients. I've been here for 10 years and during that time I've had so many opportunities and the chance to meet so many great people. I love the people that I work with on a daily basis and look for-ward to coming in every day." - Carrie Diehl, RN


Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. But thanks to earlier detection through screening, increased awareness due to initia-tives such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and improved diagnosis and treatment, the death rate from this disease has been declining since 1989.

In his more than 30 years as a surgeon, Dr. Mark Gittleman has been integrally involved

in helping to improve the diagnosis and treat-ment of breast cancer. Since 1995, he has focused his practice solely on the surgical management of breast cancer and breast disease and today, he and Dr. Cara Guilfoyle lead the team at Coordinated Health’s Breast Care Specialists.

As the former president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and a member of the faculty of the American College of Sur-geons where he specializes in image guided

Battling Back AgainstBREAST CANCER

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND ENHANCED SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING ARE CHANGING THE WAY BREAST CANCER IS DIAGNOSED AND TREATED.

by SCOTT FASNACHT Photography by Ryan Hulvat

biopsy, Dr. Gittleman has a longstanding interest in breast disease and the dynamic changes underway in treating it. “Nothing is evolving as rapidly in oncology as breast cancer,” he says. “We’re seeing changes in our understanding of breast cancer biology and making steady advances in our ap-proach to surgery and the overall treatment of patients with this disease.”

To help him stay on the leading edge of pa-tient care, Dr. Gittleman has been a principal clinical investigator in a number of clinical trials and looks for good, practical applications of that research in his day-to-day work. “I’m always interested in new ideas and develop-ments that improve patient care,” he says.

One new technology is the MarginProbe™ System, which is equipment used in operat-ing rooms to determine if the margins of a lumpectomy are free of cancerous tissue. Prior to the development of this technology, there was no effective way of confirming that all the cancer had been removed during a proce-dure. In fact, a national average of 30 percent of lumpectomy patients had to return to the operating room to have additional tissue re-moved or to have a mastectomy performed.

“With the MarginProbe, we know within minutes whether we removed all the cancer cells during the lumpectomy procedure,” says Dr. Gittleman. “We are then able to remove any additional tissue necessary while we are still in the operating room. That eliminates the need for a second surgery and adds to a patient’s overall peace of mind.”

Dr. Gittleman was involved in the product’s feasibility study seven or eight years ago and also participated in subsequent trials that demonstrated the effectiveness of the equip-ment in reducing the incidence of positive margins from 30 percent to less than 20 per-cent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally approved MarginProbe in December 2012.

“Coordinated Health acquired this equipment in May, and we immediately began using it in our operating room,” says Dr. Gittleman. “We’re the only hospital in the region that currently has it.”

Today, Dr. Gittleman is involved in collecting

data for research observation studies on gene profiling, which may ultimately impact the specific chemotherapy or hormone therapy that patients with breast cancer will undergo. “In this study, we are helping to determine if a cancer cell’s specific gene signature helps predict the types of treatment to which a patient will respond most favorably,” says Dr. Gittleman. “We’re comparing the results predicted by the gene profiling to the actual clinical results to help determine if the profiling is accurate or not.”

Even with new technologies and scientific approaches such as gene profiling, Dr. Gittleman is quick to say that routine screening has shown to result in greater survival rates in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. “The earlier we are able to make a diagnosis, the wider the range of treatment options avail-able to us and the better the outcomes for the patient,” he says.

The basic screening steps recommended for woman include breast self examinations, mammograms beginning at age 40 and every year thereafter, and annual clinical exams by a healthcare provider. If a woman has con-cerns due to a self-exam, breast pain, nipple discharge, a family history of breast cancer, or an abnormal mammogram, she should see a doctor.

Over his long career, Dr. Gittleman has seen many changes in the way care is delivered to breast cancer patients. The trend is treating the cancer with less invasive techniques and the more selective application of systemic treatments such as chemotherapy—while delivering results as good or even better than before.

“We have better technology and better screening tools,” he says. “From the move to a needle biopsy in the diagnosis stage to less radical forms of surgery such as lumpectomy and the ways in which radiation and chemo-therapy are provided or not provided, we can now base our treatment care decisions on the biology of the cancer and on science, not solely on experience.”

Battling Back Against


Like many people, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brett Godbout is a football fan. Some of his favorite teams include his Alma matter Colgate Univer-sity and the New York Giants. But, there’s one team he holds especially dear, Moravian Col-lege.

Dr. Godbout has been the team physician for Moravian College for 24 years. In that time he has been to almost every home football game. In fact, he saw his three kids grow up at Mora-vian’s football games.

“My kids were always on the sidelines at some point or another,” says Dr. Godbout. “Just a few years ago they were all home and all came out to a game. I think it brings back fond memories for them as well.”

While he treats all athletes, he admits that he spends most of his time with the football team. “Football tends to have the most injuries, but fall is always a busy time. I also see a lot of field hockey players, cross country runners and vol-leyball players,” says Dr. Godbout.

As the team physician, Dr. Godbout oversees the care delivered by four full-time athletic trainers and two student trainers. In addition to treating athletes, he also makes the final call as to when it is safe for them to return to their sport.

One way Dr. Godbout is able to monitor the progress of injured student athletes at Mora-vian College is through the training room. Each Monday, injured athletes come to training room in order to have their progress assessed and find out if they are cleared to return to their sport. Dr. Godbout says he sees close to 100 students each week at Moravian’s train-ing room with injuries that range from minor sprains and strains to more severe breaks and tears.

He tells collegiate and student athletes that the best way to avoid injury is to adhere to a regular stretching regiment. He recommends stretching a little before exercise and then do-ing more after you are done.

Dr. Godbout enjoys treating athletes at Moravi-an College because of their energy. “I love the fact that each year I get a fresh new crop of student athletes who are energetic and excit-ed about playing their sport. You can tell they truly love what they do and it keeps me young,” says Godbout.

Dr. Godbout also counts himself lucky that he gets to see many of his student athletes after they graduate from college. “One of the things I really like about Moravian is that many of the students that I treat actually stay in the area and seek me out after college when they have injuries. I enjoy getting to see what they are up to and following their careers,” claims Dr. God-bout.

Over the last 24 years, Dr. Godbout admits there has been plenty of change, both in the world of medicine and the school. He says that while advances in technology have improved how he treats patients, he still has to battle insurance companies who don’t want him to treat students who are considered out-of-net-work.

Dr. Godbout says he is fortunate to have treat-ed some promising young athletes and looks forward to what’s to come. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been able to make a difference in these young people’s lives. They have certainly made a difference in mine. I en-joy my time with these students and I’m look-ing forward to many more years to come,” says Godbout.

by HANNAH ROPP

TRADITION OF

HEALING

Photography by

Ryan Hulvat


Photography by

Ryan Hulvat


L e g a c y

It was actually a lot of fun growing up around this company. When my mom came to work here I was in high school and the company was just starting up. I would work out everyday in the gym with Frank Lupin. On the weekends I would help my mom clean some of the offices (there were like two or three back then). Other weekends I would come in and take some of the physicians’ kids to the local parks to play basketball while our parents worked. We all enjoyed the Christmas parties and tailgates and they are still talked about today. When I moved home after college, my mom and I would have business discussions and bounce ideas off of each other. It was easy, because I didn’t work here and in my mind, had no intention of ever doing so. I always thought because of my ties to the company it would be a bad idea and obviously the family component weighed on me heavily. However, the way my mom talked about this place with such enthusiasm, it kind of sucked me in. At this point, I thought the company was big enough that I didn’t necessarily have to cross paths with family, and my mom was ready to retire. Well, six years later she is still talking retirement so that sort of blew up in my face. It all worked out for the best though, because we still get to bounce ideas off of each other, but now with the same goal in mind. Some people may look at our situation as a bad thing, but the truth is, I would have never learned as much as I have and I get to see my mom.

- JASON BUCK

We have been working together at Coordinated Health for 25 years. We’ve ac-tually worked together at every job we’ve had since we graduated high school. Since we are identical twins and work in the same office and wear the same uniform, it sometimes caused a little confusion. I remember one time in par-ticular; there was an employee who worked here for almost a year before he realized there were actually two of us. He just thought there was one person who ran around a lot! We would also get a lot of strange looks from patients who thought they were seeing things.

I love working with my sister. There’s nothing better than coming in every morning and seeing her smiling face.

- KATHY BARRON

Funny as it may sound, I actually spend very little time with Mike on the job. Our work paths don’t cross very often. He is in hospital materials management and I am facilities director. In fact, when he calls me at work, it’s usually a bad sign! He lets me know of things that need attention in the surgical area of the hospital. I actually spent more time with him years ago when we used to paint the sites on nights and weekends for extra money. We shared a lot of the same taste in music and would play CDs while working. Back then he wasn’t even a CH employee, just contracted to work weekends. - TOM SPARLING

NICK BUCK, PHYSICIAN EXTENDER, 11 YEARS MARIANNE BUCK, MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTOR, 20 YEARSJASON BUCK, DISTRICT MANAGER, 6 YEARS

TWIN SISTERS - KATHY BARRON, ASSISTANT CLINIC MANAGER, 26 YEARSDEBBIE HORWATH, CHART PREP, 25 YEARS

BROTHERS - TOM SPARLING, DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, 18 YEARS MIKE SPARLING, MATERIALS MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, 14 YEARS


For many people their co-workers are their family away from home. But for a few lucky Coordinated Health employees, their co-workers are family! Check out our gallery and find out what it’s like for these employees who work with their spouse, mother, brother or even their mom!

We actually met through Coordinated Health. I was in college and doing my intern-ship and Frank was an athletic trainer. We’ve worked together for over 20 years and while we work in the same building we don’t cross paths often. I work with injured patients and he takes patients to the next level in terms of speed and agility. He also teaches adult exercise classes. We make time for each other by having lunch together every Friday afternoon.- LESLIE LUPIN

I’ve enjoyed watching Coordinated Health’s growth over the last ten years. The expansion of the marketing department has been great too because it gave Hannah an opportunity to work at Coordinated Health. We work in two different sides of the company, but will often bounce ideas off each other. I can help give her some insight into the clinical side of the com-pany and she helps me to better understand the business side. We’ve both learned a lot.- BRIAN ROPP

I never dreamed I would be working alongside my husband. It was not some-thing we planned to do when we were first married. I enjoy working with him. It adds a dimension to our relationship that most couples do not have. We are peers in our professional lives as well as personal. We seek out one anoth-er’s opinion and we have a friendly competition to keep current on the latest techniques and medical journals. We each have our strengths and weaknesses and complement each other well. It’s also been beneficial for our patients because we are able to provide an orthopedic as well as a podiatric approach to treatment; which provides the most comprehensive approach possible. I once had a patient who found out we were married and joked that she couldn’t even hang up wallpaper with her husband much less work with him daily. Jason and I have a totally different dynamic at work than at home. At work, we are professionals and we focus on providing the best patient care possible. At home, it’s all about our kids and family. If anything, I would say that working together has actually helped our relationship grow over the past 20 years. - STACY RESNICK, M.D.

SPOUSESLESLIE LUPIN, PHYSICAL THERAPIST, 22 YEARSFRANK LUPIN, FITNESS COORDINATOR, 24 YEARS

SPOUSESHANNAH ROPP, MARKETING, 2 YEARS BRIAN ROPP PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, 10 YEARSHENRY ROPP

BROTHERS - TOM SPARLING, DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, 18 YEARS MIKE SPARLING, MATERIALS MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, 14 YEARS

SPOUSESJASON RUDOLPH, M.D, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, 2.5 YEARS STACY RESNICK, M.D., PODIATRIST, 2.5 YEARS

F a m i l i e s



HWe’ll Be There

ouse calls are making a come back—well, sort of anyway. Ear-lier this year, Coordinated Health introduced its Home Out-patient Program, designed to get patients started with their outpatient therapy regimen even if it is not possible for them to get to the outpatient clinic for treatment. This program combines the convenience and coordination of care patients expect from Coordinated Health.

“Rehabilitation or therapy services are an integral part of your med-ical treatment,” says Jen Roeder, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Coordinated Health. “A safe recovery and a return to normal func-tion are necessary if you have pain, a recent injury or surgery. Our goal with this program is to work with patients on their mobility and function and get them into our outpatient clinic as quickly and safely as possible.”

The Home Outpatient Program provides physical therapy, which helps improve mobility, strength and range of motion, as well as oc-cupational therapy and its focus on safety and self-care. The program provides a convenient way for ensuring therapy treatments begin as scheduled by a patient’s doctor and continue uninterrupted until the time when a patient is able to come into their local outpatient clinic for treatment.

There are many reasons why patients may not be able to make it to an outpatient clinic for therapy. They may have anxiety following

a medical procedure, the weather may be bad, or perhaps they are unable to drive or don’t have access to reliable transportation.

When transportation issues prevented Yvette Betancourt from com-ing to the outpatient clinic to begin physical therapy after a bilater-al knee replacement, a Coordinated Health therapist came to her. “I wasn’t able to get to them, but I knew I needed to begin my therapy right away,” she said. “They came to my home where they helped me improve the movement in my legs and worked with me so I can walk better. They really push me, but they do a great job of keeping me motivated and it’s clear that they really care about me.”

Through the Home Outpatient Program, patients such as Ms. Betan-court are able to work with the same therapists at home as when they visit the outpatient clinic. “In that way, we are able to better en-sure a doctor’s protocol is being followed from the day of discharge, through any home treatments and therapy in an outpatient clinic,” adds Roeder. “That continuity and constant communication keeps all the care providers on the same page, which results in our ability to deliver more consistent care.”

Scheduling therapy sessions in the home is convenient, as therapists will work to the patient’s schedule. “This has been a positive experi-ence for me,” says Ms. Betancourt. “They’ve been prompt, courteous, considerate and most importantly they are taking the time to show me how I can help myself.”

by SCOTT FASNACHT

The fall athletic season is in full swing, and taking the field side-by-side with the athletes are Coordinated Health’s certified and licensed athletic trainers. For more than 20 years, these health-care providers have played an important role in providing imme-diate care for injured athletes and then helping them return to play as quickly and safely as possible.

This year, there are 30 Coordinated Health athletic trainers work-ing in 17 schools and with three colleges and universities across the region. “We serve as on-site advocates for injured athletes,” says Chris Reidy, Director of athletic trainers. “We help make the determination if it is safe for an injured athlete to return to play, and we also make referrals for those requiring additional care.”

Athletic trainers also spend considerable time focusing on injury prevention, especially through off-season conditioning programs. They provide valuable information on topics such as avoiding heat-related illnesses and proper stretching techniques to coach-es, athletes and their parents.

“We are trusted and provide value because we’re not a coach, not a teacher, but healthcare professionals who are educated and trained on handling a wide range of injuries,” adds Reidy. “We re-ally get involved in an athlete’s care and are in constant communi-

cation with doctors and physical therapists to ensure the highest levels of service are always provided.”

Christina Wise has been providing that quality service to the ath-letes at Nazareth High School for 14 years. “Our focus is on their safety and well-being,” she says. “Watching these student athletes work so hard to achieve their goals and seeing them grow as in-dividuals—that’s why I’ve been doing this for so long. They’re the best part of it.”

Over the years, not only have the students she’s worked with changed, but her role has as well. “For many years I was strictly involved with injury management and working in the treatment room,” she says. “Now I have a broader role. I’ve helped develop concussion protocols for the proper treatment of concussions, I’m consulted for nutritional information, and I’m seen as a re-source for the coaching staff.”

She has also seen the advantages of working in a coordinated care approach with the team physician. “We’re in constant contact with the doctor,” says Wise. “Our athletes are a priority for the physician, and whether it’s a concussion or orthopedic injury, we work together to provide great care.”

Through its athletic trainers, Coordinated Health brings professional healthcareproviders into the schools, youth sports programs and sports camps across Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Every Coordinated Health Athletic Trainer must have a four-year college degree (many have their Masters degree), pass a three-part certification exam, participate in continuing education classes each year and be licensed as an athletic trainer in the State of Pennsylvania.

We have the

DID YOU KNOW?PLAY IT SAFE

STUDENTS’ BACKS

Whether you’re a student athlete or a weekend warrior, if you suffer a mild sprain or other minor muscle or joint pain remem-ber R.I.C.E.

REST: Limit your exercise and reduce your overall activity.

ICE: Apply an ice pack to the affected area for 10-30 minutes.

COMPRESSION: Limit swelling by using elastic compression bandages.

ELEVATION: You may help reduce swelling by keeping the in-jured part of your body raised above the level of your heart.

If after 48 hours your symptoms have not improved, seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider.

by SCOTT FASNACHT

Christina WiseAthletic Trainer



An Essential Piece of the Puzzle

Coordinated Health is best known for its award-winning orthopedics and sports medicine programs. However, there’s much more to Coordinated Health than just ortho-pedics. Over the years Coordinated Health has added several specialties, including primary care, women’s health, and cardiology. The latest specialty Coordinated Health has added is endocrinology.

“Endocrinology is a good fit for Coordinated Health because we see a lot of patients from primary care, cardiology and women’s health,” says Endocrinologist Benjamin Quintana, M.D.

Endocrinology deals specifically with diseases and conditions affecting the glands within the endocrine system. Those glands, located throughout your body, produce and release hormones that control several functions within your body, including how it changes calories into energy, how your heart beats and how your bones and tissues grow.

Some of the more common endocrine system diseases are diabetes and thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroid-ism. Since diabetes is an epidemic sweeping the country, it’s not surprising that it is the top condition that Dr. Quintana sees.

by HANNAH ROPP

How EndocrinologyTouches All of Coordinated Health’sSpecialties


An Essential Piece of the Puzzle

“I would say that over half of my patients are diabetic. That’s definitely the most common condition that I see on a daily basis, but it’s also the most preventable” says Dr. Quintana.

Quintana says there are three main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. All three types of diabe-tes share two things in common, heightened blood sugar and similar symptoms if glucoses are very high, including increased urination, excessive thirst, and blurred vision. In more severe cases you may also have frequent infec-tions and wounds that are slow to heal.

Type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes may be controlled through diet and exercise; however, if you are unable to get your blood glucose levels under control you may need medication. There are medications available in oral and injection form.

Type 1 diabetes is generally diagnosed at a younger age. It is also much less common. In fact, only 5 percent of all people who have diabetes have type 1.

If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to be on insulin and carefully monitor your blood sugar levels.

Though a majority of Dr. Quintana’s patients are diabetic, he also deals with other condi-tions. Two other conditions he sees frequently are hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Both deal with the thyroid gland in your lower neck, which controls your metabolism.

Dr. Quintana describes hypothyroidism as the most common and says he may see three or four patients with it a day.

“Hypothyroidism deals with an underactive thyroid, so if the thyroid is underactive your

metabolism is decreased. You will burn less calories, gain weight and may have a slow heart rate,” claims Dr. Quintana.

According to Dr. Quintana, hypothyroidism is the easier of the two to treat because medi-cation can be used to increase the necessary hormone.

Hyperthyroidism, which is less common, occurs when you have an overactive thyroid. You may notice your heart racing, weight loss, and heat intolerance. This can be treated with medication or radioactive iodine. In some cases, surgery may be needed to treat hyper-thyroidism.

“The surgery would remove the thyroid, result-ing in hypothyroidism. We would use medica-tion to raise the hormones to a normal level,” says Dr. Quintana.

Auto-immune disorders are the most common causes of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroid-ism and tend to affect women more than men. They can also be hereditary.

Coordinated Health’s expansion into non- orthopedic disc plines is a thoughtful and evolving process. The acquisition of special-ties like endocrinology is dependent on the needs of the region’s population, and the company will contin-ue to grow with the Lehigh Valley’s needs.

Dr. Benjamin Quintana, Endocrinologist

School: Lehigh University

Most common football related injury: Shoulder instability and shoulder dislocations

How many years with school?11

Fondest Memory: Beating Towson at the playoffs two years ago

How many students treated each Year? About 500

Will your team win? Absolutely. We’ve got amazing athletes and coach Coen hasn’t lost to Lafayette yet.

Dr. Wayne Luchetti

The LEHIGH VS. LAFAYETTE rivalry is well known throughout the region and to col-lege football fans everywhere. Tickets generally sell out months in advance and it is consistently ranked as one of the top college football rivalries in the nation. On No-vember 23rd, Lehigh and Lafayette will take to the field for the 149th time to play what is considered to be the longest running rivalry game in college football history. Lehigh and Lafayette aren’t the only ones with a rivalry. Coordinated Health has its own rivalry brew-ing since we proudly provide team physician’s and trainers to each school. Find out more about Lehigh’s and Lafayette’s team physicians below and get their predictions on who will win the big game!

School: Lafayette University

Most common football related injury: Everything from concussions, to ACL tears and rotator cuff tears

How many years with school?20

Fondest Memory: Working with some great athletes, coaches and train-ers over the last 20 years

How many students treated each Year? 300-400

Will your team win? Not sure. We are having a rough season, but we’ve got some great athletes and coaches so you never know.

Dr. Carl Weiss


When Steve Smith, the wide receiver for the New York Giants, announced his retirement last May, many people were shocked. After all, he had just come off one of his best years and was still in the prime of his career. However the micro-fracture procedure that he had undergone was un-successful in eliminating his knee pain. Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. James Hoffman claims that the biologic, stem cell-mediated repair technique that he uses could have saved Smith’s career along with that of numerous other professional and amateur athletes.

“There are professional athletes leaving this country to have surgery per-formed that they think is not available here. These ‘biologic’ repairs using stem cell and growth factor technologies have been developed not only in the United States, but right here in the Lehigh Valley. I have been working on biologic repairs for the rotator cuff in the shoulder over the last ten years and recently published the surgical technique in the Orthopedic literature last year. The surgical technique for cartilage repairs of the knee was developed over the last year as well. These new surgical techniques have the ability to repair damaged cartilage and shoulder musculature that was previously considered unrepairable.“

Articular cartilage injuries, like the one that Smith suffered, are extremely common among athletes. It happens when your articulate cartilage, the smooth, white tissue that covers the ends of bones and allows your bones

to move freely with very little friction, become damaged through an acci-dent or just normal wear or tear. If this tissue is not returned to its normal physiologic state, symptoms persist that can end a career.

“There is a major problem with traditional surgical techniques for both the shoulder and the knee. The surgeries for the shoulder rely upon the information of scar tissue to heal the injury. The tissue that forms in the cartilage repair techniques is not true physiologic cartilage…it is an infe-rior tissue that has problems holding up under stress. Very few profes-sional athletes return to a high level of competition after these surgeries because the repair tissue that forms does not act like normal tissue and does not hold up to stress. You can’t throw a baseball 95 mph with scar tissue !”

The biologic procedures that Dr. Hoffman has pioneered over the last ten years allows the injured region of the body to repair itself with the “reformation” of the same type of tissue that was damaged. This is accom-plished by using placenta-derived stem cells. Growth factors help activate the cells, and provide a healing environment that allows the regeneration of lost and damaged tissue…not scar tissue. Because the placenta-de-rived stem cells have no surface markers that can be recognized as for-eign to another person, they are not rejected by the recipient. Likewise, they have no means of transmission of any disease process. “They are



A D VA N C E D M E D I C I N E

the only cell in the body which can be transferred between individuals with no adverse reaction. Their job is to limit the field of injury and reform lost and damaged cells…and they do this extremely well.”

Dr. Hoffman adds “with the reformation of physiologic tissue by this process, this can allow a professional athlete to return to competitive levels of performance. This can restore the function to a shoulder that had been deemed unfixable. We have been restoring badly injured knees and shoulders over the last several years and are now iden-tifying a patient population that we feel should be treated with this type of surgery from the start to prevent surgical failures and repeat surgeries.”

Professional athletes are not the only ones that can benefit from a bio-logic repair. Dr. Hoffman has used the procedure on weekend warriors and amateur athletes with great success.

The procedure is ideal for anyone with an articular cartilage tear in the knee or rotator cuff tear of the shoulder. But, it doesn’t have to be limited to just the knee and shoulder. In fact, Dr. Hoffman has used the procedure in at least 15 different locations throughout the body.

Dr. Hoffman is presently working in collaboration with the Musculo-skeletal Transplant Foundation (Edison, NJ), Conmed/Linvatec (Ith-ica, NY), Osiris Therapeutics (Columbia, Maryland), and the United States Stem Cell Society to further advance surgical techniques and help educate the public about how these scientific advances can sig-nificantly impact the outcomes of surgical procedures for the knee and shoulder. “In a way I have become a conduit or mediator between the scientific community and the Orthopedic world. I have been involved in finding ways to clinically apply what many scientists having been working on in labs for a long time.”

Dr. Hoffman finally adds “this is new technology that has recently evolved. There is going to be a lot of education required, especially in the surgical world, in order for surgeons and physicians to understand how and why this should be applied. I get frustrated when a patient finally gets to me and they tell me that they were told by a physician that they were not fixable. With this new understanding of how the body heals we will be able to restore lost function to people that will really make a difference to the patient and society. It should also be noted that this type of scientific research is occurring around the world (China, Japan, Europe, England, Australia)… a joint stem-cell agree-ment recently was established with China in order for this technology to be advanced for the good of everyone.”

by HANNAH ROPP


Coordinated Health’s entry in the world of Employer Services was formed around one fundamental concept: in order to successfully treat employees, you have to understand what they do. Coordinated Health CEO Emil DiIorio founded the Industrial Medicine Clinic in the late 1980’s, and he started with large employers like Bethlehem Steel, Crayola and UPS.

DiIorio studied the physical and environmental factors that affected employees’ health by immersing himself in their work worlds. He also required that the physi-cians he worked with adopt the same boots-on-the-

ground approach to occupational health. He knew that the best way to analyze occupational injuries was to go to their source: the workplace.

DiIorio personally donned the trademark brown UPS uniform and rode in the back of a mail truck to under-stand the strain on workers’ joints. He talked to em-ployees one-on-one and assessed their physical chal-lenges on the job.

“When I treated steel workers, I learned how Bessemer furnaces and rolling mills worked. At Crayola, I walked

EMPLOYERSERVICES

How Area Businesses Help Shape Coordinated Healthby FLORENCE TRAPP

Photography courtesy of Crayola


the factory floor and learned how crayons were made,” DiIorio explains.

The relationship between DiIorio and the employers he worked with provided a two-fold benefit for the new small business owner. First, he received a ground-floor, factory-level view of the way products are made. Sec-ond, he observed the leadership skills and techniques of corporate management teams, which enabled him to refine his business.

The manufacturing process fascinated the physician because he could see a parallel between creating dif-ferent parts of a product and treating different parts of a patient. As an engineer and artist, he saw a level of elegance in the production process that he knew he could mimic in the health care world.

DiIorio’s interaction with management teams allowed him to study the complex systems of culture, technol-ogy, strategy, and innovation that formed the back-bone of developing a successful business. He began to understand the priorities of corporate executives in a

way that would shape his own business, and he picked up on their ability to predict major innovations on the horizon.

“Digitalization is transforming the way we deliver products and services in ways that even the Industrial Revolution couldn’t match,” DiIorio says. “The modern-ization of industries like manufacturing and health care through technology is the most exciting thing to hap-pen since the Renaissance.”

Through his observations from Employer Services, DiIorio learned to focus on what matters most to com-panies and customers: accountability, collaboration, metrics, satisfaction, quality and cost. He developed Coordinated Health’s strategy from those key tenants, and his business began to flourish.

“Working with world-class employers showed me how to develop from within, using companies like UPS as a model for value-based care,” DiIorio says. “They get it. At the end of the day, it’s about the customer.”

(877) 247-8080 | coordinatedhealth.com | (610) 861-8080

coordinated health magazine - fall 2013

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