MessengerI want to use this space to make you aware of a situation that should concern every supporter of Madison Hospital.

As you are probably aware, the Alabama Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to widen U.S. 72 West from the Providence area to the Limestone County line. But you

might not have heard that as part of the project, the state wants to close the busy median crossing used by drivers coming and going from Madison Hospital’s main entrance.

If that happens, our patients, visitors and employees would have no direct access to the hospital from westbound U.S. 72. Instead, they would have to drive past the hospital to the Balch Road intersection, wait for a green light and then make a U-turn to get back to the main entrance. That adds about 1/3 mile to the trip.

The other option for westbound drivers trying to reach the hospital would be to turn left on Balch Road, make another

left into our side entrance and then go past the Emergency Department and Wellness Center to reach the main parking lot. That adds about 3/4 mile to the trip compared to using the median crossing.

While we respect the opinion of DOT officials, we believe the current plan would hinder access to your community hospital. Rather than closing the median crossing, we have asked the state to consider adding a new traffic light at the hospital’s U.S. 72 entrance.

Hospital traffic is not the same as retail traffic. People coming to our campus are often distracted, thinking about the loved one they are about to visit or the procedure they are about to have. For that reason, we need the easiest access possible.

If you would like to help, please contact your elected state representatives and tell them Madison Hospital deserves its own traffic light on U.S. 72.

Madison Hospital’s Healing Garden offers respite year round, but a visit in the springtime is especially enjoyable. Located behind the hospital, the garden was designed to surround patients and their families with the quiet beauty of nature. Be sure to take a stroll through the walking labyrinth, modeled after the famous labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. Thanks to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation for bringing our beautiful garden to life.

Madison, Alabama Spring 2016

President, Madison Hospital

Madison Hospital deserves own traffic light on U.S. 72

Healing Garden in bloom

Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright remembers the scene vividly.

It was Feb. 28, 2012, a Tuesday morning. Wright and other employees of the city’s brand-new, eagerly-anticipated hospital gathered to welcome the first patient. Around 9 a.m., a woman suffering from bronchitis walked into the Emergency Department.

After years of meticulous planning and construction, Madison Hospital was open for business.

Four years later, the hospital has become an indispensable resource for thousands of families in Madison, Monrovia, Harvest and surrounding areas. The Labor & Delivery Department will bring more than 800 babies into the world in 2016. The ED will treat nearly 50,000 patients. The Imaging Services area recently performed a record 290 diagnostic studies in a single day.

“The growth has just been remarkable,” said Wright. “It’s kind of like that ‘Field of Dreams’ movie line: If you build it, they will come. I think it’s a testament to our exceptional customer service and efficient, high-quality care.”

That success has transformed the stretch of U.S. 72 West near Balch Road into a vibrant medical community of OB-GYNs, radiologists, family doctors, orthopedic surgeons,

cardiologists, gastroenterologists, general surgeons, ENTs and other specialists.

“It’s really turned out even better than what we envisioned four years ago,” said Madison Hospital Board member Taron Thorpe. “It’s a true community hospital that takes care of a wide array of needs in a way that’s professional, kind and courteous.”

The hospital’s growth has mirrored that of Madison itself. The latest Census update pegged Madison’s population at 46,450, making it the 11th-largest city in Alabama. The Huntsville metro population (Madison and Limestone counties) overtook Mobile in 2010 and is gaining on Birmingham.

Thorpe said the opening of the hospital in 2012 contributed to that momentum.

“It helped attract shopping centers and retail outparcels and additional medical facilities nearby,” he said. “We didn’t have a medical base in Madison before, but we have it now.”

Hospital leaders are keenly aware of demographic projections showing continued population growth in Madison, and they are determined to stay ahead of the curve. Plans are being reviewed to expand the Emergency Department by two additional rooms, and Labor & Delivery triage rooms are being converted into three private labor rooms. Also, the hospital has unfinished shell space on the fourth and fifth floors that can be developed as needed.

“Our community is getting larger,” said Thorpe, “so we have to become a larger community hospital.”

Reflecting on four years of remarkable growth

The aerial photo above shows Madison Hospital under construction in April 2011. The photo at right shows the campus today, with U.S. 72

West in the foreground.

If you’ve had a previous cesarean delivery, you have two choices for subsequent deliveries at Madison Hospital: a scheduled C-section or a vaginal birth, called a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).

The benefits of a VBAC delivery may include a shorter recovery period, reduced risk of infection and less blood loss compared to a repeat C-section. In addition, VBAC may help you avoid bowel and bladder injury and placental complications linked to multiple cesareans.

During a VBAC delivery, the primary concern is possible rupture of the cesarean scar on the uterus. While this

happens in less than 1 percent of patients, it can be serious for both mom and baby. That’s why the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists recommends hospitals have surgical and anesthesia personnel “immediately available” to perform an emergency C-section if complications arise during a VBAC delivery.

With 24/7 anesthesia and operating room coverage, Madison Hospital performs an average of one VBAC per month. Whether you choose a VBAC or scheduled C-section, we are proud to offer choices to our patients. Consult with your physician on which delivery option is best for you.

Madison Hospital’s well-baby nursery has been reclassified as a Level II “special care” nursery.

Level II is an intermediate step between a well-baby nursery and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). That means the Madison Hospital nursery can now look after premature infants born as early as 32 weeks and babies with moderate health problems.

Pediatrician Stephanie Israel, MD, said the switch to a Level II nursery is already benefiting families in and around Madison.Some babies that previously would have been transferred to the Level III NICU at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children can now receive high-quality care closer to home, said Dr. Israel. That makes it easier for parents to visit the nursery often and for new moms to stop by to breastfeed.

“The closer you are, the more time you can spend with your baby,” said Dr. Israel. “That’s huge.”

In addition to looking after children born at Madison Hospital, the nursery now accepts NICU babies from the Madison area who no longer need the highest level of care, said Renee Colquitt, Madison Hospital’s Lead Coordinator of OB Services.

The move to Level II did not require a physical expansion of the nursery. That’s because healthy, full-term babies born at Madison Hospital spend as much as 23 hours a day in their parents’ hospital room.

By contrast, Level II infants “stay in the nursery so they can be closely monitored by our trained staff,” said Dr. Israel. “They just need a little more help and will stay in the hospital a little longer.”

In addition to a dedicated team of registered nurses, care is provided by Dr. Israel and neonatologists Thomas Davison, MD, Meyer Dworsky, MD, Lee Morris, MD, and Zuzana Novak, MD. Dr. Dworsky is medical director of the Madison Hospital nursery.

Level II babies may be suffering from an illness or have other needs such as supplemental oxygen, intravenous therapy or specialized feedings.

Is a VBAC delivery right for you?

Level II nursery: A higher level of care,

closer to home

Pediatrician Stephanie Israel, MD, examines a baby in Madison Hospital’s Level II nursery.

As an Air Force veteran, general surgeon Douglas Downey, MD, feels right at home in Madison.

The city is teeming with military veterans, and Dr. Downey know what’s it’s like to care for them. Before joining Huntsville Hospital Surgical Associates of Madison, he spent five years as a general surgeon at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. His medical training included stints at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

“There certainly was a bond that you felt caring for soldiers and airmen who wore the same uniform,” Dr. Downey said.

He is board certified in general surgery and is available to perform a wide range of general surgical procedures.

“Surgery is a field that’s forever changing,” said Dr. Downey. “It’s rich with historic figures and milestones, but there is also the very new, with technology continually pushing the

boundaries of what is possible. What I like best about it is being able to help people feel better or live longer.”

Call (256) 265-5951 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Downey. Huntsville Hospital Surgical Associates of Madison is located in the Madison Medical I building on the Madison Hospital campus and has a second location on the campus of Huntsville Hospital.

Keta Vaidya, MD, seemed destined from the start to become a physician.

Born in western India, her last name means “doctor” in the Sanskrit language. Her great-grandfather practiced herbal medicine.

She set out to become an engineer but said “something clicked” during a biology class at Stony Brook University on Long Island, which led her to pursue a career in medicine instead. She was eventually accepted to medical school at Drexel University in Philadelphia and went on to complete her residency in internal medicine at Boston University Medical Center and fellowship in gastroenterology at Yale University School of Medicine.

During her fellowship at Yale, Dr. Vaidya crossed paths with Jason Kinzel, MD, now a physician with Huntsville Hospital Digestive Disease Center.

Last year, Dr. Vaidya and her husband began talking about escaping the cold New England winters and moving closer to

his family in Atlanta. One of her first phone calls was to Dr. Kinzel.

“I’d heard great things about the Huntsville area from him and others – how it’s a great place to raise a family,” she said. “I came down for a visit and felt I had a good connection with the rest of the Digestive Disease Center partners. I moved here last August and am really happy. Everybody has been great.”

Dr. Vaidya sees patients on Mondays and Wednesdays at Digestive Disease Center’s Madison office in the Progress Bank Building, 8337 U.S. 72 West, Suite 302. She is one of only three female gastroenterologists in Madison County and says she “looks forward to serving the community.”

Last name proved prophetic for Madison physician

Douglas Downey: A surgeon with the heart

of a veteran

Douglas Downey, MD, at home with his family.

Keta Vaidya, MD

Madison Hospital has a new telemedicine screening protocol in the Emergency Department.

Behavioral health staff and physicians at Decatur Morgan Hospital’s West campus are using live, two-way video to assess psychiatric patients in the Madison Hospital ER. Previously, Decatur West screeners were driving to Madison for a face-to-face evaluation.

“This eliminates that travel time, so patients are being seen more quickly,” said Ryan Murray, Madison Hospital’s director of emergency, imaging, cardiopulmonary and registration services.

Following the video evaluation, screeners collaborate with psychiatrists and Madison Hospital ER physicians on where to

send the patient for treatment. The telescreenings are available around the clock.

“Since Madison Hospital does not have inpatient psychiatric services, the goal is to get the patient to the appropriate level of care they need,” said Murray. “It’s working really well.”

Alabama lags well behind the national average when it comes to breastfeeding rates, but Kristine Taff is determined that it won’t stay that way.

A registered nurse and international board certified lactation consultant at Madison Hospital, Taff has spent most of her 17-year medical career encouraging new mothers to breastfeed.

“Breast milk is the perfect first food for a baby,” said Taff. “It imprints the immune system of the mother onto the baby and helps reduce the incidence of allergies. There are just so many benefits for the baby as well as the mother.”

Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Taff and the hospital’s other international board certified lactation consultants, Stacy

Ramirez and Anne Sheaves, breastfeeding rates are higher in Madison than in most other parts of Alabama. About 80 percent of women who give birth at Madison Hospital start their newborns on breast milk.

Statewide, just 67.3 percent of babies born in 2011 were ever fed breast milk compared to the national average of 79.2 percent. That’s the most recent data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which ranks Alabama’s breastfeeding rate 44th out of 50 states.

Madison Hospital has a simple recipe for improving breastfeeding rates in the community:

educate new moms about the benefits of breast milk, remove the barriers and encourage women to reach their breastfeeding goals.

“All three lactation consultants volunteer our cell phone numbers for guidance after discharge from the hospital,” said Taff. “We are available to reference medications, check a baby’s weight and offer breastfeeding assistance. We also invite each mother to our breastfeeding support group where a village of support exists for her.”

The breastfeeding support group meets at Madison Wellness Center on Mondays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The meetings are open to all pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Quicker psychiatric screenings

Helping mothers breastfeed is her passion

Kristine Taff is one of three international board certified lactation consultants at Madison Hospital.

Madison Hospital Director of Clinical Operations Melissa Taylor, left, and Ashley Burns, RN, demonstrate the new telescreening process for

psychiatric patients.

Madison Hospital is on track to become just the fourth Baby Friendly USA hospital in Alabama.

A global initiative of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the Baby Friendly designation recognizes birth centers and hospitals that offer optimal support for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. About 340 U.S. hospitals have earned Baby Friendly status.

Renee Colquitt, Madison Hospital’s Lead Coordinator of OB Services, likened the program to a Good Housekeeping seal of approval for maternity care.

“It’s not going to change the care that we’re providing, but it assures a mother looking for that special birth experience that we are the right place for her and her infant,” said Colquitt. “Women in our community look for that.”

Colquitt said she knows women from Madison who chose to have their children two hours away at Anniston’s Regional Medical Center because it is a Baby Friendly USA hospital. UAB Hospital in Birmingham and East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika are the only others in Alabama.

Madison Hospital was accepted into the initial phase of the program in December 2014 and has taken a number of steps to demonstrate its commitment, including the launch of a Baby Friendly task force, joining the Alabama Breastfeeding Initiative to expand lactation coverage, and implementing policies that promote mother-baby bonding.

“Every baby goes skin to skin with mom right after delivery unless there is a health issue that needs attention,” said Colquitt.“We also support keeping babies in the room with their parents as much as possible. They need togetherness to learn those feeding queues.”

Huntsville Hospital Foundation helped Madison Hospital secure one of the nation’s first EMPower Initiative grants, which paid for the services of two Baby Friendly coaches to encourage the hospital on its journey.

Colquitt said the hospital has completed most of the required steps and is preparing for a site visit from Baby Friendly representatives.

If everything goes as planned, she said, Madison Hospital should achieve Baby Friendly USA status no later than December.

Baby Friendly USA journey nears successful conclusion

Athens resident Sarah Bigelow cradles her two-day-old daughter, Emily Mae, at Madison Hospital in April.

Huntsville Hospital Foundation’s 2nd Annual Party in the Park benefiting Madison Hospital is set for Friday, June 3.

All proceeds from the event at the Jackson Center in Cummings Research Park will go toward a planned expansion of the hospital’s Emergency Department, which is on pace to treat more than 50,000 patients in 2016. Money raised at last year’s inaugural Party in the Park helped convert several hospital triage rooms into Labor & Delivery rooms.

Party in the Park guests will be treated to beer, bourbon and wine tastings, music by Cadillac Sparrow, games, drawings and other entertainment. Radio personality Mojo from 104.3 WZYP-FM will serve as emcee. Dress is casual. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information, call the Foundation at (256) 265-8077 or email sarah.bedsole@hhsys.org.

Party in the Park will benefit ER expansion

Madison Hospital is on the front lines of a new telemedicine program that aims to improve stroke care across the region.

Huntsville Hospital launched the North Alabama Neuro-Stroke Network in early April at Madison Hospital, Marshall Medical Center North in Guntersville and Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz.

“We’re excited to offer this important new service,” said Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright. “Without a doubt, it will improve care and lead to better outcomes for stroke patients in our community.”

When a stroke patient arrives at Madison Hospital, emergency room physicians and nurses gather the person’s medical history, conduct an initial stroke assessment and order a CT brain scan. The scan provides detailed images of any blood clots, damage or bleeding within the brain.

If the hospital does not have a neurologist available to see the patient, the telemedicine component of the program kicks in.

One of Huntsville Hospital’s six staff neurologists will remotely examine the patient – day or night – using live, two-way video.

The high-definition “tele-stroke” camera system allows neurologists in Huntsville to see and talk to the patient in real time, review their CT scan results and collaborate with emergency room physicians and nurses at Madison Hospital on a treatment plan.

“Using telemedicine, we can help the local hospital make a timely decision,” said neurologist Amit Arora, MD, medical director of the North Alabama Neuro-Stroke Network. “This gives the patient a chance to receive treatment faster.”

The telemedicine program comes along at a critical time: Stroke is now the fifth-leading cause of death nationally and the leading cause of serious, long-term disability.

Alabamians are particularly at risk due to lifestyle factors such as fried foods and lack of exercise. The state is part of the so-called Stroke Belt – a region of high stroke mortality stretching from Texas to the Carolinas.

Madison Hospital launches innovative telemedicine program for stroke patients

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Few people know Madison’s health care needs better than Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright.

But in order to more fully immerse herself in the community, Wright joined the Madison Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 2010.

Last fall, Wright succeeded ServisFirst Bank executive Amanda Weaveras 2016 chamber president. She has also been filling in as the chamber’s volunteer executive director since early February.

“It’s a lot of work right now, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Wright said. “Helping promote small businesses and all that Madison has to offer is just a perfect fit. It’s important for me to be involved in the good things happening in our city.”

Wright’s latest Chamber project is overseeing the rollout of Trains on Main, a downtown scavenger hunt that kicked off May 9. Clue cards are available at most downtown businesses, Madison City Hall and the Chamber office inside the Hogan Family YMCA.

Follow the clues to find the 10 miniature bronze trains hidden throughout downtown. If you find them all, you can redeem your clue card for a free train whistle.

Trains factor heavily into Madison’s history. In the 1850s, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad created a passenger stop at what was then a tiny village known as Madison Station. The town that sprung up along the iron tracks was incorporated in 1869 and renamed Madison.

Sculptor Everett Cox created the miniature trains for the scavenger hunt at his Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment studio.

“We’re so excited about Trains on Main,” said Wright. “It’s really about bringing people into downtown Madison to learn more about our community.”

www.madisonALhospital.org www.facebook.com/MadisonHospitalFan @MadisonHospital

8375 Hwy. 72 W. Madison, AL 35758

Chamber volunteer work ‘a perfect fit’

As Madison Chamber of Commerce president, Mary Lynne Wright is working to bring more people to the historic downtown area.