Local Motion - Memorial Hospital of South Bend

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Easing the Pain Easing patients’ pain remains one of every health care institutions most important jobs. The pain management specialists at Memorial Hospital take this responsibility seriously and provide the best possible care while delivering the pain relief each patient deserves. Pain Rating Scale 0 2 4 6 8 10 No Pain Mild Discomforting Distressing Horrible Excruciating: worst pain imaginable 0 2 4 6 8 10 One of the tools physicians use to assess pain is the Pain Rating Scale. This 0 to 10 scale helps patients pinpoint the type of pain they’re feeling so that physicians can better address their needs. Even before her own five-day Memorial stay, Marie Udulutch, Psy.D., a psychologist in Memorial’s Pain Control Center, was well aware of the important role the pain management team plays in the care and recovery of hundreds of patients each day. “Treating pain is vitally important,” said Udulutch. “Pain affects people on so many different levels. It affects us not only physically, but emotionally, mentally and even spiritually.” By managing pain through a number of techniques, Memorial’s team of experts can help expedite recovery, lift spirits and help get patients back on their feet. 12 ❚ Memorial Health System ❚ 574•647•6800
Specialized Care in Outpatient Pain Relief Since 1992, the Pain Management Center at Memorial Hospital has served Memorial’s outpatient population with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and support staff, providing specialized care to those suffering from various types of pain. “What we did was take all the components that Memorial was already using and brought them all together into a comprehensive, referral-only pain management center,” said Daniel Cooke, M.D., Medical Director, Pain Control Center. “There are basically three classifications of pain: acute, chronic and cancer pain. We see all three types and provide different treatment options depending on what kind of pain it is. What makes us a quality pain management program is that we are multimodality. We use different approaches and techniques to help with difficult pain problems.” Though medication and physical therapy remain the most traditional way patients can manage pain, the popularity of alternative and complementary approaches is on the rise throughout the country and is used by a number of Memorial’s own pain control specialists. As a psychologist, Udulutch recommends deep relaxation exercises, such as hypnosis, visualization, distraction, pacing methods and journaling. In collaboration, the staff of Memorial’s Spiritual Services Department provides emotional support and helps promote some of the more popular alternative approaches to pain management, such as massage therapy and Healing Touch. Some Memorial physicians are also specially trained in the art of acupuncture, which remains a popular therapy for managing migraines and other types of pain. Treating Pain From Within Nancy Morris, R.N., M.S., and Mary Bell, R.N., are two of the most popular people walking the hospital halls. As the pain management team that serves Memorial’s inpatients, this two-person team sees between 60 and 70 patients a month. Their expertise is called upon to serve a wide crosssection of the hospital population. “We treat post-operative, medical, trauma and some O.B. patients,” said Morris. “Some patients only need our services once or twice, and others we may see for two weeks straight. It’s definitely a job that keeps you thinking on your toes. “A lot of negative things can happen to your body when you’re not having your pain resolved,” added Morris. “We do whatever we can to keep that from happening.” In fact, unresolved pain can increase blood pressure, disrupt breathing and sleeping patterns, increase the risk of infection and raise anxiety and stress levels. All of these symptoms have the potential to hinder a patient’s ability to heal as efficiently as possible. That’s why Memorial has dedicated itself to providing patients with the most effective pain control available. From the very latest technologies to ancient techniques, if Memorial’s team of experts can help ease the pain, they will. “It’s a tough thing to see someone in pain,” added Udulutch. “Anything we can do to help them….we’ll do.” Self-Quiz: Is Your Pain Chronic Take this self-quiz and discover if you or someone you love has chronic pain. • Have you had persistent pain for six months or more • Have standard medical treatments, such as oral medications, injections or physical therapy, failed to adequately relieve your pain • Do uncomfortable side effects from current treatments reduce the quality of life for you or your family members • Does pain prevent you from participating in your usual daily activities or affect your career choices, plans or interpersonal relationships • Have you experienced an increase or change in your pain • Have you been examined by a medical professional and diagnosed with cancer, nerve damage, chronic infection or other chronic condition Chronic pain may result from a previous injury long since healed, or it may have an ongoing cause, such as arthritis, cancer, nerve damage or chronic infection. When you feel pain, it is really a reaction to signals that are sent from the pain source to the nerves in the spinal cord and then to your brain, where the signals are perceived as pain. For more information about chronic pain or pain management, call The Health Professionals of Memorial Hospital at (574) 647-6800. Or you can visit the Memorial Health Discovery Center from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. The Health Discovery Center offers a research library and Internet access for online searches, as well as help from a registered nurse. The Health Discovery Center is located at 100 Navarre Place, Suite 6670, in South Bend. www.qualityoflife.org ❚ 13
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Local Motion - Memorial Hospital of South Bend

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