Experience Counts In C a rdiac Catheterization - Glens Falls Hospital

Responding
to you. T h a t ’s
our commitment at
Glens Falls Hospital
every day, as we
build programs and
services that respond
directly to your health
care needs.
But just as important is how
generously you have been responding
to your Hospital.
Inside this issue you’ll find stories
about lifesaving and life-enhancing
programs and services that simply
would not be possible were it not for
the financial support of people from
across our region.
As I’m sure you are aware, we are
living in an era of declining government
and insurance company reimburse-
ments for health care. Because of this,
your Hospital is often paid less for
services than it actually costs to provide
the care. As a not-for-profit Hospital,
we are also committed to caring for all
local people, insured and uninsured,
including those who are unable to
pay at all.
In 1999, the Glens Falls Hospital
Foundation established its A n n u a l
Fund, through which local people are
able to make annual contributions to
help the Hospital continue to provide
high quality care. Gifts may be directed
to specific programs, or to wherever the
need may be greatest.
You r
A L o o k a t H o w G l e n s F a l l s H o s p i t a l i s R e s p o n d i n g t o Yo u a n d Y o u r C o m m u n i t y
Your Gifts Help
Others Every Day
Pen
On behalf of the employees of your
(Continued on next page)
Ho s p i t a l
www.glensfallshospital.org
Experience Counts In
C a rdiac Catheterization
B
ill King, a lifelong resident of Saratoga Springs, is among
the more than 5,000 people who have chosen the Juckett Family
C a rdiac Catheterization Suite at Glens Falls Hospital
for a potentially lifesaving diagnostic pro c e d u re over the past four years.
B i l l ’s pro c e d u re was perf o rmed by Dr. Jack Layden, a cardiologist
and the medical director of the Suite (shown above
with Bill), on November 17. “The whole team
is wonderful,” Bill says. “The doctors,
the nurses, everyone. They took the
time to tell me everything I needed
to know. They made me feel
relaxed and comfort a b l e . ”
L e a rn more about
Glens Falls Hospital’s
C a rdiac Cath Suite, n ext page.
Winter 2001
I N S I D E
n e w o p t i o n f o r 3
u t e r i n e f i b r o i d s
a h e l p i n g h a n d f o r 4
p e o p l e w i t h d i a b e t e s
b r e a s t c e n t e r 6
n o w o p e n
g l e n s f a l l s ’ 8
d i a b e t e s d o c

C a rdiac Cath Staff
t h
P e rf o rms 5,000
P ro c e d u re
The staff of the Juckett Family Cardiac Catheterization
Suite at Glens Falls Hospital reached a noteworthy mile-
stone in recent weeks, as they perf o rmed the 5,000th
p ro c e d u re since the Lab’s opening in 1996.
“When it comes to an intricate pro c e d u re like this, there
is no substitute for experience,” says Dr. Jack Layden,
medical director of the Suite and a partner in Adiro n d a c k
C a rdiology Associates in Glens Falls. “Our staff is very
experienced and very skillful.”
C a rdiac catheterization is used to evaluate how well a
h e a rt is working, and to diagnose blockages or abnorm a l i-
ties. The pro c e d u re is perf o rmed by a cardiologist who
uses X-ray images to guide a thin catheter to the heart
t h rough an art e ry in the groin. The cardiologist then
injects a dye that allows him to see — through the X-ray
image — how well the heart is working.
Prior to the opening of our Suite, people from the
g reater Glens Falls area requiring a cardiac catheterization
had to drive or be taken by ambulance to an Albany are a
hospital. The test takes only about fifteen minutes, but the
drive for some would take as long as two hours. The time
spent waiting for a pro c e d u re has also been re d u c e d .
“ B e f o re we opened, local people had to wait a couple of weeks
to have the pro c e d u re done at an Albany area hospital,” says Dr. Layden. “Now
we can schedule them as early as the next day and they don’t have to drive all
the way to Albany.
“Most important, because we can get the test done sooner, we can catch
h e a rt disease when it’s treatable. It might sound cliché, but the time we save
could save a life.”
The Glens Falls region is fortunate to
have the services of two outstanding
groups of cardiologists. They are:
Glens Falls A s s o c i ates
in Card i o l ogy
1 Broad Street, Suite 202, Glens Falls
7 9 3 - 1 0 8 3
Jonathan M. DeSantis, M.D., F. A . C . C .
G re g o ry A. Kelly, M.D.
Glens Falls’ Cardiologists
c a r d i a c c a t h e t e r i z a t i o n
A d i ro n d a ck Card i o l ogy A s s o c i at e s
90 South Street, Glens Falls
792-1233 or 677-2154.
James F. Morr i s s e , yM.D.,
F. A . C . C .
David W. Schwenker, M.D., F. A . C . C .
John J. Layden, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Peter R. Gray, Ph.D., F. A . C . C .
Michael A. Layden, M.D., F. A . C . C .
David A. Judkins, M.D., F. A . C . C .
Scott M. Munro, M.D.
Our Cardiac Cath staff includes (clockwise from front): Sharo n
F a rrell, RN; Cardiology Services Director Carol Forman, RN;
Michele Harding, an RN and re g i s t e ed r cardiovascular invasive
specialist (RCIS); Fred Barss, an RCIS and re g i s t e ed r re s p i r a t o ry
therapist; Melissa Potter, an RCIS and licensed radiologic
technologist (LRT); Ron Peltier, RN; and Samantha David, LRT,
RCIS. Missing from the photo are: Jackie DeCunzo, RN; Mary
Flagel, RN; Gerri Sprague, RN; Carolyn Wickes, RN; and Clinical
Manager Barbara McDermott, RN, RCIS.
PRESIDENT’S PEN
(Continued from front)
Hospital, and the board of directors of the
Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, I thank
you for your generous support. And, as
we begin the new year, I hope you will
again consider how your gifts to the
Foundation will benefit your Hospital and
your future.
Gifts may be sent to the Glens Falls
Hospital Foundation, 12 Warren Street,
Glens Falls, NY, 12801, or through our
Web site at w w w. gl e n s fa l l s h o s p i t a l . g. o r
Best of health,
David G. Kruczlnicki

Radiology technologies such as
X-ray and ultrasound have been
used for many years to identify
medical problems.
But for the past decade these
technologies have been increasingly
used for treatment as well as
diagnosis, through the practice of
interventional radiology — a medical
specialty in which X-ray and
ultrasound technologies are used to
guide catheters and other tiny
instruments into arteries and other
parts of the body to treat conditions
that once required surgery.
Glens Falls Hospital added this
innovative treatment option to its
array of patient services in the
mid-1990s, recruiting interventional
radiologist Dr. Richard
Dimick to oversee the
creation and serve as
Medical Director of our
$1.2-million Inter-
ventional Radiology Lab.
It is estimated that as many as 20% of women in their 20s,
30% of women in their 30s and 40% of women in their 40s
are living with uterine fibroids.
These non-cancerous tumors, which grow from the
muscular walls of the uterus, can result in heavy bleeding,
pelvic pain, bloating and anemia (the loss of red blood cells).
H i s t o r i c a l l , ythe
standard course of action when these
symptoms persist has been a hysterectomy, the surgical
removal of the uterus.
But now, there is a new, non-surgical treatment alternative
available at Glens Falls Hospital that preserves the uterus —
i n t e r v e n t i o n a l r a d i o l o g y
Radiology: It’s Not Just For Diagnosis Any More
D r. Dimick was joined in Glens Falls
in 1997 by fellow interventional
radiologist Dr. Marc Meacham. Both
doctors are partners in A d i r o n d a c k
Radiology A s s o c i a t e s .
The insertion of a catheter or
other device typically requires only a
small (approximately 1/8th of an
inch) incision in the skin. The pain
and recovery time is often much less
than with surgery, and there are
fewer associated risks.
In recent years, Dr. Dimick says,
he and Dr. Meacham have used
New Procedure Offers
Alternative to Hysterectomy for
Women with Uterine Fibroids
and the possibility of childbirth. Called uterine artery
embolization, the procedure is a form of interventional
radiology in which a tiny catheter is guided into the uterine
artery through a small incision (about 1/8th of an inch long)
made in the groin area. The doctor then injects tiny plastic
particles (about the size of a grain of sand) into the artery,
blocking the flow of blood to the fibroid and effectively killing
the tumor. The entire procedure takes approximately one
h o u r, and most women will spend just one night in the
hospital.
interventional radiology to unclog
arteries, kill tumors, stop excessive
post-partum bleeding and treat
such diverse ailments as persistent
nosebleeds and a gunshot wound
to the kidney.
The Interventional Radiology Lab
is staffed by Christine Moynihan,
Licensed Radiologic Te c h n o l o g i s t
(LRT); Michelle Helmecke, LRT;
Karen Carpenter, LRT; Karin
Hazlitt, LRT: Karen Ingignoli,
Certified Registered Nurse; and
Richard Gale, RN.
Interventional radiologists Dr. Marc Meacham (left) and Dr. Richard
Dimick use tiny catheters the size of a button hole to treat a wide
variety of ailments.
Glens Falls Hospital’s interventional radiologists Dr.
Richard Dimick and Dr. Marc Meacham urge women with
symptoms of uterine fibroids to consult with their doctor
i m m e d i a t e l . yThey
point out that excessive vaginal bleeding
and pelvic discomfort may be the result of other conditions.
For more information on uterine fibroids, visit the “Healthy
Woman” section of our Web site at w w w. g l e n s f a l l s h o s p i t a l . o rg .

H e l p i n g
People with
D i a b e t e s
H e l p
T h e m s e l v e s
Education is at Forefront
of New Regional Center
Janet Dureau developed
diabetes as a result of a heart
transplant in 1990. A doctor at the
New York City-area hospital in
which her transplant was per-
f o rmed showed her how to give
herself an insulin injection, hand-
ed her a prescription for syringes
and wished her well. “I was told
nothing about diabetes,” the
T h u rman resident says.
S h e ’s not alone. Many people with
diabetes go through life with only a cur-
s o ry understanding of the disease that in
so many ways controls their life. Other
people go years without even re a l i z i n g
they have the disease. In either case,
the consequences can be severe
complications and even death.
Glens Falls Hospital is changing all
that, with the recent opening of our
Regional Diabetes Center at our new
r e g i o n a l d i a b e t e s c e n t e r
R e g i s t e ed r Dietitian Rebecca Mahar (left) helps Janet Dureau and other local people with
diabetes plan balanced meals to assist in controlling their blood glucose.
B road Street Campus in Glens Falls (for-
merly known as the Nort h c a re Building).
The Center is dedicated to helping
people determine if they are at incre a s e d
risk for diabetes, and to helping people
with diabetes understand their disease
and better manage their blood glucose.
“People with diabetes don’t have to be
victims,” says Director Sandra McNeil.
“ You can have the disease without being
a victim, but you have to help yourself.”
N u m e rous studies have shown that
people with diabetes who combine
c a reful blood glucose monitoring and
healthy lifestyle choices with their use
of insulin or other medications can
significantly reduce their risk of
debilitating or deadly complications, such

as kidney failure, blindness, and nerv e
damage that results in amputation.
The centerpiece of the Center’s
s e rvices is a 10-hour Diabetes Self-
“They changed my life. They
really did. I have energy now,
I can think more clearly ...
they saved me.”
Management Education Pro g r a m ,
designed to help people gain maximum
c o n t rol over their disease. Specialized
p rograms are off e red on such topics as
insulin administration, blood glucose
monitoring, nutrition, and diabetes care
for children. Diabetes risk assessments
and support groups are also pro v i d e d .
The Center’s staff includes: the
husband and wife team of Medical
D i rector Joe Galindo, M.D., an
endocrinologist and diabetologist
(see back page), and Self-Management
P rogram Coordinator Emily Galindo, a
nurse practitioner and certified diabetes
educator; along with re g i s t e red dietitians
Rebecca Mahar, Lisa Hodgson and Pam
Dixon. Support services are provided by
an exercise physiologist, pharmacist and
behavioral health pro f e s s i o n a l .
In addition to providing patient educa-
tion, the staff works closely with the
families of people with diabetes, and
o ffers specialized consultations to are a
physicians interested in learning more
about the disease.
Janet Dureau enrolled in the
Self-Management Education Pro g r a m
last summer after a period of time in
which her blood glucose was wildly
out of control, leaving her larg e l y
bedridden.
Less than six months later, she says
s h e ’s lost weight, improved her diet and
l e a rned more than she ever thought
possible about the disease she’s lived
with for a decade.
“They changed my life,” she says.
“They really did. I have energy now, I can
think more clearly . . . they saved me.”
Janet Dureau reviews the corect procedure for monitoring her blood glucose with
Diabetes Self-Management Program Coordinator Emily Galindo.
New Diabetes
Network Formed
The staff of the Regional Diabetes
Center works closely with the newly
formed Seven County Diabetes
Network, a state-funded program
operated on the local level by Glens
Falls Hospital and other health care
organizations.
The Network’s objectives are to
help people determine if they are
at risk for diabetes, and to provide
community education about the
disease. For more information on
the Diabetes Network, please call
926-5920 or toll-free 1-800-965-5705.
Doctor Starts, Invites
Gifts to Diabetes Fund
As a youngster growing up in
Glens Falls, Dr. Joe Galindo came to
think of city residents Martin and Rita
Ouedekerk as “family, like an aunt
and uncle to me.”
S a d l y, Rita Oudekerk died in 1996
due to complications from diabetes.
In Rita’s memory, Dr. Galindo,
a diabetes specialist and Medical
Director of the Regional Diabetes
Center at Glens Falls Hospital, has
worked with the Glens Falls Hospital
Foundation to establish t h e
Rita Ouedekerk Diabetes Fund
to benefit the new center.
Anyone interested in contributing
to the Fund may send a check to
the Rita Oudekerk Diabetes Fund, c/o
Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, 12
Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 1 2 8 0 1 .

e a s t c e n t e r
New Center
Devoted to Breast Cancer Detection & Support
Glens Falls Hospital has long been
recognized for its innovative and successful
p a t i e n t - c e n t e red approach to breast cancer
detection, education, re s e a rch and treatment.
N o w, we have taken our capabilities to
another level with the opening of our new
B reast Center.
Thanks to the generous support of local people, the
Center brings together all of our breast cancer education,
s c reening, diagnostic and support services into one
conveniently located, comfortably designed and
technologically advanced facility, located just off the
H o s p i t a l ’s main lobby.
We have assembled a dedicated team of medical
p rofessionals, equipped with the latest in breast scre e n-
ing technology, to help local women detect breast cancer
s o o n e r, fight it successfully and cope better emotionally
during the diagnostic, treatment and re c o v e ry pro c e s s e s .
S c reening appointments can be made by asking
your primary care physician for a re f e rral to the Bre a s t
Center at Glens Falls Hospital.
Our Breast Center Te a m
(clockwise from bottom
left): Program Assistant
Beatrice Didio,
Mammogram Te c h n o l o g i s t
Michelle Swart z ,
Mammogram Te c h n o l o g i s t
Cathy Potter, Mammogram
Technologist Carol Ta n n e r,
Ultrasound Te c h n o l o g i s t
Connie Irish, Mammogram
Technologist Tracey Blunt,
P rogram Coordinator and
R e g i s t e ed r Nurse Cathleen
Howland, and Registered
Nurse Linda Lansburg .
“We’re there with information, we’re there to listen, and
we’re there with a shoulder to lean on.”
Cathleen Howland, RN, Breast Center Program Coordinator

Faster Diagnosis, Greater
Understanding Are
Goals of Breast
Center Te a m
T
Studies have shown that the
benefits of early breast cancer
detection are significant:
■ g reater survival rate;
■ g reater chance of breast-saving
s u rg e ry ;
his year, one out of every
10 women who have a
mammogram will
experience an “abnormal” finding.
F o r t u n a t e l y, 90% of those women will
not have breast cancer.
Still, that period of time between the
“abnormal” screening and the day that
diagnostic testing is performed can be
one of the most frightening and stressful
experiences of a woman’s life.
For women whose screenings are conducted
at the new Breast Center at Glens Falls Hospital, this
period of uncertainty will be shorter than ever.
Our team, made up of certified mammogram and
ultrasound technologists and nurses, works closely with the
radiologist and reports abnormal findings to the woman’s
primary care physician within 24 hours. Anurse then works
Are you due for a mammogram? Mammogram Ti p s
■ g reater chance of avoiding
c h e m o t h e r a p y.
Women age 40 and over are
s t rongly encouraged to have a
mammogram and clinical bre a s t
exam each year. Women age 20-40
should have a clinical breast exam
e v e ry three years. Women who
have a history of breast cancer
or who are at high risk may be
advised to have a mammogram
at an earlier age.
Join us
for
The Breast Center
Open House
Thursday, February 15
7-8:30 p.m.
Tours, risk assessments &
educational programs will be provided.
Meet in the Lobby of the Cancer
Center in the Pruyn Pavilion.
For more information,
please call 926-6588.
To schedule a breast cancer
s c reening, ask your doctor to re f e r
you to the Breast Center at Glens
Falls Hospital or our Mobile Health
S c reening Van. To determine if
you may be at high-risk for
b reast cancer, call the Bre a s t
Center at 926-6588 or visit
w w w. g l e n s f a l l s h o s p i t a l . go a rn
d
go to the Cancer Center page.
closely with the physician to coordinate diagnostic testing in
a timely manner. For women who require a biopsy, the
Breast Center nurses provide important information
and support to the woman and her family.
“Our goal is to help women get
information sooner and to understand
what that information means to them
and their families,” says Breast Center
Program Coordinator Cathleen
Howland, a 15-year registered nurse
with a specialized certification in
cancer care. “The anxiety of not
k n o w i n gis worse than the diagnosis
in many cases. People deal better
when they know what they’re dealing
w i t h . ”
If a woman is diagnosed with cancer,
a Breast Center nurse will continue to
provide education and support throughout the
treatment process and in the recovery stages.
“The oncology certified nurse is the woman’s
advocate throughout the diagnostic, treatment and recovery
p r o c e s s e s , ”Cathleen says. “We’re there with information,
we’re there to listen, and we’re there with a shoulder to
lean on.”
Fo l l ow these tips to ensure that
your mammogram is as accurate
as possibl e :
● If having a mammogram from a
d i fferent provider than usual, make
arrangements to bring films from
your last two screenings.
● Do not wear deodorant or underarm
powder on the day of the screening.
These substances may interfere
with imaging.
● Limit your caffeine consumption
for one to two days prior to the
s c r e e n i n g .
● Wear an easily removable top.

Doctor’s Homecoming is Good
News for People with Diabetes
Achance encounter during an
Adirondack vacation has brought Dr.
Jose “Joe” Galindo Jr. “home” to Glens
Falls, and given Glens Falls Hospital and
the greater Glens Falls region its first
endocrinologist and diabetes specialist.
(Endocrinology is the study of the
endocrine glands and their hormones).
D r. Galindo — Medical
Director of the Hospital’s
new Regional Diabetes
Center — was born at the
Hospital in 1956, while
his father was performing
a residency in the pathol-
ogy department. He
attended St. A l p h o n s u s
Catholic School in the city
during kindergarten and first grade
before moving with his family to Maine.
The Galindos then returned to this area,
and he attended Queensbury High
School for a time, before his parents
relocated to western New York. He went
on to become a physician and faculty
member at the Pennsylvania State
University College of Medicine.
Still, Dr. Galindo says, “My heart was
always here,” and he, his wife and son
often vacationed in the Adirondacks.
It was during one of those trips in the
fall of 1999 that Dr. Galindo struck up a
conversation with a local couple who
happened to mention Dr. Rob Hughes,
an ear, nose and throat specialist in
+ n Call
with
D r. Joe
G a l i n d o
Q u e e n s b u r y. Dr. Galindo told the couple
that he had attended Queensbury High
with someone named Rob Hughes,
and in a matter of minutes the two
doctors were catching up on lost time
over the phone.
During this call, Dr. Galindo learned
that the Hospital was planning a major
e ffort to combat diabetes in
the region.
One thing soon led to
a n o t h e r, and this June, Dr.
Galindo was named Medical
Director of the new Regional
Diabetes Center. His wife,
E m i l y, a nurse practitioner
and certified diabetes
e d u c a t o r, also brings her
expertise to the Center as the
Coordinator of the Diabetes Self-
Management Education Program.
D r. Galindo practices from offices
on the main floor of the Hospital’s
Broad Street Campus and at Wi l t o n
Health Services in Saratoga Springs.
“ Too many people are being
devastated by major complications
from diabetes,” Dr. Galindo says.
“Our goal is to increase diabetes
awareness, decrease compli-
cations and improve the quality
of life of local people with diabetes.
“The fact that I’m able to do this in
the Glens Falls area is especially
m e a n i n g f u l . ”
100 Park Street,
Glens Falls, N.Y. 12801
o n c a l l
Dr. Galindo with son Joseph and
their greyhound Candy.
“Our goal is to increase diabetes
awareness, decrease complications
and improve the quality of life
of local people with diabetes.”
Joe Galindo Jr., MD., F. A . C . E .
Medical Dire c t o , rRegional
Diabetes Center
NONPROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
GLENS FALLS, NY
PERMIT # 133