Page 24 - SOUTH FLORIDA HOPSITAL NEWS JUNE 2021

What’s New... What’s New... What’s New...

Holy Cross Health Now Offering Patients FAU Gets CDC Grant to Test PPE Efficacy

a New Heart Failure Monitoring Solution and Workplace Virus Transmission

Holy Cross Health is now offering a new miniaturized, wireless monitoring sensor With many businesses and schools in the United States now open post COVID-19,
to manage heart failure. The Abbott CardioMEMS™ HF System is the first and only employers are faced with new challenges to keep the workplace safe for their employ-
FDA-approved heart failure monitoring device that has been clinically proven to sig- ees, customers and students.
nificantly reduce hospital admissions when used by physicians to manage heart fail- Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and
ure. Computer Science have received a two-year $698,801 grant from the U.S. Centers for
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for Americans over age 65. The Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test the effectiveness of various types of
device allows patients to remotely share daily sensor readings from their homes to personal protection measures against airborne viral transmission. Building on their
their health care providers, allowing for personalized care to reduce the likelihood of prior research, the project will result in experimentally verified computational strate-
hospitalization. Innovative telehealth, like the CardioMEMS HF System, reduces the gies for mitigating airborne transmission of aerosolized droplets for a safe workplace
need for in-person appointments. Data from a recent clinical trial found that the environment.
remote monitoring technology reduces heart failure hospital admissions by up to 58 Researchers will test and quantify the effectiveness of various protective measures
percent. under new American Society for Testing Materials standards and best safety practices
Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the in the workplace. They will evaluate facemasks and other personal protection equip-
body’s demands. The CardioMEMS HF System features a sensor that is implanted in ment; physical safety barriers; interior designs of spaces; air filters, humidifiers; safe
the pulmonary artery (PA) during a minimally invasive procedure. Increased PA pres- seating arrangements in a classroom setting and queuing at checkouts, as well as
sures appear before weight and blood pressure changes, which are often used as indi- other measures.
rect measures of worsening heart failure. “Employers are considering various protective measures in the workplace such as
The CardioMEMS HF System, from global health care leader Abbott, is approved by facemasks, placing safety barriers in offices and at workstations, reviewing ventila-
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for commercial use in the U.S. The tion/air conditioning systems in buildings, redesigning interior spaces as well as
GUIDE-HF clinical trial followed the CHAMPION trial, which studied the effective- arranging safe queuing procedures at checkouts and other high-density environ-
ness of the CardioMEMS HF System in New York Heart Association (NYHA) ments,” said Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D., principal investigator, chair of FAU’s
Functional Classification System class III heart failure patients who had been hospi- Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, and professor and director of
talized for heart failure in the previous 12 months. SeaTech. “With this CDC grant, we will conduct experimental simulation studies that
will result in observations and analyses in support of social distancing and other pre-
ventative measures for mitigating airborne transmission of viral infections, which will
be of particular interest to businesses, schools and the general public.”
West Boca Medical Center Establishes New

Delivery Program for Maternity Patients

West Boca Medical Center announces its Boca Center for Women’s Care, is now Broward Health Now Offers Breakthrough
offering a laborist program. This program offers in-house physicians, who are special-
ized obstetricians and gynecologists. They are available 24/7 to care for all your mater- Stimulator to Treat Sleep Apnea
nity, labor and delivery needs.
Laborists can admit patients, provide emergency services, manage labor, and deliver A good night’s sleep doesn’t come easy to the more than
babies. Some of the services our laborists will provide include: 22 million Americans who suffer from obstructive sleep
• In-house OB/GYN support apnea, which occurs when soft tissues in the airway collapse
• Assist your OB during cesarean sections during sleep and block the flow of oxygen to the brain. The
• Emergency intervention, e.g. precipitous delivery, fetal distress brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes up the body just
• Patient evaluation and consultation long enough to take a breath, causing a cycle of poor, dis-
• Fetal monitor interpretation ruptive sleep.
• Coordinate communication in urgent situations “A lack of sleep can be detrimental to our body, but sleep
• Coverage for attending physicians as requested apnea can lead to other health issues, including moodiness,
memory loss and even stroke, heart attack and death,” said
Charles Zeller IV, D.O., an otolaryngologist with the
Broward Health Physician Group. “That’s why it’s so impor-
First New Lung Valve Procedure tant to be treated for sleep apnea.” Dr. Charles Zeller IV
Dr. Zeller is the first physician in the Broward Health sys-
Done at Holy Cross Health tem to utilize Inspire® Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS), the only FDA-approved
implantable device to combat obstructive sleep apnea. Inspire UAS is a less intrusive,
The first new lung valve treatment for patients with severe COPD/emphysema was more comfortable solution to obstructive sleep apnea. Implanted in the body as an
performed at Holy Cross Health, one of the first hospitals in South Florida to offer the outpatient procedure, the small device is activated following a 30-day healing period.
Zephyr® Endobronchial Valve treatment. Working inside the body with a patient’s natural breathing process, Inspire can com-
“This is a groundbreaking moment for patients who suffer from emphysema,” said bat certain types of obstructive sleep apnea, particularly in cases where a loss of mus-
Sam G. Kosseifi, M.D., DABaSM, lead pulmonologist at Holy Cross Health. “It’s a min- cle tone causes the tongue to fall back in the mouth.
imally invasive procedure that helps them breathe easier without major surgery and Based on a patient’s unique breathing patterns, Inspire delivers a mild stimulation
improves their quality of life.” to the hypoglossal nerve, which controls tongue movement and prevents the tongue
Dr. Kosseifi and his team inserted four one-way tiny valves into the airways of from blocking the airway. By stimulating these muscles, the airway remains open dur-
Stanley Williams, a 79-year-old patient who has had COPD for a long time. The valves ing sleep.
were inserted to block off the diseased parts of the lungs where air gets trapped. Inspire is controlled by the patient using a small, handheld Inspire sleep remote
Keeping air from getting trapped in the diseased parts of the lung allows the healthier that is turned on before bedtime and turned off in the morning. Additionally, the
parts of the lungs to expand and take in more air and allow the patient to breathe eas- patient can pause therapy during the night, if needed, and increase or decrease ther-
ier, while reducing shortness of breath and also allowing the patient to be more active apy settings.
and energetic.
"It was getting harder and harder to breathe," said Williams. "Since the valve
implant, I can breathe much easier and can take deep breaths without any strain. Any
physical activity used to require me to sit down and catch my breath but now my
recovery time is much quicker and my lungs are working better."
Before the Zephyr Valves the only options for relief were highly invasive treatments
including lung surgeries.

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24 June 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News