Category: HealthCare News

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St. Joseph’s In the News: ALTO Goes National

Posted on by Judah Gutwein, L.N.H.A.

From Our Partners at St. Joseph’s Health

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s Health,

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation for St. Joseph’s ALTO® program to go national! The Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department Act, introduced by Representative Bill Pascrell, will establish a three-year pilot to test ways of managing pain in Emergency Departments across the country without using opioids.

“Prescribing fewer opioids in hospitals all across the country as we are doing here in New Jersey will have a profound impact on reducing addiction and overdose. I’m delighted the ALTO bill has passed and our legislators have stepped-up to bring real, tangible solutions to combat the opioid epidemic,” said Kevin Slavin, President & CEO, St. Joseph’s Health.

This news was highlighted in regional and national publications. Please view coverage below:

Star Ledger
N.J. Hospital’s Opioid Program Goes National

Fox 5 News
St. Joseph’s Leads Fight Against Opioid Crisis

About Regency Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation

For a quarter of a century, Regency Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center has guided family members through the process of deciding on a new way of life for their loved ones and has provided seniors with a fulfilling, quality lifestyle.

Welcome to
Regency Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
A proven way of caring, an exceptional way of living.

Through the years, A lifestyle that features compassionate and comprehensive quality care. A lifestyle that is reminiscent of home in an atmosphere of elegance and comfort. Where new friendships are fostered and distinct artistic and cultural interests are encouraged. A new way of living where individuality is valued; dignity and independence are paramount and spirits are uplifted.

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Nanotechnology Lotion: The Diagnostic Tool of Tomorrow

Posted on by Regency Staff

Imagine smoothing some gentle lotion onto your arm. The next day, you snap a photo of your arm with your smartphone mounted with external optical filters. The image is immediately transmitted to your doctor, who examines it and gives you a clean bill of health.

Sound like science fiction? This might actually be how doctors diagnose skin diseases in the near future. The fascinating world of nanotechnology brings a completely new dimension to medical care. A topical lotion containing the technology offers promise as a convenient and low cost alternative to biopsies.

What is Nanotechnology?

The prefix nano comes from the ancient Greek word for dwarf. Science has taken it to mean one billionth of something; for example, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Put another way, 1/8 of an inch is wider than 3 million nanometer. Medical nanotechnology allows us to manipulate and handle viruses, cell components, and pieces of DNA using an incredible range of tiny tools.

Some controversy surrounds nanotechnology, as its detractors point out that we don’t know whether or not it’s safe. While that is certainly true, it’s also true that natural nanoparticles surround us in our environment. The fact is that we don’t know enough about the effects of man-made nanoparticles on the human body. The other difficulty with nanotechnology is that the field is still in its infancy, and scaling up production at a sustainable cost has so far not been possible.

Both issues are sure to be resolved in the coming years, and in the meantime, researchers keep finding amazing uses for the little particles.

Lotion as a Diagnostic Tool

One such incredible nano-invention is a novel diagnostic technology that uses topical lotion to detect skin tissue biomarkers for diagnosis. Of course it’s not just any lotion; this lotion contains “NanoFlares”—microscopic balls of nucleic acid with gold cores.  Generally, when your doctor observes an abnormal lesion on your skin, he sends you for a biopsy. A biopsy is a surgical procedure in which a piece of your skin is removed to check for disease. They’re usually inconvenient  and may cause pain, scarring, and infection.

The developers of the NanoFlare are hopeful that their NanoFlare lotion may one day replace biopsies in diagnosing skin diseases. When the NanoFlares are applied topically, they can penetrate the skin and interact with skin cells. In the case of abnormal biomarkers, reporter flares separate from the gold core, and become fluorescent. Specialized cameras can detect the florescence that indicates the presence of disease. If there is no disease, the NanoFlares remain inactive, with no emission signals.

The scientists behind the NanoFlare, David C. Yeo and Chenjie Xu of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, say their new technology has a wealth of applications (no pun intended). A patient could self-apply the lotion in their own home at their own time, making this an extremely convenient mode of diagnosis. They would then either go to their doctor’s office for imaging, or use their own phone fitted with specialized cameras. The lotion could even be used to monitor the progression of the disease in real time, and gauge how successful treatment is.

Like the entire field of nanotechnology, NanoFlare lotion holds endless promise. Time will tell whether it will ever become anything more than interesting reading, but in the meantime, it’s fascinating to ponder the possibilities.

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Regency Gardens Superstar Retires After 44 Years Of Selfless Service

Posted on by Judah Gutwein, L.N.H.A.

Our beloved and long time Regency Gardens staff member, Bea Ross, just retired after 44 years!!

We paid her a visit this week with all of our department heads and our Founder and President, to personally thank her for her dedication and years of service and to present her with a gift basket, jewelry and a plaque!

To view all of the photos, visit our Regency Gardens Facebook Page (make sure to follow/like us while you’re there).

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Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, NJ Praises Regency Park Nursing In Hazlet!

Posted on by Judah Gutwein, L.N.H.A.

Riverview Medical Center, in Red Bank, NJ, which has recently become a part of the Meridian/Hackensack partnership of hospitals, has nothing but consistent praise for Regency Park Post-Acute, Nursing and Rehabilitation, in Hazlet, NJ.

Take a look at the letter we just received from this Merdian hospital in Red Bank NJ!

 

 

 

 

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Message From Regency Gardens Nursing, Community Partner: St. Joseph’s Health

Posted on by Judah Gutwein, L.N.H.A.

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s,

St. Joseph’s Health continues to lead the fight against opioid addiction here in New Jersey and across the country. On Monday afternoon, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. were joined at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center for a press conference to outline legislation the lawmakers introduced to help other hospitals combat the opioid crisis. The pending bill – The Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO®) Emergency Department Act – is based on the highly successful St. Joseph’s ALTO® program and scheduled for Senate review this week. The legislation would provide grant funding to build ALTO® programs at hospitals across the country.

Launched in 2016 by St. Joseph’s very own Drs. Mark Rosenberg and Alexis LaPietra, ALTO® is the first program of its kind in the United States, designed to help patients manage acute pain without the use of dangerous, addiction-forming opioids. Here at home, ALTO® has reduced opioid-dispensing in St. Joseph’s Emergency Department by 82%.

Senator Booker said, “The entire team here at St. Joe’s saw the crisis and they responded. They didn’t just sit back and curse the darkness. They put forth light, that is now not just illuminating in measurable ways in this community, but also creating light and hope and promise across our nation.”

ALTO® is an outstanding example of the many groundbreaking initiatives originating at St. Joseph’s, made possible with the generous contributions of supporters like you. It is with your help that St. Joseph’s can continue to innovate and respond to the ever-changing healthcare needs of our neighbors.

We thank you for your ongoing commitment to exceptional healthcare.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Budelman, III

Vice President, Chief Development Officer

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Area Hospitals Earn Superior Grades

Posted on by Regency Staff

We at Regency Nursing are thrilled to report that our local hospitals have by and large earned A’s on their safety report card in April 2018. The report was released by Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, an initiative to improve health care in hospitals nation-wide.

Our area hospitals are important partners in our residents’ health care, and it’s great to know we have these quality facilities close by. We salute the top-graded hospitals, and their commitment to safety, and we wish them continued success in excellent patient care.

About the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades

The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care, began assigning grades to hospitals in 2012. They issue a report twice a year—in April and October—grading each hospital on an A–F scale. The Spring 2018 grades came out this morning, and 22 hospitals in New Jersey earned an A.

An A means the hospital is above average in most areas of patient care and outcomes. The grade does not measure doctors’ care; rather, it tells you how safe the hospital’s staff will keep you or your loved one. Leapfrog’s criteria include doctor and nurse staffing ratios, the number of post-surgical infections, and the rate of blood clots.

Some hospital officials maintain that Leapfrog’s methodology is too simplistic and doesn’t take the most up-to-date information into account. However, the report has become a valuable tool in educating the public and raising awareness about hospital safety.

While the survey downgraded New Jersey’s overall ranking to 17th from 11th place, we are still home to many top-ranked hospitals in patient safety.

Which hospitals earned an A

Bayshore Medical Center in Holdmel, just two miles from Regency Park, made the grade, as did Riverview Medical Center slightly farther away.

Regency Gardens in Wayne has five A-rated hospitals within a 20 mile radius: Hackensack University Medical Center, Clara Maass Medical Center, Holy Name Medical Center, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, and The Valley Hospital. Of note, Saint Barnabas—also around 20 miles from Regency Grande in Dover—earned an A on every single report card since Leapfrog started issuing them in 2012. They are the only hospital in New Jersey with this distinction.

Morristown Memorial Hospital, just 12 miles from Regency Grande, also made it to the top 22. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, while not earning an A in the Leapfrog survey, landed near the top with a B grade. That means it’s average in some areas, and above average in others.

Here are New Jersey’s top 22 hospitals, listed in alphabetical order: