“We were mainly surgical early on,” said Ohio Valley President Steve Eisentrager. “But we have become active with our community, partnering up and encouraging others to stay healthy. It is just the right thing to do for our community.
“If you get injured, we’ll help you get back onto the field quickly, and if not, we’ll help you stay away from injuries,” he continued. “In healthcare, you have a lot of responsibility. This is part of that responsibility.”
Ohio Valley has found that stressing sports medicine, the scope of which is evolving to be more inclusive than just team athletics, is the best way to fulfill that responsibility.
“We’re very, very heavily involved with high school and recreational sports, be it the team sports community, the running community, the biking community, or many other different areas,” said Mike Willets, director of Sports Medicine at Ohio Valley.
One of those programs is “The Armory,” a sports enhancement program for athletes which provides one-on-one training based on an athlete’s specific needs.
“We work on overall fitness, to get folks back to a better balance,” Willets said. “There is a lot of specialization in sports now, and sometimes some parts of the body can get less attention. So our approach is holistic, to make you a more well-rounded athlete.”
The other major program Ohio Valley is promoting is the Bridge program.
“This is for patients who have been in physical therapy and are discharged, but don’t feel they are back to 100 percent with what they want to do with their life,” said Willets. “They work one-on-one with a certified strength coach to get to where they want to be.”
Ohio Valley recently produced a wellness video with Springfield USA that is doing well on social media.
“We are very much interested (in spreading the word about the benefits of wellness and prevention),” said Willets. “We try to be role models in our community. We’re out there preaching the gospel of good fitness because we live that lifestyle.
“As a culture within the hospital, we like to be out there in front,” he continued. “Not just ‘do what I say,’ but also ‘do what I do.’ Get off the couch and move around.”
Ohio Valley has helped fund several different road races, and has been a sponsor of the “Bike To Work Day” since its inception. It is also assisting the United Way in reviving the old Corporate Challenge this fall, which includes a 5K and 8K race. And Ohio Valley is a presenting sponsor for a kids triathlon series.
“We work with elite athletes, recreational and armchair athletes and non-athletes,” Willets said. “There’s a lot of good things to do in Springfield, if you want to get healthy and stay healthy. It’s a great place to live.”
Fitness and wellness is just part of Ohio Valley’s focus. Prevention is another key part.
“Prevention is a big deal,” said Eisentrager. “Early detection is the key. You can’t be out on the road running if you are struggling with breast cancer.”
Ohio Valley was the first in the area to get a 3-D mammography machine last year. It has led to more successful treatments, said Dr. Jennifer Daniels, director of Breast Services.
“It has definitely improved the detection of invasive cancer in a much smaller size,” she said. “It has also helped our callback rates. With this technology, it sees more. We can see things that you can’t with a normal mammogram. So patients won’t get that callback for a follow-up as much.”
3-D mammograms detect 40 percent more invasive breast cancers than traditional mammograms, according to Daniels. They also improve early breast cancer detection rates by more than 30 percent and reduce the need for follow-up tests and call backs by 20-40 percent, she added.
“We’ve had cases where patients had a regular mammogram, then a few months later did a 3-D mammogram and found something small that they couldn’t see earlier,” she added.
Ohio Valley plans to have a second machine up by June 27, Daniels said.
“A mammogram itself is the only imaging test that can reduce the mortality rate for breast cancer,” she said.
Gay Garrett-Baker works in Ohio Valley’s endoscopy department, which stresses the need for colorectal cancer screenings for those aged 50-and-over as part of an overall prevention strategy.
“We put posters in our buildings and lobby to remind patients to get those done,” she said. “We’re just trying to spread the word. Our motto is, ‘We leave no polyp behind.’ We take it quite seriously.”
Working through employers has been a successful route to promote wellness, fitness and prevention, Eisentrager said.
“Most employers are getting more involved, with rewards programs and other ways,” he said. “It’s good for people personally, as you want them to do well and not be sick.”
It also saves on healthcare insurance premiums.
“What a lot of employers see is what happens if they are not (exercising/screening),” Eisentrager said. “They see how they end up in the hospital. The message for them is there is a lot of things they can do to create an excitement about it, to get people healthy so they don’t have to come to a place like ours.”
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