The short-term win is that after five years, Schneider Regional Medical Center will finally have full-time gastroenterology services without patients having to fly off-island — but in the long-term, the hiring of these two new doctors is really the next step in a bigger-picture recruiting effort to staff the hospital so that it’s providing optimum care.
And it’s the bigger picture that has SRMC’s acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr. George Rosenberg, so excited.
“The success of our healthcare system has always hinged on the dedication and expertise of our staff,” Rosenberg said in a recent interview. With critical services taking more of a hit, though, after the hurricanes of 2017 devasted the facility and its counterpart on St. Croix, the vision of SRMC’s new chief executive officer to “get business back on track,” as Rosenberg describes it, has put the focus on bringing in and retaining qualified professionals who, in turn, will raise the level of care delivered.
“These positions are the backbone of our healthcare team and the people we bring on board will play a pivotal role in shaping our future,” Rosenberg said. “Excellence in healthcare begins with an excellent staff and it’s our duty to ensure that our patients receive nothing but the best — and don’t have to worry about leaving island to attain that.”
Absent since the storms, Rosenberg added, was a full-time gastroenterologist — a doctor who focuses on the structure, functions, diseases and pathology of the stomach and intestines. Dr. Lawrence Goldman, who had filled the role previously, relocated after his house was ravaged and since then, care was provided by traveling specialists, though Rosenberg said the service wasn’t enough to cover everyone or provide the preventative treatment that was needed.
“The colon and gastric cancers we have been seeing are so much more advanced so that preventative piece is such an important part of the fight,” Rosenberg said. “It can halt cancer before it even has a chance to start.”
That’s why Rosenberg, who came out of retirement to temporarily fill the CMO position, moved to bring Goldman back and engaged Dr. Ghazaleh Aram, a board-certified gastroenterologist trained at Johns Hopkins Hospital, to also join the team. Together, the pair will begin offering services in October — Goldman for two weeks a month starting Oct. 10 and Aram switching in for the other two weeks, starting Oct. 25.
Both have experience in treating a range of illnesses, from Crohn’s Disease to Hepatitis C, but can also provide critical cancer screenings, such as colonoscopies. Since colon cancer develops slowly, for example, many patients don’t think to check if they don’t have a family history of the disease and oftentimes, that can lead to advanced development as pain or symptoms become unbearable, Rosenberg said.
The best medicine is booking an appointment and getting a checkup routine going before anything seriously develops, he said, adding that Goldman and Aram are going to help bridge a critical service gap. Catching something early can lead to simpler treatment and a longer, healthier life, so residents should take advantage and book an appointment as soon as they can, Rosenberg noted.
Looking toward the bigger picture for the hospital, CEO Tina Comissiong added the “strategic investments” that the hospital is making to strengthen its team and expand directly improve patient outcomes, experience and trust in the system.
“We are making improvements in our inpatient and outpatient care and we are adding world-class clinicians to better serve our community,” Comissiong said. “In addition to the resurgence of these gastroenterology services, SRMC will also be adding much-needed interventional cardiology services in November that will allow for immediate intervention for cardiac emergencies and improved treatment of complicated cardiac conditions. We’ve also recently added the SRMC Wellness Clinic, which provides a range of outpatient behavioral health services and treatments, and we have more to come. We encourage our public to trust SRMC with their health care — it’s you that we’re keeping in mind.”
To get started by making an appointment or to ask questions, residents can call the hospital at 340-776-8311, ext. 2400.
