The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 148

HEALTH THE COURIER-NEWS Page 16 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1998 Local hospitals have programs for all family members tions and Bloodless Surcrerv in Med i b- 'J Ti By MELANIE J. DAVIS Correspondent In an effort to improve patient care, hospitals constantly explore new services. The trend locally has been toward children's services and technological advances. Couplet Care was instituted this summer at the Hospital for Women and Children at St. Peter's Medical Center and Health System in New Brunswick.

A registered nurse provides complete care for both mother and baby. Mothers may keep their babies in their rooms rather than in a nursery, and the nurse is available to assess, teach, assist and enhance the developing relationship between the mother and her child. "As a leading provider of services for women and children in the country, we know the positive effect family-centered care can have on the physical and mental health of children of all ages. This new postpartum unit allows us to help foster this relationship at its most critical stage," says Lizette DeLeon, administrative director of St. Peter's women and children's division.

More than 2,700 babies are delivered at Overlook Hospital in Summit each year. Many of them directly benefit from the hospital's designation as a Community Perinatal Center-Intensive Level. The fa g.Tr that recognizes the needs of the entire family must be taken into consideration when a child is hospitalized," says Harvey A. Holzberg, the hospital's president and Chief executive officer. Technological advances Two state-of-the-art procedures are now offered at St.

Peter's Medical Center and Health System in New Brunswick to treat men with enlarged prostates or prostate cancer. Dr. Richard Maggio, a urologist on staff at St. Peter's, was the first surgeon in New Jersey to perform a 45-minute, minimally invasive laser treatment for prostate enlargement. The treatment virtually eliminates bleeding.

Also at St. Peter's, men with early-stage prostate cancer a one-day treatment called radioactive prostate seed implantation. Tiny radioactive seeds are introduced into the prostate gland to destroy cancer cells while leaving the rest of the body alone. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick earned state approval this year to offer heart and kidney transplantation. Preparation is underway to create a world-class transplantation center.

Another new development at the hospital is the availability of bloodless techniques. These are offered through the new Center for Innova icine and other departments. In August, JFK Medical Center was the first hospital in the country to install GE's newest generation of interventional radiography equipment. This equipment allows physicians to use tiny medical devices like catheters to perform complex vascular imaging and to repair physical abnormalities without standard surgery. Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield, an affiliate of Solaris Health System, is awaiting approval of its application to perform cardiac surgery.

If a Certificate of Need is granted, the medical center will be the only facility in Union County, Somerset County or northern Middlesex County. Muhlenberg's 10-year affiliation with the Plainfield Health Center improves Solaris Health Systems' ability to improve access to cardiovascular services for minority and indigent populations. Regional cancer center Long, daily commutes for radiation therapy treatments will end soon for residents of Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties. Next year, Hunterdon Medical Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia will complete construction of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center in Flemington. See CARE on page 17 PHOTO FROM ST.

PETER'S MEDICAL CENTER Parental contact is important to the development of premature babies. A father spends a moment with his new child in the St Peter's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit hospital provides critical care services to high-risk newborns. A newly designed Maternity Center is under construction. Scheduled to open in early 2000, it will feature 10 new labor and delivery rooms and 29 private rooms in the Mother-Baby Unit. Also under construction is Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Children's Hospital Building, which will consolidate existing and expanded children's services on the New Brunswick site.

As a designated Specialty Acute Care Children's Hospital for Central New Jersey, the facility includes the regional Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and more than 45 specialties including services in cancer and blood disorders, scoliosis and developmental disabilities. "I am very proud Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital will be the home of a world-class facility for all children, a special building designed to protect and nurture a children's view of the world and one r- Finally a comprehensive and one-step SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF PAIN AND LOSS OF FUNCTION COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE Stephen P. Swersie, M.D., F.A.C.E. Susan Kerlinsky, M.D. Joseph K.

Egbebike, Phd, RPT I r1 Vivian C. Borres. RPT Garry Gil Garces, PT g-gl" i -7 Quick Appointments 'Most Insurances Accepted Minimal Wait Clinic MSKMSZMCU mmmm DIAGNOSTIC JESTING PEDIAM PHYSICAL THERAPY I V- Center for the RrVeoton. PA flew York Entertainment jut 15 minute from Hunterdon Countu 0 ffi'HfSkftSF RELATED INJURY, CARPAL TUNNEL THfJfAPfimC AUSSAGF 'rWAIE CONSUlMnON WITH A DOCTOR ASWL NUMBNESS SCIATICA, PERSONAL 'COMPMNM ORTHOPEDIC 4 HMQIQGK IM INJURY, ARTHRITIS, KNEE ANKLE PAIN. MEDKAM INEUGIBii due TO FEDERAL LAW (Plus FREE Parking Trolley Service for every howl) rs 1798-9? Seoon include Fiddler on the Roof, The II Pointer Sisters.

Willie nelson. BB Kino. Robert VILLAGE PLAZA DBA BAYSHORE REHAB tuein tY uovio stonnot ond so much morel I 1075 EASTON AVENUE SOMERSET, NJ 723 BEERS ST. SUITE HOLMDEL, NJ For Full Season Schedule call tell free I-800-W-STUTE A 1 1 or run our woome wuHU.rtotetheotre.org Cbse to Bayshore Hospital 433 )ortftampton St. fasten.

Pit 732-264-8422 Behind McDonalds 732-342-7100.