HACKENSACK, N.J., Oct. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hackensack University Medical Center adopted an innovative strategy that will integrate new technologies to achieve an accurate measure of blood loss. The approach will allow healthcare providers to better assess maternal blood loss in obstetrics and reduce maternal postpartum hemorrhages (PPH), placing HackensackUMC on the forefront of obstetrics and maternal health.
"HackensackUMC is pioneering a strategy to measure actual blood loss that will become the new standard of care for not only women's health, but the healthcare industry as a whole," said Ihor S. Sawczuk, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer, HackensackUMC.
"This groundbreaking approach will allow our nurses, obstetricians and anesthesiologists to initiate an early warning system for blood loss in obstetrics and postpartum hemorrhage that will vastly improve maternal outcomes," said Manny Alvarez, M.D., chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at HackensackUMC.
HackensackUMC is the first hospital in the United States to integrate Triton – the world's first and only FDA-cleared technology for real-time monitoring of surgical blood loss – with the Department of Obstetrics' electronic medical record (EMR) system, Epic – in order to determine Quantified Blood Loss (QBL) in patients. QBL is the most precise method of measuring blood loss and a new standard in obstetric care being adopted by health systems nationwide.
Andrew Rubenstein, M.D., section chief of obstetrics at HackensackUMC, identified a critical need for a more accurate method of measuring blood loss in mothers during and after labor. One of the most common complications associated with childbirth is PPH. PPH affects nearly three percent of all births in the United States and is one of the leading causes of maternal death. Approximately 50 to 90 percent of maternal deaths in the United States are preventable. The vast majority of those PPH cases could have been prevented by employing a more accurate method of quantifying maternal blood loss during childbirth, which will help in early recognition and reduction in response time to a severe PPH event.
"HackensackUMC's unique approach to measuring true quantified and accurate measurement of blood loss will revolutionize the way we practice medicine," said Dr. Rubenstein. "Utilizing mobile devices and cloud technology, with continuous updates during the delivery process, will elevate blood loss to the level of a vital sign – the same way we monitor a patient's heartrate and blood pressure. This real-time information will help us save lives, especially in some of the most severe cases we see in obstetrics involving postpartum hemorrhages, and dramatically reduce the morbidity associated with early active intervention."
Dr. Rubenstein and Shafiq Rab, M.D., vice president and chief information officer at HackensackUMC, as well as the members of obstetrical (medical and nursing) and Informational Technology (IT) team, worked with Gauss Surgical to integrate Triton with the hospital's Epic electronic medical record system in order to achieve a real-time reading of QBL. This integration will allow actual blood loss readings to be integrated seamlessly into the workflow for HackensackUMC's nursing and physician teams, who are tracking a patient's vital signs.
"It is so exciting to be able to seamlessly integrate this groundbreaking technology to make blood loss tangible for our healthcare providers," said Dr. Rab. "The beauty is that it is part of our electronic health record (Epic). I am confident that the unique solution we are adopting will become the new standard in obstetrics in order to provide earlier recognition of true blood loss and ultimately reduce postpartum hemorrhage. It is a true patient safety initiative and will provide our dedicated teams of obstetrical caregivers outcome data for which to set future standards of pre-partum, intrapartum and postpartum care for obstetrical care nationwide."
Using the Triton iPad application, healthcare providers capture scans of sponges and canisters during surgery. The images are uploaded to Gauss Surgical's secure cloud, which processes the images and determines the amount of blood lost. Within a few seconds, the results are automatically uploaded to Epic, which immediately alerts physicians and nurses of blood loss levels and potentially critical levels of loss for each individualized patient.
"The Gauss team was honored to work with Dr. Rab's and Dr. Rubenstein's teams at HackensackUMC to fully integrate the Triton System into clinical practice within just a few months," said Siddarth Satish, founder and chief technology officer of Gauss Surgical. "It is inspiring to work with such a dedicated team of healthcare professionals who share our vision of using technology to have a profound impact on the delivery of maternal care in this country."
In the coming weeks, HackensackUMC's multidisciplinary team of nurses, obstetricians and anesthesiologists will be trained by HackensackUMC and Gauss Surgical teams in how to effectively use this system. HackensackUMC has the largest volume of deliveries as a single institution in the tristate area, with nearly 6,300 births per year.
About Hackensack University Medical Center
HackensackUMC, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county's first hospital, it is the flagship hospital of Hackensack University Health Network, one of the largest health networks in the state comprised of 1,717 beds, more than 10,000 employees and 3,300 credentialed physicians. HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey in U.S. News & World Report's 2015-16 Best Hospital rankings - maintaining its place atop the NJ rankings since the rating system was introduced. HackensackUMC is one of Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals™ for nine years in a row, and received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ 13 years in a row. The medical center has also been named a Leapfrog Top Hospital, is one of the top 25 green hospitals in the country according to Practice Greenhealth, and received 24 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. HackensackUMC has created an entire campus of award-winning care, including: the John Theurer Cancer Center; the Heart & Vascular Hospital; and the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion, which houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital and Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center and listed on the Green Guide's list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. HackensackUMC is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls and is the Official Medical Services Provider to The Barclays PGA Golf Tournament. It remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.
About The Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital
The Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital is part of the 300,000-square-foot Sarkis Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion, which also houses the Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital and was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Health Center to provide superior patient satisfaction and services within an environmentally-healthy facility. It was listed on the Green Guide's list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. The Donna A. Sanzari Women's Hospital comprises the following: 14 private labor, delivery and recovery (LDR) rooms; two traditional labor rooms for women carrying babies who will be born prematurely; three delivery rooms and four recovery rooms for cesarean-section deliveries and premature deliveries; six triage beds and a separate triage area to assess pregnant women; 60 private mother-baby rooms; newborn nurseries that overlook the family waiting area; and an antepartum inpatient unit with 15 private rooms for women carrying high-risk pregnancies.
About Gauss Surgical
Gauss Surgical is a medical technology company based in Los Altos, California that develops novel FDA-grade mobile applications for patient monitoring. Gauss's flagship product, Triton, is the world's first real-time monitor for surgical blood loss. For more information, go to http://www.gausssurgical.com.
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SOURCE Hackensack University Medical Center
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