Southeast Missouri Hospital

For more than three quarters of a century, Southeast Missouri Hospital has helped shape the direction in health care for the region. Located in the heart of the city overlooking Capaha Park, the main campus of Southeast encompasses several city blocks; but there are also several offsite facilities. Recognized as one of Missouri's leaders in the provision of health care services, Southeast has evolved into a 251-bed medical center that annually serves more than 110,000 inpatients and outpatients from 19 southeast Missouri and southern Illinois counties.

In addition to Southeast's five centers of excellence - the Regional Heart Center, Regional Cancer Center, Regional Brain and Spine Center, Emergency Services and the Center for Women's and Children's Services - the Hospital's staff of 200 physicians and nearly 2,000 employees offers a full continuum of health care and wellness services designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses. And because comfort and privacy for patients and their families is of the utmost importance, 67 percent of Southeast's patient rooms are private.

A Magnet Hospital

Southeast set a new standard of evaluating patient care in 2004, when the excellence of Southeast's nursing staff, along with the dedication and expertise of the entire staff, earned Southeast the Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Award.

This four-year accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a branch of the American Nurses Association, is accepted nationally as the gold standard in nursing excellence.

Nurses at Southeast are noted for Magnet-caliber patient care because of their expertise, education and commitment to quality. Nearly half of Southeast's nurses are prepared at the bachelor degree level or higher, and nearly 25 percent are certified in their practice specialty.

Delivery of the best possible patient care is validated through Southeast's patient satisfaction surveys. Every year since 2003, the majority of patients randomly surveyed by an independent research organization have rated the care they received as "excellent." The Hospital consistently ranks above the 90th percentile - and often higher than the 95th percentile - in patient satisfaction, based on data provided by National Research Corporation which ranks Southeast's patient satisfaction in comparison to approximately 750 other client hospitals throughout the U.S.

Emergency Services

Southeast's Emergency Services maintains, around-the-clock, a staff of trauma-trained nurses, nurse practitioners, technicians and 11 emergency physicians in acute care and the Chest Pain Center, which holds accreditation status through the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The Hospital is the 18th in Missouri and one of fewer than 350 in the nation to hold this distinction.

As an accredited Chest Pain Center, Southeast is committed to significantly reducing the mortality rate of heart attack patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possibe heart attack, reduce the time it takes to receive treatment and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

For added convenience, Southeast offers ERexpress within Emergency Services, a dedicated center open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week for the treatment of minor illnesses and injuries.

Women's and Children's Services

Since Southeast opened in 1928, more than 72,000 babies have been born at the Hospital. From the beginning, Southeast has provided the expertise needed to care for infants and children.

The Hospital established downstate Missouri's first Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 1979. Southeast's medical staff includes two Board Certified Neonatologists, three board certified Pediatric Hospitialists, six pediatricians, 11 obstetricians and a Pediatric Neurologist. Women with high-risk pregnancies have access to a Perinatology Clinic at Southeast in cooperation with SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, MO. Working together, Southeast's physicians and skilled staff care for more than 15,000 babies and children every year.

In addition, Southeast has certified lactation consultants and an 11 -member Neonatal Transport Team available 24/7 to transport sick infants to Southeast from smaller hospitals throughout the region.

And when new moms leave Southeast, they leave with more than good wishes from the staff. As part of the Hospital's Mother-Baby Home Visits program, a registered nurse from Southeast's Nursery or OB Unit makes a mother-baby home visit within two to four days after discharge for patients in Cape, Bollinger, Mississippi, New Madrid, Perry, Scott and Stoddard counties.

Women who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant are invited to tour Southeast's Dennis B. Elrod, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology Center. Arrangements may be made by calling the Hospital's Generations Family Resource Center at 651-5825.

The Children's Health Center

Recognizing that children who are hospitalized have very different needs from adult patients, Southeast established the region's first Pediatrics service in 1948. Today, the Hospital's colorful Pediatrics Unit includes 12 beds and a two-bed Pediatrics Special Care Unit.

Another source of comfort is Southeast's affiliation with SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis. The support of this nationally-recognized pediatric hospital means additional consultation, training and care are just a phone call or short distance away.

Through "Stepping Stones," a Pediatric Palliative Care Program developed at Southeast in partnership with Cardinal Glennon, families of children with advanced or chronic medical conditions are helped in developing an advance care plan.

Programs and services provided by The Children's Health Center are many and include Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology, Pediatric Heart and Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis clinics; and a pediatric outpatient clinic sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Hospital. Pediatric Rehabilitation services are available at Southeast's HealthPoint Outpatient Rehabilitation located at HealthPoint Plaza; and the Hospital sponsors and is actively involved in leading Safe Kids Cape Girardeau Area.

The Children's Health Center also helps youngsters embrace a healthy lifestyle through a wide range of children's fitness programs, including weight management programs with personal pediatric trainers. Throughout the year, a variety of fitness camps are offered, including camps for children with special needs, such as Camp DAY Break (Diabetes And Youth) and Camp Super Nova.

Regional Cancer Center

For nearly four decades, the Regional Cancer Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital has been recognized in the tri-state area for providing patients with the latest cancer treatment technology and procedures close to home and family.

Southeast's cancer program holds Approval with Commendation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. This accomplishment reflects the significant professionalism and dedication provided by the entire staff of Southeast and the Regional Cancer Center.

In recent years, Southeast has introduced several leading-edge diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to the region such as its fully-digital diagnostic imaging system, MRI, a state-of-the-art PET/CT system, Radiation Therapy capabilities that include Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) as well as Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and NovalisÆ Shaped Beam SurgeryTM for stereotactic radiosurgery or radiotherapy. Novalis offers unsurpassed accuracy and precision for the treatment of benign and malignant tumors of the brain, prostate, lung and other areas of the body as well as treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and other neurological disorders. Southeast is one of fewer than 60 medical facilities worldwide to offer Novalis and was the first Novalis site in Missouri.

Men facing a decision about surgery for prostate cancer now have a new option at Southeast - robotic-assisted surgery using the da VinciÆ Surgical System. Southeast is the third hospital in Missouri and the first community hospital with the da Vinci. There are fewer than 400 da Vinci systems nationwide.

Using da Vinci, physician specialists from Cape Girardeau Urology Associates can surgically remove the prostate gland with a magnified, three-dimensional view of the prostate more detailed than is possible with the human eye alone. For patients, the combination of better viewing, precision surgical tools and small incisions result in less blood loss and pain, fewer complications and a faster return to normal daily activities.

Women dealing with breast cancer also have a new treatment option. The Regional Cancer Center is the first and only facility in Cape Girardeau County to offer MammoSite high-dose radiation therapy for the treatment of early stage breast cancer. This breakthrough treatment delivers high-dose brachytherapy to some women with Stage I and II breast cancer. MammoSite can reduce radiation treatment times from standard 33 treatments over a six-and-a-half weeks to just 10 treatments over the course of five days, beginning two days to six weeks post-operatively. MammoSite is used following a lumpectomy to surgically remove a cancerous lump.

Breast Care and Diagnostic Center

At the new Breast Care and Diagnostic Center in Cape Girardeau, patients have convenient access to the most advanced breast health care services available in the region. In addition, patients also have direct access to some of Missouri's most respected breast care specialists.

Located at 60 Doctors' Park, the Breast Care and Diagnostic Center is a collaborative service with Southeast Missouri Hospital providing diagnostic imaging and Cape Girardeau Surgical Clinic providing physician care.

The Center's dedicated radiologist on-site is available for immediate diagnostic services. In addition to screening and diagnostic digital mammography, the Center also offers bone density screening. And, if the diagnosis is cancer, a wide range of services is available through the Center, including nutritional and family counseling, specialty products for breast cancer patients and Lymphedema Therapy, offered at HealthPoint Rehab.

The Center is equipped with the MAMMOMATÆ Novation,TM a full-field digital mammography system from Siemens Medical Solutions. This innovative technology enables physicians to better assess disease and plan treatment. The benefits of digital mammography are many, including up to a 40 percent less radiation dose over standard mammography.

Regional Heart Center

As a pioneer in cardiac services since 1977, Southeast has brought dozens of new technologies in cardiac and vascular care to the region. More than 6,400 surgeries have been performed by Board Certified Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons of Southeast Missouri Hospital since 1984, when the Hospital introduced bypass surgery to downstate Missouri and southern Illinois.

The Regional Heart Center has recorded dozens of "firsts" in heart care for the region, the most recent being a new FDA-approved technique called transcatheter CardioSEALÆclosure. Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population have an undetected hole between the upper chambers of the heart, known as Patent Foramen ovale (PFO). It is a potential pathway for a blood clot to escape from the heart and travel to the brain, causing a stroke.

Until recently, repairing this defect meant invasive open heart surgery and a lengthy recovery. Now, at the Regional Heart Center , Cardiologists from Cardiovascular Consultants correct this defect using a new FDA-approved technique called transcatheter CardioSEALÆ closure produced by NMT Medical of Boston. With this procedure, many patients leave the hospital the same day, while some have an overnight stay. Within a few days, they're back to normal activities.

And because correcting a cardiac-related problem at its earliest stages is so important, Southeast makes available to patients throughout the Hospital's service area access to potentially lifesaving stroke/carotid artery, abdominal aortic aneurysm and peripheral vascular screenings. Southeast also offers affordable Heart Smart Screenings on a weekly basis at HealthPoint Fitness in both Cape and Jackson.

Regional Brain and Spine Center

Southeast's Regional Brain and Spine Center is committed to providing accurate diagnosis, as well as comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation for patients with neurological disorders, diseases and injuries. The Center includes an inpatient Neuro Unit and Neuro Intensive Care Unit, Neurosurgery operating suites equipped with a sophisticated neuronavigational system, an Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit with 17 private rooms and the community's only adult inpatient Psychiatric Unit.

The Hospital is one of only a few medical centers in the region to hold a special license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission so that appropriate patients with brain lesions can receive GliaSiteÆ Implantation without having to travel to a distant metropolitan hospital.

Home Care Services

Southeast Missouri Hospital offers both in-home and hospice care through Southeast Home Health and Southeast Hospice.

The Home Health staff, area physicians and families work to coordinate the best possible care. Thousands of patients have been able to enjoy the comfort of their own homes, reassured by the fact that a registered nurse is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Nurses also work to educate patients and families about care needs so that a patient can be as independent as possible.

Southeast Home Heath serves Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry and Scott counties and portions of Mississippi, New Madrid and Stoddard counties.

Since 1986, Southeast Hospice has helped patients and families accept life's final transition with grace and peace - at home, surrounded by family and friends. Services of Southeast Hospice are available in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Scott counties and portions of Perry, Mississippi, New Madrid and Stoddard counties, as well as in 25 area nursing facilities. The multi-disciplinary Southeast Hospice team works closely with patients' physicians in the coordination of care.

HealthPoint Fitness in Cape and Jackson

At Southeast's HealthPoint Fitness located at 2126 Independence in Cape and 410 West Main in Jackson, a team of fitness specialists stands ready to help individuals of all ages tailor programs to meet fitness goals in a safe, effective manner.

Both fitness centers offer an appealing variety of exercise classes, nutrition and lifestyle programs, sports enhancement programs, weight management programs, children's programming and more. Personal trainers also are available.

At HealthPoint Fitness in Cape, an expansion is underway to enlarge the 44,000 square foot center. Additional exercise areas and a second swimming pool designed for lap swimming are scheduled to be complete in fall 2007.

Southeast Medical Office Buildings

The idea of "hospitality" and not "hospital" was the basis for the architecture and design of the new Southeast Medical Plaza located on the Broadway side of the Hospital campus. Opened fall 2006, the 75,000 square foot, four-floor structure houses a variety of medical specialties. Family Practice physicians in the Plaza are now accepting new patients.

A pedestrian bridge connects the plaza with Southeast's Regional Cancer Center and a concourse on the west side of the medical plaza provides a weather-protected link to a parking garage.

In addition to physicians specializing in Family Practice, Neurology, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery and Hematology, the building houses an acute dialysis treatment center, MRI and X-Ray services, an outpatient Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation area, Plaza Pharmacy and outpatient lab services.

Work is now underway on the first phase of Southeast Missouri Hospital's West Campus expansion which will be a two-story, 44,000 square foot medical office building on the green space between Mount Auburn Road and Interstate-55 just north of the new Cape Central High School. It is scheduled to open in 2007.

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Support groups at Southeast Missouri Hospital

Southeast Missouri Hospital offers a variety of educational and emotional support programs for patients and families, including the unique Generations Family Resource Center, which is located on the first floor of the Hospital near the lobby. The center has been designed to coordinate Southeast's many family care components, as well as support groups, and to centralize in one location the vast amount of age-specific medical information the Hospital has available.

Asthma Support

Southeast Missouri Hospital respiratory practitioners provide free asthma education for children and adults who deal with asthma and for their families. These informational support sessions are held the second Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in Southeast's Generations Family Resource Center. Class size is limited and advanced registration is required. For more information call 651-5825.

Bosom Buddies

This support group for any woman who is dealing with or has had breast cancer meets the first Tuesday of every month from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Southeast Missouri Hospital's HealthPoint Plaza (the corner of Kingshighway and Independence). This group was developed by women who had participated in the Turning Point support program for those in their first year of treatment for breast cancer. "Bosom Buddies" meetings are opportunities to share feelings and experiences as well as information. Meetings are facilitated by Southeast nurses Barb McKeon, MA, RN, LPC, and Lavonna Wollard-Biddle, BSN, RN, OCN, who are available to answer questions. For more information, call the Generations Center at 651-5825.

Brain Injury Resource Group

This support group is for people who have experienced brain injury and for their families. It meets at HealthPoint Plaza the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. for educational programs and social activities. For more information, call the Generations Center at 651-5825

COOL Company

COOL, which stands for Children Overcoming Outstanding Loss, is a grief support program for youngsters ages 5 to 16. Activities are planned to help young people deal with the loss of a family member or friend and share feelings, memories and experiences with other children dealing with grief. Sessions are under the direction of Southeast Hospice and professional volunteers trained in group dynamics and children's issues. Contact Southeast Hospice, 335-6208 or 1-888-397-0646.

Diabetes Self-Management Education

At Southeast Diabetes Education and Resource Center, people with diabetes learn that with proper diet, monitoring, exercise and, when necessary, medication, diabetes can be managed. Meets the second Tuesday of each month from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Generations Center at Southeast for educational programs and a variety of activities. For more information, call Patient Education at 651-5844.

Grief Support Groups

These groups offer educational, emotional and spiritual support for those dealing with grief and loss. Participants are encouraged to discuss feelings and share coping experiences. Meeting times are the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church or the third Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. at Southeast's HealthPoint Plaza. For more information, call hospice Social Services Coordinator Julie Metzger, MSW, LCSW, ACM, at 651-5549 or chaplain associate Connie Griswold at 651-5519.

Mended Hearts

Participation in Mended Hearts is open to anyone who has a heart problem or who is interested in continuing education for heart patients and their families. Mended Hearts offers informative programs and informal social functions for its members and sponsors a visitation support program for bypass surgery patients. Contact Vicki Frank, RN, at 651-5824. Meetings are the first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Generations Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital, except those months when social and exercise outings are scheduled off-site.

Reach to Recovery (RTR)

RTR provides trained volunteers who visit breast cancer patients and provide them with helpful information and materials. It is a free service of the American Cancer Society. For more information, call Southeast's Regional Cancer Center at 651-5550.

SHARE

This bereavement support is for parents who have experienced the loss of an infant through miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death. Through SHARE, parents are encouraged to tell of experiences, thoughts and feelings, thus gaining insight and understanding into their own loss. This group meets the second Tuesday of the month from 7-8:30 p.m. in Southeast's Generations Center. For more information, call Generations at 651-5825.

Stroke Club

Southeast Missouri Hospital hosts meetings of the Stroke Club that provide education, support and encouragement for stroke survivors and caregivers. This group meets at 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at Southeast's HealthPoint Plaza. For more information, call the Generations Center at 651-5825.

Turning Point: A Series for Breast Cancer Survivors

This series of programs has been designed for anyone diagnosed with breast cancer within the past year. It is offered free-of-charge, and participants also receive a six-month membership to HealthPoint Fitness and a Personal Fitness Assessment with an appropriate exercise prescription. For more information, call HealthPoint Fitness at 986-4400 or the Generations Center at 651-5825.

United Ostomy Association

The goal of the United Ostomy Association is to offer programs and activities that reduce the practical and emotional burden of those who have undergone ostomy surgery so that they may live as fully as possible socially and physically. Contact Linda Wessel, BSN, RN, CWOCN, at 651-5844. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month (except January and February) at 4:30 p.m. in the Generations Family Resource Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group

This support group is for people who are considering weight loss surgery and for those who have had surgery. Meetings are the second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. - 12 noon in the Generations Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital. For more information, contact Joni Adams Bliss in Southeast's Marketing Department at 651-5533.

'We Can' Support Group

Coping with cancer can be difficult for both patients and families. Through informal discussion, patients and families learn coping techniques for the emotional and physical problems that cancer can cause. Contact Chaplain Rocky Tallent at 651-5519 for more information. Meetings are held the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Regional Cancer Center.

'We Can Weekend'

A three-day retreat for cancer patients and their families, "We Can Weekend" focuses on meeting some of the special concerns of families learning to cope with cancer. Weekend activities, held at YMCA of the Ozarks near Potosi each June, include recreation and relaxation sessions, support sessions, and family sharing and faith experience. For more information, call Southeast's Regional Cancer Center at 651-5550.