A monthly feature written and photographed by Southwest Washington native and
people+ place
Emmy Award-winning journalist
Hal Calbom
Production Notes
Getting Hip Your day begins at 4:00am with two successive showers. You remove any rings or jewelry, dress in loose clothing, drink your permitted four ounces of coffee. Your caregiver drives you to the hospital. A welcoming nurse guides you to a pre-op bay and comfy chair, asks for your birthdate and gives you a wrist band affirming your identity. You doff clothes, eyeglasses, cell phone and ID into a labeled plastic bag. The too-small hospital gown gapes in the back. Another nurse drapes you with a metallic space blanket filled with warm air. The anesthesiologist introduces herself and describes her process. You’re given six packets of sterile wipes and asked to sponge yourself clean yet one more time. The preoccupied surgeon appears briefly, greets you, and autographs your right hip with a felt pen just to make sure he’ll be replacing the correct joint.
“Health care workers cited COVID-19 related anxiety or depression, burnout, workload issues, and reaching traditional retirement age as reasons for leaving or intending to leave their jobs.”
– American Academy of Family Physicians
Joint Adventure The medicine of mobility
T
he imposing offices of Pacific Surgical Institute offer its patients comfortable surroundings and the promise of first class care. But no one, not even one of the region’s elite private surgical centers, escaped COVID-19 unscathed. “We shut down for seven weeks, immediately,” said Dr. Bill Turner, one of Pacific’s six surgeon-partners. “Never experienced anything quite like it. Then reopening, but operating with all kinds of extra precautions. People didn’t stop breaking their legs and limbs just because of COVID.” Specialty practices like Pacific were out of the direct line of fire during
the pandemic, but beleaguered ERs and primary care providers suffered full-on. According to U.S. News, one in five health care professionals lost their jobs during the first two months of the crisis, as caregivers mobilized, improvised, quit or fled. Even today hiring has not yet brought professional staffing back to pre-COVID levels. “There was a lot of psychological trauma,” said Turner, “and remember, a lot of people just refused to believe it was real. And often by then it was too late.” Wellness Comes of Age
Today, healthcare struggles to return to normalcy. Staffing is still a big issue (see
ONE IN FIVE HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS LOST THEIR JOBS
Dr. Bill Turner
sidebar, pg. 19). Patient demographics are changing, with an aging population dominating demand. On the positive side, the continuing emphasis on wellness — preventative care and medical interventions improving quality of life, not just treating illness — offers benefits for both patients and caregivers. But this too is dramatically changing the healthcare landscape. As Baby Boomers enter the so-called Golden Years, their extended life expectancies and active lifestyles put more pressure on their aging bodies. The result is not only more attention to diet and fitness, but also increasing demand for “elective”medical procedures. cont page 18
At 8:15 you’re wheeled into a room almost blindingly bright, the O.R., and given a spinal anesthetic. When it’s clear it’s working, you’re “put to sleep” for the duration. The sleep is well advised. Orthopedic surgery can be “a lot of hammering and sawing, like a home renovation project,” according to one nurse. Your arthritic ball and socket and upper femur are cut out. The surgeon installs, with the help of a robot, a metal-ceramic artificial joint in your pelvis. Your new right hip. You awake from sedation in an ICU, oxygen and blood pressure closely monitored, and do breathing exercises to help banish the anesthetic. Teams of therapists outline restrictions on your movements, diet, and sleep posture. Your caregiver fills seven drug prescriptions. You’re helped into your clothes, guided into a wheelchair, and driven home at 4:45pm. Six weeks of rehab and you’ll be dancing the light fantastic.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other sophisticated technologies have revolutionized health care, especially imaging. (above) Dr. Bill Turner reviews an MRI image with MRI Manager Pat Burns at Pacific Surgical Institute; MRI machine in the background.
••• April 15, 2024 / Columbia River Reader / 17