A Welcome Addition to the Community
Since its opening in July 2004, the Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center has been a good neighbor to residents of eastern New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties, providing convenient care close to home in an attractive, friendly setting. Here’s why people in Guilford, Branford, Madison and up and down the Shoreline have made it the first and only stop for many of their health care needs:
A Focus on Women
The combination of high-tech capability and a team of specialists who focus on women’s medical issues allows for a wide array of specialized services. The Shoreline center offers ultrasound diagnostic imaging, bone density testing and digital mammography, preventive cardiology, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, childbirth preparation and more.
Ready for Emergencies
Open from 4 pm to midnight weekdays and noon to midnight on weekends, the Emergency Department is designed to accommodate walk-in patients and ambulance transfers. Rooms are large enough to allow family members to remain with the patient. Specialized construction creates a negative pressure room if isolation is imperative; ICU ‘breakaway doors’ allow for a crash cart and additional staff to immediately enter a room if necessary.
Staffing in the ED includes an emergency physician, a physician associate and three nurses, plus radiology and STAT laboratory support. The ED uses the ultimate in drug dispensing and management, with fingerprint access by staff, electronically connected to YNHH so that levels can be checked daily by the YNHH pharmacist, usage is automatically replaced, and daily audits account for all drugs.
“We see more than 1,000 patients a month with conditions ranging from minor injuries to heart attacks. It’s been a huge success with patients,” says Harry Moscovitz, MD, the ED’s medical director. “Consulting specialists have found that seeing patients at Yale-New Haven Shoreline Medical Center is extremely efficient, because their patients can be directly admitted to inpatient beds at Yale-New Haven Hospital or transferred to other hospitals in the region if necessary.”
 Convenience for Patients and Referring Physicians
Patients who make recurring visits for a course of treatment also benefit from this facility. Ken Roberts, MD, the medical director for Therapeutic Radiology, explains: “Patients can have their new patient consultation, a surgical biopsy and pathologist report, a CT simulation (directing the treatment plan), the radiation treatments, follow-up blood work, supportive care and follow-up exams—all in one building.” The Therapeutic Radiology practice offers the full array of services involved with external beam radiotherapy (the same technology as in New Haven), which results in the most amount of radiation to the tumor and the least amount to the normal tissue.
“Being part of a multispecialty facility further translates into excellent coordination of care among other specialists,” Roberts adds. The physical proximity of multiple specialties facilitates physician interaction and a forum for care management meetings. “The fact that we are next door to our colleagues in Medical Oncology and Therapeutic Radiology means that we can focus on the entire treatment plan and ensure the best therapeutic choices for our patients with cancer,” says Jon Morrow, MD, the chair of Yale’s Department of Pathology.
CT simulation and radiation treatment are physically down the hall from ea ch other. Treatment appointments are scheduled every 15 minutes because the actual treatment only takes one minute, with the other 14 minutes accommodating preparation steps. Generally, patients receive between 33 and 42 treatments over seven to nine weeks, so it’s a huge boon to patients to keep the commute short.
Best Available Care in Surgery
More than 130 surgeons in every specialty have operating privileges at the SMC. “Our patients and their respective surgeons can count on a consistent, quality-driven, and compassionate anesthesia care team that delivers the latest anesthetic techniques and maintains punctual surgical start times,” says Thomas Gendrachi Jr., MD, director of Yale Outreach Anesthesia.
A primary focus of the endoscopy center is early identification and treatment of colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy procedures can identify and remove polyps at the same time. The polyps will be examined by pathologists with particular expertise in gastrointestinal pathology. “The Yale pathologists are pleased to have a chance to collaborate with their colleagues in surgery by providing intra-operative consultations that help ensure that no effort is spared to provide the best care to the patients treated at the Shoreline center,” says Jose Costa, MD, the vice chair of Yale Pathology.
Not Just a Blood Drawing Station
The SMC’s laboratory is not just a blood drawing station; 85 to 90 percent of the chemistry and hematology is done on-site, with the same physician oversight and technical experience as at YNHH. “STAT results can be communicated to the patient’s physician through a variety of electronic options, including web-based reporting. This capability is a major new convenience to both patients and physicians, and allows simultaneous reporting for outpatient visits, inpatient stays at YNHH, and the ED at SMC,” says Brian Smith, MD, professor and vice chair Yale Laboratory Medicine.
Comprehensive and State-of-the-Art Digital Imaging
“Routine outpatient imaging services are also provided including ultrasound, CT, and MR arthrography,” says James Brink, MD, the chair of Yale Diagnostic Radiology. The full array of diagnostic radiology services includes fluoroscopy, total body scans, and nuclear medicine scanning MR scans.
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