"They often end up wishing they'd had the blocks," says Ms.
Rackers. "So they ask our anesthesia providers to place the block
after surgery." It's an unusual request, but "without hesitation the
anesthesia group gets right on it," she says, noting how easy the group
is to work with. "They go above and beyond for our patients. And they
strive so hard to be team players. They never act as if they're more
important than anybody else."
Comforting cocktail
Regional blocks are just the beginning of the multimodal tack favored
by the providers at Capital Region. During the perioperative phase, the
staff proactively targets pain in all of its varying manifestations with
non-opioid analgesic adjuncts consisting of NSAIDs, acetaminophen,
ketamine, and steroids, says Dr. Langton. "These non-opioid agents are
particularly helpful with our obese patient population and patients with
obstructive sleep apnea," she adds.
With discomfort diminished and the sluggishness brought on by opi-
oids largely averted, patients can become active participants in the
healing process.
"When their pain is kept to a minimum, patients want to get up to do
their exercises and get on with the activities of daily living," says Ms.
Rackers. "That accelerates their healing process. The feedback from
the patients on this is excellent. They get to go home sooner because
they're able to follow doctors' orders sooner."
And when they get home they're likely to talk to neighbors,
friends and family about how much less traumatic the whole expe-
rience was than they'd anticipated.
Quality pain management "leaves a very satisfied patient who tells
others about their experience," says Ms. Rackers. "And in a small
community like this, word gets around quickly." — Jim Burger
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