Summer safety

With summer comes sun, fun — and unfortunately some common health emergencies. You and your family can be safer this summer by using some basic prevention techniques.

It's so tempting to just bask in the sun. But as with everything, too much sun is definitely a bad thing, causing problems like heat stroke and exhaustion and skin cancer with long-term exposure. In fact skin cancer incidence is growing at an alarming rate in our nation of sun worshippers.

Check out our tips about how to make fun in the sun safer for you and your family.

www.southcoast.org/summer/

Southcoast Health Van

The Southcoast Health Van is traveling across the region this summer conducting free health screenings and blood drives. Find out when the van will be near you.

www.southcoast.org/van/

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Southcoast News

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Southcoast eNews

You are receiving Southcoast Hospitals eNews because you selected to receive periodic mailings from Southcoast Hospitals Group.

Your privacy is important to us. If you wish not to receive future mailings of this type, please write to us at Southcoast Health System, External Affairs, 157 Page Street, New Bedford, MA 02740.

info@southcoast.org

Robotic surgery coming this fall to Southcoast Hospitals

Southcoast Hospitals Group announced today that it will open a robotic surgical program this fall. The purchase of Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci® Surgical System will allow highly-skilled surgeons to perform robotic-assisted, minimally invasive procedures with greater precision and expertise.

The da Vinci Surgical System at Southcoast will be used primarily for complex urological surgeries, such as radical prostatectomies, with plans to expand to gynecological procedures. It will be located at Charlton Memorial Hospital, the Fall River site of Southcoast Hospitals Group and will be used by surgeons from throughout Southcoast Hospitals Group.

"The next generation of surgery is coming to the South Coast," said Keith A. Hovan, President & CEO of Southcoast Hospitals Group. "Southcoast Hospitals is the first health care organization to bring state-of-the-art robotic surgical technology to Southeastern Massachusetts, raising the bar for cancer surgery and offering our patients the fastest-growing prostate cancer surgery available."

Surgical robotics is a technology designed to give surgeons more precision and control during complex, minimally invasive procedures. It is an alternative to open surgery and laparoscopic surgery and can result in quicker recoveries for patients.

The da Vinci Surgical System "robot" is a state-of-the art console equipped with several "arms" that execute the movements of surgeon's hands and arms. The surgeon "drives" the instruments using a high-resolution 3-D endoscope and image processing equipment, which provide the true-to-life 3-D images of the surgical field.

The entire surgery is performed through tiny incisions typical of minimally invasive surgery — and the surgeon is 100 percent in control at all times. Members of our excellent surgical staff will receive special training to assist the surgeons with this new technology.

www.southcoast.org/surgery/

Southcoast adds three physician practices across the region

Recently three physician practices have joined Southcoast Physician Services.

• Swansea Family Practice Group has joined Southcoast Physician Services. The practice includes James Lippincott, MD, Martin Miner, MD, Mark Ringiewicz, MD, Priscilla Shube, MD Jeffrey Syme, MD, and Hugh Woolverton, MD. The practice is accepting new patients and part of the active medical staff at Charlton Memorial Hospital, the Fall River site of Southcoast Hospitals Group.

  www.southcoast.org/news/releases/2008/071108.html

• Richard Demopoulos, MD, has joined Southcoast Physician Services in the practice of general surgery. Dr. Demopoulos has practiced general surgery at St. Luke's Hospital for the past 14 years. Dr. Demopoulos has special interest and training in advanced laparoscopic surgery including colon, bililary, intestinal and hernia surgery and breast and soft tissue surgery. He is board certified in general surgery and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

  www.southcoast.org/news/releases/2008/070808.html

• Wareham Medical Associates has joined Southcoast Physician Services. Wareham Medical Associates includes the internal medicine practices of Thomas Gleason, MD, John Howard, MD, John Ewald, MD, and Thomas Spiro, PAC, located at 194 Main Street in Wareham.

  www.southcoast.org/news/releases/2008/063008.html