#STV150: 150 years of service to Cleveland

Our 150th anniversary celebration is coming to a close, but new facilities and improved services remain. 

This year, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center opened a new $1.2 million, 16-bed geriatric psychiatry unit. This is on top of our other service expansions, new physicians, and projects in the works to enhance the patient experience. 

Some of St. Vincent Charity Development Foundation’s $1.5 million in 2014 gifts was used to renovate an old commercial building in Ohio City, a joint venture with Saint Ignatius High School that provides vital healthcare in an undeserved area, greater visibility for the hospital’s programs, and an important connection through a shared mission with another venerable Cleveland Catholic institution.

For a recap of the 150th anniversary of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, check out our video.

A St. Vincent Charity doctor becomes first of only two physicians in nation to perform new surgical technique

St. Vincent Charity medical residency program tops list in Ohio with highest percentage passing rate at 95%

Becoming a doctor takes years of classroom education, and even after all that learning, there’s still another step: the residency, a multi-year program of professional training under the supervision of senior physician educators.

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s internal medicine residency program was recently ranked the highest in Ohio for board passage. Out of the 21 internal medicine residency programs in the state, St. Vincent Charity topped the list with the highest passing rate at 95 percent.

The rankings are provided by the American Board of Internal Medicine, which compiles data based on three years of board exam scores (in this case for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014). The 2015 graduates achieved a 100 percent board passage rate. St. Vincent Charity’s internal medicine residency program is directed by Keyvan Ravakhah, M.D. and is a teaching hospital of Case Western Reserve University.

“St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is fortunate to hold the advantages of both academic and community hospitals. We have an outstanding faculty that follows a comprehensive curriculum, and our residents are trained and evaluated based on the major core competencies of graduate medical education in the U.S.,” Ravakhah said. “Lastly, our community setting supports the primary goal of comprehensive internal medicine education that will enable our residents to become competent and confident leaders.” 

Treating obesity as a disease – and 7 steps for starting a journey towards better health

More than one-third of U.S. adults – 78.6 million people – are obese. Not just overweight—obese. The numerous health problems that result from obesity include heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

“The biggest contributing factor is how we have evolved into a sedentary culture. No one has time to do proper cooking. As a result we rely on processed food, which is enemy number one,” said Chandra Hassan, MD, medical director of the Center for Bariatric Surgery at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. The program has treated more than 7,000 patients who now live healthier, happier lives.

While the National Institutes of Health first recognized obesity as a disease in 1998, it wasn’t until the American Medical Association (AMA) did so in 2013 that the conversation about obesity and its treatment started to shift. Today, medical students learn about obesity as a disease. 

But shedding pounds in America is not just the doctor’s responsibility. People need to take action to understand proper nutrition and exercise habits. If weight is an issue for you or someone you know, here are eight ways to get started on living a healthier lifestyle. And visit the Center for Bariatric Surgery website to learn more about our offerings.

1. Talk to your doctor about your how your weight is impacting your health. Ask about weight loss options, including surgery. 
   
   
2. Keep a food log or journal to track not only your food, but your emotions. 
   
   
3. Get moving, even if it’s only a walk around the house. Make it a daily routine. 
   
   
4. Set small, realistic goals for yourself such as walking a little farther, and write them down. 
   
   
5. Talk to a dietitian to learn about healthier food choices and what makes a balanced plate. 
   
   
6. Weight loss is one meal at a time. If you blow it on one meal, get back on track with the next one. 
   
   
7. Seek professional help if you are struggling with stressors in your life. 
   
   
8. Be gentle and patient with yourself. The journey takes time.

‘Dr. Canales was so comforting and proactive about the steps I needed to take to get back into gymnastics’

It was the end of her sophomore year at Kent State University when scholarship gymnast Whitnee Johnson suffered an injury that she passed off as an ankle sprain. She competed for another year, taping her ankle, before finally discovering that she had torn her posterior tibial tendon, which is found in the ankle and heel.

A friend referred her to Dr. Mike Canales, a podiatric surgeon at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. Canales also happens to be a gymnast himself.

“He was so comforting and very proactive about the steps we needed to take to get me better and back into gymnastics,” Johnson said. “It made me feel good that he knew the gymnastics side of this injury too, and he was able to offer a good timeline for recovery so that I could compete again.”

She also liked the fact that, prior to surgery, Canales asked a nervous Johnson and her supportive friends and family for a “thumbs up” photo. After a May 2014 surgery, Johnson took the summer to recover and competed again her senior year and was able to perform in her four gymnastics events. Today, the Missouri native is an assistant gymnastics coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.