Newest articles and comments on The Sacramento Press written by Gary Zavoral

Gary Zavoral on "Folsom Toddler Thrives After Life-Saving Liver Transplant"

2012-04-28T16:23:14Z

Great story, Stephanie! Love the lead ...

Gary Zavoral on "Sacramento Couple Schedules Leap Day for Baby’s Birth … and for Good Reason"

2012-03-01T23:51:04Z

Hi Melissa, the issue actually is that, at most other hospitals, they will induce the delivery at 37 or 38 weeks for almost any reason -- mother is tired of being pregnant, family is flying into town, doctor is going on vacation the next week. Last year, Sutter made it a standard policy at all hospitals not to allow elective deliveries before 39 weeks. Here's a good story on the issue is the San Jose Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19849145

Gary Zavoral on "Sacramento Couple Schedules Leap Day for Baby’s Birth … and for Good Reason"

2012-03-01T21:34:19Z

This was the mother's second birth. She had a C-section 13 years ago, and after you have one C-section, your subsequent births usually are C-sections, also.

Sacramento Couple Schedules Leap Day for Baby’s Birth … and for Good Reason

2012-03-01T20:07:22Z

Ronan Longwedel-Donaldson was born at Sutter Memorial Hospital on Leap Day 2012 – not by chance, but by choice.

That’s because Leap Day, Feb. 29, marked the 39th week in the pregnancy of Ronan’s mother, Andrea Longwedel, and Andrea and her husband, Scott Donaldson, knew how important it is for the health of their newborn to be full-term – at least 39 weeks in utero.

For the past year, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento has embraced a March of Dimes initiative to not schedule inductions and C-sections before 39 weeks, unless medically necessary. Studies show that there are increased risks to babies born earlier than 39 weeks, including complications from breathing and feeding problems to blood infections. Since the policy went into effect, the number of elective deliveries has dropped from approximately 15 percent to about 5 percent.

Longwedel and Donaldson both supported waiting longer to deliver their baby and are happy for doing so.

“We heard of the initiative, and we’re totally behind it,” Donaldson said. “We understand that waiting to deliver until the 39th week is healthiest for our baby.” And Ronan is healthy, weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces.

Because Longwedel had a C-section with her first birth 13 years ago, she needed to deliver by C-section with Ronan. Longwedel’s obstetrician had scheduled her C-section back in November 2011, looking at the calendar for the 39th week point of her pregnancy, and they picked Feb. 29 as the date.

“It didn’t click at first,” said Donaldson of the unusual birth date, “then we looked at each other and realized when it was. It’s unique, it’s kind of cool, kind of funky.”

Now the new parents consider the once-every-four-years date a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Ronan’s birthday on their terms.

“It’s very exciting,” Longwedel said. “When he gets older, I’m all for celebrating his birthday on March 1, but I don’t know what the answer is, really.”

Her husband, however, has a different idea.

“One big bash every four years,” Donaldson said. “We’ll make up for it. Especially on his 16th when he’s 64.”

Ronan was one of 13 babies born on Leap Day 2012 at Sutter Memorial Hospital, which is called “Sacramento’s baby hospital” by the community because more than 325,000 babies have been born there since opening in 1937. In November 2013, the birthing center will move to its new facility, the Anderson Lucchetti Women’s and Children’s Center, being constructed on the midtown campus of Sutter General Hospital. For more information on the Family Birth Center, go to www.checksutterfirst.org/women/.

Editor's note: Edits were made to this article after publishing.

Disclosure: Gary Zavoral is public relations specialist for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region.

Sutter Launches First Hybrid Suite, Heart Hospitalist Program

2010-10-12T23:54:26Z

Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento became the first hospital in the greater region to open a Hybrid Surgical Suite – a cardiovascular catheterization lab with immediate surgical capabilities designed to enable cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to work side by side – and the first to have a cardiology hospitalist program, providing in-hospital coverage by fully trained, board-certified cardiologists 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The goal of the new cardiology hospitalist program is to improve the quality of care in the cardiology division at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, assist with lowering the overall length of stay for patients and, overall, to maintain the cardiac program at Sutter Memorial Hospital as a center of excellence for cardiovascular care.

“In heart cases, timeliness is of utmost importance,” said David Roberts, M.D., medical director of the Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute and an interventional cardiologist. “This ensures that anyone at Sutter Memorial Hospital – whether in the emergency room or in their room, heart patient or not – will have access to an experienced cardiologist at a moment’s notice.”

The Hybrid Surgical Suite, which is located at Sutter Memorial Hospital, combines endovascular, cardiac catheterization, heart surgery, laparoscopic and radiological capabilities, allowing maximum flexibility and speed in the treatment of patients with even the most complex cardiac and vascular conditions.

Surgeons and interventional cardiologists have already teamed up to perform abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, which in the past required open-abdomen surgery. With the right equipment and a large enough room, these repairs are now being performed minimally invasively by going through the femoral artery.

“With this Hybrid Surgical Suite, our physicians will be able to provide even more collaborative clinical care for the current and evolving treatment modalities of endovascular aneurysm and transcatherter valve replacement in one setting,” said Michael Ingram, M.D., a Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento heart surgeon and a medical director with Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute.

Meanwhile, the Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute is raising funds to help install a Hybrid Surgical Suite as part of the ongoing “medical center of the future” expansion project at the midtown Sutter General Hospital campus that will bring cardiovascular services from Sutter Memorial Hospital. When it opens in late 2012, the expanded Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento will house all of its tertiary services in one campus.

The Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute’s surgical program is headquartered at the Sutter Memorial Hospital campus of Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. The Sutter Memorial campus includes four catheterization labs, including electrophysiology capabilities and the Hybrid Surgical Suite; a 16-bed surgical intensive care unit; a16-bed cardiac intensive care unit; and a 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit. SHVI includes the Transplant and Advanced Heart Therapy Services, which include the heart transplant and ventricular assist device programs, the only such services available outside of the Bay Area in Northern California. Through rapid diagnosis, complex surgeries, non-surgical interventions and one of the most extensive research programs in the region, Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute maintains its tradition of excellence in care for infants, children and adults. For more information on Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute, visit our website at www.suttermedicalcenter.org.

Disclosure: Gary Zavoral is the public relations specialist for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region