Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - St. Anthony - (Page 52)

HOGANS’ HE BY CARLA CARWILE T he 70-mile stretch between Lakewood and Summit County is traveled by thousands of Colorado visitors each ski season. John and Susan Hogan of Oklahoma City and their family drove it to Keystone in early 2012 for an on-the-slope reunion. What none could know was that the group would be making the return trip under far different circumstances, and that John would be ﬁghting for survival in the Flight For Life Colorado critical care transport ambulance. “It was our ﬁrst day on the slopes and just after lunch,” Hogan says. “Three of us rode the chair to the top, planning to ski down that back bowl. It was a black run, and I’d made a couple of wide turns. Then on the third turn, I tipped backwards and fell about 15 feet, head ﬁrst, fracturing the ribs on my left side. My son-in-law skied over and asked if I could get up, which I couldn’t, so he called ski patrol on his cell. “I do remember going down the mountain on the sled, because every bump was an ouch. And I remember being in the ambulance, because I asked the EMTs not to cut my new jacket. But about three weeks passed before I was aware I was at St. Anthony’s.” Centura Connect As a Level I Trauma Center, St. Anthony Hospital is the receiving center for many of the region’s most seriously injured and ill patients. The complex care they require for safe transfer from one facility to another is provided by Centura Connect. Along with managing life-critical logistics, the Centura Connect team ensures referring physicians and hospitals have a single point of contact for specialist consultations, rapid admissions, Flight For Life Colorado transportation, follow-up information and more. 52 FA L L 2 013 Fred Seale, MD, center, and the Hogans met, again, during the 2013 Trauma Conference at St. Anthony Hospital, sharing their story with regional trauma care providers. Susan Hogan presented Seale with a Celebrate Life button. She had already pinned another button to her husband’s jacket, reminding him he was no longer allowed on the slopes. CRITICAL DECISIONS St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, a Level III Trauma Center in the Centura Trauma Network, provided Hogan’s ﬁrst lifesaving round of care. The fall had resulted in severe internal bleeding, so emergency surgery was performed and his spleen was removed. Then came the point where blood supplies were exhausted and surgeon Jeffrey Lee, MD, had to make the next of several tough calls. The surgical team wrapped Hogan’s open abdomen with sterile plastic ﬁlm and notiﬁed Centura Connect (see sidebar) that a transfer was critical. Rapid transport by helicopter was not possible due to high winds: Ground transport in one of Flight For Life’s “critical care units on wheels” was the best alternative. As a Level I Trauma Center, St. Anthony Hospital is required to have a trauma surgeon on-site around the clock. Fred Seale, MD, of Surgical Specialists of Colorado, was there that late afternoon. Upon hearing of Hogan’s condition, he

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - St. Anthony

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - St. Anthony
Contents
From the CEO
Community Connections
Lung Imaging as Never Before
Taking Action Against AFib
Step It Up
Your Mightiest Muscle
Well, Well, Well
Are You Doing More Harm Than Good?
Is Your Shut-Eye Serving You Well?
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge
Anatomy of an ER Visit
Next-Gen Surgery
Attack from Within
Virtual Health
Help in a Heartbeat
What Tomosynthesis Taught Me
Hogans’ Heroes
Feeling Grand
Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2013 - St. Anthony