Paul Shelburne, M.D.

Dr. Shelburne has been an OB-GYN with ABQ Health Partners for over 22 years. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center – Southwestern Medical School, and completed his residency at Dallas County Hospital District, Parkland Memorial Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the New Mexico Medical Board. He is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, the Southern Medical Association, the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and the American Fertility Society. . Dr. Shelburne practices at our Lovelace Women’s Hospital clinic.

Dorothy Beach, CNM

Dorothy brings over 25 years of experience in women’s health, including experience in midwifery education, postpartum adjustment and family-centered maternity care. She holds a Masters degree of Science in Nursing, Midwifery from UNM and has worked at St. Joseph Hospital and the Bernalillo County Medical Center. She is board-certified by the American Midwifery Board Association and is a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives. . Dorothy practices at our Lovelace Women’s Hospital clinic.

Tambra Bensch, CNM

Tambra Bensch, CNM – Tambra has over 20 years of experience and holds a Master of Science degree in Nursing with a concentration in Nurse-Midwifery from the University of New Mexico. She has previous experience working for Lovelace and particularly enjoys caring for young teens. Tambra is certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and is a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives. . Tambra practices at our Lovelace Women’s Hospital clinic.

Dympna Ryan, CNM

Dympna Ryan, CNM – Dympna brings over 30 years of experience and specializes in pregnancy, birth and postpartum services. She received a BA from the University of Hertfordshire in England, a State Registered Nurse (SRN) from Sheffield in England and a State Certified Midwife from St. Mary in Manchester, England. She received her Certified Nurse Midwife from the University of Southern California in California. She is certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and is a member of the American College of Nurse Midwives.  Dympna practices at our Lovelace Women’s Hospital clinic.

Melynda Lopez, CNM

Melynda has several years of experience in midwifery care, including homebirth, long-term birth control implantation and removal and other women’s health concerns. She received a Master’s Degree in Nursing with a concentration in Midwifery from UNM in 2014, and received the Maternity Nursing Convocation Award from UNM in 2012. Melynda practices at our Lovelace Women’s Hospital clinic.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE, NM -April 27, 2016 -Lovelace Health System was this week named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health Systems by Truven Health Analytics^TM. Truven Health is a leading provider of healthcare data and analytics solutions and services that was recently acquired by IBM.

The 2016 15 Top Health Systems study evaluated 338 health systems and 2,912 member hospitals to identify the 15 U.S. health systems with the highest overall achievement on a balanced scorecard. The scorecard is based on the Truven Health 100 Top Hospitals^® national balanced scorecard methodologies and focuses on five performance domains: inpatient outcomes, process of care, extended outcomes, efficiency and patient experience. The study has been conducted annually for the past eight years. This is the first time Lovelace Health System has been recognized for this achievement. Lovelace Health System is also the only system in New Mexico currently on the list.

“Lovelace Health System has consistently provided quality care to our patients in New Mexico, and we are pleased when national organizations such as Truven take notice,” said Ron Stern, CEO of Lovelace Health System. “Quality is a moving target, because no institution can be perfect, but there is a constant drive for improvement among our staff members, from every level of the organization.”

Lovelace Health System has been a large provider of health services in New Mexico for decades, employing nearly 4,000 people and spending over $370 million in capital investments in the communities of Albuquerque and Roswell since 2003. Currently the system is comprised of six hospitals as well as a physician group which has expanded to nearly 100 providers in the past several years. Lovelace provides services in various fields, including breast care, bariatrics, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency care, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, midwifery, OB-GYN, neurology, podiatry, pediatrics and pulmonology, and partners with other providers in the community to ensure all patients receive the care they need. At hospitals across the system, the wait time at Emergency Departments averages 30 minutes or less for a patient to see a provider. Lovelace has improved customer service quality with initiatives such as Care Concierge, a service which allows new or existing patients to call a single number to schedule an appointment with providers and specialists.

Truven Health Analytics researchers analyzed public information — 2013 and 2014 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) data, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare datasets and 2014 Medicare cost reports. The winning health systems were announced in the April 25, 2016, edition of Modern Healthcare magazine.

"These 15 top-performing health systems prove that quality and efficiency can improve across entire systems, regardless of their size,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Truven Health Analytics. "It is clear from our data that many hospital systems have been able to implement a consistent, coordinated approach to quality improvement in the areas that matter most to patients and that is scalable across member hospitals.”

Additional winning health system performance metrics include:

             Lower Cost per Episode: The 15 Top Health Systems winners spent 5 percent less per care episode than nonwinning peer systems.

             Shorter Hospital Stays: The 15 Top Health Systems winners discharged patients from the hospital a half-day sooner than nonwinners.

             Higher Patient Satisfaction Scores: The winning 15 Top Health Systems attained average Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores that were 7 percentage points higher than                            nonwinning peers.

More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at 100tophospitals.com.

Contact:

Katherine Cox, Lovelace Health System                         
Phone: 505.727.5503    

Ariana Nikitas
Ariana.nikitas@truvenhealth.com
312.533.3437

Brian Erni
For Truven Health Analytics
J. Roderick, Inc. Public Relations
brian@jroderick.com
631.584.2200

Join Lovelace Women's Hospital for a Nurses Day career fair on Friday, May 6, 2016 from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. The fair will in Auditorium B at Lovelace Women's Hospital. We are looking for exceptional RNs with at least two years of experience.

On-site interviews will be available! Must complete an online application and bring your resume with two forms of identification. Click here to complete the online application.

Date: Friday, May 6, 2016

Time: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. Location: Lovelace Women's Hospital | Auditorium B

To register, fill out the information below.

Join Lovelace Women's Hospital for a Nurses Day career fair on Friday, May 6, 2016 from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. The fair will be in Auditorium B at Lovelace Women's Hospital. We are looking for exceptional RNs with at least two years of experience. Lovelace offers competitive salary, paid time off and a comprehensive benefits package. Ask us about our Sign on Bonuses and Loan Forgiveness Program!

On-site interviews will be available! Must complete an online application and bring your resume with two forms of identification. Click here to complete the online application.

Date: Friday, May 6, 2016

Time: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Lovelace Women's Hospital | Auditorium B

Click here to register!

By Steve Sinovic / Journal Staff WriterThursday, April 28th, 2016 at 2:39pm

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Lovelace Health System has been named one of the Top 15 health systems in the nation by the international business research firm Truven Health Analytics.

It’s the first appearance on the Top 15 list for the Albuquerque-based Lovelace, the only health system in New Mexico on the list this year.

The study divides top health systems into three comparison groups based on total operating expenses for the member hospitals. Lovelace was ranked in the small health system category, with annual operating expenses of less than $750 million.

Hospital systems were ranked based on such measures as cost per episode, length of hospital stays and patient satisfaction scores. Winning health systems achieved higher survival rates and fewer errors at a lower overall treatment cost than non-winning systems, according to Truven, which was recently acquired by IBM.

“Lovelace Health System has consistently provided quality care to our patients in New Mexico, and we are pleased when national organizations such as Truven take notice,” Ron Stern, CEO of Lovelace Health System, said in a statement. “Quality is a moving target, because no institution can be perfect, but there is a constant drive for improvement among our staff members, from every level of the organization.”

Lovelace has been a provider of health services in New Mexico for decades, employing nearly 4,000 people and spending over $370 million in capital investments in Albuquerque and Roswell since 2003. The system is comprised of six hospitals and a physician group that has expanded to nearly 100 providers in the past several years.

Lovelace provides services in various fields, including breast care, bariatrics, cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency care, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, midwifery, OB-GYN, neurology, podiatry, pediatrics and pulmonology.

View the original article here. 

Joe Cardillo, Reporter, Albuquerque Business First

It’s not often that coming in at the bottom of a list evokes a positive response, but for Lovelace Health System, that was the reaction to rankings from Consumer Reports that found the hospital has one of the lowest rates of cesarean sections in the nation.

Lovelace Women’s Hospital came in with the fifth-lowest rate of C-sections for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies, at just 13 percent overall.

Lovelace Women's Hospital came in with the 5th lowest rate of cesarian births in a national ranking from Consumer Reports.

New Mexico overall carried a rate of 18 percent for those births, well below the Department of Health and Human Services target rate of 23.9 percent or less. The designation is specific because it does not include cases like twins or triplets where cesareans might be more often medically necessary for the health of the children or mother, or when a child is delivered facing the wrong way.

Dr. Abraham Lichtmacher, chief of women’s services at Lovelace, says that the hospitals ranking isn’t out of the blue.

“[Our] rate hasn’t changed dramatically over the last 13 years,” said Lichtmacher. “It’s not just a random event. It speaks partly to the culture that exists in Lovelace, partly to the culture in New Mexico overall, and partly to our adherence to clinical guidelines.”

One relevant factor in that culture, Lichtmacher says, is that midwifery is a strong practice in the state.

“Those hospitals locally and nationally that have significant midwifery practices tend to have lower rates of cesarean," he said. “Cesareans are more expensive and if you get an improved outcome that may be worth it but if we know that clinically we don't get a better outcome, if we know outcomes are about the same or worse, then we’ve added a cost to the patient without any benefit.”

The data is also welcome news because in addition to the potential risk of a more complicated procedure, the cost of a C-section is higher. According to a study from Truven Health Analytics, employer-provided commercial health insurance plans saw an average total natural birth cost of $32,093, while the average cost for cesarean birth was $51,125.

See the original story here.

Christopher Ortiz, Assistant Managing Editor, Albuquerque Business First

Lovelace Health System was just named one of the country's top 15 health systems by Truven Health Analytics.

The 2016 15 Top Health Systems study evaluated 338 health systems and 2,912 member hospitals to identify the 15 U.S. health systems with the highest overall achievement.

Lovelace Health System was named one of the country's top 15 health systems by Truven Health Analytics.

Truven Health is a provider of health care data and analytics solutions and services that was recently acquired by IBM.

“Lovelace Health System has consistently provided quality care to our patients in New Mexico, and we are pleased when national organizations such as Truven take notice,” said Ron Stern, CEO of Lovelace Health System. “Quality is a moving target, because no institution can be perfect, but there is a constant drive for improvement among our staff members, from every level of the organization.”

Health systems in the study were recognized as ones that:

Saved more lives and caused fewer patient complications

Followed industry-recommended standards of care more closely

Released patients from the hospital a half-day sooner

Readmitted patients less frequently and experienced fewer deaths within 30 days of admission

Had over 12 percent shorter wait times in their emergency departments

Had nearly 5 percent lower Medicare beneficiary cost per 30-day episode of care

Scored over 7 points higher on patient overall rating of care

Lovelace is one of the largest health service providers in New Mexico with more than 4,000 employees. Since 2003 Lovelace has spent over $370 million in capital investments in the communities of Albuquerque and Roswell.

More information on this study and other 100 Top Hospitals research is available at 100tophospitals.com.

Concern continues to build as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a recent report that more than 300 people in the United States have contracted the Zika virus, 31 of those being pregnant women. The majority of cases are travel-associated cases with only locally acquired cases in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reports one case of a 46-year-old Bernalillo County man who contracted Zika while traveling in Central America. Public health officials encourage everyone to take measures to help protect themselves and their families from mosquito bites and to be aware of the risk of spreading the Zika virus.

While no local mosquito-borne Zika virus has been reported in the U.S, health officials remind New Mexicans to also remain aware of the West Nile virus, which is carried by mosquitoes native to our area. To prevent mosquito bites, you should wear lose clothing when outside, use EPA-approved insect repellent containing DEET (up to 30 percent) when you are outside, avoid going outside in the early morning and evening hours, and remove any standing water around your home and neighborhood. Click here for more information from the CDC.

Travel should be avoided to areas affected by the Zika outbreak - Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Islands. For healthy children and adults who contract the Zika virus, it is most often a mild illness. In fact, only one out of five people infected with the Zika virus will become ill. Fever, rash and joint pain are the most common symptoms. Zika can be transmitted via sexual contact, as reported in one case in Texas. Sexual intercourse and sexual activity should be avoided with men traveling from affected areas. Women who have sexual contact with an infected man are of special concern if they are pregnant or become pregnant shortly thereafter. 

Findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine find that there is a causal relationship between the Zika virus and microcephaly. This is the first causal link between a mosquito bite and a brain malformation. Children with microcephaly suffer from intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, hearing and vision difficulties, as well as many other problems.

Health officials urge women who are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant to avoid travel to areas affected by the current Zika outbreak. All pregnant women who have traveled to these areas should talk to their health care provider about testing, even in the absence of symptoms. 

If you have any questions about your risk or exposure to someone infected with the Zika virus, contact your health care provider or call the New Mexico Department of Health at 505-827-0006.

In honor of National Stroke Month, join us for an informative seminar. You will learn about the signs & symptoms of a stroke and the rehabilitation process. Seminar is free to attend!

• Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
• Time: 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Lovelace Medical Center | 2nd floor conference rooms 

RSVP to 505.898.3030 to attend!

“Knowing you are not alone is the most important,” shares Darrell Yazza. “There are other people who have been through it and they’re doing well.” Once a month, Darrell brings the perspective only a stroke survivor would understand to stroke patients at Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital. “I remember someone came in when I was here.” A member of the Albuquerque Stroke Club visited with Darrell after he had suffered a stroke at the age of 40. He was in the middle of intense therapy, trying to regain what his stroke had so abruptly taken away from him literally overnight. That visit from someone who was on the other side of therapy and living life again, never left Darrell even when darker days set in.

March 22, 2005, Darrell went to bed for the last time without stroke being a part of his everyday life. “I was sleeping when it happened,” he says. “When I woke up at 4:30 in the morning to use the restroom, the right side of my body didn’t work. I thought I had slept the wrong way.” Groggy, Darrell tried to sit up in bed, but realized that was more difficult than usual. “That’s when I noticed my right arm wasn’t working at all. My leg was the same way.” At this point, Darrell thought he was still dreaming. He tried to stand, without noticing that he was only balancing on one leg. He took a step. “I fell right onto the floor and that’s when I thought there was something really wrong with me.”

Lying on the floor, Darrell managed to crawl to his bathroom. There was no one in the house to hear that he had fallen or was struggling to move across the room. Fortunately, he had left his cell phone on a dresser low enough to reach from the floor. Darrell called 911 and stayed on the phone with the operator as he slowly made his way to his front door to unlock it for paramedics. “I was really trying not to panic on the phone,” he recalls. “You don’t know what’s going on with your body.”

Darrell had suffered a major stroke. In his case, high blood pressure was the culprit, which is one of the leading risk factors for stroke. Nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke each year. A stroke occurs every 40 minutes. It is the leading cause of long-term disability and the fifth-leading cause of death. As Darrell says, “stroke attacks you – who you are.”

After 10 days in the hospital, Darrell was transferred to the Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital for inpatient therapy. He was not able to walk and had lost control of his right arm. “I enjoyed Lovelace Rehab,” he says. “I worked at getting better each day. My memory was very short-term. I would wake up in the morning and discover that I had had a stroke and then decide that I needed to work at getting better all day.”

For six weeks, Darrell worked with a team of occupational therapists, speech therapists and physical therapists. Despite the constant work to relearn everything he knew how to do prior to that March night, he says the days were easier than the nights. “Then I would start to get depressed, thinking life is over,” he shares. “I would fall asleep and forget all of that.”

Darrell says as his long-term memory improved those feelings of depression and defeat lingered longer each day until they never left. “Depression set in about two years after my stroke,” he says. “That’s when I remembered the person who came visit me at Lovelace Rehab and recalled the Albuquerque Stroke Club.”

A support group for stroke survivors and their loved ones, the Albuquerque Stroke Club offered Darrell a safe environment where he could share his own feelings of depression and listen to others, talking about the stages of grief. The group learns from each other and each month, they are there for stroke survivors facing the beginning of their journey back to living after a stroke. “I try to be hopeful for them,” he says. “After you’ve gone through this event you are totally unprepared for, I want them to know there is still life, but yes, it has drastically changed.”

Today, Darrell keeps his blood pressure under control and manages stress better than he did leading up to his stroke. He advises everyone, regardless of their age, to know and manage the risk factors for stroke. “Do everything you can do to reduce your risk to avoid having a stroke,” he adds.

Join us this National Stroke Month and help us spread the word to help prevent more strokes. As many as 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. Learn more about risk factors for stroke and recognizing the signs of a stroke at our free seminar May 26 at Lovelace Medical Center from 2 to 3:00 p.m. Call 898-3030 to register. Click here for more details.

Lovelace Medical Center has received the DNV Gold Seal of Approval as a certified Primary Stroke Center and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus. Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital is the only hospital in New Mexico accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in six programs.

(Pictured from left to right are Lovelace Women's Hopsital lactation services team members Jodi Haberstroh, RN, IBCLC; Terry Paez, RN, IBCLC; Sue Shafer, RN, IBCLC; Devan Sande, RN and Natalie Swart, CLE [front])

May 4, 2016 – Albuquerque – Lovelace Women’s Hospital has received the IBCLC Care Award in recognition for the work of professionals at the hospital who hold the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® certification (IBCLC®) and for providing a lactation program for breastfeeding families. Lovelace Women’s Hospital is the only facility in New Mexico to be recognized with this honor in 2016.

“As the only hospital in New Mexico devoted to women’s health, lactation consultation is an important aspect of the care we provide,” said Lovelace Women’s Hospital CEO Sheri Milone. “Our lactation team is devoted to caring for women beginning with their pregnancies and throughout their motherhood. The expertise provided by our team improves the lives of women, children and their families in our community.”

Expecting mothers benefit from International Board Certified Lactation Consultants’ focus on preventive care, as they are available during pregnancy to assess the mother and provide information on how to successfully initiate breastfeeding. They continue that assistance after the baby is born by helping mothers overcome breastfeeding challenges, providing accurate information and continuing to support them as their baby grows. These consultants assist mothers returning to work or school and help mothers in more unusual situations such as breastfeeding more than one baby or nursing a sick or premature infant. They also help train nursing staff to manage basic breastfeeding care.

There are fewer than 50 IBCLCs who provide care in New Mexico. 

In addition to finding IBCLC professionals at Lovelace Women’s Hospital, mothers may reach out to Lovelace Labor of Love (LaborOfLove@lovelace.com) for additional maternity resources.

For more information about the IBCLC Care Award program, contact IBLCE at award@iblce.org.  

Are you expecting a baby or a new mom? Join us on Saturday, June 4 for the Labor of Love health fair! We will have a variety of health & wellness vendors focused on providing you important infant education for you and your growing family. We'll also have free car seat checks, fun kids' activities, free lunch and more!

• Date: Saturday, June 4, 2016
• Time: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Location: Lovelace Women's Hospital | 4701 Montgomery Blvd. NE

FREE to attend. Call 898.3030 to register today!

Stephanie Guzman, Reporter, Albuquerque Business First

Lovelace's clinic is the anchor tenant of Independence Square.

After trying to find a tenant for a 7-acre property near Jefferson and Osuna for three years, dirt is finally moving on the vacant site for a new health care clinic.

Lovelace Health System and its general contractor, HB Construction, broke ground on a new medical clinic in the North I-25 corridor April 27. The two-story, 43,200-square-foot clinic will be built at 6701 Jefferson St. NE.

Lovelace broke ground on its new 43,000-square-foot clinic on Jefferson and Osuna.

Lovelace broke ground on its new 43,000-square-foot clinic on Jefferson and Osuna.

The primary care clinic will be home to 30 to 40 physicians with the Lovelace Medical Group/Southwest Medical Associates, with about 100 additional staff members. John Cruickshank, CEO of Lovelace Medical Group, said the clinic will serve hundreds of patients a day.

The project is one of the more significant buildings HB Construction will have on its plate this year. It's also redeveloping an older office building in Nob Hill for its future offices and is the general contractor of the Carlisle Condominiums, also in Nob Hill.

“This project has been a long time coming," said Jason Harrington, CEO of HB Construction. "Bringing in a company like Lovelace means a lot to HB and to the Independence Square development.”

Lovelace's clinic is the anchor tenant of Independence Square, a larger $30 million development by Scott Throckmorton of Argus Investment Realty. The site includes three pad sites, which Throckmorton hopes to land a bank, retailer and a restaurant. Site plans for Independence Square show Lovelace can also expand another 24,000 square feet in the future.

The clinic is expected to open in the first quarter of 2017.

Chrystal Taliman got a special gift for Mother's Day on May 8, 2016: she gave birth to her fourth son at Lovelace Women's Hospital.

Watch the happy family in the clip below.

Empathy is the ability to identify with another person’s feelings. The ability to see and feel things as others see and feel them is central to competent parenting and successful social relationships in all stages of life.

Lovelace Labor of Love is proud to support Roots of Empathy, a curriculum for elementary school children that teaches empathy, social and emotional skills, and reduces aggression.

Initiated in 1996, Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based program where school-aged children are taught how to identify feelings in others. By raising their emotional IQ and stimulating empathy, bullying and other forms of aggression have decreased, program coordinators report. A mother and baby are invited into the classroom with the Roots of Empathy instructor. Over the course of the school year, children observe the baby's development and begin to label the baby's feelings and intentions. In this manner the baby is the teacher and helps children understand their own feelings and the feelings of others. The children do not touch the baby during these sessions and Mom always remains with her infant. Children are taught how to protect babies from harm and spread the news in their communities about potential dangers such as second-hand smoke, shaken baby syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, back­-to-sleep and more.

At the end of the experience, children share their wishes for the baby:

“I wish that Jade will be loved and stay safe.”                    

~ Eight-year-old student

“I wish that Madelyn would smile forever and never stop smiling. Her smile would cheer up the world.”

~ 11-year-old student

“I wish for Sashca to never give up on anything.”             

~ 12-year-old student

“Courtney, here’s my wish for you: Forgive your own mistakes.”

~ Nine-year-old student

“My wish for Jordan is that he can be nice to people and help them. I wish that he can help people when they are sick to get better.”                                                                                       

~ Five-year-old student

The Roots of Empathy team in Albuquerque is seeking moms with babies born in May, June or July of 2016. The baby needs to be two to four months old when the program begins in September. Mom and baby need to commit to attending the classroom program for the school year one or more times a month. After program completion, Mom and baby may receive a gift card as a thank you for participation.

If you would like more information, contact Labor of Love at 505.727.7677 or by email. You may also contact Roots of Empathy directly by contacting Courtney Custer at 505.301.3036.

This blog was written by Kymba Halliday Clear, RN, CCRN-K, manager of Labor of Love and outpatient programs at Lovelace Women’s Hospital.

If you watch CBS Sunday Morning, you may have seen Kathy Bates share her story as a breast cancer survivor who experienced lymphedema after her mastectomy. As a spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education and Research Network, Ms. Bates has shared her journey with medical professionals and with the media.

Lymph is a rich fluid in our bodies that travels along vessels and through lymph nodes as part of our immune system. When this system is damaged from cancer or surgery, swelling can occur. This swelling is different from normal swelling; it can be extreme, painful and can restrict limb functioning as a result.

The majority of lymphedema cases occur in the first year after surgery and risk increases with radiation and a body mass index of over 30 percent. Surveillance is required to decrease the severity of lymphedema symptoms with early intervention and to manage this chronic condition. Bioimpedence Spectroscopy  (L-Dex) is recommended at baseline pre-op and then again post-op at timed intervals to look for the earliest signs of lymphedema for optimal treatment outcomes.

A referral to a certified lymphedema therapist can help to evaluate your lymphedema risk. Lovelace Women’s Hospital Outpatient Therapy has certified lymphedema therapists available for outpatient appointments to treat and manage this condition. For more information and to schedule an appointment, contact Lovelace Women’s Hospital Outpatient Therapy at 727-4620.

This blog was written by Kymba Halliday Clear, RN, CCRN-K, manager of outpatient programs at Lovelace Women’s Hospital.