This year marks 115 years since Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center entered the Northern Nevada area. With a centrally located downtown Reno hospital, the healthcare giant provides care to both tourists and the community in a convenient, easy-to-reach space.
“As a hospital, we want everyone to know we are here for them,” said Mark Reece, the director of business development, marketing and communications for Saint Mary’s Health Network. “And being in a densely-populated, active area such as downtown Reno is ideal for a number of reasons – it’s very identifiable for tourists and/or guests in need of emergency services, has great proximity to virtually any area in our region with our positioning off of I-80 and puts us exactly where we want to be as a trusted community resource right in the center of our community.”
The services offered through Saint Mary’s are vast, but despite a well-rounded health network made up of many award-winning departments, the hospital hasn’t slowed down on its pursuit of excellence. Saint Mary’s is continuously a first; it was both the first hospital in all of Nevada to launch an Aquablation Therapy program (a minimally invasive treatment for enlarged prostates) and the first hospital in the region to launch a transcarotid artery revascularization program, also known as TCAR, that treats carotid artery disease and helps prevent future stroke. This dedication to continued expansion allows Reno residents (and those visiting Reno) a center for all of their health needs.
Additional locations throughout the city include multiple urgent care clinics, freestanding imaging, laboratories and primary care offices.
The dedication to new technology extends to many of Saint Mary’s existing departments, as well. The operating rooms, for example, have advanced technology and robotics, including DaVinci, O-arm, Globus and CORI systems, all of which assist staff in providing the best possible care. After all, who wants to go to a hospital that feels outdated or doesn’t offer the procedures needed to get healthy and recover quickly? Being on the cutting edge of technology is a brand choice that the Reno community benefits from when it comes to geographically accessible healthcare.
In addition to what’s new, Saint Mary’s also continues to be recognized for its long-running programs and departments. “We have an incredible Structural Heart and Cardiology team that just helped Saint Mary’s [get] recognized as the number three cardiovascular hospital in the entire country,” Reece said.
The Saint Mary’s emergency department was the first to receive Geriatric Accreditation in Northern Nevada, and they recently launched GetCareNow, a virtual tool to request and reserve an arrival time. This, according to Reece, increases transparency and allows patients to immediately get in touch with care providers to explain symptoms and more. “This is another example of adapting to shifts in patient demands as healthcare increasingly expands into the virtual/electronic space,” Reece explains.
Another recent accolade was the designation as the most socially responsible hospital in the state of Nevada by the Lown Institute Hospital Index. According to a press release, “the list ranks more than 3,600 U.S. hospitals based on more than 50 metrics across categories of equity, value of care and patient outcomes. Metrics also include inclusivity, pay equity, community benefit, avoiding overuse, cost efficiency, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and patient safety.” The medical center also ranked in the top 100 for health efficiency and received “A” grades in value of care, patient outcomes, clinical outcomes, patient safety, avoiding overuse and cost efficiency. These metrics contributed to the hospital’s overall ranking as number one in the state.
While the above doesn’t sound like any small feat, Reece assured that more changes and advancements are on the horizon for Saint Mary’s across their departments, which includes inpatient, outpatient, ancillary, and wellness services. More specifically, the downtown location is home to a top-rated cancer center, surgical and orthopedic services, 24/7 Emergency Department, an award-winning cardiology program and more. In the hospital and in the operating room especially, Saint Mary’s specializes in orthopedic, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal medicine, general, neurologic, spine, gynecology, podiatry, pulmonology, urology and vascular services.
“Being centrally located helps us provide care and be a readily-available resource to a growing population every day,” Reece said. “Our dedicated security and facilities teams do significant work to ensure our campus is clean, safe, and up to the high standard of care we deliver. We are honored to partner with first responders such as REMSA, Reno PD and Reno Fire to add further resources that collectively result in our hospital being a safe, trusted environment for healing.”
“Since 1908, one item that has remained the same is the focus on healing, wellness and patient safety,” Reece continued. “While adjustments and transitions may have occurred during that time, what has never wavered is Saint Mary’s commitment to this community and our focus on patient care. We will never shift from that and are excited about our future and continued ability to be a community partner for generations to come.”
This article was originally published on This Is Reno by Nora Heston Tarte. The original article can be found here.