Author: DeeDee

‘Smart Knee’ captures and transmits knee motion data to optimize monitoring and recovery

Earlier this month Calais Community Hospital became the first hospital in Maine to offer smart knee technology for total knee replacement.   The implant, Persona IQ, offers insights and data unlike ever before to surgeons and patients alike.  This will help improve short and long term outcomes.

CCH Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Wendy Crawford has had extensive training to bring this next generation of knee replacements to Down East Maine. The addition of the Persona IQ smart knee option now provides the ability to send state of the art technology right out the door with the patient.  The smart knee provides visibility into the post-surgical journey via the MyMobility app and keeps the patient more connected to the healthcare team every step of the way.  The Persona IQ smart knee can also be used with the ROSA robotic knee system introduced at CCH last year.  ROSA is used to tailor the placement of a knee implant to each patient, ensuring a precise implant fit to improve comfort and recovery. Both technologies were developed by Zimmer Biomet, a global leader in orthopedic innovation.

Dr. Crawford was introduced to the potential of Persona IQ technology during a ROSA continuing education session.  She instantly thought it would be a great fit for rural medicine. The device and app are more than monitoring the progress of a patient’s knee replacement, it also provides access to education, video guided exercise routines, reminders and effortless communication with the care team at CCH.  Patients and their surgeon can easily access data from Persona IQ through the specialized MyMobility app.  “The smart knee provides real-time insights to the patient and myself about how recovery is going, ensuring the knee implant is functioning optimally,” explained Dr. Crawford. “It also provides access right at home to education and video exercises to maximize outcomes post-surgery, which is a tremendous benefit for my patients living in this remote area.”

The smart knee uses implantable sensor technology that provides for the measurement of range of motion, step count, walking speed, and other crucial gait metrics.  The data is transmitted to the patient’s personal base station at home, very similar to how a pacemaker provides information.  The data is then securely delivered to a HIPAA-compliant cloud-based platform where both the orthopedic surgeon and the patient can easily check it. The Persona IQ Smart Knee first became available in 2021 and has been used to collect over 6 billion data points for patients and their care team.

“The expansion into the latest robotic and smart technology is a testament to the hospital’s commitment to providing the community with high quality, advanced, and safe care,” says Steve Lail, CEO of Calais Community Hospital. “As the only hospital in Maine to utilize both the ROSA Knee System and Persona IQ Smart Knee technologies for total knee replacement, the hospital is reinforcing its dedication to delivering exceptional care to the community”.

Learn more about this innovative new offering at www.calaishospital.org/knee-replacement .

Calais Community Hospital is pleased to welcome Dr. Susan Luthin, Family Physician.  Dr Luthin will staff the new Baileyville Medical Center scheduled to open in September.

Dr. Luthin earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Maine Orono and her Medical Degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

She brings 35 years of family medicine experience.  While her work as a Family Medicine physician has her caring for every age range, she says she has a special passion and fondness for pediatrics.  During her 28 years in the Dover-Foxcroft area she delivered hundreds of babies and even had the privilege of a few of the babies she delivered returning to her to have babies of their own.    While practicing in that location half of her practice was pediatrics and obstetrics, with the rest consisted of general family medicine for adults.

When asked about her philosophy for patient care, Dr Luthin shared, “I try to really listen to my patients and meet them where they are at. That allows me to give advice and guidance on how they want to be treated.”  Sometimes the optimal treatment plan is just not something a patient can do yet.  “And that’s ok,” she explains. “I work with them to do the best they can.”

Dr. Luthin grew up in New Jersey in a suburb outside of New York City.  She grew up in a close-knit family, the middle child of seven children. Both of her parents were teachers, her dad eventually serving as the Superintendent of Schools and her mother eventually becoming a Homemaker once all the kids came along.  Besides her and her siblings, she said they always had lots of kids in the house with visitors all the time and frequent overnight stays.  Her home was one of refuge where extras were always welcome to hang out or crash for the night.

Every summer her family came to Maine.  Spending time with her cousins in a small town on a lake outside of Augusta had her deciding “these are my people.” So, when it came time for college and then a career, she very purposefully chose a field that would allow her to work and live in rural Maine.

Dr. Luthin’s family includes her daughter and son-in-law, an 11 year old grandson and a 10 year old granddaughter.  In her free time she enjoys all the outdoors has to offer in hiking, canoeing, kayaking and fishing.  She also dabbles in playing multiple instruments such as the octave mandolin, trumpet, penny whistle, guitar and fiddle.  She mostly plays for her own enjoyment, but she does participate on occasion with a Contra Dance band and takes part in Jazz jam sessions when they are held in Eastport.

Dr. Luthin will begin seeing patients in Baileyville September 1.  If you wish to establish care with Dr. Luthin at the Baileyville Medical Center, we encourage you to initiate the transfer of your medical records by contacting your current office or downloading a medical records release form available on the CCH website, www.calaishospital.com in the Patient Guide section.  Baileyville Medical Center staff will be available to speak with by mid-August at 454-9530.   Please join us in welcoming Dr. Luthin when the opportunity presents itself.

Calais Community Hospital is pleased to welcome interventional pain medicine specialist Mario Serafini, DO. As an interventional pain medicine physician, Dr. Serafini specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Serafini is board certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Hospice/Palliative Medicine. He brings over 30 years of experience providing procedures such as joint injections, nerve blocks, spinal injections and interventions and ultrasound guided injections.

Dr. Serafini first began his medical education with an eye on being a pharmacist. After a talk and some guidance from his hometown doctor, he decided to head to medical school thinking he wanted to be a primary care provider. After rotations in different specialties, he determined that primary care was not for him and found a passion for Interventional Pain Management – which blended his original pharmacist ambition with direct patient care very nicely.

Dr. Serafini initially completed a residency Anesthesiology, followed by fellowships in Interventional Pain Medicine and Hospice/Palliative Medicine. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and his Bachelor of Science degree from West Virginia University. He completed his Anesthesiology Residency at West Virginia University Hospitals. He completed his Interventional Pain Management Fellowship at the Allegheny General Hospital’s Center for Pain in Pittsburgh, PA. Then completing a second fellowship in Hospice/Palliative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Hanover, New Hampshire. Prior to joining Calais, Dr. Serafini practiced in Rockport.

Dr. Serafini grew up in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the only child to his factory worker Dad and homemaker Mom. However, he had a large extended family with his father being one of 11 and his mother one of 2. His family today consists of wife Sarah, who is an ED physician, and their two sons aged 7 and 10. As a family they enjoy many outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, and skiing. They also love to travel internationally and hope to spend a full year in Italy before the boys head off to college. Dr. Serafini is a proud father and enjoys time with his boys, playing chauffeur to afterschool activities and cheering them on recently at their State Chess competitions. In quiet times he enjoys gardening, which he learned the joy of alongside his grandfather.

Dr. Serafini will begin seeing patients in April. Referrals for pain management consultations can be made to CCH Specialty Services at 454-8432. If the chance arises, please take the time to welcome him.

Orthopedic surgeon, Wendy Boucher Crawford, MD, and the medical staff at Calais Community Hospital are excited to offer Zimmer Biomet’s ROSA^® Knee System, which brings together robotic technology with industry-leading knee implants to help surgeons personalize surgical procedures for their patients and is designed to help perform total knee replacement.  It includes features to assist with bone resections and assessing the state of soft tissues to facilitate implant positioning intraoperatively. Data provided by robotic surgery system assists with complex decision-making and enables surgeons to use computer and software technology to control and move surgical instruments, allowing for greater precision and flexibility during procedures.

Total joint replacement is one of the most commonly performed, elective surgical procedures in the United States and it is becoming an increasingly popular outpatient procedure at surgery centers across the country “For everyone involved – surgeons, medical staff and, most importantly, patients – robotic knee surgery has the potential to offer a number of key benefits and advantages,” Dr. Crawford said. “Patients who have surgeries using robotic assists usually have shorter hospital stays, have lower infection rates, and experience less scarring and faster recoveries. We know the decision to have joint replacement is often a difficult one for patients to make, and we believe these robotically-assisted technologies have the potential to make it an easier one moving forward.”

Calais Community Hospital President & CEO, Steve Lail, on bringing robotically-assisted surgery to Washington County, “To our knowledge, we are the only Critical Access Hospital in the state that offers this technology, and we are beyond pleased to be in a position where we can provide this service to our community.”

For more information on how patients may benefit from using robotic knee surgery for total knee replacement, call Calais Community Hospital Orthopedics at 454-8432.

Dr. Boucher Crawford is a board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon with over 18 years of experience. She earned her medical degree at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Her internship and residency were both completed at Madigan Army Medical Center. Dr. Boucher Crawford provides surgical and non-surgical treatments for most general orthopedic conditions including issues of the knee, shoulder, elbow, and hand as well as ports health issues and injuries, fracture care, joint replacement, pediatric orthopedic care, and osteoarthritis/osteoporosis.

Calais Community Hospital is pleased to welcome Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Wendy Boucher Crawford.   She will begin seeing patients in the office in December.

Dr. Crawford is a board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon with over 18 years of experience, most recently practicing in Presque Isle, Maine.  She earned her medical degree at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.   Her internship and residency were both completed at Madigan Army Medical Center.   Dr. Crawford provides surgical and non-surgical treatments for most general orthopedic conditions: issues of the knee, shoulder, elbow and hand; sports health issues and injuries; fracture care; joint replacement; osteoarthritis/osteoporosis; and pediatric orthopedic care.   She is trained in the use of robotically assisted joint replacements which allows for extremely precise implant placement.

Dr. Crawford grew up on a farm in Massachusetts, that later became a chocolate factory – every kid’s dream!  She was the second youngest of eight children, having four brothers and three sisters.  She is an Army veteran serving for nine years and deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).   Dr. Crawford has traveled extensively visiting all but one of the 50 states.  She enjoys outdoor activities and sports.  She participated in soccer and alpine skiing in college.   For a short time even had a career as a professional ski instructor traveling internationally and spending five straight years living in Winter conditions.  Dr. Crawford and her husband Blair were wed a year ago.  Together they share five children and like to stay active as a family.  They are avid golfers, and enjoy boating, fishing and hiking.  She is working to make her new husband a skier.

Dr. Crawford explains she has always wanted to live on the coast, so when she went looking for a small rural hospital that allowed her family to stay close to her husband’s Canadian roots – Calais was the perfect fit.  Dr. Crawford looks forward to working with her patients to determine treatments that are suitable for them, that respects their wishes and works best for their condition or injury.

Referrals for orthopedic consultations can be made to CCH Specialty Services at 454-8432. If the chance arises, please take the time to welcome Dr. Crawford and her family to our community.

Calais Community Hospital is excited to announce the return of echocardiogram services.   CCH upgraded the necessary equipment and recruited staff to once again be able to offer this service, which has not been available in Calais since 2020.   Bringing echocardiogram capabilities back to Calais is an investment in the health of our communities and an effort to provide access to diagnostic and primary care services locally as much as possible.

Appointments are available in the afternoons Monday – Thursday at the hospital.   Providers can forward referral information directly to the CCH Scheduling Office.

An echocardiogram is a noninvasive imaging test that uses ultrasound waves to examine the heart. Echocardiograms are one of the most popular diagnostic tests of the heart because there are no known risks or side effects from the ultrasound waves. The benefits of echocardiogram for patients and their providers include:

• Provides important information about the heart’s structure, blood flow and pumping strength
• Aids in accurately diagnosing common heart issues, such as congestive heart disease, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia and narrowed blood vessels
• Helps map out an appropriate treatment plan for the management of cardiac health
• Monitors the effectiveness of current treatment plans

To have an echocardiogram performed at Calais Community Hospital, patients are encouraged to talk to their provider for a referral.

CCH and DECH is once again bringing in a national speaker for Washington County students.  Last Fall, area high school students attended the presentations. This time 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students are being invited to share in this experience.  Four presentations will take place May 20-21 for DECH area students, and three presentations will be held May 22-23 for the CCH area students.  All area schools with 6^th, 7^th or 8^th grade students have been invited and we hope they seize this invaluable opportunity to reach our teens.

Assisting us in bringing this opportunity to our area’s youth are Platinum Sponsors Down East Credit Union and Bar Harbor Bank & Trust as well as Gold Sponsors First National Bank and Machias Savings Bank.  The support of these area businesses will assist DECH and CCH in their efforts to continue to host these events.

How this came about – In developing long range Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) plans for 2023-2025, Calais and Down East Community Hospitals set a goal of reaching out to the youth of our communities about some of the tough topics that are prevalent in our area – mental health, substance abuse, suicide, etc.  While we really wish our children were not aware of these issues, we know they see it, some live it, many experience it every day.  Our plan is to support organizations that are already working with youth on these issues, as well as looking at new avenues to reach our youngest community members.  One of the projects we decided to take on was to bring a youth speaker to the area to provide a message of hope, be candid on these tough topics, and leave teens with some tools for dealing with such things in life. It is our plan to repeat these activities next school year as well with a speaker in the fall for high school students and another in the spring for grades 6 through 8.

The speaker – Kyle Quilausing is living proof of the power of your choices.  Born in Hilo, Hawaii, Kyle’s upbringing was ideal. He describes being brought up by his grandfather with wholesome family values and strong morals and ethics. After his grandfather introduced him to golf at the age of 5, Kyle quickly fell in love with the sport, dedicating every waking moment to perfecting his craft and becoming a six-time state golf champion, winning 16 titles, coming 4th in the world, and playing alongside Tiger Woods at ten years old. But after allowing his relative success to make him arrogant and prideful, Kyle was expelled from high school in his senior year, which became the catalyst for a downward spiral that eventually led him to become a 98-pound crystal meth addict, labeled Hawaii’s most wanted and a menace to society.

Kyle’s addiction ultimately led him to spend a decade behind bars. At what might be considered his rock bottom, he dedicated himself to his sobriety (Kyle is over fifteen years sober.) He committed to doing everything in his power to better himself so he could build a legacy of youth empowerment and education upon his release.

As a motivational speaker, Kyle is engaging and charismatic; it’s impossible not to smile when encountering Kyle’s lighthearted nature. He shares a powerful and poignant message that you are always one choice away from a different life. As a Top Youth Speaker with a powerful story of adversity, regrets, and, finally, triumph, Kyle is on a bold mission to use his real-life experiences to educate and empower the youth in making healthy, wise choices for a productive life.

Today, Kyle, a successful businessman, and motivational speaker, champions the importance of every choice we make. He’s spoken at over 200 schools in the past five years and continues to educate the youth on the life-changing power of their choices. With a vision to become the positive mentor figure that his grandfather was to him, he helps students avoid the same pitfalls that he experienced. Kyle teaches students to embrace life’s possibilities, change negative behaviors and patterns, and achieve freedom through deciding to make positive choices for their present.

Calais Community Hospital is pleased to welcome Pediatrician Dr. Joann Kaplan.  She has joined the team at Calais Community Hospital Family Medicine to provide pediatric services one day per week for our youngest patients.  A dedicated pediatrician at Down East Community Hospital, Dr. Kaplan has committed Mondays of each week to bring her pediatric expertise to the Calais area.

Dr. Kaplan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that encompasses over twenty years of experience in pediatrics.  Dr. Kaplan came to Washington County in 2023 from Wyoming where, in addition to the direct care of patients, she was responsible for the supervision of advanced practitioners, the education of medical students and residents, and the oversight of reservation school-based health outreach and clinics.

Dr. Kaplan received her medical education at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Her residency was at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center where she received additional training as the Chief Resident. Dr. Kaplan is a Fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a member of the AAP Indian Health Special Interest Group. Dr. Kaplan’s professional interests are pediatric rheumatology, pediatric obesity, breastfeeding and lactation, and social determinants of health.

“Dr. Kaplan is a skilled provider, and we couldn’t be happier that she chose to practice in Washington County, and now extend her services to our Calais campus in addition to DECH,” shared CEO Steve Lail. “This expansion of pediatric services reflects our ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive healthcare services to our community.”

Dr. Kaplan trained and practiced in Maine for a total of 16 years and found that she missed being here. She and her husband, Paul Canny, have three children ages 19, 22, and 27.  Paul is a registered nurse at DECH in the Med/Surg Department.

If the opportunity presents itself, be sure to welcome Dr. Kaplan to the Calais Community Hospital team. To schedule an appointment for your child with Dr. Kaplan, call 454-8195 option 2.

Calais Community Hospital is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Thomas Crosslin, MD, FACS, to the medical staff.  Dr. Crosslin has been providing coverage for surgical services at CCH since most of last year and decided to join the CCH family as a permanent provider.

Dr. Crosslin is a board-certified surgeon and looks forward to continuing to provide quality services to the people of Downeast Maine. His surgical expertise includes, but is not limited to, endoscopy, colonoscopy, laparoscopic procedures, and surgery of the abdominal cavity.

Dr. Crosslin earned his undergraduate degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN and his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, OH.   His internship and residency were completed at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, MA.

Dr. Crosslin, along with his younger brother and sister, was raised in a small, rural Appalachian foothill town in Tennessee.  His parents were both pharmacists and are currently retired in the area he grew up in.  His family now also includes two daughters aged 14 and 9 ½, who enjoy spending time with dad baking cookies, talking chickens, doing puzzles, and taking part in sports or CrossFit activities.   During his leisure time Dr. Crosslin enjoys getting out in nature, hiking, target shooting, CrossFit, and reading – books he can hold preferably.

After spending about 18 months on temp assignments, Dr. Crosslin was ready to settle back into a permanent practice again and chose Calais due to its proximity to his family and the people he had been caring for and working with.  “The people here are very appreciative of the care team and the hospital,” Dr. Crosslin explained.

Dr. Crosslin sees patients at the Specialty Services offices located within the Calais Hospital.  He is accepting new referrals.  If the opportunity arises, please take the opportunity to welcome him to our community.