Hospital gets new equipment

COSHOCTON - New doctors are now using the latest technology at Coshocton County Memorial Hospital to diagnose and perform surgery on patients by the least invasive means possible.

Surgeons Keith Harmon, Hoang Lim and Dana Owens are now using $1.2 million worth of state-of-the-art, high-definition endoscopic/laparoscopic equipment in the hospital's operating rooms and newly re-designed endoscopy suite, according to director of marketing Mary Ellen Given.

The scopes are inserted through natural openings or small incisions to provide a clear view during diagnosis or surgery. The new equipment, leased through Karl Storz Endoscopy America, Inc., includes electronic towers, and high-definition cameras and screens, Given said.

Grants of $50,000 from the Montgomery Foundation and $30,000 from the Coshocton Foundation last year helped buy surgical equipment to upgrade the equipment in use at the time, Given said. That new equipment transfers to the new system.

The brand new system provides a sharper image, better depth perception and a wider range of view, and allows doctors to make smaller incisions than traditional surgery, Harmon said.

"This is leaps and bounds over what we had before," he said.

The scopes are used during abdominal surgeries, including those on the gall bladder, appendix, colon and hernias, as well as small bowel resections, Harmon said.

They are also used in orthopedic procedures to repair damaged shoulders and knees, according to Lisa Jackson, hospital director of Surgical Services.

The new equipment is also currently being installed in the endoscopy suite for colonoscopies and esophagogastroduodenoscopies (EGDs) to diagnose and treat digestive disorders, Given said.

Laparoscopic and arthroscopic surgeries, using scopes, minimize incisions and decreases recovery time and risk of infection, Jackson said. They are also "fiscally attractive," she said, because they costs less than traditional surgery and shorten the time patients miss work.

Jackson said the upgrade in technology at Coshocton Hospital marries "the skill of your provider with the new equipment."

Harmon and Lim are general surgeons. Owens is a board-certified gynecologist.

Harmon joined the hospital in July from Intermountain Health Care in Burley, Idaho, where he was chief of surgery. He earned his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Kentucky in 2003.

Lim, who joined the staff in August, earned her doctor of osteopathy degree from Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale, Ariz.. She served as a chief surgical resident at the St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo before moving to Coshocton County.

Owens joined the hospital staff in November, moving here from Miami, where she had served as a staff physician with Borinquen Medical Centers of Miami-Dade. She earned her doctor of medicine degree from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa.

jwilliams6@gannett.com

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