Officially, Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy is a "patient-centered" hospital.

After a three-year effort, the 95-year-old hospital in the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte has become the first hospital in North Carolina to receive the designation as a Planetree hospital.

The Planetree model was created in 1978 by a San Francisco patient who had a traumatic hospital stay. Hospitals with the Planetree designation focus on ways to humanize and demystify the health-care experience by using integrative therapies and visual and performing arts to enhance the healing environment.

Last year, Carolinas HealthCare System completed a $96 million renovation at CMC-Mercy that included a new two-story lobby and the addition of an adjacent five-floor office building. The lobby features an 11-foot bronze fig tree. Original art adorns every public space, and a grand piano in the mezzanine is available to anyone who wishes to play.

As part of patient-centered care, visitors are allowed at any hour, even in intensive care units. Patients are offered massage, music therapy, aromatherapy and pet visitation. Employees invite patients’ families and caregivers to become “care partners” who assist with small personal tasks, such as bathing loved ones, or more significant ones, such as discussions with doctors and nurses about diagnoses and treatment options.

“We believe that dialogue and the exchange of information with the care team empowers patients,” said Dr. Dael Waxman, medical director of patient-centered programming at CMC-Mercy. “It allows patients to become active participants in making healthcare decisions.”

See www.planetree.org.

Speed Date for a Doctor

In February, Presbyterian Healthcare hosted its first "Find Dr. Right" event to help match patients with gynecologists.

Now, they're back with pediatricians and family physicians in three more "Find Dr. Right" events in the Lake Norman, south Charlotte and Strawberry Hill areas. Parents and parents-to-be will get four minutes each with participating doctors.

Events are free and start at 6 p.m. Here are the dates and locations:
May 3, Red Rocks Café, Strawberry Hill, 4223 Providence Rd.
May 10, Macaroni Grill, Promenade, 10706 Providence Rd.
May 12, Red Rocks Café, Birkdale, 8712 Lindholm Dr., Huntersville

Registration is required: 704-384-2273.
For more information: www.presbyterian.org/doctorright

DaVinci Robot for Bariatric Surgery

Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville announced this week that it's the first hospital in the region to offer weight loss surgery with the daVinci robotic surgical system. Presbyterian and other area hospitals are already using the robot for prostate cancer surgery and other operations. A report in the journal Medical Care recently concluded that hospitals with daVinci robots for prostate cancer perform more radical prostatectomies as a result while those without the robots did fewer surgeries to remove prostate glands. Read more at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview blog: http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2011/03/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-buy-robots-the-surgery-will-be-done.html The daVinci technology allows for minimally invasive surgery. Patients who qualify may experience less pain and scarring, reduced risk of surgical complications, and a shorter recovery time. But the lead author in that Medical Care report said: "Patients should be aware that if they seek care at a hospital with a new piece of surgical technology, they may be more likely to have surgery and should inquire about its risks as well as its benefits." Drs. Donald Balder and David Voellinger of Southeast Bariatrics are offering robot-assisted weight loss surgery at Presbyterian Huntersville. For more information, call 704-347-4144 or register online at http://www.southeastbariatrics.com/.

Kickstart A New Diet

Dr. Neal Barnard, a nutrition researcher at George Washington University School of Medicine, will talk about his book, "21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health," Apr. 25 at a free seminar at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 4020 Sharon Road.

Barnard is challenging Charlotte residents to change their dietary ways and aims to help them do it. "We’ve found that the best way to lose weight is to jump into a completely healthy diet for three weeks," Dr. Barnard explains. "That means skipping meat and greasy foods, and focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans for three weeks. During this test drive, people start to slim down, and they also see their cholesterol and blood pressure levels plummet. If they have diabetes, it often improves dramatically. Migraines and other pains often vanish."

Barnard recommends foods that help tame the appetite and boost metabolism. His program does not require calorie counting or even exercise. He provides three weeks of recipes, nutrition information, and cooking tips.

Barnard is president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the author of 14 previous books on diet and health. For more information, contact Jill Eckart at 202-527-7337 or jeckart@pcrm.org.

Health care is just a CLiC away

There’s a new place to go for health care in Charlotte.

It’s called CLiC, and it stands for “convenient, local, individualized care.”

CaroMont Health, the system that operates Gaston Memorial Hospital, opened its first CLiCÖ center recently in Charlotte, near Mountain Island Lake. The address is 3605 Mount Holly-Huntersville Road.

It’s like an urgent care center, but it also helps people stay well. After treating a patient’s immediate needs, doctors and nurses will connect them with resources that could help with stress management, fitness and nutrition.

It’s like a drug store, but in addition to over-the-counter medicines and supplements, it also offers private rooms where customers can watch videos on a variety of health topics.

CLiC employs a medical doctor trained in integrative medicine, which is the blending of Western medical care with alternative therapies, such as acupuncture.

When people come to CLiC with an acute health problem, they can plan on getting information that can help prevent future problems. Patients may get help with weight management, high blood pressure and sleep problems that were not the initial reasons for their visit.

“It’s a place where people can come over and over again,” said Mary Hassett, a strategic planning consultant who assisted CaroMont in planning for CLiC. “The coffee shop is right next door. The setting is a well-trafficked area. It’s very easy and appealing to come in.

Hassett modeled the CLiC center on other urgent care/wellness/retail programs developed for other clients, such as Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, Henry Ford Health System in Michigan and Intermountain Healthcare in Utah.

“The common thread is to begin integrating health and wellness into what has formerly been a sick-care environment,” she said.

Hours for the CLiC medical practice are 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., seven days a week. No appointments are needed. Hours for the retail store are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Finding Doctor Right

You’ve heard of speed dating to find a mate.

Well, Presbyterian Healthcare is inviting you to speed date for a doctor.

The hospital system’s first “Find Dr. Right” session will be Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. at Providence Café, 110 Perrin Place.

Obstetrician-gynecologists will be available to meet with participants one-on-one for three minutes each. The event is free. Appetizers and drinks will be provided.

Other hospitals across the country have hosted similar events to give people the chance to meet potential physicians face-to-face. Participating doctors are Navin Bhojwani, Claire Bowles, Noelle Clarke and Gregory Reynolds of Bradford Clinic, Mark Bland, Thor Svendsen and Simon Ward of Rankin Women’s Center, Caudrean Avery, Chris Danner and Jennie Hauschka of Mintview OB/GYN, Gregory Parker of Midtown OB/GYN, Lisa Wilson of Providence OB/GYN.

For more information: www.presbyterian.org/doctorright. Space is limited. Registration is required: 704-384-2273.

Let's talk about end-of-life care

There has been enough talk about death panels and too little talk about end-of-life care.

As I typed those words, a new e-mail popped across my computer from Art Caplan, a nationally known medical ethicist from the University of Pennsylvania.

We had both read the new policy statement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology urging doctors to talk with patients about their end-of-life wishes.

Here's a link to Caplan's blog on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41460373/ns/health-health_care/

And here are some other links to get you started.

ASCO offers a free booklet, "Advanced Cancer Care Planning," to help initiate candid discussions between patients, their families and physicians about treatment options, including palliative care. You can download the booklet from the society's patient web site: http://www.cancer.net/.

Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region also offers many helpful resources on its web site: http://www.hpccr.com. Click on "Information for patients, families & the community" to read more about palliative care. Or try "Professional and Community Education" for information about advance care planning documents such as living wills and health care powers of attorney. At "About us," you can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQS).

Carolinas Center for End of Life Care also offers plenty of help at http://www.carolinasendoflifecare.org/.