Pulmonary Services To Be Offered at Mackinac Straits
By Ryan Schlehuber

Two new pulmonary care services are available at Mackinac Straits Hospital, which is partnering with Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey to offer a pulmonary rehabilitation program in June and a pulmonary outreach clinic in July. The St. Ignace programs eliminate travel to Petoskey or Marquette.

Mackinac Straits Hospital serves patients throughout Mackinac County.

An eight-week pulmonary rehabilitation program, which already has a number of referred patients ready to start, began Tuesday, June 12. Patients will meet each Tuesday and Thursday for twohour sessions of exercises and lectures and specialists will discuss dieting, pharmacy options, social services, and respiratory services.

After completing the program, patients can choose to continue their rehabilitation through the hospital at a charge of no more than $5 a session.

"Pulmonary rehab is a multi-disciplinary program that drastically enhances the quality of life for patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and other lung disease processes," said Dave Roof, a respiratory

therapist and pulmonary rehabilitation coordinator at Northern Michigan Hospital.

Mr. Roof and Northern Michigan Hospital physician liaison and Nicole Murray, RN teamed with Tamie Hartwig, RN, Mackinac Straits Hospital's emergency room and acute care services director, to provide pulmonary services in St. Ignace.

"We transfer many patients to Northern Michigan Hospital through our emergency department, so we have a lot of cooperation between the two hospitals," said Mrs. Hartwig. "Having these services closer to home makes it that much easier for patients during their rehabilitation."

The outreach clinic will be provided by the Petoskey's Center of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, which will provide two Northern Michigan Hospital pulmonologists, Dr. Jeff Washington, and Dr. Dwayne Griffin, as well as Trudy Day, a nurse practitioner.

Dr. Washington is a new member of Northern Michigan Hosptial. He has just completed his pulmonary/critical care and sleep medicine fellowship through Wayne State University at Detroit Medical Center.

They will be available at Mackinac Straits Hospital's primary care clinic from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month, starting July 24.

"I am very pleased that Mackinac Straits Hospital will be able to provide these invaluable services right here, locally, in St. Ignace," said Mackinac Straits Hospital CEO Rod Nelson.

A cardiac rehabilitation program may be offered at Mackinac Straits Hospital as soon as July 16, Mrs. Hartwig said.

For more information on the pulmonary rehabilitation program, call Mrs. Hartwig at 643- 0425. For information on the pulmonary outreach program, call either Laura Anderson at Mackinac Straits Hospital at 643-0439 or the pulmonary wellness office at Northern Michigan Hospital at (231) 487- 4778.