MVH patient reunion
On March 21, more than 25 men and women attended the 25th Quarterly Reunion Luncheon for people who had total hip and knee replacement surgery at Monongahela Valley Hospital’s (MVH) Orthopedic Institute. Established in 2013, the Orthopedic Institute at Monongahela Valley Hospital includes a dedicated hospital unit exclusively for joint replacement patients; prehab, that includes pre-operative classes and testing; coaches who are active participants in the patients’ care providing encouragement and support; aggressive daily schedules that include multiple group therapy sessions; competition in distance walked among patients; and after-care support. The Institute is the only local joint replacement program that evaluates each patient on multiple patient satisfaction criteria. Monongahela Valley Hospital was the first and is the only acute-care hospital in Western PA to earn The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification for Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement. MVH also was named a 5-Star Recipient for Orthopedics by Healthgrades®. In addition, MVH received the Women’s Choice AwardTM as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Orthopedics for four consecutive years. Pictured from left are: (photo1) Mable Huffman and Nancy Staffen, who had total joint replacement surgery at MVH’s Orthopedic Institute, returned for the reunion along with her husband and coach Larry Staffen; (photo 2) Lorraine Damich, director of MVH’s Orthopedic Institute, and Darla Kearns, who had knee replacement surgery at MVH.