4
New cochlear
implant surgery
at Kadlec
Earlier this year, Kadlec Clinic
Ear, Nose and Throat physician
Ryan Leonard, DO, performed the
state of Washington’s first magnetic
BAHA (cochlear implant) surgery.
The new system uses magnets
to connect a sound processor to a
titanium implant hidden under the
skin. It was first approved by the
U.S. Food andDrug Administration
for use in the United States in late
2013.
Pain relief
PAIN INTERRUPTS
our work, our
recreation and our relationships. This
can be particularly true for people with
chronic pain.
ALL BABIES BORN
at
Kadlec Regional Medical Center
undergo a hearing screening before
discharge. In statistics comparable to
a statewide average, nearly 5 percent
of these babies do not pass the initial
screening.
Kadlec Clinic Ear, Nose and Throat
now has new equipment designed to
provide the next steps in the screening
and diagnosing potential hearing loss
in an infant.
“Testing and diagnosing babies
less than six months of age can
be very tricky and requires very
specialized equipment,” said Kadlec
Clinic audiologist Curtis Woolf, AuD.
“Before we got this equipment, some
insurance coverage required parents
to go out of town for the next phase
of testing. Now, we can do both this
phase of testing and the diagnoses,
keeping families closer to home.”
The equipment also is more
Since 2008, Kadlec Neuroscience
Center has provided interventional
pain management services to help its
patients with chronic pain. That care has
taken another step forward with the
creation of a suite at the neuroscience
center devoted exclusively to
interventional pain
management injections.
“It has been our
plan from the outset
to have an injection
suite for our patients,”
said interventional pain
management specialist
Timothy Baldwin, MD.
“It allows us to perform
these procedures right in
our clinic setting, rather
than having patients go
to a surgery center or the
hospital. We can control
the scheduling and t
more patients in during
a day.” Because the suite is right next to
his o ce, Dr. Baldwin can see patients
while those getting an injection are being
prepared for the procedure.
“I can see more patients because it
gives me more o ce time. I’m not waiting
between procedures,”he said.
According to Dr. Baldwin, patients like
the new injection suite, too. “They tell us
that it is more comfortable,” he said. “They
walk in and out by themselves, and most
of the time they remain in their street
clothes.”
Later this fall, Kadlec Neuroscience
Center will begin o ering re lls of pain
pumps at the clinic.
“This will be another very signi cant
step for our patient services,”Dr. Baldwin
said.
Kadlec Neuroscience Center
1100 Goeth
als Drive, Suite A
Richland
(509) 942-3080
sensitive and more resistant to the
movement of the baby during testing.
“It is so nice for families to be able
to receive this care now as a part of
Kadlec Clinic Ear, Nose
and Throat
1100 Goeth
als Drive
Richland
(509) 942-3288
Kadlec’s network of specialty care,”
he said. “Early diagnosis and early
intervention are critical to speech and
language development in children.”
Timothy Baldwin, MD
Curtis Woolf,
AuD
Kadlec Clinic expands hearing services
