STTAR Clinics empower patients

Feeling out of control is the No. 1 reason many people fear and avoid doctors, hospitals and life-enhancing surgeries.

Larry Zygner, 67, of Sterling Heights, had a foot of colon removed last summer to treat his rampant diverticulosis. Diverticulosis occurs when pouches develop on the colon walls.

He said the STTAR Clinic at Beaumont Hospital, Troy, enabled him to take charge of his health and his life.

STTAR stands for Surgical Testing and Teaching for an Accelerated Recovery.

“I had surgery on a Thursday. By Saturday I was flying down the halls of the hospital,” Zygner said.

During his 90-minute STTAR orientation prior to surgery, Zygner received nutritional supplements to boost his immunity and learned the importance of:

• chewing gum after surgery to fend off nausea and stimulate bowel function
• using a spirometer to improve lung capacity and prevent pneumonia
• performing in-bed leg exercises to fend off blood clots  

“They told me instead of using narcotics after surgery, I could speed my recovery by using other medications prescribed by my surgeon,” Zygner said.    

Since its launch in June 2015, STTAR Clinic participants have experienced:

• reduced lengths of stay
• lower incidence of infection
• fewer emergency center visits
• reduced costs

“Being in charge of your own recovery is empowering,” said Daniel Silvasi, M.D. medical director of the operating room, responsible for championing the STTAR Clinic with his colleague, Dietmar Schlecht, D.O, chairman of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, both at Beaumont, Troy.

In a single preop visit, patients share their medical history and get a physical along with their labs.

“We show patients where to park, where to check-in and the floor where they will spend the night,” said Rebekah Kelly, business manager for surgical services at Beaumont, Troy.  “We tell them they’ll have their own TV, which includes cable, and where to find the dining room and Starbucks.”

For 20-plus years, Zygner had suffered with acute pain that often required using his company’s sick days. After retirement, he was nervous to leave the house in case of an attack.

But now, eight months after surgery, Zygner often visits friends and family or goes shopping, swims laps at the local pool and generally feels “fabulous.”

“STTAR Clinic staff were wonderful. They took great care of me,” Zygner said. “It was nice to know I had someone to call when I had questions. I hope they expand the program to include other types of surgeries.”

Roy Soto, M.D. an anesthesiologist at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak introduced the evidenced-based protocol that eventually led to the launch of the STTAR Clinics in June of 2014.

“We knew that if we prepared patients for surgery and set clear expectations, we could optimize health,” Soto said.

In addition to colorectal patients, the Troy clinic was rolled out to cystectomy patients in November and will eventually expand to orthopedics.

STTAR Clinic programing is also available to colorectal and cystectomy patients at Beaumont, Royal Oak.