In its 2009-10 “America’s Best Hospitals” issue, U.S. News & World Report ranked Scripps Mercy Hospital 38th in the nation for the treatment of respiratory disorders.

Pulmonary medicine is the medical field concerned with the lungs and respiration (breathing). Pulmonary Medicine Services at Scripps Mercy Hospital provides a wide variety of diagnostic, treatment and preventive services for respiratory diseases and disorders, including:

• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
• Asthma
• Bronchiectasis
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Emphysema
• Influenza
• Interstitial lung disease
• Lung cancer
• Pneumonia
• Respiratory failure
• Sleep apnea and other breathing-related sleep disorders
• Tuberculosis

To help accurately identify and determine the severity of conditions that affect breathing and the lungs, Scripps Mercy’s Pulmonary Medicine Services offers state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities, such as a fully equipped bronchoscopy suite, a full-service pulmonary function lab, spiral CT scanning , magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear medicine (e.g., PET scans), as well as interventional radiologic techniques (e.g., trans-thoracic needle aspiration).

In addition to standard inpatient treatments, such as ventilator therapy and care for critically ill patients, Pulmonary Medicine Services also provides patients access to innovative services, including the Intensivist Program, the Sleep Disorders Center and smoking cessation assistance.

Intensivist Program

Due to the seriousness of conditions affecting the ability to breathe, patients with respiratory problems often spend time in the Intensive Care Units (ICU). Pulmonary Medicine Services at Scripps Mercy’s San Diego campus established an Intensivist Program to provide 24-hour intensivist coverage in the ICUs. An intensivist is a physician with specialized training in critical care medicine. The intensivists at Scripps Mercy are fellowship trained and are board certified in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Research has shown that intensivist-supervised ICU care results in better outcomes than ICU care without intensivist supervision, so having these dedicated specialists greatly enhances the care provided by Pulmonary Medicine Services at Scripps Mercy.

Sleep Disorders Center

Respiratory problems, such as sleep apnea and chronic snoring, can cause trouble sleeping. For breathing-related sleep disorders, patients of Pulmonary Medicine Services might be referred to the Sleep Disorders Center at Scripps Mercy to help determine a diagnosis for the problem and a treatment plan to alleviate it.

Prevention through smoking cessation

Smoking and second-hand smoke are the leading causes of many chronic and life-threatening respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and lung cancer. Scripps Mercy Hospital offers smoking cessation assistance to all inpatients who smoke.

For More Information

To learn more about Pulmonary Medicine Services at Scripps Mercy Hospital, please call 1-800-SCRIPPS (1-800-727-4777).