Brookwood Vascular Center Opens In Vestavia Hills

New Healthcare Service Offers Early Detection and Treatment Plans to Patients

Vestavia Hills, AL …Vestavia Hills welcomes a new member to its healthcare community with the opening of the Brookwood Vascular Center on Friday, June 20, 2003. The Vascular Center will be located in Brookwood’s Shades Crest Outpatient Services Building on the corner of Highway 31 and Shades Crest Road. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 20th, and will feature Vestavia mayor Scotty McCallum as well as Brookwood Medical Center president and chief executive officer, Garry L. Gause, and other representatives from the area’s healthcare community.

"We are very pleased to bring the Brookwood Vascular Center to the city and its surrounding areas. This new center will focus on the early diagnosis and treatment of peripheral vascular disease, a chronic and potentially dangerous disease," says Garry Gause.

Peripheral vascular disease affects between 8 and 12 million people in the country, many of whom do not experience its most typical symptom – leg pain. Symptoms of the disease include:

- Dull, cramping pain in the hip, thigh or calf muscle that worsens with exercise and improves with rest

- Pain or numbness in the legs, feet or toes

- Leg sores that don’t heal properly

- Blue or red discoloration of feet or toes

- Changes in skin temperature

- Uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Board-certified nurse practitioner Donna Smaha will serve as the clinical director of the Brookwood Vascular Center; Smaha will work in collaboration with physicians and other staff members including a licensed practical nurse, a clinical pharmacist, and a registered dietitian. These clinicians will work in concert to coordinate a care plan designed specifically to meet each patient’s needs.

The Brookwood Vascular Center at Shades Crest will also offer peripheral vascular disease assessments which will include:

- a medical/surgical/family history

- a risk assessment

- an arterial brachial index

- a lipid profile

- an HgA1C (diabetes test) if indicated

- a full report on the assessment findings.

The Friday, June 20th open house will include the ribbon-cutting ceremony, guided tours of the new facility, refreshments, and will feature several Brookwood Medical Center physicians speaking on various vascular disease-related topics throughout the day.