The Fracture Care Program at College Station Medical Center is specifically designed to help older adults recover after the unfortunate event of a hip fracture — usually as a result of osteoporosis.
Our program brings together a team of experienced surgeons and physicians with caring and specially trained nurses, therapists and technicians. Together with the patient and family, we develop a plan to best manage care and treatment after a hip fracture. Our goal is to provide seamless, coordinated care with the best possible outcome in mind.
Streamlined Care, Better Outcomes
Studies have shown that hip fracture patients that are quickly evaluated and treated have improved outcomes. However, in many healthcare facilities across the country, geriatric hip fracture patients are considered non-urgent cases and must wait days for surgical care. That’s why we have implemented a fast track approach for patients arriving in our Emergency Department with a suspected fracture. By quickly identifying and evaluating patients with a potential fracture, patients are able to be cleared and prepared for surgery with the goal to repair the fracture within 24 hours of admission.
Pain Management
Fractured bones can cause a tremendous amount of pain and early surgical treatment, in combination with medication, has been found to relieve the pain from the fracture more effectively. Our multidisciplinary team takes an aggressive approach to relieving discomfort before and after surgery.
When patients must wait for days to have surgery, pain is often managed with narcotics and sometimes sleeping aids, which can cause delirium and confusion in patients. This delirium may cause a delay in starting physical therapy, leaving patients with a longer and more difficult recovery.
Since patients in the Fracture Care Program are typically in surgery within hours instead of days, there is rarely a need to use narcotics to manage pain. This means faster and more aggressive physical therapy following surgery, which can lead to a faster recovery. Often, our patients are able to be discharged from the hospital using only over-the-counter medicine to manage pain.
Our Focus is You
Within our hospital, we have created a special area focused specifically on the care of hip fracture patients and their families. Each patient in the Fracture Care Program is managed by a multidisciplinary team, including an Orthopedic Coordinator that manages all aspects of patient care and our Medical Director, Chris Henderson, M.D., the area’s only fellowship-trained orthopedic traumatologist.
Our team is specially trained in the care and rehabilitation of fracture patients and provides a compassionate, supportive environment to help in your recovery. We work together to follow a specific plan for surgery and rehabilitation that best manages the care of fracture patients.
Our Commitment to Excellence
We are continuously evaluating and measuring our performance to ensure that we provide the highest quality program possible, tailored to each and every patient. Our team meets regularly with a focus on maintaining clinical and service excellence in all aspects of our program.