Dignity Health | St. Rose Dominican | Reach | Winter 2020

6 StRoseHospitals.org Preparing to give birth can be an exciting and anxious experience. Luckily, we live in a time when women have options as they bring a new life into this world. Women who deliver babies at St. Rose Dominican’s hospitals in southern Nevada can choose a pain relief method offered nowhere else in our area. The San Martín and Siena Campuses recently became the first and only hospitals in Nevada to offer nitrous oxide. Empowered pain relief Most people know nitrous oxide by another name: laughing gas. Breathing it can help take the edge off contractions so that women in labor are better able to cope with the pain. Nitrous also has an anti-anxiety effect, which may help some women think more calmly and clearly during the birth. First-time mother Tiffany Phuong had never heard of using nitrous oxide during labor before she Nitrous oxide pain relief for new moms arrived at the San Martín Birth Center to deliver baby Stella. But she was one of the first to take advantage of the new option. And she is very glad she did. Tiffany arrived at San Martín fully dilated, so the epidural she and her doctor had considered using was no longer an option. “All my friends told me, it never goes as planned,” Tiffany says. “The nitrous helped me relax—it took the edge off.” Giving moms more choices Nitrous oxide can be a good fit for women who want a less-medicated birth plan. Nitrous is not an opioid; it’s an analgesic—the same class as Tylenol, Motrin, and other over-the-counter pain relievers. It helps reduce pain but doesn’t completely eliminate it. “It was really exciting when our first mother used it and liked it,” says Janell Chyle, RN, Nurse Manager of the Birth Center at the San Martín Campus. “We see a lot of happy faces when we describe our new nitrous protocol during our pre-admission tours.” How it works Nitrous oxide takes effect within seconds. It’s self-administered, meaning women control when they need it and howmuch they need. Breathing the gas just before a contraction allows it to take effect Dignity Health– St. Rose Dominican’s hospitals offer a new choice in childbirth “Supply chain logistics is my baby,” says Mills, who spent the first 26 years of his career tackling similar challenges in the U.S. Air Force. Keeping shelves stocked with critical equipment—masks, gloves, surgical gowns, and more— became a battle, as every hospital began ordering massive supplies from every reliable vendor. Dignity Health’s primary distributors have been outstanding in the crisis, but in a pandemic every hospital has the same needs. The key to success? Lean into it. “If we needed 100 cases, we wanted to have 500 cases right behind it,” Mills says. “Everyone was always looking for a new source.” Once critical materials hit the door, it was a whole new job. The teams on the Receiving Dock and in Inventory Control worked quickly and efficiently to get stock to the floors where it was needed most. Mills says, “Everyone focused on the mission at hand, just like when we were fighting the global war on terrorism. This pandemic is just our latest enemy.” —Continued from page 5 Purchasing Services Team