Neurosurgeon Brings Expertise to Easton OR

While Shore Health System had been looking for a neurosurgeon, Dr. Nelson and his wife were looking for a waterfront community. "My wife and I wanted a place where we could dock our boat," remembers Dr. Nelson, a native of Rochester, New York, where he practiced neurosurgery for 30 years. "Our realtor connected me with Joe Ross (CEO and president of Shore Health System), and a plan began to take shape."

When he established his Easton practice in the summer of 2005, Dr. Nelson began forming and training a surgical team at Memorial Hospital. One of the first steps he took was to make certain he had a top-notch staff assisting him in the operating room. He also invested time identifying the equipment needs for a state of the art OR.

"Dr. Nelson spent countless hours developing the equipment list and putting together proposals to take to the board of directors for approval," notes Penny Aaron Pink, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, CNOR, director of surgical/ambulatory services for Shore Health System.

Shore Health System invested over $1 million to ensure that Dr. Nelson had all the resources he needed to successfully bring neurosurgery to the Eastern Shore. One innovative piece of equipment purchased for the OR at Memorial Hospital was a 3-D C-arm. "This means we have real-time imagery that goes a step beyond what was typically available and provides pictures in three dimensions," says Aaron Pink. "Coupling the 3-D C-arm with our new neuro-navigation equipment allows us to perform image-guided surgery, an advanced approach to neurosurgery."

John Flynn, RN, CNOR, the operating room manager for Shore Health System, adds that when Dr. Nelson first arrived, it was a real team effort to prepare for taking on cases. He says, "Now we have much of the same equipment that the larger teaching institutions in the region have. We are doing procedures here that we were only able to envision a while back … and with excellent results."

In addition to setting up the operating room, Dr. Nelson focused on educating the OR and intensive care unit (ICU) nursing staff. Shannon Turner, a surgical technologist, remembers how the surgeon worked with the staff to develop new skills. He even took a group from Memorial Hospital to the University of Maryland Medical Center for a day of observation.

Commenting on how Dr. Nelson helped prepare the ICU staff for bringing neurosurgical patients onto the unit following a procedure, Lori Geisler, MSN, RN, CCRN, clinical specialist for the Memorial Hospital ICU, says, "He began with lectures on head trauma and inter-cranial pressure management. He was keenly involved in making certain the nurses are comfortable with what we are doing."

For the ICU, Dr. Nelson selected a light-weight, user-friendly inter-cranial pressure monitoring system, which monitors the pressure on the brain following surgery. For Dr. Nelson's non-surgical patients, Memorial Hospital has a 10-bed unit that can treat cerebral hemorrhage, sub-dural hematomas and head injuries, as well as cervical and lumbar spine disorders.

In addition to being a member of the Shore Health System medical staff, Dr. Nelson is also on the faculty of the University of Maryland Medical School. He says, "While I live and work on the Eastern Shore, I am an associate professor at the University of Maryland Medical School and have six partners in Baltimore as back-up for complex problems not appropriate for treatment in Easton."

Dr. Nelson's partnership with the University of Maryland Medical School offers patients in the Mid-Shore region access to the latest developments in the field of neurosurgery. For those surgical cases he performs at or refers to the University of Maryland Medical Center, he conducts pre-operative screening and provides post-surgical follow up care in his Easton office for the convenience and comfort of patients.

In addition to his wealth of experience in the operating room, Nelson gets high marks from the hospital staff when it comes to interpersonal skills. "He's a very good teacher and very kind and patient," says Turner. "When it comes to his patients, they always remark about how compassionate he is. Dr. Nelson takes the time to reassure his patients, no matter how busy his schedule."

Dr. Nelson returns the compliment. "I was delighted to see the high standards of medical care at Memorial Hospital," he says. "It's a great place to work and develop a complex specialty like neurosurgery."