BENNINGTON, VT—March 21, 2017— Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has developed a new learning opportunity—The Total Joint Replacement Class—to inform those suffering from painful joints. This free class is appropriate for both patients who are scheduled for a joint replacement surgery and for those who have received an orthopedic surgeon’s recommendation for a joint replacement.

BENNINGTON, VT—March 21, 2017— Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has developed a new learning opportunity—The Total Joint Replacement Class—to inform those suffering from painful joints. This free class is appropriate for both patients who are scheduled for a joint replacement surgery and for those who have received an orthopedic surgeon’s recommendation for a joint replacement.
“Our aim is to prepare patients and give them the confidence they need to have a safe and successful experience,” said Jonathan Cluett, MD, the medical director for SVMC Orthopedics. “This class really provides access to everything patients need to know and lots of opportunities for them to ask questions.”
The Total Joint Replacement Class covers all of the information patients need to prepare their bodies for surgery and their homes for recovery. Instructors address what patients can expect before, during, and after.
“Attendees are encouraged to bring a support person along to the class. This ‘joint replacement coach,’ usually a spouse, family member, or friend, can prepare alongside the patient,” said Sara Moulton, RN, orthopedic nurse navigator and the primary instructor for the class.
Much of the information is presented by the same professionals patients will see in the hospital, including Moulton, Sue Ellen Burns, RN, from the Pre-Anesthesia Assessment Department; Staff Physical Therapist Sarah Ferguson, BSPT, DPT; and Occupational Therapist Michaelia St. Jacques, MS, OTR/L, CWCE. Patients will also meet case managers from the Health Resource Management Department and others.
“In addition to SVMC’s orthopedic surgeons themselves, this is our joint replacement team. Having an opportunity to meet everyone before their surgery gives patients a lot of comfort,” Moulton said. “Plus, the class provides an opportunity to meet other patients going through the same experience.”
The class is held 1 – 3 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in the Toolan Building on the SVMC Campus in Bennington. Preregistration is required. To register, visit svhealthcare.org/jointreplacement or call 802-442-6314.
SVMC Orthopedics offers preventive and non-surgical treatments, minimally invasive surgery, and surgery for sports injuries, painful joints, and complicated fractures. They execute complete joint replacements, rotator cuff repair, and surgeries on hands, knees, wrists, feet, elbows and ankles. The office is located at 332 Dewey Street in Bennington. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 802-442-6314 or visit svhealthcare.org/orthopedics.
Image: For a high-resolution image of Sara Moulton, RN, click here.
About SVHC:
Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent health care system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC’s providers are members of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians, a multispecialty medical group operated in partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock. SVHC includes the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, a 150-bed long- and short-term care skilled nursing facility; the SVHC Foundation; and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), which includes 19 primary and specialty care practices. Primary care offices are located in Bennington, Manchester, Pownal, and Wilmington. To learn more, visit svhealthcare.org.
Southwestern Vermont Health Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.
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