Salem Township Hospital is getting its first full-time orthopedic surgeon.
Hospital CEO Jim Timpe made the announcement at Wednesday’s hospital board meeting.
“Doctor Van den Bogaerde has about 20 years of experience as an orthopedic surgeon, and he also has specialized in the past in hands and arms,” Timpe said. “He will be doing total joint replacements of all the different joints, shoulders, knees, hips, as well as scopes of the different areas, and of course, hand surgeries as well.”
Dr. Van den Bogaerde was recruited from Quincy and will begin working at Salem Hospital in January. Timpe says Dr. Van den Begerde was attracted to the upcoming new expanded surgical area.
A new vascular surgeon has started working in the hospital’s specialty clinics. Dr. Mohammed Al-Zoubaidi will be at the hospital several times a month.
The board was told the lab’s accreditation survey went very well, with only five minor areas where improvements were suggested.
Timpe is very pleased with the hospital’s overall patient satisfaction rating for August. The 93.7 percent rating is well above the hospital’s goal, and Timpe says it is a great reflection on the staff’s work.
The hospital board was also told that for the first five months of the fiscal year, the hospital has provided $1,483,000 in charity care. Timpe says that like hospitals across the country, they are seeing more requests for assistance with medical services.
