The Center for Digestive Health, which provides one-stop access to coordinated, high-quality care ranging from routine screening to advanced diagnostic and treatment procedures, has moved into a new home on the campus of Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (PMC).
Five gastroenterology specialists employed by Princeton Medicine Physicians are affiliated with the Center for Digestive Health, which first opened in May 2017 at a temporary location within the Medical Arts Pavilion, a medical office building attached to the hospital. This summer, the center moved into its permanent location on the 4th floor of the Medical Arts Pavilion.
“We created the Center for Digestive Health to give patients streamlined access to high-quality, comprehensive care,” said Barry S. Rabner, president and CEO of Penn Medicine Princeton Health, which includes Princeton Medicine and PMC. “The center offers a complete range of services, from preventive screening to some of the most advanced care for gastrointestinal disorders, and provides a nurse navigator to work with each patient to coordinate care with other departments throughout the Princeton Health system.”
Patients are often referred to the center by their primary care physicians for consultation with a specialist and diagnosis and treatment of ongoing GI issues. Others contact the center directly to schedule procedures such as colonoscopies, which may be performed to screen for early signs of colorectal cancer or to evaluate a patient experiencing symptoms such as abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, diarrhea or constipation. Patients 50 and older who meet certain criteria benefit from streamlined scheduling of routine screening colonoscopies under Princeton Medicine’s direct access colonoscopy program.
Individuals experiencing symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, swallowing difficulties and abdominal or chest pain are evaluated via upper endoscopy procedures.
Additional minimally invasive procedures accessible through the center include endoscopic ultrasound, which is used to diagnose and treat GI conditions including some types of cancer; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure used to diagnose and treat conditions related to the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas; video capsule endoscopy, which produces images of the small bowel that cannot be captured with traditional X-rays; and balloon enteroscopy, a specialized endoscopic approach to diagnose and treat small bowel disease.
Patients of the center also can access PMC’s Esophageal Program, which offers the benefit of advanced diagnostic and treatment techniques such as:
- Wireless esophageal pH monitoring and impedance pH testing, which measure the reflux of acid from the stomach into the esophagus among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD)
- High-resolution esophageal manometry, a test that measures the function of the lower esophageal sphincter and muscles of the esophagus
- Stretta therapy, a minimally invasive procedure that provides long-term relief from GERD
- Radiofrequency ablation, a procedure to remove diseased, precancerous cells from the esophagus
Physicians affiliated with the Center for Digestive Health include Kevin S. Skole, MD; Deborah K. Sokol, MD; Kristina N. Katz, MD,Monica Saumoy, MD, MS, a Penn Medicine affiliated physician who sees patients in the center one day per week; and the center’s co-medical directors, Anish A. Sheth, MD, and Eric H. Shen, MD.
The Center for Digestive Health is one of only 17 New Jersey healthcare facilities recognized by the American Society For Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) for its commitment to safe, high-quality patient care. The ASGE certification is based on the center’s commitment to specialized training, ASGE guidelines on privileging, quality assurance and reprocessing as well as the infection control guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information, visit princetonhcs.org/digestivehealth. To make an appointment, call 609.853.7272 or visit www.princetonmedicine.org.