By Sonja Puzic, The Windsor Star
September 10, 2009

Matt and Agnes Juba are photographed at Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor on Thursday, September 10, 2009. While Matt Juba is in the hospital, his care is managed by a hospitalist, a family doctor assigned to patients who are admitted without a family doctor of their own. The hospitalist program is marking its 10-year anniversary.

Photograph by: Tyler Brownbridge, The Windsor Star

WINDSOR, Ont. -- When Matt Juba arrived at Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital’s ER five weeks ago, he was in pain, staggering and hallucinating.

His terrified wife Agnes knew something was really wrong, but it took an experienced physician to properly diagnose Juba and quickly get him the necessary treatment.

Dr. Sharon Doyle, Hotel-Dieu’s lead hospitalist and a Windsor family doctor, immediately ordered a battery of tests which confirmed her suspicions — Juba, 83, was suffering from a potentially debilitating neurological disorder that affects the spinal cord. Juba was admitted to hospital and for the past five weeks, Doyle has been watching over him, making sure he’s on the right path to recovery.

“It has been quite a trek,” Agnes said Thursday at her husband’s bedside. Family photos neatly arranged on the wall above Juba’s bed keep him close to his loved ones — and serve as a reminder of how long he’s been away from home.

Juba is one of thousands of patients benefiting from Hotel-Dieu’s medical-surgical hospitalist program, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week.

The program caters to so-called “unattached” patients who don’t have family doctors or whose doctors no longer make hospital visits. It was developed by then-chief of staff Dr. John Greenaway, Dr. Roxana Chow and former administrator Lynda Monik, who now heads up the Sandwich Community Health Centre.

Ten years ago, it was a unique undertaking. Today, hospitals across the province have their own successful hospitalist programs.

Hotel-Dieu’s program has grown from a small team of two physicians, a nurse practitioner and a secretary to nine doctors who oversee the care of 90 to 100 patients each day. Over the past decade, the hospitalists have cared for more than 21,500 unattached patients.

Doyle said the goal is to provide continuum of care and see the patients through the admission process, treatment and discharge. Hospitalists can also make appropriate referrals to specialists and serve as an important information gateway for concerned family members.

"I was kept abreast of everything. There were no surprises," Agnes said. She believes her husband's outcome would be much different if Hotel-Dieu did not have a hospitalist program, even though the couple has a family doctor.

"I think it's a marvellous, marvellous thing," she said. "I feel like I have hope ... and I know he's in good hands."

Over the years, the number of general practitioners looking after their patients in hospitals has dropped off significantly. In underserviced areas such as Windsor-Essex, overwhelmed doctors simply don't have the time to make hospital visits like they used to. That's why hospitalists are a vital part of the local health-care system, Hotel-Dieu officials say.

Doyle said the work of a hospitalist is challenging but doctors are drawn to the role because it's so rewarding.

"We've earned the respect of our colleagues...and it's great to know that we've helped thousands of patients over the years."

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