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Dr. Paul Jacob, DO and Elaine Blackwell, MSN, RN have been the driving force behind the Total Joint Program at the Community Hospital where making the patient and their families an active part of the team creates an atmosphere of excellence.

When a renowned physician came to Community Hospital and wanted to bring something the metro had never seen before, T. Elaine Blackwell, MSN, RN was up for the job.

Community Hospital maintains a Center of Excellence with its Total Joint Program and Blackwell is the director.

Hips and knees are the majority of the surgical load for the first-of-its-kind program to Oklahoma.

The program got rolling in 2014 and was the brainchild of Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Paul Jacob.

Community Hospital's Total Joint Program predates the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement program mandated by CMS in 2016.

Dr. Jacob was the driving force behind the program. The Cleveland Clinic-trained surgeon wanted the same level of excellence he had experienced during his fellowship to be available in the metro.

Jacob, Blackwell and the hospital's administration sat down for the first meeting.

“He and I - our mentality - just kind of clicked,” she said. “The whole thing was optimize the patient before surgery, make them an active part of the team, make their family part of the team.”

“We have them for a couple days after surgery, so education has to start early for the best possible outcome.”

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