Wir überwinden Grenzen

The Emmendingen District Hospital is further developing its surgical department in the field of general and visceral surgery and is cooperating with the Medical Center - University of Freiburg from October 1, 2024

Emmendingen District Hospital is taking an innovative approach to the further development of its Department of General and Visceral Surgery. From October 1, 2024, it will be cooperating with the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. The aim of the cooperation is to strengthen local care by broadening the range of surgical services. To this end, the position of Chief Physician and Head Physician will be filled by the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. The aim is to always treat patients where this is best and fastest possible. At the same time, the department will remain entirely at the district hospital, both medically and in terms of personnel.

"Our aim is to ensure that the right patient is treated in the right place. Ultimately, this means shorter waiting times and a higher quality of treatment for all patients," says Prof. Dr. Stefan Fichtner-Feigl, Medical Director of the Department of General and Visceral Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg - CCCF at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg since 2016. From October, he will also be Chief Physician of the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at Emmendingen District Hospital. His focus is on tumor surgery and the introduction of innovative surgical procedures. Prof. Dr. Jodok Fink, Senior Physician at the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg and previously Deputy Head of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Surgery at the Bad Krozingen site, will become Head Physician of the department in Emmendingen.

"I am delighted that we have succeeded in developing this innovative form of collaboration. This will secure healthcare in the region and strengthen the future viability of our hospital," emphasizes Hanno Hurth, District Administrator of Emmendingen.The aim is to expand the range of treatments at Emmendingen District Hospital, for example in the field of endocrine surgery (diseases of the thyroid and adrenal glands, for example), colorectal surgery (diseases of the colon and rectum) and bariatric surgery (obesity surgery). "This is an important step for the Emmendingen site," adds Dr. Ulrich Saueressig, Medical Director of Emmendingen District Hospital.

"As a university hospital, we see ourselves as having a responsibility to the region. We can best fulfill this responsibility by strengthening local players on the ground," says Prof. Dr. Frederik Wenz, Chief Medical Officer of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "We are thus laying an important foundation for emerging stronger from the hospital reform," continued Wenz.

Shorter waiting times, higher quality and attractive career opportunities

The close cooperation enables a more direct and efficient organization of the transfer of patients between the university hospital and the district hospital. At Emmendingen District Hospital, patients receive prompt operations in the area of basic and standard care as well as more complex treatments in specific areas, while Medical Center - University of Freiburg offers a much more comprehensive range of specialized treatments. This frees up capacity at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg for particularly complex treatments.

In addition, established and certified processes from the Department of General and Visceral Surgery at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg can be transferred to the Emmendingen District Hospital department to ensure and improve quality. In addition, there is a connection to interdisciplinary centers of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, such as the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg - CCCF.

In addition to better management of patients, the cooperation is also interesting for staff recruitment. "The faster access to further education and training opportunities and the connection to the knowledge transfer of Freiburg University Hospital increases the attractiveness of Emmendingen District Hospital for specialists," emphasizes Armin Müller, Managing Director of Emmendingen District Hospital.