Ostomy Care

Living with an Ostomy

When you have to undergo an ostomy, you may face a number of complex lifestyle challenges. Certified wound, ostomy, continence (CWOCN) nurses, also know as enterostomal therapy (ET) nurses, are available at Spectrum Health Lakeland to assist in your care. CWOCN/ET nurses provide preoperative counseling, stoma site-marking, and education and support regarding your ostomy needs. 

Getting the Support You Need

The Southwest Michigan Ostomy Association is a monthly support group to improve the quality of life for people who have an ostomy or who many be candidates for an ostomy. Meetings feature various discussion topics, highlighted with speakers, as well as the opportunity to meet other ostomates. The goal of this group is to provide support, advocacy, and education for ostomates and their families or caregivers. 

The support group is open to all Southwest Michigan residents who have a colostomy, ileal conduit, urostomy, ileal conduit, urostomy, ileostomy, or contient diversion (intestinal or uniary diversion). 

Group meets the second Thursday of each month
6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Lakeland Medical Center, Radiation Oncology
1234 Napier Avenue, St. Joseph 

Join the Conversation 

Living with an ostomy isn't always easy- and you're not alone. Spectrum Health Lakeland offers private, online Facebook group hosted by healthcare professionals offering resources, dialog, and day-to-day support. Joining is easy! Once you log in to Facebook you can search for the "Lakeland Health Ostomy Support" group and request to join. Once your request is approved you'll receive a notification. This group is a "closed group" which means only members of the group will see what is posted, the information will not be shared with your personal Facebook friends. 

Contact Us 

Certified wound, ostomy, continence nurses can be contacted at the following locations:

Lakeland Hospitals in Niles, St. Joseph, and Watervliet 
269.983.8804

Lakeland Wound Center
269.683.8070

Lakeland Homecare
St. Joseph/Benton Harbor 269.985.4400
Niles 269.687.1419

 

Jeffrey Postma, DO

Jeffrey Postma, DO

Orthopedics


About the Provider

Video Title:Double knee replacement: Maureen Bishop "Walking with her head held high"

Video Summary: Maureen Bishop spent years living with knee pain. She turned to orthopedic surgeon, Jeffrey Postma, DO, for a solution.

Video Title:Knee surgery: Julie Holtsclaw "Giving knee issues the slip"

Video Summary: After an injury, Julie Holtsclaw’s knee began to slip out of place. That’s when she reached out to orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Postma, DO, and underwent surgery to correct the issue.

Video Title:Orthopedic Surgery: Valerie Krieger “Determined to find relief”

Video Summary: At 52 years old, Valerie Krieger never expected she’d need a hip replacement. Determined to find relief from her constant discomfort, she trusted Corewell Health and orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Postma, DO, to get her walking upright, free from pain.

Video Title:Double knee replacement: Orlando Valera "Spectrum Health Lakeland delivers good medicine"

Video Summary: Orlando Valera had double knee replacement surgery with Jeffrey Postma, DO.

Video Title:Knee replacement: Paul Kolon "Coming full circle"

Video Summary: When swelling and discomfort in Paul Kolon’s knee began to interfere with his favorite form of exercise, bicycling, he teamed up with orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Postma, DO, to solve the issue.

Video Title:Shoulder surgery: Paul Dow "A necessary repair"

Video Summary: When swelling and discomfort in Paul Dow's shoulders began to disrupt his sleep and his favorite form of exercise, bicycling, he teamed up with orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Postma, DO, to solve the issue.

Video Title:Total hip replacement: Doug Von Koenig "Living life in the fast lane"

Video Summary: When Doug Von Koenig's right hip began to hurt, and simple things such as walking short distances became difficult, he knew he needed to find a solution.

Video Title:Physician Video Profile: Jeffrey Postma, DO (Orthopedics)

Video Summary: Introducing Dr. Jeffrey Postma, an orthopedic surgeon with Community Bone and Joint.

Video Title:Arthritis of the Hip (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Summary:

Video Title:New Knees Designed Just for You (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Summary: New Knees Designed Just for You (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Title:Arthritis Treatment Options for the Hip (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Summary:

Video Title:Is Arthritis Limiting Your Ability to Enjoy Life? (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Summary: Learn about the various ways an orthopedic surgeon can help treat arthritis.

Video Title:My Aching Shoulder: Common Problems and Treatments (Jeffrey Postma, DO)

Video Summary: Listen to orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Postma, DO, as he discusses how to keep shoulders pain-free by understanding common conditions, avoiding injuries, and the latest treatments.

Education

Internship
  • Flint Osteopathic Hospital
Residency
  • Genesys Regional Medical Center
Medical School
  • Michigan State University
  • Major: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Testimonials

  • "I felt pain shoot up my arms immediately after I fell, I knew something was wrong. The Watervliet hospital referred me to Dr. Postma. After telling me about the fracture in my wrist, he just held my hand for a minute, explained everything, and made me feel less afraid about the whole idea of surgery. If I need any kind of orthopedic care in the future, Dr. Postma and his team will be my first choice."

    "My teenage daughter was having hip pain which was unresponsive to treatment. She was very frustrated and could not participate in cross-country. My primary care doctor referred me to Dr. Postma, who was in contact with us right away. He gave us a good direction for treatment, and now my daughter is starting to run again with much less hip pain."

    "Dr. Postma explained my procedure thoroughly. Afterwards, there was nothing for me to fear. He put me at ease."

    "I would recommend this man to anybody. He has my complete confidence. I am not going to just let anyone operate on me. He made me feel at ease. He explained things in layman's terms to where I could understand. I am walking on that leg today. I did not have to miss any time from work. I just had to take the weekend off."

    "He has done an excellent job. I have been going to him for ten years since my first shoulder surgery ten years ago."

    "Dr. Postma's seminar put all my concerns to rest and helped me to completely trust the man."

    "My surgeon, Dr. Postma, was wonderful. He came in and saw me before surgery. He joked around and made me feel really comfortable."

    "Dr. Postma was very informative. He answered my questions and talked to me and told me what to expect. "

    "Dr. Postma is so personable. He took the time to explain everything in a caring and kind way."

    "I truly like Dr. Postma and trust him completely. This is the third surgery that I've had done with him —  he's wonderful!"

    "Dr. Postma and his team talked to me as someone who was not educated, but I could understand. I have a lot of confidence in him. He wouldn't put up with anything other than perfect."

    “Dr. Postma and his team went above and beyond for my mom. We understood the risks going into surgery, but our goal was always quality of life for her, not quantity. It was a very emotional experience for all of us because we didn’t know what the outcome would be, but Dr. Postma gave us our mom back.”

    "Dr. Postma got down on my level and didn’t rush through my appointment like I was just another patient.”

    “Dr. Postma and his entire team delivered a perfect experience.”

    "I appreciated everything about Dr. Postma. He explained what was going on and the ‘why’ behind it. He took the time to really examine my knee and talked through the various treatment options. [After surgery], I felt like he gave me a big part of my life back.”

    "I was really thankful that Dr. Postma took the time to listen to my concerns and explain my treatment options. He was very compassionate and professional. I never felt rushed.” 

    "Dr. Postma has a great ability to listen to people.”

    “I appreciated Dr. Postma’s honesty about surgery being the best option. I had 100% confidence in him.”

    “I had full trust in Dr. Postma and knew him already because he had operated on my daughter’s knee and repaired a torn meniscus.”

Insurances Accepted

  • Aetna
  • ASR
  • Assurant Health
  • Cigna
  • Federated
  • Group-Marketing
  • Healthscope
  • Humana
  • Liberty Union
  • Nippon Life
  • PHP of Northern Indian
  • Priority Health
  • Starmark
  • Trustmark
  • United Health Care
  • US Health & Life
  • Community Health Alliance (CHA)
  • Select Health Network
  • McLaren
  • United Health Care - Community Plan
  • Meridian

Office Locations

A

CHWVH Orthopedics - Coloma

6559 Paw Paw Ave,
Coloma, MI 49038
(269) 463-3600 (269) 468-3334 http://www.communityboneandjoint.com Get Directions

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