Rhett Ohligmiller was recovering at St. Peter's Hospital, a day removed from a total knee replacement surgery one day last month.

But other than the fact that Oligmiller was lying in a hospital bed, there was little to indicate the recent major surgical operation as he talked with Jan Jahner, pain and palliative care coordinator at the hospital.

Ohligmiller smiled broadly as he told Jahner that the nurses and doctors had been keeping his pain in check and he was feeling good. He was already talking about getting back on the ski slopes a year from now.

Jahner hopes a new pain management program she coordinates at St. Peter's helps make sure everyone who comes into the hospital with acute pain like Ohligmiller's - temporary pain from strains, sprains, fractures, surgery, procedures or physical trauma - has a similar experience.

According to Jahner, studies show that undertreating that kind of pain can lead to slower recovery, longer hospital stays and affect a patient's emotional and spiritual well-being. Two-thirds of all patients have moderate to severe pain, national studies show.

Recently, Jahner approached the hospital's administration to see if the hospital would implement a program dedicated to pain management.

"We did our homework and presented it to the administration," Jahner said. "Can we do this, can we have a team approach? And we got a yes."

The result is St. Peter's Pain Resource Nurse Program, consisting of Jahner and nine other nurses throughout the hospital, along with Starla Blank, the hospital's clinical pharmacy specialist. The program utilizes physician advisers and nursing leadership for guidance.

The program, based on a national model largely developed by the University of Washington Medical Center, works with the doctors and nurses throughout the hospital to ensure pain is effectively managed and keep it from becoming a chronic issue.

Jahner, who is also the palliative care coordinator at St. Peter's, recently became certified in pain management. Also, eight of the nine nurses attended an American Pain Management Nurses conference in Tucson, Ariz., in early September. All nine now belong to the American Pain Management Nurses Society.

"I think the whole message was acute pain well managed does not become chronic pain," said Terri Temple, a recovery room nurse who attended the conference and is part of the team. "And where it isn't well managed it does become chronic pain."

Jahner said the team uses a variety of tools to assess pain, and attempts to treat moderate pain so that it does not become severe. Once pain gets past the moderate level, she said, it is more difficult to treat.

Temple said that for the nine nurses on the pain resource team, "our whole purpose now as health care providers is to treat acute pain correctly, so that it doesn't become chronic pain."

Temple, who has worked at St. Peter's for 27 years, 20 of them in the recovery room, said she has seen that it helps patients just to know that the hospital is now emphasizing pain management. Temple said she recently had a patient who had a past surgery with resulting bad pain. The patient was worried about having a similar experience this time.

"As long as I explained what my focus was … by the time he left the recovery room, he said he was very comfortable," she said. "He said that was very reassuring to him. This gentleman ended up going home that afternoon very comfortable."

Jahner said the problem of addiction to prescription painkillers is something the hospital is mindful of, although she adds that for treatment of acute pain that issue isn't a chief concern. She does add that the hospital uses the lowest doses necessary to treat pain.

She also stresses that traditional painkillers are not the only ways to treat pain. Drugs such as muscle relaxers and anticonvulsants also can help relieve pain. And there are techniques that use no drugs at all, such as guided relaxation, biofeedback, physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, ice and heat.

Jahner said that some of those alternative pain management methods take advantage of opioids our own bodies produce to deal with pain.

"We have a little pharmacy in our body," she said, adding that there are a variety of methods to release endorphins, create relaxation, and allow pain medication to work to the maximum benefit. She said patient education has a huge role in the successful management of pain, so the nurses try to connect with the patient, learn what they know, and work to create a plan for a successful recovery.

Features Editor Joe Menden: 447-4087 or joe.menden@heleanir.com