HEALTHY REPS

Health news and notes

Butter or margarine? And if margarine, stick or tub?

Margarine is made from vegetable oils, so it contains unsaturated “good” fats – polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, according to Mayo Clinic. These types of fats help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,” cholesterol when substituted for saturated fat. Butter, on the other hand, is made from animal fat, so it contains more saturated fat. But not all margarines are created equal. Some margarines contain trans fat, which, like saturated fat, increases blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. In general, the more solid the margarine, the more trans fat it contains. So stick margarines usually have more trans fat than tub margarines.

Obesity outmaneuvers cancer

Obesity has been linked to increased risk for over a dozen different types of cancer, as well as worse prognosis and survival, according to Harvard Medical School. Over the years, scientists have identified obesity-related processes that drive tumor growth, such as metabolic changes and chronic inflammation, but a detailed understanding of the interplay between obesity and cancer has remained elusive. In a new study in mice, Harvard Medical School researchers have uncovered a new piece of the puzzle, with implications for cancer immunotherapy: Obesity allows cancer cells to outcompete tumor-killing immune cells in a battle for fuel. The findings, published in the journal Cell on Dec. 9, reveal that a high-fat diet reduces the numbers and antitumor activity of CD8+T cells – a critical type of immune cell – inside tumors.

Stress and heart health among women

How a woman feels about her roles at home and at work during midlife can affect several factors that influence her heart health. A study, published Dec. 11 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that women who felt more stressed at their jobs or in their roles as caregivers, mothers and spouses had greater odds of having high blood pressure, being overweight and not eating a healthy diet. Conversely, those who felt their roles were more rewarding were substantially more likely to be physically active and to not smoke. And that can potentially help their heart health, said lead author Andrea Leigh Stewart. Still to be answered: Do the stress and rewards influence a woman’s heart-healthy behaviors, or do those behaviors affect her feelings about her roles?

Better you know

Up to 1.6 million (or about 1 in every 100) women and girls in the United States have a bleeding disorder, many undiagnosed. Bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia (and von Willebrand disease, or VWD) are conditions in which specific proteins in the blood are missing or do not work properly, making it hard for the blood to clot. The National Hemophilia Foundation in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched “Better You Know,” a campaign to raise awareness of bleeding disorders among women and girls.

Smile (even with a mask), and your baby smiles with you

In the neonatal intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, COVID19-related restrictions meant that everybody visiting infant patients had to wear a mask, according to a report in Portland Monthly. Registered nurse Mollie Poor noticed the toll it was taking. She recalls one baby who had been born prepandemic but was still being treated when the restrictions came into place. “[The baby] had been smiling, and after a lot of prolonged mask use [by parents and the care team] she stopped smiling as much because she never saw anyone smiling back.” The NICU implemented clear masks, which have a foam rim sealing the nose and chin, but which give parents the ability to connect and smile with their babies. “[For] a lot of moms holding their babies for the first time, or breastfeeding, being able to smile down at their babies has been pretty impactful on them,” she says.

A Working Woman

Amanda Taetz learned early on that hard work pays off

It has been years since Amanda Taetz learned about work ethic, business

operations, and loving what one does for a living. She never forgot the lessons, and today she applies all of them to her work as executive vice president of MediGroup, the Missouri-based non-acute-care group purchasing organization. As a kid, she helped her father, Russell Worthington, and her grandparents run Worthington’s Delivery, a local delivery service in Fort Worth, Texas. “I spent every summer helping my grandmother in the office and riding along with my dad on deliveries,” she says. “They both made sure I stayed busy and basically taught me the ropes to run the business. I would read maps and route out deliveries, answer the phone, watch how to change the oil in the trucks, calculate bills, etc. … I learned from an early age that hard work pays off.”

Her mother, Kathy Heimburger, has worked in long-term care for as long as her daughter can remember, and currently does social work at a long-term-care facility in St. Louis. “Hearing about her day and stories about the residents, and seeing how much she truly loved what she did, made me want to find something I loved as well.”

Her stepfather, John Heimburger, owns a travel agency in St. Louis. “He taught me those ‘tough life lessons.’ You want a car? Get a job. Want to go to college? Get a job. So, I got a job at the age of 15 and have been working ever since. Looking back, it was probably the best lesson he could have taught me. It built my work ethic and character, and gave me a will and drive to succeed.”

Sold on sales

Taetz got sold on sales during college, working at a Clinique counter at a Dillards department store in St. Louis. “I loved interacting with people, up-selling products, and helping people find solutions to their skin or makeup problems. I thrived in that role and was promoted to counter manager and picked up more hours. The more I worked and sold, the more drive I had to be the best. It was that role that sealed the deal for me going into sales.”

After the retail experience, she worked for her stepfather for a few years selling tropical vacations and destination weddings. But she became antsy sitting behind a desk, and began looking for a role in outside sales. She found one with a beer distribution company. “Being a beer drinker myself, this was a dream job, but it just had too many downfalls ultimately,” she says. But she had made good contacts, one of whom – a sales rep for PSS (now McKesson Medical-Surgical) – referred her to MediGroup CEO Andy Klearman. “I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself in to and I had a huge learning curve, but it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

At the time, relatively few physician practices understood group purchasing, she recalls. And distributor reps were none too eager to see their customers enroll in a GPO. MediGroup hoped to change that by partnering with distributors and earning their trust. “It made a huge difference,” she says.

“We make sure that everything we do and decisions we make align with and support our distributor partners’ objectives. That will never change. It’s our job as a GPO partner to make sure we bring value, solutions and savings to the table. It’s important to understand that what’s best for the customer is not always going to fall on a GPO contract, and we get that.

During COVID-19, there were months of no selling – just trying to find solutions and help our members get in touch with suppliers.

“The distributor rep’s role has evolved over the years, so our main objective is to make things as easy as possible,” she continues. “We do that by working with their contract teams to ensure contract connections, correct tiers, DEA/HINs are loaded, etc., and we work directly with our members to get them connected to all the savings and solutions available to them through our valueadded vendors. It’s a team effort, and it creates that stickiness in an account we all want.”

Pandemic demands solutions

As it has for just about everyone in the healthcare supply chain, COVID-19 has challenged the people at MediGroup.

Amanda with Evie and MJ.

“It shifted our focus completely,” says Taetz. “We were in a huge sales growth mode and had a lot planned for 2020, including the launch of a new program, but dropped everything to focus on helping our members and distributor partners.” PPE was a primary concern for many MediGroup members. But the GPO was also asked to provide assistance with practice protocols for the pandemic, telehealth services, even floor stickers to remind people to maintain a safe physical distance.

“There were months of no selling – just trying to find solutions and help our members get in touch with suppliers,” she says. “We were walking on eggshells, trying to be respectful of the situation while offering solutions to help. Once things started to re-open, we supported our distributor partners and our members in getting practices back up and running.”

Amanda Taetz has two “amazing” kids who keep her busy with baseball games, skate parks and everything else. MJ is 9 and Evie is 6. She is an avid reader, but also likes to travel, roller skate, tend to her yard and garden, and enjoy a good beer.