Cny igh 163 july13 by In Good Health: CNY's Healthcare Newspaper

in good

free FREE

Which is Healthier?

Where are you going to ﬁnd a healthier sandwich — Subway or MacDonald’s?

July 2013 • Issue 163

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

ORGAN DONATION

80 Years with Diabetes

Spencer Wallace and his wife, Margaret. He recently received an award for living with diabetes for 80 years.

Why NYS Ranks So Low?

Page917 Page

Grilling & Cancer Health clinic in Syracuse opened in December and already provides care to nearly 4,000 people

Dana-Farber nutritionist offers tips to reduce cancer risk while grilling Page 15

New Kidney

Special Women’s Health Issue • The BRCA 1 gene •Post-partum depression • False eyelashes

Vets & Dogs A program in Chittenango uses dogs to help combat veterans and victims of military sexual violence

Ken Rudes spent part of last winter in Myrtle Beach, recovering from his kidney transplant, which took place last year at SUNY Upstate. Physycians at Upstate perform about 35 to 45 kidney transplants per year on average. We spoke with three transplant recipients who share their experiences. Page 10

Page 21

July 2013 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 1

Associated Medical Professionals of NY, PLLC

www.ampofny.com

A.M.P. UROLOGY

The leading provider of Urologic Services in CNY SYRACUSE 1226 E. Water St. - 315.478.4185 739 Irving Ave. - 315.471.0190 LIVERPOOL 5100 W. Taft Rd. - 315.458.6669 8100 Oswego Rd. - 315.471.0190 FAYETTEVILLE 4211 Medical Center Dr. - 315.329.0210 AUBURN 192 Genesee St. - 315.258.5253

CORTLAND 6 Euclid Ave – 607.753.9076 NEW HARTFORD 2 Ellinwood Dr. - 315.724.1012 ONEIDA 357 Genesee St. - 315.363.8862 ROME 1617 N. James St. - 315.724.1012 OPENING SOON IN CAMILLUS 5700 W. Genesee St. - 315.478.4185

A.M.P. RADIATION ONCOLOGY

The leading provider of Radiation Oncology Services in CNY SYRACUSE 1226 E. Water St. - 315.478.3468

NEW HARTFORD 2 Ellinwood Dr. - 315.316.0670

SOME OF OUR SERVICES RapidArc Radiation Treatment All Prostate Cancer Treatments Da Vinci Robotic Surgery Female & Male Incontinence Impotence / Sexual Dysfuntion Kidney Stone Treatment All Urologic Needs

Bladder Control Vasectomy & Reversals In House Lab & Pathology CT Imaging Services Laparoscopic & Endourologic Surgeries Prostate & Kidney Surgeries Ongoing Clinical Trials

When it comes to vascular services, the best care is at St. Joseph’s.

# 301 Prospect Ave., Syracuse, NY Visit our website: www.sjhsyr.org St. Joseph’s Resource Line (Physician & Program Information): 315-703-2138 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: stjosephshealth St. Joseph’s is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis. Franciscan Companies is a member of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center system.

Page 2

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

in New York state

GEMadIGH_Layout 1 6/19/13 11:03 AM Page 1

GEM Care joins the full service Emergency Dept. and Golisano After Hours Care at the Community Campus July 2, 2013. Director, Dr. Ciaccio

Announcing

GEMCARE The region’s first dedicated Emergency Department for seniors age 65+

at Upstate University Hospital’s Community Campus 4900 Broad Rd. Syracuse (the former Community General Hospital) For emergency and urgent health care needs. GEM Care is a new unit of the Emergency Department, providing a calm, easy-access setting designed especially for seniors.

Benefits for patients include: • Services built upon Upstate’s high level of geriatric knowledge. • Dedicated space, dedicated trained staff. • Coordination with your own doctor and outpatient services — with the goal to return you home safely. • Immediate hospital care for those who need it.

To learn more, call Upstate Connect: 315.464.8668

GEM Care

Senior Emergency Department

community July 2013 •

campus

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 3

CALENDAR of

HEALTH EVENTS

July 11

Medicare workshops to cover the basis in Auburn Learn about the basics of Medicare at a free workshop that will take place from 6–8 p.m., July 11, at the basement training room of the Cayuga County Office Building. This session will be geared toward Cayuga County residents only who are approaching Medicare enrollment and for those already enrolled who are overwhelmed or confused by the information and the options available. This is not a meeting during which sales efforts will be made, and no insurance

A Caring Opportunity...

with a caring company.

PCAs/CHHAs, CNAs Short and long shifts available Onondaga and surrounding counties $8.00 to $10.00 per hour • Paid vacation after one year • Personal/Sick days • Life Insurance • 401K plan • Health insurance available

Apply: All Metro, 526 Old Liverpool Rd, Liverpool • 315-453-5537

EOE

vendors will be present; this presentation will contain unbiased information only. Information included in this program will be: the basics of original Medicare; Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription coverage; Medicare Preventive benefits; Medicare supplemental insurance and EPIC; costs, co-pays and deductibles; and information about available assistance to help those beneficiaries of a low-income status. Registration is required and will be accepted until such time as the seating limit has been met. For more information or to register, please call the Cayuga County Office for the Aging at 253-1226, or visit the News & Activities section of www.co.cayuga.ny.us/aging/events.htm.

Aug. 8

Movie about Lyme disease to show in Syracuse The CNY Chapter of the Empire State Lyme Disease Association will present the award-winning documentary “Under Our Skin” at 6 p.m., Aug. 8, at Palace Theater, 2384 James St,, Syracuse, NY 13206. This is a free event. “A gripping tale of microbes, medicine and money, “Under Our Skin” exposes the hidden story of Lyme disease, one of the most serious and controversial epidemics of our time. Each year, thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are all in their head.” The evening will consist of viewing of the film, a presentation of Lyme stories from the members of the CNY Chapter of the Empire State Lyme Disease Association and a question and answer session. There will be Lyme-literate individuals present to answer any personal questions you may have. For more information, email mconan@twcny.rr.com.

Should You Go with GMO Seeds? Vegetable garden: It all starts with the right seeds By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

Wellness Therapy Center 731 James St, Suite 223, Syracuse NY 13203

(315) 703-0168

Licensed professional therapists providing Individual and couples therapy, Anger Management Group, Hypnosis, and DWI Evaluations Most third party insurances accepted

The simple fact that you’re reading this advertisement means someone else could be reading yours. Make In Good Health your advertising choice. Reach more than 100,000 readers for as little as $80 a month.

In Good Health

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper 35,000 copies distributed

“editor@cnyhealth.com” Page 4

•

f you want to get into vegetable gardening, it’s time to select those seed packets at the garden center and get busy preparing the ground. Especially if you’re new to gardening, terms surrounding growing vegetables can be a little confusing. Organic, heirloom and non-GMO seeds are the options that are supposed to be better for us and yield more nutritious produce. Or are they? Genetically modified rrganisms, or GMOs, include plants that have been altered to provide resistance to pests and weeds. Although approved by the Food and Drug Administration, many natural health advocates fear that eating GMOs Branning will negatively impact health. Jonathan Schell, who oversees the agriculture and master gardener program with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County in Mexico, said that most garden centers do not sell GMO seeds. They are primarily available to commercial growers. “There’s no definitive research to show that any sort of GMO plants, whether vegetable or commercial field crop, has a negative effect on a person’s health,” Schell said. “If it’s someone’s belief they don’t want to consume a GMO plant, that’s their choice.” Heirloom vegetables have been growing in popularity. Derived from varieties your grandparents may have enjoyed, these strains are GMO-free

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

and non-hybrids. They represent a pure strain passed down over generations of growing. Kathleen Vogt, assistant manager at Dickman Farms Greenhouses & Garden Center in Auburn, said that customers like the heirloom varieties for “improved flavor, like tomato heirlooms have a real tomato-y taste and better texture. They tend to be vigorous, but maybe not as disease resistant, which is why a lot of hybrids were developed.” Heirlooms require more careful gardening, such as rotating crops, ensuring the soil is composted and fertilized as needed. Area nurseries and garden centers such as the one operated by Ontario Orchards Farm Market are seeing a surge in interest in heirloom varieties. “They are definitely becoming more popular than they were even a few years ago, though they’re still a small part of the market,” said Dennis Ouellette, owner of Ontario Orchards in Southwest Oswego. “Heirlooms were raised for many, many years. They are Ouellette old-time favorites. “Heirloom tomatoes are the most popular type of heirloom, then cucumbers, squash, radishes, carrots, string beans, beets, lettuce, and green onions.” Growers develop hybrids by crossbreeding two strains of the same type to result in a better product, such

as an early, meaty tomato that also resists blight. Seeds from hybrid plants may be saved and planted but won’t reproduce exactly like the original plant. Hybrids are the easiest type of seeds to grow since they were designed to withstand more stressful growing conditions. Organic seeds won’t be treated with pesticides. Susan Branning, registered dietitian and manager of clinical nutrition, at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, noted that organic seeds “are more likely to produce crops that successfully grow under organic conditions. “While many consumers choose organic because of the benefits to the environment, some also choose organic because of the overall perceived health benefits,” Branning added. “In general, research indicates that there may be little to no difference in the nutritional value of organically grown vs. non-organically grown foods.” As with growing heirloom varieties, it takes more care and time to use organic growing practices since the plants are more vulnerable to conditions. As a Cornell Cooperative Extension master gardener, Schell advises area residents on how to use compost, integrated pest management, beneficial insects and other natural methods to grow organically. “It’s more intensive management because you can’t just go to the store and buy a pesticide,” he said. “For most gardeners, that’s not a problem because they enjoy being in the garden. When they’re out there constantly, they see things like a few harmful insects before an entire plant is destroyed.”

Cancer Side Effect: Higher Bankruptcy Rates Study: Cancer diagnosis puts people at greater risk for bankruptcy; situation is worse for young patients

eople diagnosed with cancer are more than two-and-a-half times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer, according to a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Researchers also found that younger cancer patients had two- to five-fold higher bankruptcy rates compared to older patients, and that overall bankruptcy filings increased as time passed following diagnosis. The study, led by corresponding author Scott Ramsey, an internist and health economist at Fred Hutch, was published in the journal Health Affairs. Ramsey and colleagues, including a chief judge for a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, undertook the research because the relationship between receiving a cancer diagnosis and bankruptcy is less well understood than the much-studied link between high medical expenses and likelihood of bankruptcy filing. “This study found strong evidence of a link between cancer diagnosis and increased risk of bankruptcy,” the authors wrote. “Although the risk of bankruptcy for cancer patients is relatively low in absolute terms, bankruptcy represents an extreme manifestation of what is probably a larger picture of economic hardship for cancer patients. Our study thus raises important questions about the factors underlying the relationship between cancer and financial hardship.” Among the study’s key findings: • Between 1995 and 2009 there were 197,840 people in western Washington (the population in which the study is based) who were diagnosed with cancer and met the inclusion criteria for the study. Of those, 4,408 (2.2 percent) filed for bankruptcy protection after diagnosis. Of the matched controls who were not diagnosed with cancer, 2,291 (1.1 percent) filed for bankruptcy.

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

Kevin L. Gretsky, PT

■ Orthopedic Rehabilitation ■ Neck & Back Pain ■ Pre and Post Surgical Care ■ Sports Injuries ■ Injury Assessment ■ Worker Compensation/No Fault ■ Total Joint Replacement Care ■ 20+ Years of Experience ■ Most Insurances Accepted & Filed Including Medicare

181 Intrepid Lane Syracuse, NY 13205 • (315) 498-5510 • Hours By Appointment • Free Parking

yoga Yoga for Cancer Survivors

• Compared to cancer patients who did not file for bankruptcy, those who did were more likely to be younger, female and nonwhite. • The proportion of cancer patients who filed for bankruptcy within one year of diagnosis was 0.52 percent, compared to 0.16 percent within one year for the control group. For bankruptcy filings within five years of diagnosis, the proportion of cancer patients was about 1.7 percent, compared to 0.7 percent for the control group. • The incidence rates for bankruptcy at one year after diagnosis, per 1,000 person-years, for the cancers with the highest overall incidence rates were as follows: thyroid, 9.3; lung, 9.1; uterine, 6.8; leukemia/lymphoma, 6.2; colorectal, 5.9; melanoma, 5.7; breast, 5.7; and prostate. 3.7. The incidence rate for all cancers combined was 6.1. The high bankruptcy incidence rate for those with thyroid cancer may be because thyroid cancer affects younger women more often than other cancers do according to the researchers. “Compared to men, younger women are more likely to live in single-income households and to have lower wages and lower rates of employment, and therefore less access to high-quality health insurance — leaving them more financially vulnerable,” the authors wrote.

ONONDAGA, OSWEGO, CAYUGA AND MADISON COUNTIES in good A monthly newspaper published by

Health

BRIGHTON PHYSICAL THERAPY, PLLC

Local News, Inc. Distribution: 35,000 copies. To request home delivery ($15 per year), call 342-1182.

In Good Health is published 12 times a year by Local News, Inc. © 2013 by Local News, Inc. All rights reserved. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 276, Oswego, NY 13126. • Phone: 315-342-1182 • Fax: 315-342-7776. Editor & Publisher: Wagner Dotto • Associate Editor: Lou Sorendo Contributing Writers: Jim Miller, Eva Briggs, M.D., Gwenn Voelckers, Deborah Banikowski, Deborah Sergeant, Anne Palumbo, Melissa Stefanec, Matthew Liptak Advertising: Jasmine Maldonado, Marsha K. Preston • Design: Chris Crocker • Ofﬁce Manager: Laura J. Beckwith No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. The information in this publication is intended to complement—not to take the place of—the recommendations of your health provider. Consult your physician before making major changes in your lifestyle or health care regimen.

Discover how yoga can further your recovery. More than a gentle or restorative yoga class. Alive! Yoga for Cancer Survivors is tailored to the physical and emotional needs as a result of cancer treatment. Each 12-week class series combines healthful guided breathing exercises, slow arm stretches, gentle yoga sequences, and selected movement inquiries of SelfAwakening Yoga Therapeutics to help stimulate the immune system; move lymph; improve balance, strength and ﬂexibility; regain mental focus; reduce fatigue, anxiety, and some of the other side effects of cancer treatment. Classes guided by Georgia Storms, RYT 500. For more information or to register, contact Georgia at 315.696.6385 or gstoemes@gmail.com

Program funded by Alive! Foundation, Inc. www.alive.org

MEDICAID ELIGIBLE? need long-term care? now you have options

“They’ve been wonderful. I know the help is right there. ” Molly Felczak, Jamesville, NY VNA Homecare Options Member

If you’re Medicaid eligible, the options you have for long term health care have changed. Now you can choose VNA Homecare Options, a new Medicaid Managed Long Term Care Plan that raises the bar for the kind of in-home care and services available. VNA Homecare has served this community for over 100 years. We are the organization you can trust to coordinate the services you need to stay safe, independent and in your own home – not a nursing home.

Call any time and we’ll answer your questions about the services and benefits you’re entitled to:

CALL 477-9500

Some of the services covered include: ��

��www.vnahomecareoptions.org

July 2013 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 5

Meet

Your Doctor

By Lou Sorendo

Dr. Eddie H.M. Sze SUNY Upstate OB-GYN discusses urinary, bowel incontinence among women Q.: What exactly is urogynecology? A.: Urogynecology is the specialty that treats women who have urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control), bowel incontinence (loss of bowel control) and pelvic organ prolapse (uterus and/or vagina dropped from their normal position). An urogynecologist is a gynecologist who has completed four years of general OB-GYN training and fellowship training in urogynecology. Q.: What are some of the more common illnesses/diseases that you encounter with women? A.: The most common conditions that I encounter in my practice include loss of bladder control. Some women experience accidental urine loss with physical activity—stress urinary incontinence—while others have overactive bladders and need to void frequently and urgently, and sometimes lose control of their bladder before they can reach the bathroom. Another condition involves a dropped uterus or vagina. These women often have pelvic pressure and discomfort, a protrusion at their vaginal opening, or difficulty emptying their bowel or bladder. I also treat loss of bowel control. This includes women who experience accidental loss of stool or frequently need to move their bowel urgently after a meal.

has a dropped uterus and vagina that are severe enough to make her uncomfortable, I often suggest a trial of a pessary. For those who do not want or are unable to use a pessary, I usually perform reconstructive surgery to repair the dropped uterus or vagina. These surgeries are almost always done through the vaginal opening and do not need an abdominal incision, which allows the patient to recover faster and have less pain. For women who have bowel inconti-

Q.: What are some of the more common surgical and non-surgical treatments that you administer? A.: For women who have overactive bladders, I usually recommend life style changes, behavioral therapy, Kegel exercises, and rarely medication to improve their bladder control. For those with stress urinary incontinence, I often prescribe life style changes, Kegel exercises, and occasionally a pessary [a medical device] to manage stress urinary incontinence. If their stress incontinence is very severe or does not respond to non-surgical therapy, I usually place a minimally invasive sling around the bladder. If a woman Page 6

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

nence and an otherwise normal evaluation, I usually treat their condition with life style and dietary changes, fiber therapy, and medications to slow the transit of food through their intestine. Q.: What is your role as clinical professor at SUNY Upstate? Do you enjoy the educational component of healthcare? How much of your work week is consumed by teaching? A.: My primary role at Upstate is to provide care for women who have urinary and bowel incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse. I enjoy working with and teaching resident physicians and medical students. I usually spent about one day every week on my teaching activities. Q.: What are the causes of damage to a woman’s pelvic floor? A.: The main risk factors that cause a woman’s uterus and vagina to drop from their normal positions are vaginal childbirth, increased age, being overweight, and a hysterectomy. Genetics may also play a major role. Q.: When do you need to administer pelvic reconstructive surgery? A.: My usual recommendation is that a woman should consider pelvic reconstructive surgery if her dropped uterus and vagina are causing symptoms that are interfering with her daily activities and quality of life, and if she has completed her family and does not want or is unable to use a pessary. One important point to remember when making such a decision is that pelvic organ prolapse rarely affects your physical health and pelvic reconstructive surgery is mainly a quality of life issue. Q.: How does your urodynamic suite enhance the healthcare experience for medical staff and their patients? A.: Our urodynamic suite enables us to perform studies and help us make a diagnosis, which allows us to prescribe an appropriate treatment for our patients.

Q.: What skill sets do you possess which have made you a successful urogynecologist/pelvic reconstructive surgeon? A.: I was very fortunate to complete a fellowship in urogynecology and learned diagnostic and surgical skills from a world-renowned pelvic reconstructive surgeon. Since completing my fellowship, I have continued to devise new and better methods to treat women who have incontinence and prolapse. Q.: Why did you choose this subspecialty? What influenced you to take this path in your medical career? A.: Early in my medical career, I was frequently encountering women with incontinence and prolapse but did not know how to treat these women. I tried to learn how to treat these women on my own with limited success, which eventually led me to pursue a fellowship in urogynecology. Q.: With the aging population growing by the day, will demand for urogynecologic services increase in the years to come? A.: Definitely. The projection is that the need for urogynecologic service will grow faster than the proportion of older women in this country. Plus, there are millions and millions of women who have incontinence and prolapse but choose to not discuss their condition with their health care providers because they are embarrassed, believe that these conditions are a normal part of aging, there is no treatment available for their condition, and various other reasons. If these women decide to seek treatment for their incontinence or prolapse, the demand for urogynecologic services would increase even faster. Q.: Are medical students choosing urogynecology or are we experiencing a shortage of them? What is the forecast for the future in terms of having an adequate supply of urogynecologists? A.: It has become very difficult to get accepted into urogynecology fellowship training program because more and more resident physicians are choosing to go into this specialty. Despite this promising trend, there is already a shortage of urogynecologists in this country. Many major medical centers have not been able to recruit a fellowship-trained urogynecologist. This shortage will probably get more severe.

Lifelines: Eddie H.M. Sze recently joined the department of obstetrics and gynecology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, as a clinical professor and as the director of the division of urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery. Education: Medical degree, St. George’s University School of Medicine, October 1982; Master of Science candidate, East Tennessee State University, December 1977; Bachelor of Science degree, University of Hawaii, December 1975 Afﬁliations: Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; diplomate, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology; fellow, International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease; junior fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, (district chairman, 1985-1987); member, International Continence Society; member, American Urogynecologic Society; member, International Urogynecological Association; member, Association of Professors of Gynecology & Obstetrics

Mindfulness Practice For Stress Reduction

6 WEEK SERIES Based on Jon Kabat Zinn’s MBSR Program

Register Now UPSTATE YOGA INSTITUTE - JULY 2013 Registered nurse Chelsea Ingrassia and Pastor Bryan Rocine lead a ream of about 80 volunteers who provide their services at Christian Health Service

Christian Health: In 6 Months Center Already Serves 4,000 Patients By Matthew Liptak

astor Bryan Rocine saw a need for health care in 2009 and he and many other Christians are filling that need through Christian Health Service at 3200 Burnet Ave. in Syracuse. They offer health care to patients for whatever they can afford. “I went and talked to Dr. Eugene Bailey and Dr. Dan Rancier who are both primary care physicians in the area,” Rocine said. “They go to the same church where I pastor, Living Word Church. I pitched this idea to the doctors and they just were very enthused about it. They immediately wanted to look into pursuing this.” They formed a board, bought a building and went through the thick red tape to become a nonprofit health care center. The renovation of the building was entirely done by volunteers. The center opened in December. The health care at Christian Health Service of Syracuse stands out in that the staff is formed entirely by volunteers who even offer to pray with patients. “We’re trying to serve the Lord because we believe it’s the Christian’s duty to take care of his neighbor,” Rocine said. “One way we can chip in is by providing a way for the uninsured and Medicaid and Medicare patients who do not have access to primary care to get it through us. I can tell you many stories about people who have come to us and said ‘I haven’t been to the doctor in 10 years. I haven’t been to the doctor in 12 years.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘I can’t afford it.’ They come to us, and it’s not free, but we make it affordable.” Sometimes help comes in mysterious ways. Chelsea Ingrassia volunteers both as a registered nurse and as a recently-graduated nurse practitioner at the center. She said she personally knows of two cases where they prayed with patients and a positive outcome followed. One was with a patient who had hoped for a new job and prayed with staff about it. The next day he called saying he got one. The other was a brain tumor patient, who prayed on his disease and later the MRI revealed no tumor. Ingrassia acknowledged that not all prayers seem to get answered the way one hoped, but said that her volunteering at the center was as vital as any other work she did. “I love working at Christian Health,” she said. “The fact that it is unpaid makes it 10 times better be-

cause those who are there want to be there.” Rocine can’t say enough about the volunteers. “They’re amazing,” he said. “They’re the heart and soul of Christian Health. They’re so dedicated and professional. You would never be able to tell that there is any difference between them and a paid health care worker. In fact, maybe they’re even more dedicated.” Christian Health Service’s motto is three-fold: Compassion, excellence and accessibility. The center strives to apply the latest in research to the care of its patients. “We do not look at your insurance card before asking your name,” Ingrassia said. “We want all of Syracuse to have access to good health care. And of course we strive for compassion as the cornerstone! This is a mammoth task that only God can do. God has provided so far.” Christian Health Service provides care to nearly 4,000 people and that number is rising, according to Rocine. Serving them are 70 to 80 volunteers. Only the two doctors and two other people receive a salary. There is a strong demand for affordable health care in Onondaga County. Rocine said that 17 to 20 percent of the county — about 40,000 people— is uninsured. They don’t have a primary care provider. The demand has been challenging for Christian Health Service. “The list of people who want to become patients here is growing,” Rocine said “It’s a little bit of a problem for us. We want to take care of those people in a timely fashion.” To meet the need the center has plans to expand its services. It wants to add a provider and it also wants to offer classes for its patients. “We hope to add more activities here,” Rocine said. “Part of our mission is education, health-related education so we hope to add classes in nutrition and reading readiness, budgeting, all the kinds of activities that usually sit outside and around primary health care. It can really contribute in a big way to the health of a family. We’ve already been trying to do those things. We’ve had nutrition classes, childbirth classes, early childhood education. We’d like to see that part of our ministry grow.”

6843 East Genesee St - just east of Dewitt Wegman’s www.upstateyogainstitute.com • 315-445-4894 FREE ORIENTATION JULY 8 at 5:45 PM

Home Care by Seniors for Seniors There’s a huge difference in the kind of home care you can receive from someone who really understands what your life is like as a senior. The concerns you have. The need for independence. Someone who, like you, has a little living under his or her belt. Our loving, caring, compassionate seniors are there to help. We offer all the services you need to stay in your own home, living independently. • Transportation • Shopping • Doctor Appointments • Companion Care • Housekeeping services • Meal preparation/cooking • 24-Hour Care • and more Call us today. Like getting a little help from your friends.

Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland Counties

Call 315-280-0739

Oswego, Cayuga, and Seneca Counties

www.seniorshelpingseniors.com

SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING SIMEON DEWITT

150 E. 1st St. Oswego, NY 13126 315-343-0440

TOWPATH TOWERS

100 Rochester St. Fulton, NY 13069 315-598-4700

SPRINGBROOK APARTMENTS 4920 N. Jefferson St. Pulaski, NY 13142 315-298-6101

Preference given for veterans or spouses of veterans. July 2013 •

ns Applicatio g now bein accepted. The following services are included in your rent • Trash Collection • New Appliances • Bus for shopping/groceries • Heat, Electricity & Hot Water • Snow Removal & Lawn Care • Planned Activities • All repairs & maintenance

Equal Housing opportunity Supervised by NYS DHCR

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 7

Live Alone & Thrive

By Gwenn Voelckers

Practical tips, advice and hope for those who live alone

How Do You Want to Feel Six Months From Now?

n last month’s column, I talked about “silver linings” and how life-changing it can be to adopt a positive attitude, anchored in gratitude. I agree with Norman Vincent Peale who said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” But I know, too, that it takes more than a sunny attitude to create the life you want. It also takes action. In my “Live Alone and Thrive” workshops, I lead the group through an empowering three-step exercise that has helped many participants get “unstuck” and on the road to a happier, more contented life. The first step is to put it all out there. I ask everyone to share their worst fears, their self-doubts, and the negative inner-talk that gets in the way of their feeling better and finding contentment. It sounds like this: • I fear being so lonely • I fear I’ve lost my confidence for good • I fear no one cares and that I won’t be missed • I’ll die alone, penniless, and miserable • I’ll forever be eating alone • I fear the holidays • I feel helpless when it comes to home repairs • I may never find love again or feel special, as if I’m “Number One”

• I fear for my safety and feel vulnerable alone • I don’t have the know how to manage my finances • I fear losing all my energy and motivation • I worry that no one will be here to care for me if I get sick • I dread a “quiet house” • I may never enjoy touch and affection again, no one to kiss me goodnight • I fear making big decisions all alone • I’ll become stagnant and not take risks • I fear I’ll never feel joy again I’m always struck by the depth of the anguish. All these negative thoughts — while very real — are distressing. And depressing. This is when I remind the group that healthy change and personal growth is next to impossible when one is immersed in negative thinking. And so, we change direction. I next ask the group, “How would you like to feel six months or a year from now?” The response is heartening: • I want to feel at peace, calm, and

settled • More confident and courageous • More “me” — in touch with myself and who I really am • Able to accept my circumstances • I want to feel more forgiving — of others and of myself • Proud of my behavior and to be a role model for my children • Safe and willing to take risks, maybe travel on my own • Willing and able to help others — I will have “graduated” from self-pity • I want to feel competent, able to make decisions big and small • Happier and able to enjoy things • More in control and secure financially • Adventuresome and open to life in general • Healed and hopeful about the future • Strong enough to reach out and invite people into my life, perhaps even date • More trusting of others and in my own abilities and instincts • Joyful, light, and free • More content!

Now that’s more like it. The energy in the room has changed (for the good!) at this point, and we’re on a hopeful, more optimistic path. In the third and final step of this exercise, I ask participants to identify an action step or steps they can take that will help them realize their six-month goal. Each participant is unique and each outlines an action step specific to her particular goal or goals. Some share their next steps with the group, others choose not to. But all are committed to taking an action step that will lead toward feeling better in the future. The good news? This exercise really works. I’ve been moved and inspired by the success stories I’ve heard from participants who have embraced living alone and taken deliberate steps to improve their life circumstances and overall well-being. If what I’ve shared today resonates with you, I encourage you to give this exercise a try and see what comes of it. I’d love to hear how it goes, and hope you’ll share your experience with me at the email address below. You can also contact me at this email address for a copy of my “Next Step — Goals Worksheet” and “Goal Setting Guidelines.” Chances are, you’ve heard the expression, “Actions speak louder than words.” Well, they also speak louder than loneliness, helplessness, and hopelessness. Take some action today and I’m confident you’ll feel better six months from now. Gwenn Voelckers is the founder and facilitator of Live Alone and Thrive, empowerment workshops for women held throughout the year in Mendon. For information about her workshops or to invite Gwenn to speak, call 585-624-7887 or email gvoelckers@rochester.rr.com.

What to Consider Before Joining a Clinical Trial

ach year, hundreds of thousands of Americans participate in clinical trials in hopes of gaining access to the latest, and possibly greatest, but-not-yet-on-the-market treatments for all types of illnesses. But you need to be aware that clinical trials can vary greatly in what they’re designed to do, so be careful to choose one that can actually benefit you. Here’s what you should know along with some tips for locating one.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is the scientific term

Page 8

•

for a test or research study of a drug, device or medical procedure using people. These trials — sponsored by drug companies, doctors, hospitals, federal government and private companies — are conducted to learn whether a new treatment is safe and if it works. But keep in mind that these new treatments are also unproven, so there may be risks too. Also be aware that all clinical trials have certain eligibility criteria (age, gender, health status, etc.) that you must meet in order to be accepted. And

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

before taking part in a trial, you will be asked to sign an informed consent agreement. You can also leave a study at any time.

during or after the trial and you needs extra medical care? Who pays? • If the treatment works, can you keep using it after the study?

Before deciding to participate in a trial, you need to first discuss it with your doctor. Then, schedule an appointment with the study’s medical team and ask lots of questions. Here are some to get you started. • What’s the purpose of the study and can it improve your condition? You may be surprised to know that many drug or procedural trials are not designed to find a cure or improve a patient’s health, but only to provide scientific data. • What are the risks? Some treatments can have side effects that are unpleasant, serious and even lifethreatening. • What kinds of tests and treatments does the study involve, and how often and where they are performed? • Is the experimental treatment in the study being compared with a standard treatment or a placebo? Keep in mind that if you get the placebo, you’ll be getting no treatment at all. • Who’s paying for the study? Will you have any costs, and if so, will your insurance plan or Medicare cover the rest? Sponsors of trials generally pay most of the costs, but not always. • What if something goes wrong

Every year, there are more than 100,000 clinical trials conducted in the U.S. You can find them at conditionfocused organizations like the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer’s Association, or by asking your doctor who may be monitoring trials in his or her specialty. Or, use the National Institutes of Heath’s website at clinicaltrials.gov. This site contains a comprehensive database of federally and privately supported clinical studies in the U.S. and abroad on a wide range of diseases and conditions, including information about each trial’s purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. If, however, you don’t have Internet access or could use some help finding the right trial, use the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (ciscrp.org). This is a nonprofit organization that will take your wife’s information over the phone and do a thorough clinical trials search for you, and mail or email you the results in a few days. Call 877-6334376 for assistance.

Things to Know

Find a Trial

By Jim Miller, The Savvy Senior

New York Is No. 48 for Organ Donation Enrollees Cumbersome online process to register as a donor cited as one of the problem for low enrollment By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ew York ranks nearly last — 48th in the nation — for the percentage of residents who have signed up as organ donors. As a result, 118,190 people nationwide await anatomical donations, and 10,000 of those are New Yorkers. About 18 people die every day while on the waiting list. In the Central New York area, from Rochester to Rome and from the St. Lawrence to Elmira, 750 await life-saving transplants. “If you’re on the current waiting list for a kidney, you’d probably be waiting four years,” said Rob Kochik, executive director of Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network. “If you needed a liver, 26 months. And a new heart, at least a year. There are exceptions to that because depending upon the matches and how critically ill a patient is, some get organs quicker than that. “In 2012, about 600 New Yorkers died on the waiting list because an organ wasn’t available in time. This is a healthcare crisis with a cure,” Kochik said. Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network serves 20 counties in the Finger Lakes, Central and North Country regions. Part of the reason for the organ shortfall is the surge in need. Kochik As diseases such as hypertension and diabetes spike, more and more people need organs. Many people don’t understand how the enrollment works. They may recall they have documented it on their driver’s license, but unless they have done so since 2008, they have only listed themselves on what’s known as the “intent registry.” In these cases, medical professionals must ask your surviving family if they would like to donate your organs or tissues. If they say no, then none of your remains will be donated despite your wishes. Aisha Tator, executive director with New York Alliance for Donation, thinks that the methods for enrolling are too difficult, including the cumbersome online process, which takes about 10 minutes, compared with the 60-second enrollment for residents of Texas. But that’s not the only reason. “It is an awareness issue,” she said. “I have seen people get involved in organ donation when in impacts them personally. When a business is impacted there’s a groundswell of support.” Lauren’s Law, signed by Gov. Cuomo last October and taking effect this October, will make organ donation a required section in DMV paperwork so that everyone will have the opportunity to decide if they want to designate themselves as a donor or not. “DMV staff want to be efficient so they often highlight the sections we must complete,” Kochik said. “We hear all the time that people miss the opportunity.” If you have no plans to go to the DMV for a while, you can enroll online

Carleo

SKILLED NURSING Locally Owned & Operated

By Registered Nurses

Want cheaper options for dental care or Want cheaper options for dental �� care �� or medication? • Support dealing with �� doctors or hospitals? • Worried about �� old medical bills? • Want to know more �� about how�� the Affordable Care Act will

Medical Registry of CNY, Inc.

effect you? • Confused about Medicaid and Medicare or other public insurance?

RN’s - LPN’s - HOME HEALTH AIDES

Call a Community Health Advocate at the Syracuse Northeast Health Community Center Call a Community Advocate at for free,theconfidential support Community and advice at Syracuse Northeast Center for free, conﬁdential support and 472-6343, ext 227.

Hospitals, Homes and Nursing Homes

How to Become an Organ Donor To enroll as an organ donor, visit your local Department of Motor Vehicles, www. mydmv.gov, www.health.ny.gov (click on “Donate Life”), www.organdonor.gov or www.donorrecovery.org. or write it into your living will or health care proxy. Donor organizations often take enrollees at public events such as health fairs, too. “When patients have made that decision, we hear that families are relieved that they didn’t have to make that decision,” Kochik said. Improving awareness represents one way that the medical community hopes to raise the number of enrollees. Amy James, community education coordinator for Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network, often attends public events to offer information and help sign people up. “Some are afraid to sign up because they think when they get to the ER, the first things doctors do is check to see if they’re on the registry,” James said. “That’s just not true.” Even enrolled donors are not evaluated for suitability and the need of their organs or tissues until after they have died. The law requires hospital personnel to notify organ procurement organizations about possible donors within one hour of death. The family of those who have not enrolled must make the decision after the patient passes away. James added that some people decline enrolling because of their advanced age or poor health; however donors may be of any age. “If someone currently has cancer or are HIV positive, these are the only medical concerns that would disqualify someone,” Kochik said. Under the current donor intentbased registry, family members may override the deceased’s wishes. “The families who end up being approached for possible organ donation are usually in a state of shock because generally the cause that has lead their loved one to the state that they are now in was a sudden event,” said Susan M. Baum, a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Surgical Intensive Care Unit. “All families need to have a time to digest the most current events that have occurred before they can ever be approached about organ donation.” She believes that donation helps surviving family members find some purpose and meaning in their loved one’s death. One donor can save eight lives and eye and tissue donations can help many others. “When family members have been cared for by the hospital staff and been even truthful honest answers and up-to-date information, families that consent almost always are thankful for the opportunity to have something good come out of something bad,” Baum said. “It is a way for the family to help heal.”

NEED HEALTH Need health insurance? INSURANCE?

advice at 472-6343, ext 227.

Short or Long Term Same Day Coverage Flexible Hours • 24/7 Licensed By New York State Dept. of Health

��

Syracuse Northeast �� Community Center is �� a nonproﬁt serving the �� community since 1978. �� Our Community Health �� Advocate offers answers and services only – no �� sales! only - no sales!

Continuity of Care

468-3239

2105 West Genesee St., Syracuse

Come Smile With Us! Bruce Stewart, DDS

• Advanced Laser Periodontal therapy available. • Implants placed and restored • CEREC Crowns - beautiful, strong, done in one visit • Digital low radiation x-rays Join Us On • Root Canal therapy FACEBOOK Dr. Bruce & Kristen Stewart • Natural tooth colored ﬁllings • Complete Smile makeovers 321 Main St., Oneida, NY 13421 • Complete recare services including (315) 363-4940 periodontal and oral cancer screenings www.oneidanydentist.com Extended Payment Plans through Care Credit

Ultra Modern Dentistry Backed by Old Fashioned Values

William A. Graber, MD, PC Weight Loss Surgery

Community Information Seminar

Bariatric Surgery

Given by William A. Graber MD, FACS July 9, 2013 at 6:00 PM Medical Ofﬁce Centre – St. Joseph’s Hospital Campus 104 Union Ave., Suite 809, Syracuse NY Call to register 477-4740 or toll free 877-269-0355 Parking will be validated drgrabermd.com or Visit us at www.facebook.com/dr.graber1

“Read All ” ! t I t u o b A July l 2013 • ly

Get CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper at home or in the ofﬁce for only $15 a year. Don’t miss a single issue! Subscription coupon on page 24

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 9

A Second Chance in Life About 40 people every year on average have kidney transplants at SUNY Upstate. We recently spoke with two transplant recipients By Matthew Liptak

n the surface retired 68-year-old colonel Ken Rudes of Adams, Jefferson County, and 28-yearold bartender Steven Dwyer of North Syracuse don’t have much in common. They’re different ages, from different walks of life, have different outlooks and different lifestyles. Yet they do agree on one thing: the transplant program at SUNY Upstate Hospital is top notch. They both got their new kidneys and a new lease on life through the hospital’s transplant program. Steven Dwyer was leading an active, fun-loving 20-something life when it was turned upside down less than two years ago. “I didn’t have any symptoms,” he said “I started getting blind spots in my eyes. I had an eye appointment. I went from there to an eye specialist to my primary doctor to a nephrologists into the hospital. Within four hours I went from not knowing anything to being in the hospital.” He was diagnosed with IgA nephropathy. It’s a condition where the immune system attacks the kidneys, Dwyer said. He had a port put in his chest for hemodialysis. “You have a tube that goes into kind of like a cavity around all your organs,” he said. “You fill up with a sugar-water solution and like osmosis it pulls out all the impurities in your blood and it replaces it with the sugar water. It’s crazy but you can do it at

home. It’s way less life-consuming. You can work with it. Hemodialysis is like four days a week for three hours.” It did interrupt one of his passions. Dwyer had just bought a kayak. He wanted to get into the open water but couldn’t with the dialysis. Today, after surgery, he kayaks again. His cousin Pamela Chappell, a 39-year-old nurse at Upstate donated her kidney to him May 8, 2012. Dwyer now takes anti-rejection medicine every day and checks in every three months with his doctor but he is able again to pursue an active life. He runs a mile or two every day and tries to get to the gym to work out moderately. He said he has more energy now than when he was on dialysis and as much as he did before he ran into trouble with his kidneys. “I can’t say enough about Upstate and obviously I can’t say enough about my cousin that donated me the kidney, Dwyer said.

Saying no to a nephrologist

Ken Rudes said he had polycystic kidneys since age 13. Polycystic kidney disease is a disorder in which round sacs containing water-like fluid form in the kidney. They are noncancerous and for much of his life didn’t present a major problem for Rudes. He played several high school sports, went through college, and had a successful career in the military. A few years ago things changed and he eventually needed a transplant.

Steven Dwyer of North Syracuse had a kidney transplant in May of last year. “I can’t say enough about Upstate and obviously I can’t say enough about my cousin that donated me the kidney, Dwyer says. He went to Upstate. “I met with all the wonderful people down at Upstate Medical Center. I can’t say enough about them,” he said.

Ken Rudes’ kidney transplant at SUNY Upstate took place Nov. 13. He is shown next to his wife Sue, who donated a kidney to him. Page 10

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

“They’re all gods to me.” Going from a patient with failing renal function to a kidney recipient with an active life was not a straight path. He quickly decided against dialysis, which his nephrologist had recommended. “I refused,” he said. “I said no. I thought I knew my body after all these years...that I really knew how physically fit I was and I knew how my body was reacting. I said no and I fought it, which now it turns out that I made the right decision by saying no to my nephrologists because I did so well after I had the transplant.” But a transplant was no guarantee. The average wait for a kidney on the national donor list can be years and for Rudes it may not have come at all because of his age [68]. It could have gone to someone younger. “Society says they’ve got more years to live with that kidney and they can be more of a productive citizen than you are,” he said. “That’s the truth of it.” That left Rudes with few options since he refused dialysis and was low on the list of donors. His wife, Sue, offered but he said no to that, too. He didn’t want to put her in danger. Sue Rudes was just as adamant though. She would help her husband if she could. Her kidney was tested and it was found to be an excellent match. Ken now calls it a miracle. “Obviously I wasn’t going to sit back and watch him die or suffer on di-

Medical Imaging Center East 5008 Brittonﬁeld Parkway, Ste 100 East Syracuse, NY 13057 Phone: 315-234-7600 Crouse Hospital 736 Irving Avenue Syracuse, NY 13210 Phone: 315-470-7551 Crouse Health Breast Center 739 Irving Avenue, 1st Floor Syracuse, NY 13210 Phone: 315-470-5880 Oswego Hospital 110 West 6th Street Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-349-5540 Crouse Medical Imaging Services 5000 Brittonﬁeld Parkway, Ste A112 East Syracuse, NY 13057 Phone: 315-234-4680 Diagnostic Imaging Center 37 West Garden Street, Suite 107 Auburn, NY 13021 Phone: 315-255-2828 Fulton Medical Imaging 510 South Fourth Street, Ste 200 Fulton NY, 13069 Phone: 315-592-3555 Central Square Medical Center 3045 East Ave (Route 49) Central Square, NY 13036 Phone: 315-668-5390

alysis so asked to be tested,” Sue Rudes said. “Ken did not want me to do this but I am a strong-minded person. I did not have any concerns once I had all the information about the procedure both pre- and post-op. Upstate was very good about educating me as to Ken Rudes spend part of last winter in Myrtle Beach, recovering from his kidney transplant. “I always tell everybody that I was kind of reborn,” he said. “I mean attitude-wise. Nothing bothers me. I have a better value on life. I see things differently,” he says.

what I should expect.” The surgery took place Nov. 13. They were both out of the hospital pretty quickly. The operation was on Tuesday and Sue was out by Friday; Ken the following Saturday. They even went to Myrtle Beach

for the winter. At one point they played 17 rounds of golf in one month. The one thing Sue’s new kidney has given him is a sweet tooth, he said. He has to watch it because he wants to stay trim. The main legacy Ken is left with, though, is the routine of taking multiple anti-rejection medicines each day for the rest of his life. He has easily incorporated that into his routine. It is a small price to pay for a new lease on life. “I always tell everybody that I was kind of reborn,” he said. “I mean

attitude-wise. Nothing bothers me. I have a better value on life. I see things differently. I’m not confrontational any more. I’m very thankful to be alive, to be healthy. Everything is really, really great. I’m not fatigued all the time, or angry all the time. You see things in a different light when you’ve been given a second chance. My wife gave me a second chance. So did that team down there in Syracuse. They gave me a second chance. I told the doctors. I thanked them for giving me a second chance.”

Transplant program at SUNY Upstate Medical University started in 1974

he first transplant at SUNY Upstate took place in 1974. Now, physicians perform about 35 to 45 kidney transplants per year on average. The hospital is trying to expand its living donor portion of the program. Patient survival rate for one year after transplant for patients 18 and over is 98 percent and 100 percent for patients 18 and younger. “Transplantation will significantly improve the quality of life and allow the patient to do just about anything,” said the program’s transplant administrator, William Pelley. “Some patients even compete in the Transplant Olympics every year and I personally know of one patient who participates in Iron Man.” July 2013 •

While the Upstate program is an excellent option for renal failure treatment, Pelley said too few people have been willing to donate in the Central New York area. There are almost 300 people waiting for kidneys in Central New York and they often have to wait from three to seven years for a donor. “We need folks to sign up to be a donor and we need folks to be a living kidney donor for someone they know who needs a kidney. You really only need one kidney. When we do the transplant, the patient only receives one kidney and they do very well.” To contact the Upstate transplant program office call 877-4645540 toll free.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 11

My Turn

By Eva Briggs

About Phobias and How to Treat Them

he magicicadas are coming! Brood II is emerging along the east coast in 2013, bringing huge numbers of these insects out briefly. I always viewed such phenomena as fascinating. It never occurred to me until I read a recent New York Times article that there are some people so terrified of insects that they fear emerging from their own homes. Since the cicadas do not sting, bite, harbor poison or carry disease, they pose no danger to humans. Such a strong and irrational fear of these creatures is an example of a phobia. A phobia is an irrational fear that produces a conscious avoidance of the feared subject, activity, or situation. Phobias are grouped into three general categories: specific phobias, social phobia or social anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. Specific phobias, such as the fear of insects, are the most common. Most people with specific phobias are aware that their reaction is excessive. The most common specific phobias involve animals. My own sister is deathly afraid of snakes for absolutely no logical reason that I can uncover. We’re only a year apart in age, so we share similar genetics and environment. Part of my childhood included observing and catching snakes. I even kept a hognose snake briefly as a pet in conjunction with a childhood friend.

It lived at his house because, by that point, my mother refused to allow me to add more pets to our household. Yet my sister claims that after seeing me once brush against a snake — an incident that I do not recall and so it scarcely could have been traumatic for me — she is terrified of snakes. Fortunately for her she lives in a big city so this fear does not affect her daily functioning. Animal phobias are the most common category of specific phobias. Other common types include natural environmental type phobias (for example heights, water, thunderstorms), blood/injection or injury types (blood, needles, pain), and situational phobias (elevators, escalators, flying, enclosed spaces.) Most people deal with specific phobias by avoidance, and that is fine as long that doesn’t interfere with one’s life. For example, my sister’s world is pretty much covered in asphalt and so snake encounters are unlikely. But treatment is available for those who need to overcome a phobia that affects their life, as only 20 percent of the time will the disorder go away on its own. The good news is that specific phobias are the amenable to treatment. Most effective is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy called desensitization. This involves gradually and slowly exposing the phobia sufferer to

Compassionate Family Medicine/FCMG and Ted J. Triana, D.O.

Welcomes Carmen Federico, D.O Family Practice

We are also pleased to introduce our additional providers:

Maribel Quinones-Guzman, M.D. Eric Rodriguez, MS, FNP Colleen Bud, FNP Compassionate Family Medicine Compassionate Family Medicine 311 Green Street 511 South Main Street Syracuse, NY 13203 North Syracuse, NY 13212 (P) 315-425-1431 (P) 315-452-9977 (F) 315-425-1994 (F) 315-452-9607

ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS • Most Insurances Accepted Page 12

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

the cause of their fear, until he or she becomes desensitized. For example, the person with ophidiophobia (the fancy name for fear of snakes) might start by looking at photographs of snakes. Next could come exposure to snakes safely enclosed in cages. And finally, the individual might progress to handling calm tame captive snakes. Sometimes medicines help for the short-term. Benzodiazepines can relive anxiety, and anti-depressants might help. But medicines have more side effects and are less effective in the long term than cognitive-behavioral therapy. Another type of phobia is social anxiety disorder. This is a strong, persistent fear of an interpersonal situation where embarrassment might occur. Over 2,000 years ago Hippocrates called this problem erythrophobia, fear of blushing in front of others. Triggers can include speaking in public, using public restrooms, eating with others or engaging in social contact in general. This disorder may respond to medications, such as antidepressants, as well as to psychotherapy. The third general category of phobias is agoraphobia, an overwhelming anxiety in situations where rapid escape might not be possible, such as being in a crowds, buses, trains, planes (if not due to fear of flying) or on a bridge (if not due to fear of heights.) What makes people develop pho-

bias in the first place? As with many other illnesses, it’s probably a combination of environmental factors and inheritance. Studies of twins show that social anxiety and susceptibility to specific phobias is moderately heritable. But environment clearly plays a role, as people often recall specific events that trigger their phobias. Modeling by others may be a factor, as when a parent who is terrified of something transmits that fear to her children. If you suffer from one of the above phobias, and it affects your ability to work, interact with your family, or enjoy life, consider getting treatment. Some resources for more information include: • Social Anxiety Organization, www.socialphobia.org • Anxiety and depression Association of America, www.adaa.org • American Psychiatric Association, www.psychiatry.org/mentalhealth/anxiety-disorders • FDA Fighting Phobias: Things That Go Bump in the Mind, permanent. access.gpo.gov/lps1609/www.fda. gov/fdac/features/1997/297_bump. html

Eva Briggs is a medical doctor who works at two urgent care centers (Central Square and Fulton) operated by Oswego Health.

Mauro-Bertolo therapists have expertise in spinal treatment and chronic pain management. We also provide evaluation and treatment for incontinence, Obstetrical pain, orthopedic pelvic pain, and pelvic ﬂoor dysfunction. Pelvic Pain program The symptoms of pelvic pain can aﬀect men and women in areas such as the low back, coccyx, rectum, abdomen and vagina. Causes include: • Post-surgical scarring • Endometriosis • Vaginismus/Vulvadynia • Interstitial cystitis • Dyspareunia • Coccydynia • Anismus • Pudendal Neuralgia Our Interventions:

PT can individualize a program that includes the musculoskeletal component of urologic, orthopedic, and gynecologic dysfunctions.

Mauro-Bertolo

THERAPY SERVICES, PT, PC Call us at 315-699-1009

Subway Not Much Healthier Than McDonald’s S

ubway may promote itself as the “healthy” fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald’s for adolescents, according to new UCLA research. In a study published May 6 in the “Journal of Adolescent Health,” the researchers found that adolescents who purchased Subway meals consumed nearly as many calories as they did at McDonald’s. Meals from both restaurants are likely to contribute toward overeating and obesity, according to the researchers. “Every day, millions of people eat at McDonald’s and Subway, the two largest fast food chains in the world,” said physician Lenard Lesser, who led the research while a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical scholar in the department of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “With childhood obesity at record levels, we need to know the health impact of kids’ choices at restaurants.” The researchers recruited 97 adolescents aged 12 to 21 to purchase meals at McDonald’s and Subway restaurants at a shopping mall in Carson, Calif. The participants went to each restaurant on different weekdays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and paid for the meals with their own money.

Researchers used the participants’ cash register receipts to record what each customer ate and estimated calorie counts from information on the chains’ websites. The researchers found that the participants bought meals containing an average of 1,038 calories at McDonald’s and an average of 955 calories at Subway. “We found that there was no statistically significant difference between the two restaurants, and that participants ate too many calories at both,” said Lesser, who is now a researcher at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute. The Institute of Medicine recommends that school lunches not exceed 850 calories. An adolescent should consume an average of about 2,400 calories in a day. Among the researchers’ other findings: • The sandwiches purchased by participants contained an average of

Vs.

784 calories at Subway vs. 572 calories at McDonald’s. • Participants purchased sugary drinks averaging 61 calories at Subway, and 151 calories at McDonald’s. • Customers in the study purchased side items such as French fries and potato chips that added an average of 35 calories at Subway compared with 201 calories at McDonald’s. • Participants consumed 102 grams of carbohydrates at Subway; 128 grams at McDonald’s. • The meals contained an average of 36 grams of sugar at Subway; 54 grams at McDonald’s. • Meals contained an average of 41 grams of protein at subway; 32 grams at McDonald’s. • Sodium intake averaged 2,149

July 2013 •

mg at Subway; 1,829 mg at McDonald’s. “The nutrient profile at Subway was slightly healthier, but the food still contained three times the amount of salt that the Institute of Medicine recommends,” Lesser said. Lesser recommends that McDonald’s customers eliminate sugary drinks and french fries from their meals. “And if you go to Subway, opt for smaller subs, and ask for less meat and double the amount of veggies,” he said.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 13

SmartBites

make those Doritos a tad less tempting between meals). Last confession: Celery root still gives me the willies.

By Anne Palumbo

The skinny on healthy eating

Helpful tips

Choose small to medium-size jicama bulbs that are firm, fairly round, and unblemished. Smaller bulbs have a crisper texture and sweeter flavor. Store jicama in a cool, dry, dark place for up to three weeks. If storing cut jicama, cover loosely with a paper towel, place it in a plastic bag, and put in fridge. It should last about two weeks. Before eating, peel off brown skin with a paring knife or vegetable peeler.

High on Jicama’s Fiber

rue confession: I’m a big snob when it comes to tubers. I go with what I know, eschew anything that looks too gnarly, and give others the short shrift. It’s embarrassing. Looking to mend my snooty ways, I ventured out of my comfort zone last week and scoured the tuber aisle, seeking something that would add some snap to a summer salad. Jicama (pronounced HICK-a-ma) caught my attention. Popular in Mexican cuisines, jicama is a ready-to-eat tuber that looks like a turnip, tastes like a cross between an apple and a potato, and has a nice crispy bite. Another confession: I assumed jicama, because of its bland coloring, would be a nutritional no-show. How wrong I was! Jicama packs a decent nutritional punch. To begin, jicama is a fiber superstar, providing 6 grams of fiber per cup. Since we need between 25 to 30 grams a day, that’s nearly a fourth of our daily requirements. Fiber plays a key role in

Jicama, Black Bean, and Roasted Corn Salad Adapted from Bon Appetit

keeping our body healthy by promoting regularity, ferrying cholesterol out of our system, and helping to stabilize blood sugars. Jicama is also an excellent source of vitamin C, with one cup providing a little over 40 percent of our daily needs. A powerful antioxidant with immuneboosting capabilities, vitamin C works hard to keep our bones, muscles and blood vessels in tip-top shape. Need to shed a few pounds? Jicama is a dieter’s dream food for three slimming reasons: it’s fat free; it’s low in calories (only 50 per cup); and it’s high in super-filling fiber (which should

1 ½ cups roasted corn* (recommend: Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn) 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 ½ cups jicama, peeled and cut into thin sticks ¾ cup carrots, peeled and diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or basil) 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons grated lime peel ½ teaspoon ground cumin 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper to taste

Place corn, black beans, jicama, carrots, bell pepper, green onions and cilantro in big bowl. Gently mix. Whisk lime juice, orange juice, lime peel, cumin and olive oil in small bowl. Mix dressing into salad. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.) *Grill husked corn for 10 minutes or sauté canned corn in a little olive oil with spice of choice. Anne Palumbo is a lifestyle columnist, food guru, and seasoned cook, who has perfected the art of preparing nutritious, calorie-conscious dishes. She is hungry for your questions and comments about SmartBites, so be in touch with Anne at avpalumbo@aol.com.

CANCER DOESN’T TAKE A YEAR OFF. NEITHER SHOULD YOU. When it comes to your breast health, it’s important to stay a step ahead of any potential issues. That means going in for a mammogram at least once a year. Together with education, regular mammograms are essential to early detection and positive outcomes. So be sure to receive an annual mammogram – and if your results ever come back abnormal, we’re here for you. We’ve been around for more than 25 years with advanced diagnostics including breast MRI, and we don’t plan on taking a year off anytime soon.

AUBURN BALDWINSVILLE CAMILLUS

E.SYR.- BRITTONFIELD (Open Scanner) FAYETTEVILLE* FULTON (Open Scanner)

LIVERPOOL ONONDAGA SYRACUSE-CROUSE HOSPITAL

SYRACUSE-CROUSE P.O.B.* SYRACUSE-ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL* *MRI BREAST IMAGING CENTER

For scheduling, call 315-454-4810, or for our St. Joseph’s Hospital location, call 315-423-6833. Visit www.mdrcny.com for a free personal breast cancer risk assessment. Page 14

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

Holistic Counseling for the mind body soul

Grief, Alcohol & Substance Abuse Counseling, Mental Health Therapy & Weight Loss Counseling/Management Treatments especially designed for Individuals • Couples • Families • Adolescents Lyme Disease Advocate

Grilling Season:

Martha Conan, MS CASAC PT-CSp

4014 Bronco Path Camillus NY 13031 315-254-1548 mconan@twcny.rr.com

Please Join Us Aug. 8 at the Palace Theater for a Showing of “Under Our Skin”

Two Risk Factors to Keep in Mind

Dana-Farber nutritionist offers tips to reduce cancer risk while grilling The arrival of summer means it’s time for picnics, parties and the kick off of outdoor grilling season. But before taking that first juicy bite, there are a few things to know about barbecuing safely. All that sizzling and flipping on the gas or charcoal grill may also be cooking up cancer-causing chemicals, warn experts at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And surprisingly, those chemicals have been linked to breast, stomach, prostate, and colon cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research, But Stacy Kennedy, a Dana-Farber nutritionist, says that doesn’t mean giving up those tasty summer time treats like burgers, steaks, and ribs. “It’s really about planning ahead and making wise choices.” There are two risk factors to keep in mind. First, research has shown that high-heat grilling can convert proteins in red meat, pork, poultry, and fish into heterocyclic amines (HCAs). These chemicals have been linked to a number of cancers. “What happens is that the high temperature can change the shape of the protein structure in the meat so it becomes irritating in the body and is considered a carcinogenic chemical,” explains Kennedy. Another cancer-causing agent, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is found in the smoke. PAHs form when fat and juices from meat products drip on the heat source. As the smoke rises it can stick to the surface of the meat. “That’s where the main cancer causing compound occurs in grilling,” says Kennedy. “So you want to reduce the exposure to that smoke.” How to lower the risk? Here are some tips.

l l A d a e R “ About It!”

Prep the Meat

• Choose lean cuts of meat, instead of high-fat varieties such as ribs and sausage. • Trim all excess fat and remove skin. • When using marinades thinner is better. Thicker marinades have a tendency to char, possibly increasing exposure to carcinogenic compounds. • Look for marinades that contain vinegar or lemon. They actually create a protective barrier around the meat.

Limit time limit exposure

• Always thaw meat first. This also reduces the cooking time. • Partially cook meat and fish in a microwave for 60 to 90 seconds on high before grilling and then discard the juices. This will lower cooking time and reduce risk of cause smoke flareups.

Grilling techniques

• Flip burgers often – once every minute – to help prevent burning or charring. • Place food at least six inches from heat source. • Create a barrier to prevent juices from spilling and producing harmful smoke. Try lining the grill with aluminum foil and poking holes, and cooking on cedar planks.

Plan ahead and choose wisely

• Lean meats create less dripping and less smoke. • Choose smaller cuts of meat, like kabobs, as they take less time to cook. • Try grilling your favorite vegetables. They do not contain the protein that forms harmful HCAs.

Get CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper at home or in the ofﬁce for only $15 a year. Don’t miss a single issue! Subscription coupon on page 24 July 2013 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 15

False Eyelashes May Cause Eye Problems By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ince ancient times, women desire a full, lush set of lashes. But when nature doesn’t favor you or illness or injury makes lashes scanty, many women turn to artificial eyelashes. Still others add glamorous beads or glitter on their lashes for a special event. While they may create the dramatic

look you like, eyelash enhancement may pose a health hazard if they are not handled properly. Carl J. Hanig, ophthalmologist specializing in eyelid problems, practices at Syracuse Eye Physicians. He said that anything put on the face or eyelid can increase the chance of infection.

Oswego County OB-GYN, P.C. COMPREHENSIVE CARE for WOMEN

• Medical Weight Loss Program- Free Initial Consultation • Family Planning and Pre-Conceptual Counseling • Advanced Infertility including Artiﬁcial Insemination • Family Centered Maternity and Midwife Services • 24 Hour In-House coverage at Oswego Hospital Maternity Center • Gynecology and Well Women’s Care • Urinary Surgery and Incontinence Testing in Ofﬁce

Oswego 343-2590 Fulton 593-8393 Visit us @ www.ocobgyn.net

Lakeside Wellness Center

NUTRITIONAL COUNSELOR Rhonda Hammond, MS in Natural Health & a Level IV Macrobiotic teacher is trained in oriental diagnosis to ﬁnd the source of your symptoms & rebalance your health.

Summer Special

50% Off

Learn how to regain your energy and feel great. Whether it is out of control cravings, a serious disease, or the desire to empower yourself with the education to keep you and your family in the best health. DeRuyter Lake Private consultations, cooking classes, and beautiful Mediterranean meals available at a retreat setting on a pristine lake.

Oﬃce: 315-852-1114 Cell: 508-332-8320 lakesidewellness.com

“When people are sticking things near your eyes, you can cause a scratch on the surface of the eye,” Hanig said. “When people use an inserter for putting on phony eyelashes, you could scratch the cornea and give yourself an infection. “If someone has other, underlying problems around their eyes, like sties or rosacea, it might not be good to use eyelash enhancement,” he said. Anyone with allergies to adhesives or formaldehyde, an ingredient common to adhesives, should avoid using lash enhancements like artificial eyelashes, glitter or beads that require adhesives. Otherwise, redness, pain and swelling can result. Hanig also cautioned that adhesives can clog the pores if they’re applied too close to where the lashes grow. How you wear artificial lashes also makes a difference. Not removing them before bedtime, for example, may lead to irritation or infection. Hanig advises that false eyelash wearers use the same protocol for handling their eyelashes as when wearing contact lenses: wash your hands, keep them clean and don’t sleep with them. Jen Robinson, spa manager at Maria’s Lash Out Salon in Cicero, said that hygiene is important to keep eyes healthy and that her spa uses sterilized equipment only. She recommends that clients should wash their hands with soap and water long enough to sing the alphabet song to ensure they are clean. “Make sure any tool you use is brand new like a Q-tip [cotton-tipped swab] or you clean tools in between uses,” Robinson said. “Bacteria will build up otherwise.” The spa also recommends one-use, disposable eyelash strips to avoid bacteria collecting on the lashes. The spa also offers semi-permanent eyelashes, which Maria Orbinati, the spa owner and a make-up artist, applies in a two- hour process by glu-

For comprehensive, quality care from physicians you can trust, turn to University OB/GYN Associates All general and specialty women’s services are provided by our group General Gynecology and Well Woman Services • Including menopause and PMS

An Assisted Living Community

Family Planning General Maternity Care Urogynecology High Risk Maternity Care Gyn Oncology

Quality Care Services since 1974

u/obgyn

.ed www.upstate

Medication Management | Personal Care Housekeeping | Home Cooked Meals 170 Murray St., Auburn, NY 13021 | 315-253-2755 www.northbrookheights.com Page 16

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

ing synthetic lashes to each one of the client’s eyelashes. “It stays on as long as your eyelashes’ natural 90-day cycle,” Robinson said. “You need new ones every three to four weeks.” For women who apply DIY eyelashes, Robinson advises, “Call your doctor if you have redness or irritation. There should be a phone number on the box. Get it off your eyes as soon as possible but don’t rip it off your eyes or it will rip your lashes off.” Other eyelash enhancements such as glitter and tiny beads can cause cornea scratches if they get in the eye. Use great care when wearing these. Latisse, eyelash thickening medication, represents another option. Its active ingredient was used in an eye drop medication used to treat glaucoma. Long, full eyelashes were its welcomed side effect. After its reformulation, it was offered as a remedy for thickening sparse lashes. Most people need to use Latisse daily for 30 days before seeing results, and then a few times per week to maintain the full lashes. If discontinued, the lashes will thin out again. Latisse costs about $110 per month.

Infertility Diagnosis and Treatment

• Including Advanced Reproductive Technologies • In – Vitro Fertilization

Accepting new patients to our practice 725 Irving Ave Suite 600 Syracuse NY 13210 315-464-5162

Our physicians are faculty of the Upstate Medical University We are the only group with the Academic Difference Most insurances accepted

s Women’issues

The BRCA1 Gene Angelina Jolie raises awareness of prophylactic mastectomy By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

n April, actress Angelina Jolie publicly announced that she had undergone prophylactic mastectomy — preventive double mastectomy — to reduce her chances of breast cancer. A genetic risk and family health history indicated Jolie carried a whopping 87 percent lifetime chance of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Though Jolie exhibited no signs of either disease, she chose the radical approach to reduce her risk to five percent. The American Cancer Society states that if a woman has a first-degree relative such as mother (in Jolie’s case), daughter or sister who has had breast cancer, especially if at an early age, she bears twice the risk of developing breast cancer. If she has two first-degree relatives, the risk triples. Though it’s rare, male breast cancer in the family tends to be related to a genetic predisposition to female breast cancer. Only .24 percent of the population carries what is known as the BRCA1 gene, whose presence can indicate a higher risk for breast cancer based upon many different factors. Jolie is part of that unfortunate statistic and in her case, the risk was very high. Jayne Charlamb, an OB/GYN specializing in breast cancer issues at Upstate Medical University, said that interest in the test for BRACA1 peaked shortly after Jolie’s announcement. But several factors must be considered before a patient receives the blood test. “We run a high-risk program,” Charlamb said. “We need to look at family history to see if it’s suspicious enough to indicate a possibly of a genetic predisposition.” Most women with breast cancer have no family history of breast cancer, although family history of breast cancer, male breast cancer and ovarian

cancer can indicate a higher risk for breast cancer. The age of family members at diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer can also make a difference. If it’s well before menopause, risk is higher for other family members. “There’s no magic point at which we say, ‘You need testing’ and ‘You don’t,’” Charlamb said. “Just getting the test done is not a great idea. Women need to receive medical counseling so they understand the results. If it comes back normal or negative, it could mean many things, but she could still get breast cancer.” Women with a negative genetic test should still continue with routine breast care as recommended by their health care professionals. “Recent literature has shown that genetic testing in high-risk patients with a family history will actually reduce the psychological stress,” said Atul Maini, a general surgeon with breast cancer surgery among his specialties at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center. Some women with high risk and the BRACA gene, like Jolie, opt for prophylactic mastectomy. Reconstructive breast surgery usually follows the procedure. Charlamb reminds patients that even a 87 percent lifetime risk is not as dangerous for a woman who’s 65 as one who is 30 since the older woman has already lived breast cancer-free for many more decades. For some patients, removing the ovaries as well may prove a helpful preventive measure against ovarian cancer and reduces the chances of breast cancer by 30 percent, but removing the ovaries causes early menopause. Mastectomy isn’t necessarily the prescribed next step, especially for

young women and “even if you’re 60 and are done having kids,” Charlamb said. “It’s just one option.” Sometimes, medication can help lower the risk of breast cancer, along with self breast exams, clinical breast exams three to four times per year, along with mammograms and sonograms. “We talk about risk reduction as far as lifestyle,” Charlamb said. “We counsel patients a long time as to what their risks are. We have plenty of patients we just follow very closely. Everyone jumps to ‘You have this gene, you must have your breasts removed.’” The close monitoring does not reduce the risk of having breast cancer, but does allow doctors to find it early and thereby improve the patient’s chances for successful treatment. Some lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk for women regardless of their genes and family history. Charlamb encourages prolonged nursing for new mothers since lactation reduces breast cancer risk. Even moderate drinking — three servings of alcohol per week — has been shown to increase breast cancer risk. “There’s some evidence that exercise reduces your risk of all cancers,” Charlamb said. “A healthy diet is good, and doing things good for heart disease seems to be good for reducing risk of

July 2013 •

cancer in general.” These steps can include eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, less saturated fat, and more polyunsaturated fat. Jolie’s case may cause a few women to worry unnecessarily; however, Maini views the publicity as good overall. “It’s only natural to follow the famous personalities around us and in this case even the ‘most beautiful woman’ in the world had bilateral mastectomy,” Maini said. “This will definitely raise some anxiety among women and I do see that in my breast practice, patients do ask more questions about genetic testing, however I think this will actually have a positive effect too. The patients will have more awareness of the genetic markers in breast cancer and a better understanding of breast cancer.”

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 17

s Women’issues

Post-partum depression is treatable By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

he birth of a baby is usually a happy time for a family; however, for some women, post-partum depression (PPD) brings a dark cloud over the event. More than “baby blues,” which affects most new mothers and resolves within a week or so, PPD can last much longer and interferes with a woman’s ability to care for herself and her family. Kimmie Garner, co-coordinator with Postpartum Resource Center of New York, said that about one in eight women experience post-partum depression. “That is probably a lot lower than what it actually is because of women not coming forward to report it,” Garner said. “It’s very stigmatized. Women feel like they should be happy. It’s all about preparing for Brown the birth, but afterwards, women can feel very alone as it’s been built up to be this big, exciting period of their lives.” Many new mothers experiences an emotional letdown after birthing; however, PPD is much more extreme and long-lasting.

James Brown, OB-GYN at St. Joseph’s Hospital, said PPD manifests with sadness, depression and anxiety. He says, “Despair enters into the picture, even over the regular, daily, normal functions and tasks. It usually lasts for much longer than a couple weeks and usually counseling or support, along with medications, may be required. Without treatment, PPD may actually worsen to a very severe form called post-partum psychosis, which, luckily, is not frequently seen.” Certain factors can raise the risk of PPD, such as a physically stressful pregnancy, little support during pregnancy, history of depression or anxiety disorders, stressful life events and unknown biological causes. Area health practitioners are working to help more women recognize and treat PPD. For example, moms who deliver at St. Joseph’s receive a phone call from staff after delivery once they have arrived at home. “Unfortunately, this is not a standard,” Brown said. “There is a [PPD] questionnaire that can be used, but it is cumbersome and long. We have modified this and have patients complete at the post-partum visit. It would be great if this was part of all post-partum visits, but currently it is not.” Since most practices schedule patients’ first follow-up visit six weeks

post-partum, they may be severely depressed by then. Treatment options can include counseling and medication. But some women don’t want to even seek help. “Patients are sometimes reluctant

Reducing the Chances

o reduce risk of post-partum depression, Kimmie Garner, co-coordinator with Postpartum Resource Center of New York, recommends the following tips: • “Have a strong support system, especially if you have a history of depression. • “Be open with your care provider and family if you’re prone to depression. • “Have a postpartum doula, which be especially helpful if you don’t have a partner or support system. A doula Garner comes in and does Page 18

•

laundry, child care of other children, and helps with baby care. • “Reach out and talk with other women such as at new mother support groups. It shows there are many women experiencing this around the country and around the world. • “Communicate about it to your faith community. Bringing food and checking in on new mothers takes the pressure off her. • “Just like having a birth plan is important, having a post-partum plan in place can be really important for people who are predisposed to depression. It is a huge life change and has a lot of stressors.” Allison Loi, obstetrician at Upstate University Hospital Community

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

Campus, said that post-partum women should: • “Get as much rest as possible. Sleep when the baby is sleeping. • “Take care of yourself. Try to shower, get dressed and get out of the house on a daily basis. Loi • “If symptoms do not improve with the above interventions, or if you or a family member is concerned about your symptoms, contact your doctor right away.”

to disclose their symptoms to family members or their doctor for fear of being labeled as either mentally ill or as an incompetent mother,” said Allison Loi, obstetrician at Upstate University Hospital Community Campus. “These factors may lead to a delay in a patient disclosing her symptoms to her physician or a delay in diagnosis of a more serious condition.” Most health insurance covers treatment for depression, thanks to the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires coverage to extend to depression treatment just as it does for biomedical health care. If cost inhibits a woman’s ability to seek care for PPD, Loi encourages them to seek clinics that offer free or subsidized services or support groups such as Postpartum Support International (www.postpartum.net, 1-800-9444PPD) to connect to PPD experts, crisis hotlines, support groups and local events. OB-GYNs also offer leads on local resources. Anyone considering harming herself or others should immediately seek emergency help by dialing 911 or checking in at their nearest emergency room.

Despite New Guidelines, Women in 40s Continue To Get Routine Mammograms at Same Rate Insurance coverage for annual screening likely one reason for persistence

omen in their 40s continue to undergo routine breast cancer screenings despite national guidelines recommending otherwise, according to new Johns Hopkins research. In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) sifted through the evidence and recommended that while women aged 50-74 should continue to undergo mammograms every two years, those between the ages of 40 and 49 without a family history of breast cancer should discuss the risks and benefits of routine screening mammography with their physicians to make individual decisions. As a result of the altered recommendations, Lauren D. Block, a clinical fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and her colleagues expected to find fewer women in their 40s getting routine mammograms. Instead, they found no impact on mammography rates among younger women. “Patients — and likely their pro-

viders — appear hesitant to change their behavior, even in light of evidence that routine screening in younger women carries substantial risk of false positives and unnecessary further imaging and biopsies,” says Block, leader of a study published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. “Women have been bombarded with the message ‘mammograms save lives,’ so they want them no matter what.” That research has shown that mammography’s impact on younger women is mixed at best: routine screening increases rates of detecting cancer in young women, but reduces mortality risk by a very small percentage. It is more likely, studies show, to result in over-diagnosis, and unnecessary treatment, including biopsies, lumpectomies and mastectomies, and weeks of radiation and potentially toxic drugs. False positives result in avoidable procedures and psychological trauma. Many of the cancers detected will probably never be dangerous, but are aggressively treated.

Excellus BCBS Members Benefit from High Portion of Premiums Spent on Medical Care Out of $4.1 billion in premium revenues collected, the health plan paid out $3.8 billion in medical benefits for its customers

xcellus BlueCross BlueShield exceeded federal and state standards by $330 million in the amount it spent on medical benefits on behalf of its membership in 2012, officials reported recently. To cap profits and administrative costs of health plans in order to maximize medical benefits to consumers, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and state regulations set certain medical benefit spending levels for insurers. For the second consecutive year of the new rules and reporting, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield exceeded the standards. “Our mission is to provide competitive, affordable access to quality health care,” said Christopher Booth, chief executive officer for the health plan. “What this means is that our members collectively got more hospital and physician services, prescriptions and other medical benefits throughout the year than what federal and state government standards require.” Some health

l l A d a e R “ About It!”

insurers that didn’t meet the standards will be required to pay refunds. State and federal standards, as they apply to New York commercial insurance customers, set the minimum level of benefits to be 82 percent of premium revenues in the individual direct pay market along with small groups and 85 percent for large groups. Excellus BCBS reports that it spent 94.9 percent of premium revenues on medical benefits for its individual direct pay membership, 92.5 percent for small groups and 92.1 percent for large groups. Out of $4.1 billion in premium revenues collected, the health plan paid out $3.8 billion in medical benefits for its customers, about $330 million more than federal and state mandates require. Last year, federal officials reported that hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds were paid by other health plans throughout the country, even in states where the minimum standards are lower than those in New York.

Get CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper at home or in the ofﬁce for only $15 a year. Don’t miss a single issue! Subscription coupon on page 24

Parenting By Melissa Stefanec melissa@cnyhealth.com

Allow for Spouse’s Solo Time

here are lots of great parenting mottoes out there. There are a lot of bad ones, too. One of the ones I hear from people is that a parent’s place is with his or her family. Recently I told a co-worker that my husband was going away on a guys weekend. I said my husband would have fun, and that I would enjoy a weekend alone. My co-worker looked at me a little sheepishly and said, “You are one of those cool wives.” I thought about that for a second. I felt a little proud, but then I felt a little sad. When did the expectation develop that good parents and spouses spent all of their time with their families? When did parents start defining themselves only as parents? When did we start depriving ourselves — and our spouses — of solo time? When parents aren’t at work or conducting family errands, there is a societal expectation that they should be with their children. You aren’t supposed to be out with your pals. You aren’t supposed to be flying solo. You are supposed to hunker down and like it. That is a great parenting motto. That is, if you want to lose your mind. This month’s column isn’t informative; it’s a plea. Moms and dads out there in parenthood land, sit down and stabilize yourselves. What I am about to say may shock you. It may offend you. It may even call into question things you have believed for all of your parenting lives. You can get away. Your family will not fall apart with your departure. You deserve a guilt-free break. You can bask in the glory of being without a partner or children. You earned it and you owe it to your family. No parent is so important that the rest of the family can’t make it without you for a few days. In fact, if you never allow yourself or your partner the opportunity to go-it solo, you are doing everyone involved a gross injustice. If you could loosen the reins, you would be a better parent. Before you send the torch mob to my humble abode, hear me out. I know there are parents out there who are constantly dodging their parental duties. There are those who use any excuse to get out of quality family time. They over-commit themselves to avoid spending time with their families. I’m not preaching to these parents. These parents need to rise to the occasion and contribute. I’m talking to those parents who refuse to let themselves or their partners come up from air. They feel guilty at the mere prospect of doing something without the family in tow. They turn down invitations that aren’t family-related. They guilt their partners into doing the same. This isn’t healthy. Next time you find yourself in the guilty parent role, consider the following ideas. July 2013 •

• Your family might want a break from you. Parents who don’t take breaks are often stressed out and not a ton of fun to be around. Blowing off some steam is a parental necessity. It will be good for your child to spend time with your partner, other family members or a close friend. Some of your best early childhood memories might involve a sleepover at grandma’s house. Let your children enjoy the same luxuries. • You will come back recharged. Endless nights of bath time, homework, laundry and clean-up can suck the energy right out of you. The Saturday nights of parenthood may be low-key and comfortable, but you deserve the occasional evening that is free of sticky, ice cream hands and cartoons. When you take a step back, you will return with the motivation to take on parenthood. • Your children won’t hate you. Picture yourself as a child. Picture yourself as an adult. At either point, can you possibly imagine faulting your mom for a weekend away with friends? Can you imagine seeking counseling because your dad went out fishing a few times a year? That’s crazy talk. Stop thinking crazy. Place reasonable expectations on yourself. • Getting away is great practice. There are as many separation milestones as there are temper tantrums in the terrible twos: the first time you leave the baby, going back to work, leaving your child with a daycare provider, preschool, kindergarten, first sleep over, college. You and your children will part ways. You will have to define yourselves as independent human beings. You may want to treasure their childhoods, but part of childhood is growing up and that means learning to let go. • When you became a parent, you didn’t stop being you. I know we all changed when we became parents, but you are still an individual. You need to nurture yourself. Maybe that old self loved playing cards, hiking, fishing, baseball games, sunbathing or drinks with friends. Whatever your passions are, rediscover them and add them to parenting. • All the cool parents are doing it. We all know those parents that seem to have it all together. They seem to consistently enjoy their families. They look happy. They are the parents you want to be. You can be that cool parent. You just need to allow yourself some guilt-free solo time. You will be amazed at the results.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 19

Main entrance at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. The hospital is now creating a new ofﬁce of patient experience that is designed to ensure care is consistently patient-centered and focused on quality, safety and clinical outcomes.

It’s All About the Experience By Lou Sorendo

New office of patient experience at St. Joe’s seeks to upgrade quality of care

he founder of St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, Saint Marianne Cope, was known to visit patients one-on-one. Oftentimes, she wouldn’t leave the hospital until late at night because she would spend time at patients’ bedsides, listening and understanding. That was back in the late 1800s. “That is still what we are seeking to do, listening and understanding our patients,” said Kerri Howell, director of public relations and marketing for St. Joe’s. “Not much has changed over 125 years.” Deborah Welch and Amy Szczesniak would concur with that. The two St. Joe’s healthcare veterans are at the heart of the new office of patient experience at St. Joe’s. “It’s our mission,” said Welch, vice president for people at St. Joe’s. A 32-year employee at St. Joe’s, Welch Welch has been responsible for the overall operation of mental health services for 22 years. “We are passionate healers dedicated to honoring the sacred in our sisters and brothers,” she said. “Our goal is to provide outstanding clinical care and to deliver an exceptional Szczesniak patient and family experience,” she said. “In order to accomplish that goal, it is important to understand from a patient perspective what they need and want to support their healing.” The office of patient experience will work collaboratively with other Page 20

•

departments to ensure care is consistently patient-centered and focused on quality, safety and clinical outcomes. Welch said over the last six months, St. Joe’s has been reviewing what services are presently being provided that support patient and family needs. “We had a patient relations department, an active volunteer service program and many programs in service excellence focused on what our patients and families needed,” Welch said. “We felt if we can begin to integrate those departments together, we will achieve our goals more successfully.”

Information is power

The patient experience team will continue to seek feedback from patients and families while reviewing vital survey results. The team will also be rounding with patients and will develop a patient-family advisory council in efforts to seek feedback and incorporate patient-family needs in its decision-making process. “The information that we’re going to gain will improve patient care,” Welch said. Welch said after her team gains additional feedback from patients and families, St. Joe’s is going to be expanding its services. This will include expanding volunteer services as well as music and pet therapy. “We will be able to provide a lot of additional services that to date have not necessarily been as available as we would like,” Welch said. “The goal of what we are providing for our patients and families is to really help reduce their anxiety and sense of isolation as they come into the healthcare environment,” she said. “We are focused on the whole continuum of care.” “We want to understand how we can help them and make the process of seeking healthcare as comfortable and

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

anxiety-free as possible,” she added.

Aggressive approach

Szczesniak is the director of the office of patient experience at St. Joe’s. Most recently a clinical nurse specialist, Szczesniak has worked at St. Joe’s for nearly 15 years. Szczesniak said the new office she is helping to develop is a work in progress. “It’s going to support our focus on patient-centered and relationshipbased care,” she said. “We use the relationship-based care model at St. Joseph’s to bridge the gap between clinical and non-clinical units.” “We will provide continuous education for our colleagues that will help to bring us back to what is most important, and that is keeping patients and their families at the center of care,” she added. “Hopefully, this will impact our patients’ and families’ perception of the care they received across the continuum of services.” Szczesniak said an important role for her is to learn and understand what St. Joe’s is already doing in terms of focusing and improving on the patient experience. “We are already doing great things to try to improve patient care,” she said. It is vital to learn what the healthcare center is already doing so as not to duplicate efforts, she said. Another role is to follow the learning process with ways to “take us to the next level and to truly deliver that exceptional patient experience every time.” “This office will allow us to continue to really live our mission. It is consistent with who we are,” Welch said. “Our [Sisters of St. Francis] have given us a wonderful foundation for this work.”

The survey says …

Szczesniak addressed how the new office will be evaluated.

Data compiled from Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys will help St. Joe’s focus on what patients are saying about the organization and the care they received. St. Joe’s uses Press Ganey Performance Solutions as a resource to gauge performance and produce tangible evidence as to how the health center is performing. It is estimated that St. Joe’s sends out about 140 surveys a month. In 2012, 31.48 percent of the surveys St. Joe’s mailed out were returned. From Jan. 1 to April 30 of this year, 29.72 of its surveys have been returned, according to Press Ganey, the survey company that St. Joe’s uses. “We’re also going to monitor and evaluate the staff’s overall performance and implementation of best practices,” said Szczesniak, an advocate of shadowing. Szczesniak said her history as a nurse has endeared her to patient care. “I learned early in my career that it is important to take care of people that we are here to serve as though they were family,” she said. Welch said Szczesniak was a perfect fit for the director’s position due to her passion for really wanting to understand—through the eyes of patients—what they were experiencing and fearing when they came in for care. “Our vision is to have patients and families involved in many of the decisions that our organization makes so that we can directly affect the patient experience by keeping patients and their families at the core of what we do and the decisions we make,” Szczesniak said. St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center is a non profit, 431-bed hospital and health care system providing services to patients from Onondaga and 15 surrounding counties.

CNY Vets Get Help From Man’s Best Friend By Matthew Liptak

n a 78-acre tucked-away corner of Chittenango, combat veterans and victims of military sexual violence are trying to reclaim their post-service lives with an unlikely help — dogs. The Dog2Vets program is the brainchild of Clear Path for Veterans co-founder Steve Kinne, a 29-year Air Force vet himself and former MD. It is designed to teach vets with PSTD (post traumatic stress disorder) or victims of military sexual violence to develop their own service dogs. The act of learning to train their own dogs helps vets acclimate to civilian life. There are many programs to provide service dogs to vets, but Clear Path for Veterans method is unique, according to Kinne. “My decision was to do something a bit different and that was to take vets with post traumatic stress or military sexual trauma and match them with an untrained shelter dog that I had handselected,” Kinne said. “Then what we would do is we would actually train the veteran to train their own service dog. The emphasis therefore is not really on the end product of a service dog, it’s really on the process of training a service dog. We really thought that’s where some of the real value could come for these guys with post traumatic stress.” The dogs help the vets in several ways. The animal can act as something of a bridge to interacting with others again and help vets come to terms with the trauma they’ve experienced. The companionship of the dog is vital, but so is the consistency of the routine that leads these vets to creating their own service dogs. “Obviously companionship is a big thing, but the ability to trust again, the development of things like respect,” Kinne said. “These are things that they’ve oftentimes lost the ability to [have] with other humans so they get a chance to refind those things but with a dog. Even a sense of humor. They oftentimes have sort of lost all that.” The Dogs2Vets program currently has about 16 vets and their dogs in some phase of training, Kinne said. The training can take up to a couple years to complete. Sometimes vets and their dogs must enter a six-month basic obedience training program before they can enter the service dog program. Veterans entered in the program can either receive a dog from the program directly, or sometimes they bring their own dog into the program. Veteran Rey Notario of Watertown received Lady, a 1-year-old Border Collie-Labrador mix from the program. “I went down there and within like three weeks I had a dog, ” Notario said. “It was kind of weird at first, just getting used to it and everything. She’s

an amazing dog. I’ve only had her for about two months now and she’s something else. She can feel like when I’m getting angry. She’ll feel it. Before I even say anything she’ll come over and she’ll start bumping her head on my hand trying to get my attention.” Michael Kazimiroff, a three-tour Iraqi war vet, works with Mocha, a Lab mix. “I can tell by the way she carries herself,” he said. “She’ll fold her ears back in a certain way if she’s picking up any kind of vibe from me. If I’m acting in a way that I’m normally not with her, she’ll let me know. We have a connection.” The former Air Force staff sergeant’s connection with Mocha started in New Mexico when he was living with some college friends. They had Mocha, but little money to take care of her. Kazimiroff rescued her and brought her with him to Cortland, where he now lives. They now head to Clear Path for Veterans once a week for their training session. Clear Path for Veterans is committed to helping veterans as a Steve Kinne and Bodie, left, stand with Mike Kazimiroff and Mocha outside the Clear Path for Veteran’s community-based non- facility in Chittenango. The organization seeks to help combat veterans and victims of military sexual profit, with all funding violence. coming from private program, too. They are taken from shel- them along on their path to recovery donors, none from the government. ters like Wanderer’s Rest in Canastota, and the transition to civilian life. Each The Dogs2Vets program, Kinne hopes, Paws Across Oswego and the Lewis day they take it step by step, with four may be a model for others around the County Humane Association. paws striding beside them. country. So far the program has only gradu“Clear Path for Veterans is an “We’re not just training a dog and ated two veterans with their service awesome program,” Kazimiroff said. giving it to somebody,” Kinne said. dogs. Kinne though, is not overly “Too often the behavioral science and “We’re actually training them to train. concerned about the graduation rate. the shrinks try and [give] medication, They’re learning skills and they’re He sees success in simpler terms. If medication, medication. Maybe that’s learning all kinds of stuff. We think Clear Path for Veterans has positively not the best thing for you. Maybe you it’s a very successful model and we’d changed the life of a vet it’s had sucjust need to get in touch with another like to see other communities be able cess. living creature where you can actually to develop programs like that to help In that respect, even a drop out see that your actions are immediately people with disabilities. Anybody with can be considered a success. Kinne impacting, like a dog. To create that a disability could potentially be taught noted that one veteran dropped out of bond and to actually work on it so that to train their own service dog also. the program when the symptoms of we’re a team–it’s the coolest thing. It We’d like to see that as a model for his PTSD had dropped to such toleractually helps me. It’s like a therapy other communities.” able levels that he no longer required a when I come here. I never miss a class.” The Dogs2Vets program looks like service dog. He kept the animal though For more information on Clear a win-win for both veterans and dogs. as a companion. Path for Veteran’s Dogs2Vets to clearAlthough Kinne is quick to point out To hear it from veterans, Dogs2Vets pathforvets.com/overview.shtml or that the program is designed to benefit is definitely a success. It has moved call 315-687-3300. veterans, the dogs benefit from the July 2013 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 21

Nurse practitioner: career of opportunity By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ursing represents a career choice that offers plenty of opportunities, both for advancement and employment options. After becoming a registered nurse, registered nurses may continue their education with a master’s degree and become nurse practitioners (NPs) and advanced practice nurses (APNs). “RNs are nursing professionals with an entry level education of a two-year associate’s degree or they may complete a diploma program, three years, or a bachelor’s degree in nursing,” said Ellen M. Dethloff, nurse practitioner with St. Joseph’s Hospital. “Registered nurses must also become licensed by passing a national licensing examination.” Dethloff explained that though they’re also RNs, NPs earn a master’s degree, which enables them to diagnose and treat illness, prescribe medication in all 50 states, diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness, and order, perform, or interpret tests like lab work and X-rays. Seeking further nursing education is becoming more popular now than ever. “The number of NPs completing their graduate programs has continued to increase each year,” she said. “In 2011, Kantak over 11,000 new NPs entered the workforce after completing their NP programs.” Sarah Kantak, a nurse practitioner at Upstate University Hospital, said she sees this trend in both in patient and out patient settings. The growing number of advancedlevel nurses indicates a response to the increased needs of the aging baby boomer generation. As older physicians retire, more are needed to fill their ranks. The number of physicians entering the primary care

field has been decreasing, and more advanced nurses are particularly needful in light of that trend. “There’s soon to be very worse primary care shortages than there already are with more people who were uninsured entering the system,” Kantak said. “I see necessary growth for NPs and PAs. We have a lot of RNs interested in becoming NPs.” Though NPs function much like MDs in patient care in some ways, they are very different. This can cause confusion among patients. Of course, nurse practitioners and physician assistants do not have the same number of years of formal education as physicians, but “the literature suggests that NPs and APs can provide care on par with physicians and communicate just as well to patients,” Kantak said. “They are licensed care providers.” One reason NPs function differently from MDs and APs is because the education model is different. “The physician is trained with a medical model to practice,” Kantak said. “The NP is educated with a more nursing model with clinical and medical components.” The medical model tends to focus on curing the patient, while the nursing model focuses on caring for the entire person and all of his needs. Physicians visit patients’ rooms and leave; however, nurses are on the floor constantly attending to the needs of the patients in their care, both for their injury or illness and also for other needs. Though NPs work alongside physicians like a physician assistant, they can work more independently. “NPs don’t need direct supervision,” Kantak said. “In New York, they have to file a collaborative agreement with a physician, but are independent practitioners. PAs operate on a team and must be supervised by a physician, though it doesn’t require supervision for every clinical decision or activity or that every prescription must be cosigned.”

What They Want You to Know:

Orthodontists By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

he American Association of Orthodontists states, “Orthodontists are specialists in moving teeth and aligning jaws.” After high school, their further education to become an orthodontist can include 10 or more years, including college, dental school and orthodontic residency. • “A lot of kids today come in because they think it’s cool to have braces. It’s good they want them because there are functional problems people have with their teeth or bite that they may not notice. • “You should bring your children to get checked, even before they lose their baby teeth to make sure everything’s alright with their bite and alignment. • “Adult orthodontics has become a bigger and bigger part of every orthodontist practice for people who didn’t have any orthodontic work when they were younger or for people who didn’t follow up and need some re-treatment. • “Sometimes if adults have more problems with their teeth, you have to have a consult with a periodontist because we obviously don’t want to make anything worse. If adults have crowding, a higher number will require extractions to get room for alignment. • “A lot of times people think they’re too old to have their teeth moved with braces. As long as their gums and bone are in good shape their teeth can be moved. I’ve even had some people in their 70s as patients.” William R. Caryl, Jr., orthodontist with Caryl Orthodontics, Camillus

Calcium Supplements Linked to Longer Lifespans in Women Calcium-rich diet and supplements provide similar benefits

aking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day can help women live longer, according to a study led by Lisa Langsetmo, a research associate at McGill University, and colleagues. Their findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Calcium, an essential nutrient for bone health, is commonly found in dairy products as well as vitamins. Although calcium is an essential nutrient for bone health, past studies have linked calcium supplements to heart disease risk. The researchers, located at Page 22

•

universities across the country, analyzed data from the large-scale Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos) seeking to determine whether calcium and vitamin D intake were associated with overall increased risk of death. “We found that daily use of calcium supplements in women was associated with a lower risk of death, irrespective of cause,” said the reseacher. “The benefit was seen for women who took doses of up to 1,000 mg per day, regardless of whether the supplement contained vitamin D.”

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

• “I’ve always felt orthodontics is a wonderful service for people. They can be self-conscious about their teeth and smile. In a fairly short time, we can make a transformation that greatly impacts their quality of life. • “People are surprised at how braces have been downsized over the years. They’re smaller and less conspicuous and their acceptance by the public has been greater and greater. ‘Tinsel teeth’ has given way to social acceptance. • “It’s not a big deal to have braces. We used to use wires that were heavy gauge stainless steel and now they’re smaller and lighter with alloys. It’s more comfortable and people are pleasantly surprised by that. • “The cost of service has not escalated as much as other things. The cost used to be the cost of a new car. Families had to scrimp and save or decide will someone have braces or will we forgo the new car? With new tech-

niques, cost is as much of an obstacle anymore. • “Self care is still a big responsibility for patients because there is something on their teeth there are more nooks and crannies for plaque to hide. People should really brush and floss and continue to go to their dentist so they have not only beautiful teeth but healthy teeth, too. We want the most attractive smile we can get. • “I’m seeing in this day and age an increase in cavities from people drinking more soda or sports and energy drinks. We see those things with acid erosion and it’s a big deal. If they do those things while they have braces the teeth can erode around the braces and cause problem. William A. Raineri, orthodontist specialist with William A. Raineri, DDS, PC in Liverpool and Baldwinsville • “Each person’s case is unique, but many treatments fit an adult lifestyle. Discreet options may include a series of clear aligners to correct certain problems, ceramic braces, which blend with the color of the tooth to lessen visibility; self-ligating braces, which do not require rubber bands to hold the wire to the brackets. Even metal braces are smaller and sleeker than they were a few short years ago. • “Most patients start seeing changes within a few weeks regardless of the type of ‘appliance’ used. Treatment time depends on each individual case but the goal is a beautiful, stable result. The key is discussing treatment options with your orthodontist. Then, discuss ways to help you keep that healthy and beautiful smile after orthodontic treatment ends. There are multiple options for retainers to keep teeth in their ideal positions, including removable and permanent retainers.” John Callahan, orthodontist with Callahan Flanagan & Smith PC in North Syracuse

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant is a writer with In Good Health. “What Your Doctor Wants You to Know” is an ongoing column that appears monthly to give our area’s healthcare professionals an opportunity to share how patients can improve their care by helping their providers and by helping themselves.

By Jim Miller

Simple Television Remotes Designed for Seniors Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some easy-to-use television remote controls for seniors? I got my 74-year-old mother a new HDTV for her birthday, but the remote control is very confusing for her to operate. Shopping Son Dear Shopping, It seems like most television remote controls today come with dozens of unnecessary buttons that make them very confusing to operate. Add in the fact that many people use two or three remotes to operate their home entertainment equipment (TV, cable box, VCR and DVD player, etc.) it compounds the problem even further. Fortunately, there are several universal TV remotes available today that are specifically designed for seniors and the technically challenged. These remote controls have bigger buttons and fewer options that make them much easier to see, program and operate.

Simplified Remotes Two popular senior-friendly products to consider are the Flipper Remote and the Super Remote SR3. The Flipper works all major TVs including cable, satellite and digital TV receiver boxes with only one remote. Available for $25 at flipperremote.com, it offers a tapered design that makes it easy to hold, and for simplicity it has only six large color-coded buttons that are exposed (On/Off, Channel Up and Down, Volume Up and Down, and Mute.) All others buttons are accessed by sliding the top panel down, so they won’t get in the way during day-to-day TV watching. Flipper also has an optional feature that lets you program up to 30 of your mom’s favorite channels for easy access. The Super Remote SR3 from

Universal Remote Control, Inc. (sold through amazon.com for around $13) is a slightly more sophisticated userfriendly remote that can control three devices — TVs, cable or satellite boxes, and DVD players. It offers a light-weight ergonomic design, large easy-to-see numeric buttons each in the shape of the number it represents, and a centrally located My Button that gives your mom the ability turn on the TV and set the tuner to her favorite channel with a single button press. It also provides four Favorite buttons for one-touch access to her favorite channels, and an All Off button that lets her shut down the entire home entertainment system with a single button press.

Super-Sized Remotes There are also a number of oversized TV remotes that are ideal for seniors with vision problems. The Tek Partner, Big Button, and Tek Pal remotes all made by the Hy-Tek Manufacturing Company (bigbuttonremotes. com, 630-466-7664) in Sugar Grove, Ill. are three solid options to consider. If you’re interested in an extra large remote control, the $40 Tek Partner — which is 5 1/2 inches wide and 8 1/2 inches long — is their biggest. It offers huge brightly lit buttons with big readable characters, and a narrowed center (3 1/2 inches), which makes it easy to handle for a big remote. It also contains only the essential functions making it easy to use and program, and it operates any combination of TV‘s, VCR’s, DVD players, cable boxes and satellite dishes. If you’re looking for something a little smaller (2 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches), there’s the $25, rectangular-shaped Big Button remote that offers the same large and illuminating buttons as the Tek Partner and the exact same features. Or, if you only want a basic remote for the TV, there’s the Tek Pal that comes with just six large buttons (On/ Off, Mute, Channel Up and Down, and Volume Up and Down buttons) that light up when pushed. Available for $19, the Pal will only work with televisions that have cable wired directly into the TV.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Spencer Wallace and his wife, Margaret. Wallace received Joslin Diabetes Center’s ﬁrst medal (displayed on table) for courageously living with diabetes for 80 years.

Living with Diabetes — for 80 Years Upstate patient receives Joslin Diabetes Center’s first 80-year medal

t 89, Spencer M. Wallace Jr. of Fayetteville can tell us a thing or two about how to live an active, involved and productive life. After all, he’s doing just that while successfully managing his diabetes—something this Upstate Joslin Diabetes Center patient has done for the past 82 years. Joslin Diabetes Center presented Wallace with its first Joslin Medal for living for 80 years with type 1 diabetes. Wallace is now a three-time Joslin medalist, also holding 50- and 75-year medals. He accepted his award during ceremonies May 11 at Joslin’s Boston headquarters. Physician Ruth Weinstock was first introduced to Wallace in the 1980s when they both served on the local board of the American Diabetes Association. She also is his medical provider at the Upstate Joslin Diabetes Center at Upstate Medical University. “Spencer is certainly a role model for others who live with type 1 diabetes,” said Weinstock, SUNY distinguished service professor and medical director of the Upstate Joslin Diabetes Center. “When he was diagnosed with diabetes, the medications we have today were not available, and it was not possible to test one’s blood sugar levels at home.” Weinstock adds that Wallace presented Upstate’s Joslin Center with his 75-year medal. “It hangs in our waiting room, serving as an inspiration to our patients of all ages,” she said. So what is Wallace’s formula for his success? “Stay active, keep your weight down, and exercise,” he says. Putting his words into action, he continues to play golf, his lifelong passion (he is proud that he served as past president of New York Seniors Golf Association), gardens, and enjoys activities with Margaret, his wife of 59 years. During his lifetime, he worked for years in hotel management, served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and, in July 2013 •

addition to golf, he has played football, basketball and baseball most of his life. He’s also helping clinicians to better understand this chronic disease by participating in research studies, including a Joslin study of 50-year medalists. The study aims to understand why certain people who have had type 1 diabetes for 50 or more years do not develop the serious complications usually associated with the disease. More recently, he has volunteered to participate in the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange, a project being conducted at the Upstate Joslin Diabetes Center in collaboration with other diabetes centers throughout the country, and which is contributing to increased knowledge that will lead to better approaches for the management of this disease. Wallace stresses that the formula for his success also includes the love he receives from his family, which also includes his son, Daniel, friends, and the expert care provided by his physicians. “We are fortunate to have a Joslin Center and doctors familiar with diabetes right here in Central New York,” says Wallace. He especially commends Weinstock, and physician Robert C. Cupelo for the care that they provide him. “Spencer is a living history regarding the treatment of diabetes,” says Cupelo, who has been Wallace’s primary care physician for the past 28 years. “He exemplifies how meticulous, personal care can result in a good quality of life. It has been my pleasure and a delight to know both Spencer and his wife, Margaret, who has taught me that it is equally important to involve the family in the patient’s treatment plan.” So, what is next on the agenda for Wallace? “I’m going for the 90-year medal,” says Wallace. “They promised to make one for me.” Submitted by Upstate Medical University.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 23

Hospitals Profit When Patients Develop Bloodstream Infections

ohns Hopkins researchers report that hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units. In a small, new study, reported online in the American Journal of Medical Quality, the researchers found that an ICU patient who develops an avoidable central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) costs nearly three times more to care for than a similar infection-free patient. Moreover, hospitals earn nearly nine times more for treating infected patients, who spend an average of 24 days in the hospital. The researchers also found that

private insurers, rather than Medicare and Medicaid, pay the most for patient stays complicated by CLABSIs — roughly $400,000 per hospital stay — suggesting that private insurers would gain the most financial benefit from working with hospitals to reduce infection rates. “We have known that hospitals often profit from complications, even ones of their own making,” says physician Peter J. Pronovost, senior vice president for patient safety for Johns Hopkins Medicine and one of the authors of the research. “What we did not know was by how much, and that private insurers are largely footing the bill.”

Nearly 5 Million Asthmatics Worldwide Could Beneﬁt From Antifungal Therapy

n estimated 4,837,000 asthmatics with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) could benefit substantially from antifungal treatment, say researchers from the University of Toronto and Manchester University. Their work, published in May in the journal Medical Mycology, has also re-estimated the total number of asthmatics worldwide — to reveal a staggering 193 million sufferers. Twentyfour million asthma sufferers live in the

United States, 20 million each in India and China, and seven million in the United Kingdom. Clinical studies have shown that oral antifungal drugs significantly improve symptoms and asthma control in asthmatics with ABPA. This is the first time that a global estimate of ABPA numbers has been made. To view the paper titled, Global Burden of Asthma in Adults and ABPA, visit www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pubmed/23210682.

Get CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper at home or in the ofﬁce for only $15 a year. Don’t miss a single issue!

In Good Health Name _______________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________ City / Town _________________ State _________________ Zip Your occupation: ______________________________________ Where did you pick up In Good Health? ____________________

In Good Health

P.O. Box 276, Oswego, NY 13126 Page 24

•

Column provided by the local Social Security Office

Apply For Disability Benefits From The Convenience Of Home

ave you been thinking about disability applications, getting benefits applying for Social Security to people in a matter of days instead disability benefits, but you are of months. Learn more about Compasunable to visit a Social Security office sionate Allowances at www.socialsecuto complete the interview? Or perhaps rity.gov/compassionateallowances. your disabling condition makes it difAnother way we speed up decificult to visit a Social Security office. sions is with our Quick Disability We have good news: you can complete Determinations initiative, which uses your application for Social Security dis- technology to identify applicants who ability benefits from the convenience have the most severe disabilities and of your home. Get started at www. allows us to expedite our decisions on socialsecurity.gov/disability. those cases. Read more about The application process Quick Disability Determinainvolves determining 1) whether tions at www.socialsecurity. you have sufficient work to be gov/disabilityresearch/qdd. eligible for Social Security; 2) the htm. severity of your medical condiThere are things you can tion; and 3) your ability to work. do to help speed up the deciBecause we carefully review so sion process too. The more many cases — more than three information you provide up million each year — it can take front, the less time it will take us three to five months to deterus to obtain the evidence we mine whether you are eligible to need — and the faster we can Banikowski receive benefits. make a decision on your apThe amount of time it takes to plication. The types of information we make a decision on your application need include: can vary depending on a number of • medical records or documentafactors, such as: tion you have; we can make copies of • the nature of your disability; your records and return your originals; • how quickly we obtain medical • the names, addresses, and phone evidence from you, your doctors, hosnumbers for any doctors, hospitals, pitals, or other medical sources; and medical facilities, treatment centers, or • whether we need to send you providers that may have information for a medical examination to obtain related to your disabling condition; evidence to support your claim. • the names, addresses, and phone We have several important ininumbers for recent employers and the tiatives to speed up the process. For dates you worked for each employer; example, our Compassionate Allowand ances initiative allows us to fast-track • your federal tax return for the certain cases of individuals with very past year. severe disabilities. Two hundred differIf you’re not able to work due to ent types of disabilities qualify for this a disability and getting to an office is expedited decision, and the list contintroublesome, don’t worry. You can apues to expand. Since Compassionate ply online for Social Security disability Allowances began in 2008, the agency benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/dishas fast-tracked more than 250,000 ability.

Q&A

Subscribe to

Clip and Mail to:

The Social Ask Security Ofﬁce

$15 one year (12 issues) $25 two years (24 issues)

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013

Q: I need proof of my Social Security income. Can I get verification online? A: Yes! And the best way to get a benefit verification letter is by using a “my Social Security” account. Your personal “my Social Security” account is a convenient and secure way for you to check your benefit and payment information, change your address, phone number, and direct deposit information, and to get your benefit verification letter. You can use your benefit verification letter to verify your income, retirement or disability status, Medicare eligibility, and age. When you use “my Social Security” to get it, you can request which information you would like included in the letter. Learn more, use “my Social Security,” and get your benefit verification letter now at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Q: I heard there is a Social Security video available in American Sign

Language. Where can I find it? A: Yes, it’s true, and you can find the video on our website. The video is called “Social Security, SSI and Medicare: What You Need to Know About These Vital Programs.” The video is available in American Sign Language and it presents important information about our programs. You can watch the video now at www.socialsecurity. gov/multimedia/video/asl. The video is a part of our larger collection of ondemand videos and webinars available at www.socialsecurity.gov/webinars. Q: Can I apply for retirement benefits online? A: Yes, you can and it is quick, convenient, and easy. You’ll find the application information at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline. You also can calculate your estimated benefits by using our Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. Apply online and save a trip to the office and a wait in line. For more information, visit our website at www.socialsecurity.gov.

H ealth News Art Vercillo named to journal’s editorial board Physician Arthur Vercillo, regional president, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, has been named to the editorial board of The American Journal of Managed Care, an independent, peer-reviewed publication dedicated to disseminating clinical information to managed care physicians, clinical decisionmakers and other health care professionals. In his role as regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Vercillo is responsible for developing and maintaining quality health care provider networks and supporting the Vercillo growth and retention of business in Central New York. He also has served the organization as vice president/chief medical officer and as medical director. A board-certified general surgeon who trained at SUNY Upstate Medical University, the University of Connecticut and Harvard University, Vercillo holds academic appointments in the departments of general surgery and otolaryngology at Upstate Medical University and is a past president of the Onondaga County Medical Society. He has authored numerous articles in medical literature. The Fayetteville resident serves on the boards of Arc of Onondaga, HealtheConnections, Success by Six, the SUNY Oswego MBA in health services administration program and the Syracuse Ballet. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Medical Society of the State of New York, the Onondaga County Medical

Society, the American Society of General Surgeons, the Society of Laparoscopic Surgery, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Hernia Society and the American College of Physician Executives. Vercillo and his wife Melissa have three grown children.

Associates for Women’s Medicine expands Associates for Women’s Medicine is expanding its practice with the opening of its fifth Central New York location and the addition of a nurse practitioner. The new office, at Medical Center West, 5700 W. Genesee St., in Camillus, allows Associates for Women’s Medicine to provide obstetrics and gynecological services to patients in Camillus and the surrounding areas. “Expansion into Camillus allows us to provide necessary medical services to more women in our community,” said Elaine Mielcarski of Associates for Women’s Medicine. “We are excited to accept new patients at our newest location and continue to grow our practice.” In addition, Therese Brown-Mahoney, a nurse practitioner, has joined the Camillus practice. A Mahoney certified nurse midwife and licensed nurse practitioner, BrownMahoney has 35 years of experience in obstetrics, gynecology, midwifery and lactation, among other women’s health issues. She is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and holds an advanced degree in mental health. Brown-Mahoney joins doctors James Brown, Melissa Brown and Sheena Mathew at the Camillus location.

Results of Oswego Health Charity Run

Kathy Pilon, who won the women’s 5K walk and Russ Turner, who placed third in the men’s 5K run event. More than 80 individuals supported Oswego Health’s cancer outreach and educational programs by taking part in the eighth annual Oswego Health Charity Walk/Run held May 18 at the Seneca Hill Health Community. The event also benefited the Fulton and Oswego YMCAs. Placing first in the women’s 5K run event was Lynee Saucer with a time of 23:15. Placing second was Evie Hayden with a time of 24:30

and third was Debbie Smith, whose time was 24:37. Winning the men’s 5K run event was Ed Lindo with a time of 20:29. Coming in second place was Conner Leous, who ran the event in 21:52 and placing third was Russ Turner, who happened to be also celebrating his birthday. His time was 21:58. Participants could also walk the 5K route, or take part in a 1.5 mile walk or run.

OB-GYN Joe Mather Retires After 52 Years of Service in Oswego County Joseph Edmund Mather, an OB/ GYN of Oswego County OB-GYN, P.C. has announced his retirement effective June 30. Mather Sr. has been providing women’s health care in Oswego since 1961 while maintaining privileges at Oswego Hospital until his retirement. Mather started his college education at St. John’s University where he graduated magna cum laude in 1950. He began medical school at the State University of New York at Syracuse where he also graduated Mather magna cum laude in 1954. For his residency and internship, Mather Sr. trained at Nassau County Medical Center from 19541959. Before moving to Oswego, Mather was a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He was stationed at Womack Army Hospital in Fort Bragg, N. C., where he worked as an obstetrician and gynecologist from 1959-1961.

When he moved to Oswego in 1961 he joined other physicians and the practice evolved into Oswego County OB-GYN P.C. The practice continues today as the only OB-GYN practice in Oswego County. Aside from his work at Oswego County OB-GYN and Oswego Hospital, Mather was an associate professor at SUNY Upstate in OB-GYN from 1980-1996. He is also certified by the National Board for Hypnotherapy and Anesthesiology as a medical hypnotherapist and a hypnotic anesthesiologist. Mather served as the OB/GYN department chief at Oswego Hospital for 22 years. He is a past president of Oswego County Medical Society, past president of CNY Association of OB-GYNs and past chairman of ACOG District II Section 5. He currently still serves as a member of the Oswego County Board of Public Health.

Associates for Women’s Medicine also has offices in Fayetteville, Liverpool, North Syracuse and Syracuse.

Weight loss surgery program gets accreditation

Gastroenterology returns to Community Memorial

The weight loss surgery program at Crouse Hospital has been accredited as a Level I facility by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The MBSAQIP accreditation provides confirmation that a bariatric (weight loss) surgery center has a demonstrated commitment to the highest quality care for its patients. In addition, accredited bariatric surgery centers provide comprehensive resources to address the entire spectrum of care and needs of bariatric patients before, during and after surgery. Crouse Hospital started its bariatric surgery program in late 2011 and has performed more than 300 weight loss surgical procedures since that time.

Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton announced that Syracuse Gastroenterology Associates has reopened services locally. After a four year hiatus, physicians David Kaplan, Dennis Reedy, Mark Kasowitz and Intikhab Iqbal are providing digestive system diagnosis and evaluation at Community Memorial. Currently, procedures such as colonoscopy and endoscopy are being performed every Kaplan other Friday. Future plans include expanding services to every week and opening a local office to meet with patients. “We are happy to be back at Community Memorial Hospital,” said Kapaln. “We have the same team that we use at Crouse Hospital. This allows us to draw on the experience of a big city hospital and to bring those same services to Hamilton.” Sean Fadale, President and CEO at Community Memorial Hospital stated, “Having the services of Syracuse Gastroenterology Associates at our hospital means a great deal to our patients. We have the best gastroenterologists in the region providing care locally, making it much more convenient for our patients in terms of time and travel.”

July 2013 •

New midwifery practice opens at Upstate Women in Central New York have a new option for midwifery services. The recently-opened midwifery office at Upstate University Hospital’s Community Campus offers women of all ages primary care, obstetrical and gynecological care, family planning, labor and delivery, as well as perimenopause and menopause management. The office is staffed by the director of the Upstate midwifery program, Heather Shannon, and Lesli E. Warren, both of whom are certified nurse midwives and are nationally accredited. Together, they work with a team of clinical staff, including physician Brian

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 25

H ealth News Thompson, who serves as the medical director of the program and sees patients for consults as needed. “Many people do not realize that midwifery offers patients care beyond labor and delivery,” said Shannon. “The Upstate midwifery team prides itself on its comprehensive program of gynecological care for women of all ages.” In addition to gynecological care, Upstate’s midwives also specialize in pregnancy care, including perinatal care before, during and after childbirth, as well as care of the newborn. Delivering exclusively at the Jim and DeDe Walsh Birth Center on the Community Campus, Upstate’s midwifery program offers the option of vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC).

New health professionals join Crouse Hospital Crouse Hospital recently welcomed the following to its medical staff: • Physicians: Adam Berg, medicine; Amit Goyal, surgery; Bryant Carruth, ophthalmology; Michael Jastremski, emergency medicine; Prashant Upadhyaya, surgery; Rinki Agarwal, obstetrics/gynecology; Susan Demartini, pediatrics; and Syed Ur Rehman, medicine; • Certified nurse-midwife: Lesli Warren, obstetrics /gynecology.

• Physicians assistants: Chelsea Sauve, emergency medicine; Danielle Healy, pediatrics; and Sean LoVallo, orthopedics. • Nurse practitioners: Eric Rodriguez, emergency medicine; Jacquelyn DeVito, emergency medicine; and Michele Misiazek, medicine.

Physician Francine Cantor joins Crouse’s ED Physician Francine Cantor has joined Crouse Hospital’s emergency department. Most recently, Cantor served as an emergency department physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse. Previously, she served as assistant director of the ED at St. Joseph’s and director of ED and hospitalist services at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital in Blue Hill, Ma. Cantor received her medical degree from the SUNY Stony Brook Cantor School of Medicine, completed an internship in surgery/ surgery research at the University of Rochester and completed her residency in emergency medicine at SUNY Stony Brook. A resident of Syracuse, she is board certified in Emergency Medicine.

315.251.3100 sosbones.com

like us on facebook.com/sosbones

Oswego Health’s Mass Casualty Drill a Success Oswego Hospital recently held a mass casualty drill to evaluate the staff and facility’s response capabilities to a potential terrorist attack. Portraying the victims were Oswego BOCES New Vi-

sion students who self-reported to the hospital’s emergency room. The students, along with hospital personnel, are pictured in one of the triage areas.

Auburn Orthopaedic Specialists

Complete Upper Extremity Care:

WELCOMES

DR. ROBERT D. SWIFT

��

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other Nerve Compression Injuries Elbow, Wrist and Finger Reconstruction and Replacement

SPECIALIZING IN

Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Upper Extremity

SPORTS MEDICINE ARTHROSCOPY KNEE/SHOULDER SURGERY

ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS

PLEASE CALL 252-7559 FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Walter H. Short, MD

J. Alan Lemley, MD

Michael P. Nancollas, MD

John F. Fatti, MD

AUBURN MEMORIAL MEDICAL SERVICES

Where Our Patients Come First

Daniel J. Murphy Jr., MD

310-085_M101_InGoodHealth.indd 1 Page 26 • IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 20132/27/13

MMS

2:25 PM

�� .

77 Nelson Street, Suite 120 Auburn, NY 315-252-7559

www.auburnmedicalservices.com

ACH Acquires State-of-the-art CT Scan

Groundbreaking in Cicero Several leaders recently gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony at The Cottages at Garden Grove, a group of 12 small homes for the elderly in Cicero. Small-home residences are an innovative care model that Loretto, Crouse Hospital and St. Joseph’s are introducing to Central New York. This concept is taking hold across the nation as traditional nursing home facilities are replaced with small, home-like environments; environments that support individual choices and free residents from much of the defined routines of a traditional nursing home. Set on a 18 wooded acres in Cicero

Commons, the facility will have 12 residences, each providing a home for 13 elders. Up to 156 residents will be able to live at the location. Pictured from left are Kathryn Ruscitto, president and CEO, St. Joseph’s Hospital; Bruce Buchanan, president and CEO, Loreto; Kim Townsend, chairwoman, Loretto Management Corp.; Mark Murphy, chairman, board of trustees, Plaza Nursing Home Co.; physician Paul Kronenberg, president and CEO, Crouse Hospital; Jim Corl Jr., Cicero town supervisor; Jessica Zambrano, Cicero deputy supervisor; and Donna Kelley, administrator, Rosewood Nursing Home.

Showcasing Auburn Community Hospital’s new CT scanner are (from left): Susan Myers; Kenneth Munro, technical director, radiology; physician Robert Sullivan, medical director of imaging services; and Judy Culver. On the scanner is Linda Westover. Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) has begun operation of a completely redesigned imaging suite featuring the newest CT scanner available, to better serve patients and physicians in the community, according to physician Robert A. Sullivan, the hospital’s medical director of imaging services. Sullivan said the new equipment offers many benefits to patients and physicians, including 64 slice imaging that yields state-of-the-art imaging for radiologists and each patient’s physician to use in arriving at diagnoses; enhanced patient safety due to substantially lower dosage of radiation; and bariatric options to better serve all patients, accommodating up to 650 pounds. “This is the highest level CT scan-

ner in Cayuga County,” Ken Munro, technical director of imaging services said. “It substantially reduces radiation dosage while still providing exceptional diagnostic quality.” Munro added, “It is the hospital’s responsibility to our patients to keep radiation at the lowest possible dose. We’ve taken on this responsibility by selecting the highest quality equipment, the Philips Ingenuity Core 64-Slice CT. Our previous equipment was seven years old and in order to best meet our community’s needs, we upgraded to the best.” Another benefit to the community is that having this high quality equipment aids in the recruitment of outstanding physicians to our area, Munro said.

Accessibility Solutions

WantaLift.com

stairway chair lifts � elevators � wheelchair lifts � ramps �

�� Stay in your own home with the help of Accessibility Solutions. � Complete line of home and commercial equipment � Insured, licensed and experienced � Free consultation and survey � Certiﬁed Accessibility Technicians � New, used or rental stairway chair lifts Complete details at WantaLift.com. For more information please call: 800 683 9563 July 2013 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

•

Page 27

Page 28

•

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • July 2013