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JANUARY 2021 | In this issue:
PIONEERCARE EMPLOYEE DRESSES UP FOR VACCINATION Make the dentist a fun experience for the kids Women’s vascular health key to affecting heart disease risk
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Nervous about getting vaccinated for COVID-19? Mayo Clinic
If you are unsure about whether you'll be vaccinated for COVID-19, you are not alone. It's natural to have reservations about something so new. Dr. Ivan Porter II, a Mayo Clinic nephrologist, was among the first to roll up his sleeves to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Porter says that he hopes others who are eligible will be inspired to be vaccinated for COVID-19. “Seeing people that we know and people that we trust, and people that we care about, being vaccinated will hopefully make us all feel more comfortable about being vaccinated. We still have to continue the long, hard, arduous work that we've been doing for months until we get to a point where we're in a much better place."
Porter says front-line workers who work in emergency departments and ICUs, and directly care for patients with COVID-19, will now be able to work with a little less fear of becoming seriously ill with the virus. He says there are many other health care workers who also need to get vaccinated. “There are multiple specialties that deal with patients who have COVID-19 that we may not think of that are in that front line. Anyone can be infected with this virus and be infectious because of the virus, and thus place everyone at risk. The only way that we’ll be able to make progress is for us to be able to widely administer this vaccine.” Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 is one part of the solution to end the pandemic. Porter says it’s important to continue the recommended intervention strategies.
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GETTING VACCINATED: Dr. Rachel Redig receives her vaccination at Tri-County Health Care in Wadena. “We’ve got to continue to mask. We’ve got to continue to social distance, and we have to continue to pay at-
tention to the things for basic disease prevention that have allowed us to do as well as we have done,” says Porter.
Love where you live at Park Gardens! “My mother has been a resident at Park Gardens Assisted Living in Fergus Falls for several years, and I want the community to know how deeply grateful our family is for the excellent care provided her over that time. Mom always wanted to live out her days in her hometown. As a daughter who lives halfway across the country, it has been a blessing beyond measure to know that she is well cared for in her time of need. Park Gardens truly became her home and her extended family. The staff at Park Gardens get high praise from us. Time and time again, we see acts of kindness and patience as staff members at every level provide care and services for mom and other residents.” – Sue, tenant family member
For more information, call
218.998.4444
215 E Skogmo Blvd Fergus Falls, MN 56537 www.parkgardensfergusfalls.com
Independent Plus • Assisted Living • Memory Care
FERGUSFALLSJOURNAL.COM | PAGE 3
Why wait? The benefits of pre-operative physical therapy It is generally known that physical therapy is beneficial for improving strength and function following a surgical procedure, but most probably have not considered that there are significant benefits to pre-op- GWEN erative physical HUMANN therapy as well. OSPTI Individuals who complete physical therapy prior to their surgery have been shown to have improved rate of recovery, reduced complications, and decreased need for inpatient rehabilitation or nursing home stays compared to those who completed post-operative therapy alone. If you have an upcoming orthopedic surgery, physical therapy can help you mentally and
physical prepare. Some of the things that physical therapy focuses on in a pre-operative program include: • Education on safe ways to move and transfer following the surgery including typical precautions associated with the surgery. • Fitting and practicing with assistive devices like walkers and canes that may be needed after the surgery. • Instruction in the post-operative exercises so that they are familiar after the surgery • Determine current impairments and limitations in order to build post-operative goals • Improve the strength and muscle control of the injured area • Make a post-op therapy plan, including scheduling appointments in advance to make sure there is no gap in care following
the procedure Choosing to have an elective orthopedic surgery is an investment in your overall health and well-being, and recovery takes time and commitment for the best outcomes. Completing physical therapy prior to the surgery is one way to help get the most out of your procedure.
If you have questions regarding preoperative physical therapy, the therapists at OSPTI are equipped to answer your questions. Please call our Fergus Falls location at 218-998-2980. Gwen Humann is a physical therapist for Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy Inc.
hellos are better in person. that’s why we’re local. simple human sense Arneson Agency Fergus Falls 218-736-5693
PHYSICAL, OCCUPATIONAL & SPEECH THERAPY SERVICES
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If you have concerns about your child’s development or concerns with their skills we can help. Whether it’s gross motor skills of walking, running, and jumping or fine motor skills with how they hold a crayon or ability to draw shapes or communication. Others may have a hard time understanding them when they talk. We also address self-regulation skills with children identifying emotions and helping with strategies to manage those emotions. We are able to provide in depth evaluations in these and help them gain those skills if needed.
Kelsey
Speech Therapist
Gwen
Physical Therapist
Tiffany
Physical Therapist
Shawn
Physical Therapist
Desiree
Occupational Therapist
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Physical Therapist
WE TREAT PATIENTS OF ALL AGES. ALL MAJOR INSURANCES ACCEPTED Fergus Falls Office • 218-998-2980 322 N. Tower Rd. Breckenridge Office 218-641-7725 Hankinson Office 701-242-7323| Fargo Office 701-532-1655
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Dressing for COVID: Keeping things light For Your Health
In a year when many people barely left the house, PioneerCare employees continued their work to serve medically vulnerable people and tested for COVID-19 almost every week since last spring. When conditions required it, testing frequency reached twice weekly. Employees came in for testing on their days off, too. Working or not, they tested. Residents living within PioneerCare Center have required repeated testing as well. PioneerCare’s aggressive approach to testing helped catch cases, especially with asymptomatic people, before infection could spread further. Kirstin Phillips, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and trained medication assistant (TMA) at PioneerCare, found a way to make testing day even more involved for herself – and more fun for everyone. “For work, I wear scrubs all the time and it gets kind of boring,” Phillips said. “I was counting how many times I got tested and thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to dress up’ and that’s how it started.” By Phillips’ count, she has been swabbed for the virus 34 times so far. In her effort to lighten the mood on each testing day, Phillips got an idea for a costume, found things around the house to put together a costume, and hunted down missing pieces on Amazon and in secondhand shops. “I did the big, fancy ones on my days off,” Phillips said, “especially the ones involving hair.” On her workdays, she changed into the simpler costumes once she arrived. In August, Phillips went to COVID-19 testing day as the Parkers Prairie Fall Festival queen, a role she was officially crowned for as a senior in high school. “I still put on the crown for my birthday – Queen for a day!” Phillips showed up in costume by herself for the most part. Some ideas required more than one person. “I conned a few people into going along with me for some of them,” she said. Fall Festival queen, Wonder Woman, The Incredibles, prom dates, Marty McFly from “Back to the Future,” Cruella De Vil” from “101 Dalmatians,” “Where’s Waldo,” a butterfly, Rosie the Riveter – inspira-
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HERE COMES THE QUEEN: Kirstin Phillips, a PioneerCare employee, arrived for Covid-19 testing as the Parkers Prairie Fall Festival queen. Phillips dressed up to lighten the mood during PioneerCare’s recent vaccination for COVID-19. tion came from many directions. “For Rosie the Riveter, I put my hair in foam curlers the night before and slept that way. That made it easier in the morning.”
Residents enjoyed seeing Phillips costumes and she noted how it brightened their day. Staff repeatedly asked, “What are you going to do next?”
FERGUSFALLSJOURNAL.COM | PAGE 5
“What is next?” has been a recurring question with the pandemic. Moving through the pandemic has been a series of overlapping phases as the virus spread in our communities, as knowledge of the virus grew, and as resources developed and became available. While details keep changing, testing, visitor restrictions, and infection control have been a constant at PioneerCare. “Our testing strategy is important to identify cases early enough to stop the potential spread within our buildings,” said Nathan Johnson, PioneerCare’s CEO. “Testing, along with vigilant attention to prevention measures, is helping us focus on our number one priority to protect residents and staff within PioneerCare Center, Pioneer Cottages Memory Care, and Pioneer Pointe. “Since the beginning, we have practiced comprehensive infection control measures to protect our residents and staff, based on recommended COVID-19 guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Johnson said. Now, following that guidance and with coronavirus vaccines available, PioneerCare residents and employees experienced their first vaccine dose on Jan. 9. The second dose is expected in early February. PioneerCare has partnered with CVS Pharmacies to provide the vaccine developed by Moderna. Phillips arrived for her first dose wearing fishnet stockings, a 1920s flapper dress, pearls, and feathers in her hair. While Phillips and other PioneerCare staff and residents completed the first round of vaccinations, testing and some form of visiting restrictions may continue for some time. Testing will
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ROARING ’20S: Dressed as a 1920s flapper, PioneerCare employee Kristin Phillips takes her first COVID vaccine dose. continue at least into February, when participants receive the second vaccine dose. PioneerCare will continue to follow available guidance from health agencies in decisions related to continued testing, infection control, visiting policies, and vaccine administration. In June, it will be 16 years since Phillips joined PioneerCare. In that time, she has cultivated close relationships with residents, their families, and her coworkers. Acknowledging her work is important, serious, and can be stressful at times, Phillips addressed the role humor plays in her workday. “They say if you enjoy doing what you do, it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.” And lightening the mood is part of Phillips’ style. It has become even more important during this past year. “We can laugh. We can have a good time. If I can make you giggle, even for a second, isn’t that better?”
Synstelien Community Services provides therapeutic treatment and daily living support for people with physical and developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and mental illness in the community of Fergus Falls.
Caring, Dignity, Teamwork Responsibility, Knowledge Synstelien Community Services is built on the foundation of integrity. We are committed to living out our core values by building trusting relationships with our clients, employees, owners, and in all our community interactions.
Proudly involved in our community
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Make the dentist a fun experience for kids For Your Health
Visits to the dentist for periodic cleanings and checkups are an important component of oral hygiene. Dentists also may be the first people to identify potential issues that can affect health elsewhere in the body. Many people are unaware that children should visit the dentist early in their lives. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that a child should visit the dentist by age 1 or within six months of the eruption of his or her first tooth. However, many parents wait until much later — age 2 or 3 — to take kids to the dentist, offers Delta Dental Plans. Hesitance to visit the dentist may stem from personal fears or perceived reactions by children. Primary teeth may eventually fall out, but they shouldn’t be ignored.
They save space for permanent teeth and serve other functions. Therefore, parents should begin to acclimate children to the dentist at a young age to make the experience fun and even enjoyable.
Lead by example
Children who witness their parents putting off going to the dentist or being apprehensive about visiting the dentist may develop their own fears. Always paint the dentist in a positive light and keep appointments.
Focus on the good aspects
Talk up all the benefits of going to the dentist, such as having a squeaky clean and fresh mouth. Many hygienists will hand out small toys after a successful visit, or at the least a great new toothbrush and other fun products to try.
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FUN AT THE DENTIST: Dentist visits for children can be scary, but with these tips you can ease the tension of a child’s next appointment.
Get a tour of the office
Ask the staff if your child can get a special tour of the office with explanations of all the tools and equipment. Understanding what to expect the next time around in a no-pressure situation can make the process much easier for everyone involved. The dentist may be able to also give a test ride on the exam chair, moving it up and down, as well as showing off the water fountain and oral irrigator.
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Avoid giving false hope
Do not tell a child that “everything will be OK” at the dentist’s
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office. If a child needs treatment that may be uncomfortable, he or she may not trust you the next time a dental visit is scheduled, according to Joel H. Berg, D.D.S., M.S., director of the department of dentistry at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Avoid words like “shots,” “pain,” “hurt,” or even “cavities.” Dentists, particularly pediatric dentists, may have their own vocabulary that can assuage fears and seem less alarming to kids. Over time, dental visits can become an easy routine with children, setting them up for a lifetime of healthy mouths and teeth.
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FERGUSFALLSJOURNAL.COM | PAGE 7
Study: Earlier detection of women’s vascular health issues can affect heart disease risk "Women have gender-specific risk factors for damage to the endothelial cells, which are crucial to vascular function. Decreasing estrogen, premature menopause, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, hypertension and polycystic ovaries all have a negative effect on a woman's vascular health and increase her risk of heart disease," says Lerman. Heart disease continues to be the No.1 cause of death in U.S. women. The effects of vascular aging don't begin to appear until middle age. Early detection, along with monitoring cardiovascular disease risk factors, is especially important for continued health as people live longer lives. "We feel that an established baseline of vascular health during early perimenopause can serve as a marker to measure effectiveness of lifestyle changes aimed at prevention, as well as of clinical treatment for cardiovascular disease," says Lerman.
Men and women differ in the way their vascular systems age and the rate at which atherosclerosis — the hardening of artery walls or buildup of arterial blockage — progresses over time. These sexand age-related differences have a direct bearing on a woman's risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Mayo Clinic researchers, in collaboration with international investigators, suggest a new approach of evaluating vascular function earlier in women, starting in middle age before arterial damage becomes severe. Amir Lerman, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, is senior investigator on the study. This study, "Endothelial Vascular Function as a Surrogate of Vascular Risk and Aging in Women," was recently published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Constriction in the microvascular system limits the amount of blood and oxygen entering the heart, reducing the heart muscle's ability to pump blood to the rest of the body. Microvascular dysfunction can cause chest pain before coronary artery disease becomes visible.
Peter Collins, M.D., Royal Brompton Hospital, is first author on the study. Other researchers are Angela Maas, M.D., Ph.D., Radboud University Medical Center; Megha Prasad, M.D., Mayo Clinic; and Louise Schierbeck, M.D., Ph.D., Bispebjerg Hospital.
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STUDY FINDS: Mayo Clinic researchers suggest a new approach to evaluating women’s vascular health can affect the risk of heart disease in the future.
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Age well.
LIFEof possibilities is FULL
Mill Street Residence is a place where people can age positively and well— where the feeling of community is strong and friends are easily made. It’s where amenities like dining, housekeeping, transportation to shopping and events, and being directly across from Lake Region Healthcare, make life carefree. It’s a place where residents can be excited for every day, engaged and lead thriving, active lives.
FOR MORE INFORMATION call 218.739.2900 or visit Millstreet.lrhc.org.
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RESIDENCE A LAKE REGION HEALTHCARE ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY
There’s no need to travel to get past the back or neck pain that has been preventing you from living fully. Introducing Dr. Jared Broadway of Northern Neurosurgery & Spine. Lake Region Healthcare is partnering with him to bring spine care to Fergus Falls.
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NOTHING HOLDING YOU BACK Not pain. Not the chance to do something about it.