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FALL 2018 3-D MAMMOGRAMS
An updated view for breast cancer Mammograms give women a crucial head start on finding breast cancer early, when treatment is often most effective. They can detect tumors that are still too tiny to feel and identify cancers before symptoms start. Still, although they’ve saved countless lives, these breast x-rays may miss about 20 percent of all breast cancers, the National Cancer
Institute reports. They can also cause false alarms by indicating abnormalities that turn out not to be cancer.
A different dimension A newer type of mammogram may help overcome these flaws. It’s called three-dimensional, or 3-D, mammography. (Breast tomosynthesis — Continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE
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CHILD-FRIENDLY New pediatric speech therapy program helps kids communicate.
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STEADY ON Take steps to prevent falls.
PATIENTS FIRST Read about our award-winning and compassionate care at mercyhealth.org.
LEARN MORE To learn more about the pediatric speech therapy program, you can call the speech therapy team at 215.335.6095. To make an appointment, call 215.335.3954.
Help for kids with speech and language problems Children thrive when they can communicate with confidence. And that’s why the Center for Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation and Balance at Nazareth Hospital now offers pediatric speech therapy. The nationally certified speech therapists at the Center are all master’s-trained. Each one has experience helping children overcome: •• Delays in speech and language •• Difficulty pronouncing certain sounds and syllables •• Difficulty saying or understanding full sentences or using new vocabulary words •• Problems with fluent speech, such as stuttering •• Struggles with social communication, such as trouble making eye contact or taking turns
Personalized plans The team is ready to help children 3 years and older and those even younger on a caseby-case basis. With a doctor’s referral, the team will evaluate your child’s needs and develop a customized treatment plan. What’s more, appointments are available right away. “Many similar programs have year-plus waiting lists,” says Allison Temple, MA, CCC-SLP, Lead Speech Therapist at the Center. “But we’re able to see your child quickly.”
The team takes a child-friendly approach to therapy “Our therapists use fun activities—like games and play—to build on children’s strengths and strengthen their weaknesses,” Allison says. They also coach parents on how best to help their child progress. And if a child could benefit from physical and occupational therapy, those services are also available at the Center.
An updated view for breast cancer — Continued from front page is another name for it.) “It helps doctors catch more cancers at an earlier stage,” says Karen Kish, MD, a Nazareth Hospital breast surgeon. This 3-D mammography is available at Nazareth Hospital’s medical imaging department. Here’s how it works: During a 3-D mammogram, a woman’s breast is compressed, just as it is for a standard mammogram. An x-ray machine moves over the breast, taking multiple, slicelike
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pictures. Special computer software then creates a detailed 3-D image of the breast. Research suggests that 3-D mammograms may: •• Improve the ability of doctors to accurately diagnose breast cancer •• Find small tumors that may have remained hidden on a conventional mammogram •• Provide clearer images of abnormalities in dense breasts— breasts that have a lot of fibrous or glandular tissue and not much fat •• Greatly reduce the number of
women called back for further testing because of false alarms
Get tested The American Cancer Society recommends that women at average risk of breast cancer have yearly mammograms starting at age 45. (Women between 40 and 44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year.)
MAKE THE CALL To schedule a mammogram at Nazareth, call 215.335.6400. You will need a prescription from your doctor.
Meet the new Vice President for Medical Affairs FIND OUT WHY HE THINKS NAZARETH HOSPITAL IS SO SPECIAL
THE DOCTOR IS IN Find a doctor near you by calling 1.866.NAZARETH (1.866.629.2738).
Training the next generation of doctors July is an important month for teaching hospitals like Nazareth. It’s when newly minted MDs extend their training and start residencies. And the second class of residents arrived at Nazareth Hospital this summer. The residents are 18 strong—and talented. “They’re also eager to be part of a community hospital where they’ll get to know their patients well,” says Charmaine Chan, DO, Director of Graduate Medical Education. Nazareth Hospital launched its residency programs in 2017 with residencies in internal medicine, podiatry and pharmacy. This year Nazareth added what’s called a transitional year program. It’s required to qualify for many specialties, such as neurology and radiology.
Helping the community Programs such as these do more than prepare the next generation of doctors—as important as that is. They also benefit community members. “The programs are a way of attracting some of the best and brightest physicians to a community,” Dr. Chan says. “Doctors often come back and practice at the hospital where they trained.” Residents also participate in hospital-wide research and quality improvement projects. “They extend our efforts to make patient care even better,” Dr. Chan says. That’s why Nazareth is in the process of adding more residency programs. Coming soon: a program in family medicine, slated for 2019. And in 2020, the hospital plans to welcome its first residents in emergency medicine.
Last year Nazareth Hospital had what Edward O’Dell, DO, calls “a phenomenal year.” The nonprofit hospital was Edward profitable. And O’Dell, DO that allowed it to indulge in things like upgrading equipment and providing care for more people on limited incomes. “That’s what makes it fun, when you can do that,” says Dr. O’Dell, the hospital’s new Vice President for Medical Affairs. “When people without means can get the same quality, high-tech care that anyone else can get, that makes what we do for the community especially rewarding.” Dr. O’Dell took the job with the goal of continuing that work. “My background is in hospital medicine and outpatient ambulatory medicine,” he explains. “Working within hospital administration gives me the opportunity to help ensure that people have access to high-quality, patientcentered care. I can help a much broader group of patients through positive clinical initiatives in the hospital setting.” Dr. O’Dell is married, with four grown children, and he is a recent grandfather. (“I still can’t believe I’m saying that. It still sounds weird.”) He’s active in sports such as running and lifting weights. And he enjoys following his sons through their college sports careers. Dr. O’Dell has always had a special fondness for the Mercy Health System. “They have a special commitment to the poor and most vulnerable in the community,” he says. “That has always attracted me to Mercy.”
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Comfort and support It’s easy to get the wrong idea about palliative care—a service that improves the quality of people’s lives when they’re diagnosed with a chronic, serious illness. “Palliative care is not the same as hospice,” says Ira Smith, MD, Medical Director for Palliative Care at Mercy Health System. Relief from pain or other symptoms is, indeed, a big part of what palliative care can offer you or a loved one who has a condition such as cancer, COPD, kidney disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or heart disease. But unlike hospice, you do not have to be at the end of your life to receive palliative care. In fact, you can continue to receive aggressive treatments meant to cure your disease while you get treatments that help you feel better. Palliative care can help people live their lives and continue with daily activities. It may even make it easier for people to finish challenging treatments, such as chemotherapy.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PALLIATIVE CARE AT MERCY HEALTH SYSTEM
What’s involved? At Mercy Health System, palliative care currently starts in the hospital. Patients receive support and a treatment plan that can be continued once the patient goes home. The palliative care plan provides for relief of such symptoms as: • • Pain • • Nausea and vomiting • • Shortness of breath • • Fatigue • • Insomnia • • Severe itching (a symptom of kidney failure) • • Stress and anxiety “But we don’t just treat the physical symptoms of an illness,” Dr. Smith says. “We also connect our patients with resources to help them with emotional and spiritual concerns they may be having.” That’s because palliative care is provided by a team. The doctors and nurses may prescribe medicines or other treatments to better control your symptoms. And they work with other experts too.
For instance, the team could put you or your loved one in touch with a chaplain or a counselor, if you want. A palliative care team can also include social workers and alternative therapy practitioners who work with your regular doctor. In addition, the palliative care team helps people better understand goals of care. Sometimes patients and their families have difficult decisions to make about whether to continue with treatment or transition to hospice. Palliative care providers can help with those conversations. “At Mercy Health, we can take the time to sit down and talk with families and patients and do the right things for them,” Dr. Smith says. “They will not feel rushed to make any decisions.”
Palliative care can help people live their lives and continue with daily activities.
Ira Smith, MD
Quality care you can count on MERCY HOSPITALS EARN TOP HONORS FOR HEART FAILURE AND STROKE CARE At first glance, it might not seem as though heart failure and stroke have much in common. Heart failure is a chronic condition in which an increasingly weak heart can’t pump as well as it should. A stroke, on the other hand, is a medical emergency in which blood flow to the brain is cut off. Still, both require expert medical care. And that’s just what you can count on at all three Mercy Health System hospitals—Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, Mercy Philadelphia Hospital and Nazareth Hospital. In June, each hospital earned two top honors for their commitment to speeding the recovery of heart failure and stroke patients. Nazareth earned: ••The American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
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JUST ASK FOR IT Palliative care at Mercy Health System is available by physician referral. And most insurance plans cover it. If you are interested in learning more, ask your or your loved one’s doctor about this service.
•• The American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award
Saving lives, preventing readmissions These awards affirm that Mercy Health System’s hospitals follow the latest scientific treatment guidelines for heart failure and stroke. To earn the awards, each hospital met specific quality achievement measures for diagnosing and treating both conditions. Studies show that when hospitals meet these measures, mortality rates for heart failure and stroke patients often drop. So do hospital readmissions. Here are some of the quality measures all three Mercy hospitals met: •• For both heart failure and stroke patients, the proper use of medications, as well as care to make the transition to home safer and smoother
•• For heart failure patients, aggressive treatments to reduce the risk of flare-ups and complications
•• For stroke patients, treatments matched with guidelines that reduce the risk of both death and disability “Mercy Health System is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients by implementing the Get With The Guidelines initiatives for heart failure and stroke patients,” says Sharon Carney, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Health System.
FIND OUT MORE Learn more about our award-winning care at mercyhealth.org.
Sharon Carney, MD
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4 ways to shake a sodium habit Sodium is sneaky. Most of us get more than we need—even if we never sprinkle salt on our food. “That’s a problem, since too much sodium in your diet can raise your risk of high blood pressure—a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” cautions Lauren Sinclair, RN, a Mercy Home Health nurse. “And if you already have high blood pressure, a high-sodium diet can make it harder to control.” While sodium is a main ingredient in table salt, most of the sodium we eat comes from packaged and restaurant food. Of course it’s still a good idea to use table salt sparingly—and to flavor your food with herbs, spices, or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. But that’s only the first step in cutting back on sodium and protecting your health. Try these four tips too:
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Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store.
“Shopping on the outside of the grocery store—where you find fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy—can help you avoid processed foods,” Lauren says. “But stay away from the lunch meat counter.”
4 flu myths:
Don’t be fooled
Read up. Compare labels on prepared foods. Then choose the product with the least amount of sodium per serving. Try to eat no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, especially if you have high blood pressure.
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Cook smart. Use fresh poultry,
fish and lean meat, not canned, smoked or processed types. Rinse canned vegetables and beans—or better yet, buy ones labeled no salt added. Try unsalted chicken or beef broth too.
Order carefully. Eating out? Don’t be bashful— ask for your food to be prepared without added salt. And watch out for foods described as pickled, brined or barbecued. They tend to be high in sodium.
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Sometimes it’s hard to know which spreads faster, the flu or flu myths. Here are four persistent flu myths that need to be debunked. “Believing them might seriously hurt your health,” cautions Donna Raziano, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Mercy Home Health.
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Myth: The flu shot can give you the flu. Reality: There may be minor side effects, like a sore arm or soreness at the injection site, but “It’s impossible for the shot to make you sick with the flu,” Dr. Raziano says.
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Myth: The flu isn’t that big a deal. It’s just like having a nasty cold. Reality: The flu can cause serious— and even deadly—complications, such as pneumonia. Adults 65 and older are especially vulnerable to
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these complications. So are babies; pregnant mothers; and people with chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes or asthma.
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Myth: I had the flu shot last year, so I can skip it this year. Reality: A yearly flu shot is a must for nearly everybody 6 months and older. Flu viruses can change from year to year. Even when the viruses the vaccine protects against haven’t changed since the last flu season, that protection can wear off over time.
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Myth: The flu shot doesn’t keep people from getting the flu. Reality: Getting a yearly flu shot is the single most effective thing you can do to avoid the flu. “While it doesn’t guarantee you won’t get the flu, it significantly reduces your risk,” Dr. Raziano says. And if you do get the flu, you may have a milder case.
Help prevent life-changing falls In the seconds it takes for you to fall, your whole life can change. It can mean a trip to the hospital, an injury or a broken bone. “Falls can prove devastating to nearly anyone, but particularly so for older people,” says Deborah Ludwig, PT, Regional Director of Operations, Mercy Home Health. More than 1 in 4 people 65 or older in the U.S. fall each year. Injuries from falls can make it hard to get around, do everyday activities or live independently. “But the good news is that there are many things you can do to help prevent falls—both inside your home and out,” Deborah says.
Preventing falls indoors •• Keep your floors free of clutter.
•• Either get rid of area rugs or make sure they have skidproof backing. •• Be sure any stairs are well-lit and have rails on both sides. •• Install grab bars in your bathroom next to the shower or tub. •• Put a flashlight next to your bed, and use it if you need to get up at night. •• Keep a cordless phone or cellphone with you so you can call for help if you do fall.
➤ One more tip: Have your eyes and hearing checked regularly. Even small changes in these senses can lead to falls.
Preventing falls outdoors •• Use a cane or walker if you’re unsteady on your feet.
•• Wear shoes with nonslip rubber soles. •• Walk on the grass when sidewalks are slippery. •• Throw handfuls of kitty litter in front of you when sidewalks are icy.
BACK ON YOUR FEET Mercy Home Health has physical therapists who can help you or a loved one recover from a fall. Learn more at mercyhomehealth.org.
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Health care in the comfort
of home
Imagine this: You’re getting out of the hospital but are a little nervous about managing your ongoing care at home. Maybe you’re anxious about changing the bandage on your incision. Or perhaps you still feel pretty weak. Or maybe you’re taking your baby home for the first time. If any of the above scenarios ring true, don’t worry: Mercy Home Health can help. On the recommendation of your doctor, Home Health can send nurses, therapists or health aides to your home to check on you. Among other things, they’ll make sure your home is set up safely for your recovery. They’ll show you how to take your medications or clean your wounds. They’ll weigh your baby and make sure he or she is feeding well. “Our advocacy starts when the patient first comes out
For more information about Home Health services, call 1.888.690.2551. Services are usually covered by your insurance plan if you need or want extra support at home. Don’t delay—ask your physician for home health care.
of the hospital,” says Nicole Dougherty, RN, Mercy Home Health Patient Advocate. “The nurses’ first job is to be sure the patient will be getting quality medical care at home.” Sometimes home health workers find the patient has no heat or air conditioning—or no food in the house. That’s when a social worker will be brought in to see what the patient needs. “We’re there to treat the patient, and we can’t do that if basic needs aren’t met,” Nicole says. If you have family or a caregiver at home, Home Health staff will do things like train that person how to give you your medicines or change your bandages. “Our goal is to keep you in your home and not have you need to return to the hospital due to preventable complications,” Nicole says. mercyhealth.org
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Learn about your risk for stroke AND Melissa Bertha, DO
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A stroke usually occurs when a blood clot disrupts the flow of blood to the brain. Without sufficient blood and oxygen, parts of the brain begin to die. That’s why a stroke is always an emergency. Most strokes are preventable. One way to avoid a stroke is to know what puts you at risk for having one. Melissa Bertha, DO, a family medicine physician at Mercy Primary Care–Roosevelt Boulevard, talks about stroke risk factors and how you can lower them.
What are the most common risk factors for stroke?
ANSWER: Some of the most common risk factors for stroke
include having high blood pressure or diabetes, a history of smoking, high cholesterol, or certain heart conditions—such as atrial fibrillation and being overweight or physically inactive. What can you do to reduce your risk for stroke? ANSWER: The first thing you should do is talk with your doctor and find out what your personal risk factors are. But in general, you should try to eat a heart-healthy diet that is low in salt and saturated fat. You should also get regular exercise and maintain a healthy weight. And you should quit smoking if you smoke.
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What are common symptoms of stroke, and what should you do if you suspect you or someone else is having a stroke? ANSWER: The easiest way to remember the symptoms of stroke is with the letters FAST. F stands for facial weakness. Can the person smile? Or does their mouth or an eye droop? A stands for arms. Can the person raise both arms equally? S is for speech problems. Can the person speak clearly without slurring words? And T is for time. It emphasizes the importance of calling 911 right away.
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PRIMARY CARE CLOSE TO HOME Find a Mercy Physician Network doctor near you by calling 1.877.GO MERCY (1.877.466.3729).
MORE @ MERCY is published as a community service for the friends and patrons of Mercy Health System. Information in MORE @ MERCY comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or questions about specific content that may affect your health, please contact your healthcare provider. Models may be used in photos and illustrations. If you would like to stop receiving this publication, please email IAtMercy@mercyhealth.org. 2018 © Coffey Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.