Know Your Risk

A long-time community service of GRMC has been the annual wellness blood screen.

This year’s wellness screen is scheduled for Wednesday morning, February 12. It will be held from 6:30 to 9 a.m. in the West Tomasek Conference Center, GRMC, in Grinnell. You do need an appointment and you need to come fasting for at least 12 hours. To make an appointment for the screening, call GRMC wellness department at 641-236-2999. 

It includes a comprehensive metabolic panel with the fasting lipid profile for cholesterol levels; complete blood count (CBC); glucose and other tests to measure liver and kidney function; as well as metabolic indicators of early disease status. This comprehensive screening ensures that your physician has the most complete information about your overall body system function. And, the results may give the motivation to change your lifestyle habits to enhance health and well-being. Heart disease is the number one health concern for Americans.

We often say that knowledge is half your health. Keeping an eye on these numbers is important to achieving and maintaining your health.

Can we get sick from the cold?

The past several weeks have seen some wide swings in winter temperatures. From upper 40’s one day to below zero in 36 hours, our climate goes from spring to the deep freeze in very short order.

What does this do to our bodies? Can it make us sick?

The short answer is, no. Infection – either bacterial or viral – is what causes illness, not outdoor temperatures.  If you have a chronic respiratory condition, such as asthma, the swing in temperatures, particularly cold air, can trigger attacks or mask itself as a cold if not already diagnosed.

But everyone is running around with a Kleenex at their nose! The news is filled with reports on the progression of seasonal influenza across the nation! And it is cold! We don’t hear about this in the summer!

In cold weather, we stay indoors. At school, work, and home, we are often in close quarters with other people. All it takes is one child in a classroom with an upper respiratory infection to spread the germs to other children. Those children go home and live indoors with siblings, parents, grandparents. Parents and grandparents pick up the infection and take it to work with them, and the transfer of the illness continues.

Does cold weather make us sick? Not directly, no. How we live indoors during cold weather just might.

While we might not get sick from the cold, we certainly can get sick of the cold.

Nine weeks until the first day of spring. But who’s counting?

Links:

1. Can the Cold Give You a Cold?

http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/colds-and-the-weather.aspx

2. Iowa Department of Public Health “The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Norovirus”

http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IdphNews/Reader.aspx?id=7D6A749D-9CCE-4842-898C-5CA370216589

America's hospitals are leading the way

This week, Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association wrote the following message. It's an editorial written by Umbdenstock and submitted to national newspapers as a paid advertisement, known as an "advertorial."

A Message from America's Hospitals

Rich Umbdenstock, President and CEO, American Hospital Association

Those blue and white signs with the big H have always carried the promise of help, hope and healing. The hospital of the future will continue to extend that promise, but in new ways that will improve quality while lowering costs. The word hospital will be less about a building and more about a coordinated system of care.

The Challenge

The environment the hospital of the future faces will be extraordinarily challenging. Providers will have incentives to work more closely together to coordinate care, improve quality and safety, and keep patients healthier.

That's a challenge. Ten thousand Baby Boomers celebrate their 65th birthday each day. More than half of them will have multiple chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, yet they will live and require health care services far longer than previous generations. Chronic conditions are also increasing in younger people. 

Medical and information technologies hold out great potential for improved care, but they come with a huge price tag. And even after the expanded insurance coverage emerging from the Affordable Care Act, hospital emergency departments will continue to treat millions of people without health insurance. 

Hospitals are taking dramatic action now so they will be ready tomorrow to keep the promise of care to the patients and communities they serve.

That means embracing methods of improving the quality of care while at the same time reining in costs. It means becoming proactive instead of reactive - that is, working to keep people healthy instead of waiting for them to become sick. And hospitals are making tremendous progress.

Engagement

Hospitals are engaging patients and families, community leaders, physicians and their own staffs in a revolutionary effort to improve wellness, control expenses, improve efficiency and increase quality and accountability. The goal:  Keep people healthy and out of emergency departments; identify and eliminate costly treatments that don't improve patient outcomes; and provide the support patients need to stay out of the hospital once they are discharged. Hospitals will reach out, moving care into their communities in nontraditional ways. Some hospitals are merging to take advantage of economies of scale and provide the latest treatments, reconfiguring to better meet community needs and provide their patients with access to state-of-the-art equipment without breaking the bank.

Innovation

Increasingly, hospitals are being paid for the value they provide rather than the volume of the patients they treat. Hospitals are responding by using evidence-based practices to, for example, eliminate preventable infections and complications and better manage advanced illness.

These steps can result in lower costs, higher patient satisfaction and outcomes, and fewer unnecessary readmissions. They are using information technology to track the quality of the care they provide. They are also analyzing information so they can spot patterns that could lead to better treatments for certain conditions or groups of patients. All of these efforts are paying off; the growth in hospital spending is at a 15-year low.

These are not simple transitions. But hospitals are determined to do whatever it takes to continue meeting their commitment to their communities.

Just as a Model T and a brand-new hybrid are both cars, the community hospital of the future will still be your hospital. When you follow those blue and white signs, you will find people who work around the clock to provide emergency services, perform surgery and care for patients who are ill or injured. But in the coming years, the image of a hospital will be less about four walls and more about partnerships that advance the health of individuals and communities.

Is It Just Me or Is There Something Going Around?

Is it just me or is there something going around?

No, it’s not just you. You really are running into a lot of people who are sick or who have been sick lately. Chances are you have been ill, too. 

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, we typically see a bump in illnesses like norovirus and upper respiratory infections two weeks after the holidays. Think of all the parties and holiday functions you attended, trips to the mall or the grocery store, all opportunities to pick up a nasty virus.

It’s also very possible to run oneself down at the end of the year. Have you ever noticed that when you finally catch a break in your schedule, you find yourself sick? Stress can also play a role in lowering our resilience to fight off infection.

It’s good to keep in mind several tips for stopping the spread of illness.

·       Good hand-hygiene is crucial. Wash hands frequently using soap and water. Use hand-sanitizer when soap and water is not available.

·       Stay home when you are starting to feel ill. Unfortunately with many viruses, we are infectious before we start showing symptoms.  And, with something like norovirus, we are still contagious two days after our symptoms clear up. 

·       Don’t prepare food for others if you have any symptoms, particularly diarrhea and vomiting. Wait a few days after your symptoms have subsided before returning to your normal routines.

·       Take care of yourself. Avoid crowds if you can. Eat balanced and nutritious meals. Get plenty of sleep. Make exercise a priority.

Links:

1. Iowa Department of Public Health “The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Norovirus”

http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IdphNews/Reader.aspx?id=7D6A749D-9CCE-4842-898C-5CA370216589

2. Psychology Today “When the Good Times Make Us Sick: Avoiding Post-Holiday Illness”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/5-cents-the-doctor-is-in/200912/when-the-good-times-make-us-sick-avoiding-post-holiday-illness-

Making New Year’s Resolutions? Helpful Hints to Make Them Stick

Lily M. Taylor, RD, LD

GRMC Clinical Dietitian

If you have trouble making your New Year’s resolutions stick, you are not alone. They are notoriously hard to maintain. According to research published just this month by the University of Scranton, only eight percent of us are actually successful in achieving our resolutions. /http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

One of the most popular resolutions is to lose weight. When it comes to eating, healthy eating works best when you can incorporate it into your everyday lifestyle. Examples of healthy eating practices include eating breakfast. Even a small snack on the go could be beneficial for your metabolism. Other examples include drinking water throughout the day, eating from a variety of food groups, and watching portion sizes. 

Check the MyPlate website www.choosemyplate.gov to see how many servings of each food group are recommended for YOU and what counts as a recommended portion size. When it comes to healthy eating goals, I like to focus on nutritional benefits of food and how I can incorporate healthy choices, such as eating more fruits and vegetables or planning out my breakfasts for a week, rather than focusing on avoiding certain foods. 

Making SMART Goals:

No matter what areas of your life you choose to work on, try to make your goals SMART. 

SMART goals are:

·       Specific - Address the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of your goal and how you are going to achieve it.

·       Measureable – Determine a way to measure your progress toward this goal.

·       Attainable - Set goals that allow you to be successful. Start small and grow from your successes and challenges.

·       Realistic- Determine if your goal and action plans are doable and not overwhelming. Are you willing and able to do the work?

·       Time sensitive - Give it a target date so it doesn’t always get pushed to the bottom of your to-do list.

Here’s an example:

I will eat three servings of fruits and vegetables daily, recording my intake in my calendar, to improve my vitamin, mineral, and fiber intake. I will do this for three months. At that time I will evaluate my progress and decide how to maintain or change my goal.

It’s specific. I have a plan for tracking my success and measuring my progress. I have also included why my goal is important. The time frame I’ve set also helps me to evaluate whether or not the goal is realistic for me to accomplish. I have a deadline to stop to evaluate my progress and decide where to go next.

It’s about YOU

Everybody is different. It might be more realistic for some people to start with a goal of having one serving of a fruit or vegetable daily. Your goals should be designed for YOU. It’s important to not feel overwhelmed. You can always update your goals as you become comfortable with your original plan. 

Get moving!

Remember, healthy eating works best when you also are physically active. The two work together well.

If getting more physical activity is part of your New Year’s resolution, make sure those goals are SMART and consider checking out the PWA Fitness Center at GRMC.

I know first-hand that the trainers are great at helping their clients come up with individualized plans that fit their schedules and interests! Call them today at 641-236-2999 to set an appointment. 

“When you’re trying to motivate yourself, appreciate the fact that 

you’re even thinking about making a change. 

And as you move forward, allow yourself to be good enough.” 

Alice Domar