Just Ears, Noses, and Throats

oto·lar·yn·gol·o·gy    noun   \ˌō-tō-ˌla-rən-ˈgä-lə-jē\

A medical specialty concerned especially with the ear, nose, and throat—called also otorhinolaryngology.

Jeremy D. Vos, MD

It’s also a fourteen-letter word that can be abbreviated as “ENT” for ear, nose, and throat. If you have children, you might be very aware of this medical specialty. You may typically think of an ENT specialist when your children have frequent ear infections, allergies, or need their tonsils removed. Otolaryngologists or ENT specialists treat a wide variety of health issues related to the ears, nose, and throat.

Your family practice physician may refer you to an ENT

Michael J. Reed, MD

for a number of reasons.

Ears:  In addition to treating frequent ear infections, ENT’s also treat injuries, cancer, hearing loss, and ringing in the ears known as tinnitus.

Nose: Health issues affecting sinuses such as frequent infections, nose bleeds, allergies, or asthma.

Throat: This includes tonsils, adenoids, laryngitis, chronic sore throats, and acid reflux.

This can include sleep disorders, facial and neck plastic surgery, and hearing restoration.

ENT Medical Service offers comprehensive testing and treatment for allergic conditions affecting the head and neck—allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, laryngitis, and allergy affecting the ears and eyes.  They provide medical management, skin prick and intradermal testing, blood testing, as well as offer allergy shots and drops for allergy desensitization. Shots are administered in both Grinnell and Iowa City.

Every week, Jeremy D. Vos, MD, sees patients at Grinnell Regional Medical Center in the visiting specialty clinic. In early August, Michael J. Reed, MD, began seeing patients twice monthly and will increase hours if needed. Dr. Reed also plans to perform surgical procedures at GRMC.

Otolaryngologists receive up to 15 years of college and post-graduate training in their specialty.  This includes four years of medical school and five years of post-graduate training and could also include a fellowship in a subspecialty. GRMC is pleased to welcome Dr. Vos and Dr. Reed from ENT Medical Services in Iowa City.

For an appointment, speak with your primary care provider or call ENT Medical Services at 319-351-5680.

To learn more:

https://www.entmedicalservices.org/practiceareas/ent.html

New Year's Resolutions?

The start of a new school year is an exciting and busy time. Think about making some new year's resolutions now for healthy eating. Here are a few suggestions that you might choose from to get the school year off to a great start:

Breakfast is pretty important for kids to get a good start on the day. Test scores are higher, kids are more likely to participate in class, and they have better concentration with the benefit of a healthy breakfast. A balance of protein and carbohydrates will keep them going until lunchtime. Stay clear of sugary things and refined carbohydrates - donuts, packaged baked goods, sugar-coated cereals. These foods fill up kids with empty calories that don't provide the nutrition their bodies require.

Need some ideas?

Oatmeal with fresh fruit and milk

Nut butter on whole grain toast or a whole-grain toaster waffle with banana slices.

Cottage cheese and fruit

Whole grain cereal with fruit and milk

Plan to take lunch to school or work more often. If you don't already pack a lunch, consider doing so a couple of days a week to start. Typically, it's much easier to make healthy choices in the morning and not at noon when you are hungry and staring at a fast-food menu. It's also friendly on the household budget. Bring your children into the process and allow them to choose from healthy options.

Need some ideas?

Make-Your-Own Lunchables - Kids love these, but they can be pricey and may not have a lot of healthy choices. Find a multi-compartment lunch container and fill the cubbies with things like fresh fruit slices or berries, carrot or celery sticks, sweet red peppers and dips like hummus or nut butter.* Add whole-grain crackers, a few slices of cheese, and some lean and low sodium protein. 

It's a Wrap! - Take a whole grain tortilla or a large lettuce leaf, spread with cream cheese, layer with grilled chicken breast chunks, tuna, and/or veggies, roll and wrap. Add a piece of fruit, some graham crackers or cookies and call it a healthy lunch.

Encore! Encore! - Make an extra serving of dinner for tomorrow's lunch. An extra grilled hamburger, chicken breast, or lean pork chop can make a repeat performance in a sandwich or salad the next day. Pack it all up the night before and then grab and go in the morning. 

Cook dinner. It sounds so simple but it does require some advanced planning. There are hundreds of websites with ways to plan a week of meals for a family of any size and budget. Browse around and find one that works for you. Meal planning and cooking at home are good for your health and your budget. Lots of tips on how to make a good home-cooked meal in 30 minutes abound on the internet. 

Eat dinner together as a family more often. When school starts, schedules get full very quickly. Sit down together and reconnect at the end of the day. Turn off the TV and make a phone-free zone for the next 30 minutes. Share the good things about the day and what didn't go so well. Why is this healthy? Kids who eat regularly with their families have a stronger family bond, an expanded vocabulary, and do better in school. It's a worthwhile investment of time. Even if you can only swing it a couple of days a week, give it a try. Maybe getting together at breakfast will fit into your family's schedule better? 

Give yourself and your family the gift of health and start the new year off right. Model healthy choices for your kids and teens. Teach them to make good choices that will lay a solid foundation for health throughout their lives. 

Want more information? 

     

http://www.eatright.org/kids/

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/healthy-lunchbox-tips

Breakfast is really important for students http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442482043#.U-4jZPldWBI

Five Reasons for Your Teen to Eat Breakfast

http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442477998

Family Dinners in a Flash http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442466480

  

*Some schools have restrictions on bringing nut butter, such as peanut butter, to school due to students having severe and life-threatening allergies. Check first before you send this to school with your child. 

Connecting Online with Your Healthcare Provider

You might pay your bills online, add money to your child’s school lunch account, or use an app to find your way to a new destination. And now, your healthcare provider is joining the online communication world.  Financial incentives provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through healthcare reform are encouraging hospitals and clinics across the country to adopt electronic medical records and provide online patient access to health records.

Grinnell Regional Medical Center has launched two online patient portals that allow patients fast and easy access to their hospital and clinic records from any computer or device that connects to the internet. The goal is to improve your healthcare experience in several ways.

By using secure online communication, you can view lab results, dates of healthcare visits, view medical history from patient visits to your clinic at any time day or night. You can also contact hospital and clinic staff through a secure messaging system and read medical education and news through this portal.

Patient information from July 1, 2014 and forward is available on the GRMC portal, while patient information from GRMC clinics goes back several years.

Just in case you are wondering, those clinics affiliated with GRMC are:

Grinnell Regional Family Practice

Grinnell Regional Internal Medicine

Grinnell Regional Orthopedics

Grinnell Regional Pain Clinic

Grinnell Regional Women’s Health Clinic

Manatt Family Urgent Care

Deer Creek Family Care

Lynnville Medical Clinic

Victor Health Center

Patients with a valid email address can begin to use the secure, web-based tools now by registering for a secure patient portal account. Or during your next hospital admission process or clinic visit. Parents will also be able to enroll their minor children and access their accounts. Links to both portals are available on the GRMC website at www.grmc.us. You can set up your personal account at any time.  GRMC staff members have resources to walk you through the process as well.

For more information, you can contact your healthcare provider’s office staff or contact the GRMC patient portal resource desk at 641-236-2381 or email patientportal@grmc.us.  The goal is to help you become comfortable with accessing your own health information and to be engaged in your good health.

Leading the Way for Wellness

For more than 10 years, Postels Community Health Park has provided the public with integrated medicine services. The dream of a community health park originated with the donation of the building located at Broad and Commercial Streets in downtown Grinnell. Formerly the home of Grinnell Beverage, the building was donated by Joanie and Arnie Heimsoth and Dick Postels in 1999.

For years, the motto of Postels Community Health Park reflected the inclusion of a variety of wellness services all “under one roof.” Through the services offered at Postels Community Health Park, patients find an approach that recognizes the importance of the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions in health and healing. The building currently houses Acupuncture Clinic of Grinnell, Strovers Chiropractic, physical therapy, therapeutic massage, some fitness equipment, and group fitness classes.

 

We are now implementing plans to move the majority of services at GRMC’s Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center into the space formerly used by The Galaxy Youth Center at the Postels building. Adding these services to the Postels Community Health Park will truly bring all these services under one roof.

Renovations are underway right now and the plan is to have the space up and functioning for clients this fall. The wellness program is growing with nearly 400 members and we anticipate building those numbers once the new space is operational. Improvements include the installation of new functional fitness circuit equipment, glass entrance doors, windows on the Commercial Street side of the building, a dedicated Spinning® room, additional treadmills and cardio units, new sound equipment, and new flooring, and lighting. A new entry system will provide 24/7 access to members. Bathrooms with showers are being added as well as a new handicapped accessible entrance. Funding provided to the campaign has already allowed us to install a new furnace, replace the roof, carpet, and hand rails.

And the current home of the Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center? What happens to that?

This space will become the home of the F.A. Jones Physical and Occupational Therapy Center as well as our pulmonary rehab space. There will still be opportunities for members to exercise in the Ahrens Medical Arts Building. Many people feel more secure doing this work on the hospital campus just in case they might require medical attention. The warm water exercise pool is also staying in its current location in the Ahrens Medical Arts Building.

All of this has been made possible because of private donations, which is pretty extraordinary.

Also extraordinary is the story that our CEO and President Todd Linden will tell you. He recently attended a national meeting of hospital administrators who are now coming to the realization that their hospital or health system should get involved more heavily in wellness and fitness services. They recognize that the trend in healthcare is moving toward keeping people well and healthy in the first place. That’s something that we’ve been doing in Grinnell for more than 15 years. Who says that rural America doesn’t lead the way?

For information about joining the fitness center, please call 641-236-2999.