St. Joseph's/Candler

"I think people are better at recognizing signs of heat exhaustion with today’s knowledge. The most common symptoms include heavy sweating, fast and weak pulse, muscle cramps, and extreme thirst. You also have to watch out for headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea and vomiting. "If you notice these, immediately move the person to a cool or air-conditioned space, remove unnecessary or heavy clothing, have them water and replace electrolytes with drinks like Gatorade or Powerade, and have them lay down and elevate their legs and feet slightly. If you are able to do this, you may avoid a trip to the ED." "One major sign [of a life-threatening heat stroke] is that, after a period of heavy sweating, the person does not sweat at all and their symptoms do not improve. Other signs include a core body temperature of 103.0 or higher, confusion, slurred speech, seizures, or even loss of consciousness. If someone has these symptoms, call 911 or get them to a hospital immediately. The ED offers resources that aren't available at home, such as body-cooling procedures, various modes of rehydration depending on your lab work, and specialized monitoring and equipment. Don’t hesitate to seek our help with the extreme effects of summer heat." https://lnkd.in/dcmkKr5m #nurse #nurses #registerednurse #emergencyroom #emergencydepartment #emergencymedicine #ernurse #healthcare #hospital #heatstroke #heatexhaustion

If you’re diagnosed with cancer, one treatment option to fight the disease is radiation therapy. But did you know there are different types of radiation treatments? One state-of-the-art approach that is commonly used at the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion is called stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). SBRT is an advanced outpatient technique that delivers a highly-precise dose of radiation to a tumor as an alternative to surgery, explains Joshua McKenzie, MD, MHA, a radiation oncologist with the LCRP. Because it is so precise, this type of radiation therapy reduces unnecessary radiation exposure to healthy tissues and organs near the tumor. Another benefit of SBRT is shortening the overall treatment course. Because it delivers such a large dose accurately to the tumor, most patients can be treated in five or fewer sessions over a week instead of the more standard approach of up to nine weeks of treatment, Dr. McKenzie says. “SBRT affords patients more convenient treatment, while also increasing the chance of cure and reducing the risk of side effects of therapy,” Dr. McKenzie says. “SBRT is frequently used as an equally effective, but safer alternative to surgery.” More at https://lnkd.in/eCyQsjWT #radiationtreatment #radiationoncologist #radiationoncology #oncology #cancertreatment #cancercenter #cancer

Making holiday travel plans? It's not uncommon to get sick when on the road or in the air. With a little preparation, you can increase the odds of having a safe and healthy trip. Here are some tips whether you are traveling by plane or automobile: https://lnkd.in/ebNiskPH

Despite the growing unpopularity of smoking, the effects of this very bad habit are still threatening the health of millions of Americans. Smoking is the primary risk factor for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease covers a spectrum of disease encompassing emphysema and chronic bronchitis,” explains Ryan B. Moody, MD, FCCP, of Southeast Lung Associates. “COPD is a chronically progressing disease process characterized by progressive airflow limitation. It is a treatable and preventable disease process.” Depending on which end of the spectrum a patient falls, the symptoms of COPD can vary. “Individuals with chronic bronchitis experience chronic productive cough and shortness of breath, while those with emphysema may only experience shortness of breath,” Moody says. “From time to time, individuals with COPD will experience an exacerbation with symptoms of increased mucus production, worsening cough and worsening shortness of breath.” Though smokers are most at risk, Dr. Moody also notes that occupational dust and chemical exposures, as well as indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure, can contribute to the development of COPD in non-smokers. Genetically, individuals who lack the ability to produce a lung protective protein called alpha-1 antitrypsin are also at greater risk for the disease. Dr. Moody uses pulmonary function testing to screen patients for COPD. “This testing quantifies lung function and lung capacity,” Moody says. “This is what helps to drive treatment strategies, which may include daily use of inhalers, use of rescue inhalers, or the use of a nebulizer machine, which administers medication in the form of a spray. There is no cure for COPD, but our individualized treatment plans can help you breathe better and live better.” More at https://lnkd.in/e_ujRzBr #smoking #copd #emphesema #chronicbronchitis #lungdisease #physician #healthcare

Radiation therapy has been used to help treat cancer for more than 100 years. Advancements in technology and radiation physics have made it an even safer and more efficient treatment option. However, there’s still many misconceptions out there about radiation therapy, one being its safety. Radiation therapy is the use of X-rays to treat cancer. The radiation kills cancer cells or slows their growth so they stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body. There are several types of radiation therapy that a patient can receive, but the two most common are external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and brachytherapy, explains Joey Spring, medical physicist at the Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion. Spring is one of three physicists in the radiation therapy department in whom the responsibility lies for the safe and accurate delivery of radiation. (Pictured R-L: Joey Spring, Steven White and Caleb Price) With EBRT, radiation is delivered by a linear accelerator that aims at a certain part of the body. At the LCRP, we have two types of linear accelerators, TrueBeam and CyberKnife®. Both machines deliver precise radiation beams to the cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding tissue and organs. More at https://lnkd.in/eQka4veH #radiation #radiationtherapy #radiationtreatment #cancer #cancertreatment #cancercenters #medicalphysics #healthcare

We need your help. We need input from residents in the areas we serve to identify community needs. We will gather this data through surveys and listening sessions, with the help of a number of community partners. This Community Health Needs Assessment is a health and well-being check-up for our community. Every 3 years, St. Joseph’s/Candler in partnership with the Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition, Healthy Savannah and the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University asks local residents to identify the most pressing needs within our community, especially those related to our health. This survey is a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, but more importantly it will help our community identify gaps that our residents need filled to live a healthy life. These needs are what we call Social Determinants of Health and they include: food security, housing security, transportation needs, access to health care and education and more. Find the survey here in English or Spanish: https://lnkd.in/eCyQsjWT

Whether you are a first-time parent or a mom or dad with several children, having a newborn can seem overwhelming at times. There are many things to learn from bathing to feeding to sleeping. At the Telfair BirthPlace at St. Joseph’s/Candler, our nurses aim to give education and information that make caring for your newborn as easy as possible. One area families are educated on in our childbirth education classes and before they leave the hospital is safe sleeping recommendations for their baby. “One thing we discuss is safe sleep, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and how positioning the newborn in the crib correctly is extremely important,” says LaCameo Miller, nurse at the Telfair BirthPlace. “The education we give is important because it could help save a life.” More at https://lnkd.in/exKiG3Tc #laboranddelivery #nurse #nurses #registerednurse #hospital #healthcare #sids

The sugar in sport drinks can serve a purpose beyond making them taste good. “Longer periods of intense physical activity take a ton of carbohydrates and energy out of our players,” says Brian Tuten, Manager of Sports Medicine at St. Joseph's/Candler. “A sports drink can replace the carbs that are lost during that kind of training.” There is always room, however, for old-fashioned H2O. “We encourage our athletes to replace fluids with water as well,” Tuten says. “For the first hour of any of our sports, we encourage the athletes to drink 6-10 ounces of water every 10 minutes. The longer and more intense the sport, the more you lose ATP.” ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate, the energy currency in a person’s cells. More at https://lnkd.in/dSHdfr94 #sportsmedicine #sportsdrinks #healthcare #youthsports

For cancer survivors, there is often a quest for a new normal—a way to manage the long-term physical and emotional effects of going through a life-altering disease. Different people will face different challenges, some of which may not be evident immediately. Patients who received radiation therapy, for example, may find themselves needing treatment now for tissue that was damaged years ago. “We see the ramifications of this damage later,” explains Thomas A. Donohue, MD, Medical Director of St. Joseph’s/Candler’s Center for Hyperbarics and Wound Care in Savannah and Hinesville. “The cells are less healthy, there is more scar tissue and less blood flow. Internal and external wounds may develop in the areas radiated and fail to heal.” Radiation therapy is more advanced and precise than ever before, so not all cancer patients experience soft tissue changes from treatment. But for those that do, Dr. Donohue can offer a non-invasive option: hyperbaric oxygen therapy. “Hyperbaric oxygen decreases inflammation, kills bacteria, and helps the body build new blood vessels to get more oxygen and nutrition,” Dr. Donohue says.” “Basically, all of this brings more soldiers to the fight to aid in healing.” More at https://lnkd.in/e2zWb49y #oxygentherapy #hyperbaricoxygentherapy #woundcare #radiationtherapy #radiation #cancertreatment #healthcare

Meet Melchor Garcia, government supervisor in our patients accounts department. Mel has been with St. Joseph’s/Candler for more than 14 years and has 20 years of experience in government billing. He supervises the team that handles insurance billing for Medicare and Medicaid. Mel makes sure proper steps are being followed to get bills out in a timely manner and that his team has all the support they need to do their job. “What I enjoy about my job is the idea that I’m helping people get their own accounts resolved. Within our community, there are a lot of elderly people and a lot of people that need help, and that’s what we do here. We make sure we can help people through our patients accounts division. We are able to help people when things happen that are sometimes beyond their control. It really is a team effort to help the patient, and I’m just one part of it, and I’m glad that I’m here to help patients in this capacity of their healthcare.” “I also appreciate all the extra things St. Joseph’s/Candler does. The health system really cares for the community, and it’s apparent by all the good work we do. Throughout our community, we are everywhere. It’s rewarding to be a part of an organization that has its hands in making our community better whether it’s St. Mary’s facilities, Georgia Infirmary or other outreach programs. I really enjoy seeing our works in action.” Meet other featured co-workers on our website: https://lnkd.in/eeWCBmCU #medicalbilling #medicare #healthcare #coworkers