Category Archives: Health

Hospital Seeks To Increase Weight-loss Surgeries


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Studies have show that the more convenient tests and counseling are, the better the patient outcomes, she said.

“These patients typically are more successful, the closer to home the surgery is performed,” Smith said.

Smith and Carla Jennette, Southern Surgical Associates’ practice administrator, recently met with the BRHS Finance Committee and Board of Commissioners to talk about a plan to bring more surgeries to Washington.

They estimated that 80 surgeries could have brought at least $1 million in revenue to BRHS if they had been performed in Washington.

But health officials caution that BRHS would have to make a significant financial investment in personnel and equipment before it would qualify to host the more difficult bariatric surgeries.

In order to qualify for certification as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, hospitals must have performed a minimum of 125 bariatric surgical cases in the preceding 12 months. BRHS doesn’t perform that number of surgeries, hospital officials have said.  Read more...

Autistic Children Create Christmas Cards


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Share Print Local News Autistic children create Christmas cards Posted: Today at 6:10 pm EST      Last What started out as a challenge for 11-year-old Adrian Cortez became a source of pride as he created his own holiday card. “I drew the snowman, I drew the three snowmen,” Cortez said. That is quite a feat for Adrian, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. He has a lot of challenges, a lot of road blocks as we call them,” said Adrian’s mother, Jessica Serrano. “He has neurological disorders, so amongst other things that he has, pretty much autism rules his way of thinking, emotionally, socially, academically.” He also has trouble with his motor skills. But with the help of his family, he was able to create his masterpiece. “Most of it, he did it himself, without realizing he did it himself,” Serrano said. Adrian’s card was chosen to be one of five featured in this year’s holiday card collection. “Very proud, excited, proud, because he needed this, he needed to feel good about himself and he needed to see he did this,” said Serrano. The holiday cards are available online on the Autism Speaks Boston Chapter’s website. Proceeds will go to Autism Speaks, an organization that increases awareness about autism and fundraises for treatments for the disorder. “It’s really important for us to promote this and get proceeds to continue the work they’ve been doing,” said Serrano. To find more information on the New England Chapter of Autism Speaks, along with details on how to order holiday cards, click here .

First Person: No, I Haven’t Quit Smoking — Yet


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I have tried many ways to quit smoking. I have tried cold turkey. I have tried limiting the number of cigarettes I smoke in a day. I have tried scheduling my cigarettes. I have even tried the patches. They have all failed. Or maybe I have failed them due to make lack of commitment to quit. I failed them because my heart wasn’t in it.

The cold turkey approach was the most disastrous. And it didn’t last for long. I was a truly miserable person trying to quit smoking this way. I knew from the start I was going to fail because I didn’t want to quit. I wasn’t ready. My husband and kids didn’t want to be around me when I was trying to quit smoking cold turkey. My dog was even a little skittish.  Read more...

Addictions & Answers: A New Generation Of Smokers?


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BILL : At a football game recently, I was surprised to see so many kids smoking. “You’re right,” said Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Judy Rosenberg, an expert in the field ( drjudyrosenberg.com ). “Big Tobacco has a history of advertising heavily to teen-agers. They need to replace their customers who died.”

DR DAVE : Ironically, the way the world works, Big Tobacco has had to ride a two-headed horse. In 1998, they gave 46 states and the federal government $206 billion to prevent people from using their product.

BILL : Didn’t the feds set what they thought was a conservative goal of reducing tobacco users to 10% of the population