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Archive for the ‘health’ Category

Bridgeport Hospital employees honored at dinner

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Employee of the Year Shawna Hall and Bridgeport Hospital President & CEO Bill Jennings.

Employee of the Year Shawna Hall and Bridgeport Hospital President & CEO Bill Jennings.

Nearly 400 employees were recognized for achieving service milestones of five to 45 years during Bridgeport Hospital’s annual Joseph E. Janell Employee Recognition Dinner May 14 at the Waterview in Monroe. Critical Care Resource Support Unit nurse Shawna Hall of Shelton was named the hospital’s outstanding employee of the year for her excellent service to patients and colleagues, and Surgical Intensive Care Unit nurse Kathy Bellucci of Seymour received the George B. & Alice P. Longstreth Humanness Award for her compassionate patient care.

Hall has been a hospital employee since 1988. She was previously the hospital’s August 2012 Employee of the Month. She serves as chair of the Staff Nurse Council and is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also received a 2013 regional Nightingale Award for nursing excellence.

Bellucci joined the hospital in 1992. Quoting her nominators, Bridgeport Hospital Foundation President Steve Jakab said, “Kathy is the kind of nurse you want to care for your family. She has a natural calming effect that is very comforting to patients and their families. Her nursing knowledge and expertise are second to none.”

Hospital President and CEO Bill Jennings, serving as master of ceremonies at the dinner, welcomed and thanked employees. Messages of thanks and congratulations were also expressed by Board of Directors Chair Meredith Reuben and Medical Staff President Peter Tortora, MD.

 

Keep kids from open windows as weather turns warmer

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The weather is supposed to turn rainy and a mite colder tomorrow, but, today, it’s still sunny and warm — enough so that you might feel the urge to pop open your windows. However, these open windows pose hazards to children and the Connecticut Department of Public Health is asking that you take steps to keep kids away.

In a press release, the DPH cited stats from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimating that about twelve children 10 years old and younger die each year, and more than 4,000 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for window fall-related
injuries.

To protect your little ones, the DPH offers the following tips:
• Never depend on screens to keep children from falling out of windows.
• Open windows from the top, not the bottom, whenever possible.
• Keep furniture away from windows to discourage children from climbing near windows.
• Install window stops so that windows open no more than four inches.
• Install window guards to prevent children from falling out of windows.
• For windows on the 6th floor and below, install window guards that adults and older children
can open easily in case of fire. For windows on the 7th floor and above, install permanent
window guards.
• Look for guards that have bars no more than four inches apart.
• Window guards screw into the side of a window frame. They are sold in different sizes for
various sized windows and adjust for width. Guards must meet requirements for spacing and
strength, and those that allow for escape in case of emergencies must be difficult for very
young children to open.

Health department warns of tick risks

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Adult_deer_tick

With warm weather upon us and people spending more time outdoors, the Department of Public Health (DPH) reminds Connecticut residents to take steps to prevent tick bites and tick-borne diseases, which become more of a danger this time of year.

Ticks grasp passing hosts from leaf litter, tips of grass, and shrubbery. Most ticks are probably picked up on the lower legs and then crawl up the body to find a place to feed. Adult ticks will, however, look for a host in the shrub layer several feet above the ground, about or above the height of children. Tick nymphs (the stage before they become adult ticks) are small and often overlooked or mistaken for freckles.
In Connecticut, the peak months for acquiring infections from ticks are May through July. Ticks in Connecticut can carry a variety of disease causing agents, including rickettsia, bacteria, and protozoa. People can become infected with more than one disease with just one tick bite. Tickborne diseases found in Connecticut include Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky
Mountain spotted fever.

To prevent tick bites, DPH recommends the following:
• Avoid tall grass and over-grown, brushy areas.
• When hiking in wooded areas, stay in the middle of trails.
• Consider using insect repellent, according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Tuck pant leg into socks, wear long-sleeved shirts, and closed shoes.
• Wear light-colored clothing to see the ticks easier for removal.
• When returning indoors, shower using a wash cloth or puff to remove any unattached
ticks.
• Examine yourself, children, and pets for ticks when returning indoors.
• Talk to your veterinarian to find out how to protect your pets from tick bites.

For more information about ticks and tick-borne diseases, including what to do if you find a tick, visit the DPH website at www.ct.gov/dph/ticks or call (860) 509-7995.

Lipstick: Lovely or lethal?

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See? This is why I don’t wear lipstick! Yes, the brightly colored tubes might look nice on the lips, but new research out of the University of California  Berkley indicates that there are potentially toxic metals within.

Researchers at the UCBerkeley’s School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in stores and found lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns. Their findings were published online today ( in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Prior studies also have found metals in cosmetics, but the UC Berkeley researchers estimated risk by analyzing the concentration of the metals detected and consumers’ potential daily intake of the metals, and then comparing this intake  with existing health guidelines. For a link to the full release from Berkley, click here.

But now we’d like to hear your thoughts. Does the possible presence of toxic materials in lipstick make you more less likely to lose the lip lacquer? Why or why not?  Comment here or email acuda@ctpost.com

Bridgeport Hospital named one of the “100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare”

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Becker’s Hospital Review has put Bridgeport Hospital on its 2013 list of “100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare.”

Becker’s publishes the list annually and selects facilities through nominations and editorial research. The chosen organizations are picked for “their robust benefits, wellness initiatives, professional development opportunities and work environments that promote employee collaboration and satisfaction.” Bridgeport, which appears to be the only Connecticut facility on the list, earned its spot due largely to its benefits package, which includes tuition reimbursement for full- and part-time employees, and a wellness reimbursement program that  provides $200 annually if employees visit a fitness center for one year or participate in scheduled fitness classes.

Other employers on the list included Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Becker’s is a publication of ASC Communications, which provides business and legal information for hospital and health system leaders, owners and operators of ambulatory surgery centers and leaders of orthopedic and spine practices. ASC Communications takes advantage of multiple channels to reach these decision-makers of the hospital and outpatient surgical community, including: print magazines (Becker’s Hospital Review, Becker’s ASC Review and Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine Review); two industry-leading ASC conferences and a new hospital and health system conference; regularly delivered e-newsletters; as well as www.BeckersHospitalReview.com, www.BeckersASC.com, www.BeckersOrthopedicandSpine.com and a variety of webinars and teleconferences.

Study: Brain scans can warn of alcoholic relapse

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Even the most experienced counselors have difficultly spotting a recovering alcoholic in danger of relapse, but a new study from Yale University researchers shows that brain scans might be able to spot a backslide before it happens.

According to a press a release from Yale, the research showed that alcoholics with abnormal activity in areas of the brain that control emotions and desires are eight times more likely to relapse and drink heavily than alcoholics with more normal patterns of activity or healthy individuals. The study was published May 1 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

“These areas in the prefrontal cortex are involved in regulating emotion and in controlling responses to reward,” said Rajita Sinha, the Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and professor in the Child Study Center and of Department of Neurobiology in the release. “They are damaged by high levels of alcohol and stress and just do not function well.”

Ironically, the damage shows up on scans when alcoholics imagine being in their own most relaxing scenarios, like sitting at the beach listening to the waves, or taking a bubble bath. In non-alcoholics, these brain regions regulating emotion show markedly reduced activity during relaxing imagery, as anticipated. However, in alcoholics most likely to relapse, those brain regions remain hyperactive. On the other hand, when recovering alcoholics imagine their own recent stressful events, these control regions of the brain show little change, while in non-alcoholics, they show marked activation in response to stress. Such disrupted responses in areas of the brain governing emotions and reward lead to high cravings in the recovering alcoholic and an increased likelihood of subsequent relapse.

These brain scans in the future might serve as a diagnostic test to help professionals identify those most at risk of relapsing and suggest specific interventions to normalize brain function and prevent high rates of alcohol relapse, Sinha said.

“The findings show the prefrontal region is important for maintaining recovery for alcoholism,” Sinha said. “The brain physiology and function has changed due to chronic alcohol use and such changes jeopardize recovery even after initiating standard treatment.”

The research is funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health.

 

Yale researchers find out how new arteries form after a heart attack

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Scientific collaborators from Yale School of Medicine and University College London (UCL) have uncovered the molecular pathway by which new arteries may form after heart attacks, strokes and other acute illnesses,  bypassing arteries that are blocked. The study appears in the April 29 issue of Developmental Cell.

According to a press release put out Monday by Yale, arteries form in utero and during development, but can also form in adults when organs become deprived of oxygen — for example, after a heart attack. The organs release a molecular signal called VEGF. Working with mice, the Yale-UCL team discovered that in order for VEGF-driven artery formation to occur, VEGF must bind with two molecules known as VEGFR2 and NRP1, and all three must work as a team.

The researchers examined mice that were lacking a particular part of the NRP1 molecule that transports VEGF and VEGFR2 to a signaling center inside blood vessel walls. They observed that the internal organs of these mice contained poorly constructed arterial branches. Further, the mice where unable to efficiently repair blood vessel blockage through the formation of new arteries.

“We have identified an important new mechanism that regulates VEGFR2 transport in vascular cells,” said corresponding author Michael Simons, director of the cardiovascular research center at Yale School of Medicine, in the press release. “This opens new therapeutic opportunities for developing drugs that would either stimulate or inhibit blood vessel formation — important goals in cardiovascular and anti-cancer therapies, respectively.”

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (HL62289) and a Wellcome Trust Junior Investigator award.

$1.5 million pledged for new Stamford Hospital pediatric unit

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From left to right: Dr. Gerald Rakos, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Stamford Hospital; Kathy LiVolisi, RN, Director, Maternal-Child Health, Stamford Hospital; Jay Sandak, President of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; Ernest Abate, a Director of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; Mary Sommer, a Director of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; and Chris Riendeau, Senior Vice President, Fund Development, Stamford Hospital Foundation.

From left to right: Dr. Gerald Rakos, Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Stamford Hospital; Kathy LiVolisi, RN, Director, Maternal-Child Health, Stamford Hospital; Jay Sandak, President of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; Ernest Abate, a Director of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; Mary Sommer, a Director of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation; and Chris Riendeau, Senior Vice President, Fund Development, Stamford Hospital Foundation.

Stamford Hospital has received a $1.5 million charitable grant from The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation. The grant will fund The Herbert and Nell Singer Pediatric Advanced Care Unit, four specialized care rooms dedicated within the pediatric unit planned for the new Stamford Hospital. The advanced care rooms, with state-of-the-art equipment including monitoring and respiratory devices, will allow the hospital to provide more specialized care for pediatric patients who may require a longer stay.

The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation was incorporated in New York in 1982 by the late Herbert and Nell Singer. Singer had always been very philanthropically inclined, and believed it to be important to support causes where there is an established need and where people would not necessarily otherwise benefit. The Foundation has been supporting medical and other organizations for over 30 years. The Singers were New York residents, but also had a home in Stamford for over 40 years prior to their passing.

“It is part of the Foundation’s mission to address the needs of children medically, socially and educationally in order to provide a balanced opportunity for kids worldwide,” said Jay Sandak, President of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation in a press release. “As plans for the new Stamford Hospital continue to evolve, we saw an opportunity to supplement a recent and very generous gift from The Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation for the new pediatric unit, and thought the creation of acute care rooms would directly benefit the children treated there.”

The new pediatric unit will be in the Whittingham Pavilion adjacent to the current Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to centralize mother-child services. It will include 11 beds, plus the four acute care rooms, and each room will be private and offer comfortable overnight accommodations for parents. The unit will also include a playroom, as well as a separate treatment room for procedures.

“We are proud to support and help grow many worthy causes in our community, some of which our founders were involved with years ago, and continue to provide a beneficial social service,” said Ernest Abate, a Director of The Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation.

The new Stamford Hospital is scheduled to be completed in 2016. In addition to the new Pediatric Unit, some of the key features of the new hospital include:

  • New patient care units with all private rooms and private bathrooms, as well as centralized nurses’ stations for more flexible care delivery and two family lounges per floor.

 

  • An Emergency Department with separate treatment areas for trauma, cardiac, urgent, behavioral health and pediatric patients, more than doubling the number and size of exam rooms. In addition, there will be dedicated and easily accessible parking, along with individual points of entry for walk-in and ambulance arrivals.

 

  • Significantly larger surgical suites to accommodate the latest technology.

 

  • An expansion of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) emphasizing the Hospital’s commitment to critical care and tertiary services.

 

  • A central location for all Heart & Vascular Institute services, including Electrophysiology, Catheterization and Interventional Labs.

To learn more about Stamford Hospital, please visit www.stamfordhospital.org.

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