Helping our community thrive
— Continued from front page
At home
Monitor your blood pressure.
Your doctor may
have you use a portable monitor at home if,
for instance, you have borderline high blood
pressure or your readings might be high
only at the doctor’s office.
Check your skin for cancer.
Frequent
(such as monthly) self-skin checks may
help you find cancer early. Changing moles,
blemishes or other worrisome-looking areas
on your skin should be shown to your doctor.
Measure your waist.
Place a tape
just above your hipbones, exhale
and measure. A waist greater than
40 inches for men or 35 for women
boosts type 2 diabetes and heart
disease risks.
Check your feet if you have
diabetes.
Your doctor may have
you look for and report any sores
or other problems before they
become major infections.
Step on a scale.
Type the
results (plus your height) into a
body mass index (BMI) calculator,
like this one, to see if you’re
overweight or obese:
www.morehealth.org/bmi.
T
here’s no denying how
popular DIY projects are
today.Welove to roll up
our sleeves and get it done. But
what about health screenings that
can alert us to possible health
problems? Can we tackle some of
those ourselves too?
You’ll need a doctor for
most screening tests and
exams, of course. But you
can do some checks yourself,
often with a doctor’s input or
recommendation. Examples of
both are at right. Keep in mind,
these are generalized guidelines.
You may need screenings earlier,
more often or not at all. Ask
your doctor what’s right for you.
Check it out
At a provider’s office
Mammograms.
From ages 45 to 54,
women should have yearly breast cancer
screenings, switching to every two years
after that.
Blood pressure checks.
Have
your doctor check your blood pressure
at least every two years—and more
often if you have certain conditions,
such as heart disease or diabetes.
Cholesterol blood tests.
Start
at 35, or age 20 if you have risk
factors such as diabetes, high
blood pressure or heart disease.
Colonoscopy.
Starting at
age 50, colonoscopies or
other screening tests are
recommended for both
men and women to help
prevent colorectal cancer or
find it early.
Pap tests.
Starting at 21,
regular Pap smears help
guard against cervical
cancer in women.
Some must-do
screenings and
self-exams
For more information
or to find a provider go to
www.bergerhealth.com.
promising outcomes and a brighter
future.
Heart and vascular
Electrophysiologist Seth Rials, MD,
has joined cardiologists Gregory Lam,
MD, and Daniel Mudrick, MD, and
nurse practitioner Monica Riffle, CNP,
at Berger. The addition of Dr. Rials has
allowed Berger to expand access to heart
and vascular care.
Berger now offers an arrhythmia and
device clinic to local patients who have
an abnormal heartbeat, such as atrial
fibrillation. This enhances the vascular
clinic services offered by our other
providers. The partnership has opened
new opportunities in heart and
vascular services that help us better
support our patients’ needs.
Neuroscience
As a member of the OhioHealth
Stroke Network, we’re able to use
telemedicine to diagnose a stroke
quickly. We have three OhioHealth
neurologists who see patients at
Berger—Bryan Berger, MD, Ken
Mankowski, MD, and Obinna
Moneme, MD. Also, we now offer
OhioHealth Delay the Disease, a
life-changing exercise and wellness
program designed to empower
people living with Parkinson’s disease.
We offer monthly support group
meetings and weekly exercise classes
for Parkinson’s patients and their
caregivers to help them cope with the
day-to-day challenges of the disease.
We are also teaming up with the
community. Through the expansion
of our Parkinson’s specialties, Berger
has supported community events
such as the fifth annual Parkinson’s
Walk for a Cure, which raised
$11,000 for the cause. The money
was divided between the Parkinson’s
Disease Foundation and the Berger
Health Foundation, which supports
Parkinson’s patients and families in
the area. We are truly humbled by the
wonderful event turnout and thankful
to reside in a community with such
strong support.
eICU
This past spring, we enhanced
our intensive care unit (ICU) by
connecting to the OhioHealth
electronic intensive care unit (eICU).
The two-way audio-visual system
provides extra monitoring of our
patients’ intensive care needs.
The eICU teammakes “rounds” to
each patient’s room to check whether
a patient may need additional care
or assistance. When this happens, an
OhioHealth eICU nurse or doctor
notifies the patient’s bedside care team.
Being kept updated on our patient’s
needs improves care and provides a
higher quality experience.
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Berger Health
•
Summer 2016