Stroke: When Time is not on Your Side

     Stephanie Dias was 57-years old when she suffered an ischemic stroke while at work. She knew something was wrong when she took a sip of water and it ran down her front—and when she couldn't push herself up in the chair with her leg. When a co-worker spotted Stephanie and saw her blank stare, she and other co-workers decided to call 911.

     Each year, more than 600 patients arrive at Meritus Medical Center’s emergency department with signs and symptoms of stroke. Stephanie was one of the lucky patients. Her fast-thinking co-workers got her to the hospital’s emergency department quickly, and soon after, Stephanie was diagnosed with an ischemic stroke and given tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a clot-busting drug.

Brain attack

Staying Healthy on Shift Work

     While most of the world sleeps, nurses, doctors, police officers, firefighters, pilots, truck drivers, DJs and waiters, among others, work outside of the traditional “9 to 5” daytime schedule. New employees will often begin their careers on the night shift as a way to get their foot in the door. Additionally, shift work tends to pay more, and, for some parents, it allows them to spend more time with their children or avoid using childcare. “I get to eat breakfast and dinner with my kids—and when they’re at school, I sleep,” says Jim Recabo, RN, administrative nursing supervisor and team leader at Meritus Medical Center.

     On the downside, the third shift can really do a number on the body. A weakened immune system, insomnia, indigestion, heart disease, weight gain and diabetes have all been linked to shift work. Going against the body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythms, can also lead to shift work disorder. Because the body’s clock is controlled by a part of the brain influenced by light, working by night and sleeping by day can throw your body out of whack.

     Meritus Health nurses Jim Recabo and Jennifer Edwards stay healthy, fit and sane despite working the third shift. Here’s how they do it:

Organ Donation: And Life Goes On

     Meritus Medical Center takes organ donation seriously. It’s the only Maryland hospital to receive the National Organ Donation Medal of Honor from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services six years in a row. The award recognizes hospitals that achieve a 75-percent conversion rate of eligible patients donating organ and tissue. 

     Meritus Medical Center works with the Living Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organ procurement system, to encourage family members to donate the organs of their loved ones. Organ donation includes kidneys, heart, lungs and liver, in addition to tissue donation, which includes skin, bone, cardiovascular tissue and corneas.

Reassuring Your Frightened Child in Times of Crisis

     The television images appear again and again: an explosion in Texas, people running from the finish line of a marathon or a school shooting. Even as adults we find ourselves seeking ways to cope with the violent events that occur in our world, and how to avoid seeing the disturbing images.

     As parents, you want to protect the innocence of your children. Yet there is a careful balancing act that needs to be achieved when it comes to providing basic and realistic information to ground our kids when they hear about things at school, the playground or their day care provider’s.

     “Parents need to be aware that children may react strongly to those events and should be prepared to discuss their child's thoughts and feelings,” said Julie Kugler-Bentley, coordinator of the Employee Assistance Program for Meritus Health’s Behavioral Health Services.

Child Abuse Prevention Month

Pinwheels at the entrance of
Meritus Medical Center

     It’s a topic that hits the pit of your stomach. It’s tragic, horrifying and unthinkable. But we must think about child abuse and its presence in our community. “By raising awareness of the plight of child abuse and its effects, people will have the education to know how to respond to the signs of child abuse,” says Pam Holtzinger, coordinator for the forensic nursing program at Meritus Medical Center. Pam’s job is to evaluate child maltreatment patients at the hospital and train other healthcare providers to know the signs and report suspected child abuse cases. 

Babies Born Too Soon

     A routine pregnancy can become a high-risk pregnancy without notice. One out of every nine babies is born premature each year, yet the cause of pre-term labor is not fully understood. “There are many known factors related to preterm labor, but it’s sometimes difficult to identify the exact cause of it,” said obstetrician/gynecologist Gary Smith, MD of Women’s Health Center at Robinwood. 

     Babies are considered preterm when born at 37 weeks or earlier. The less time a baby spends in the mother’s womb, the greater the chances of the baby having severe health problems—like lung, liver, digestive, brain and immune system complications. While many women never dream they will have a baby born too early, preterm births can occur in women who have no known risk factors.

Performance Enhancing Drugs: What Parents Need to Know

Special guest post by Dr. Daniel Warner of Robinwood Orthopaedic Specialty Center.

Dr. Daniel Warner

     In a frequently referenced 1997 Sports Illustrated article, aspiring Olympians were asked two questions; “If you were offered a banned performance-enhancing substance that guaranteed that you would win an Olympic medal and you could not be caught, would you take it?” Remarkably, 195 of 198 athletes said yes. The second question was: “Would you take banned performance-enhancing drugs with a guarantee that you will not be caught, you will win every competition for the next five years, but then will die from adverse effects of the substance?” More than 50 percent of the athletes said yes to this question as well.