April 30, 2020
Several Augusta Health employees are working in other important roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the volume in their home departments has decreased, they realized their skills are needed in other units of the hospital to prepare for a potential surge in patients or help with services that have been developed to support families and patients during the pandemic. They have redeployed to those areas to make a difference for patients and families. Jackson Maust Jackson Maust, a physical therapist is the Inpatient Rehab, Skilled Nursing Floor and Adult Neuro Outpatient Therapy departments... Continue Reading
April 29, 2020
The steady advice for the past several weeks has been consistent: To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to keep yourself and your family as safe as possible, maintain a social distance of six feet, or better yet, stay home. For most, this is sound advice. For those who are experiencing true medical emergencies—it is a risk too great to take. "Nationally, Emergency Departments are seeing much lower volumes," says Adam Rochman, MD, Medical Director of Augusta Health's Emergency Department, "and our experience here at Augusta Health aligns with the rest of the country. It's understandable. We've... Continue Reading
April 29, 2020
It is hard to have a clear idea of when our need to practice social distancing will end and "normal" life will resume. The experts are trying to weigh the pros and cons of easing restrictions and many of us are having cabin fever. It isn't easy to have so many of our normal activities altered or postponed or simply cancelled. We are going to virtual meetings, attending virtual services, and having phone conversations instead of visits. We have times of great productivity and times of quiet inactivity. We may be struggling with the thought that we could be doing more. This can be a good time... Continue Reading
April 29, 2020
The COVID-19 virus seems to be more severely affecting people with pre-existing conditions including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, and cancer. If you recognize that some of your habits could be compromising your immune system or you want to pump up what you are already doing, there are steps you can take to stop the damage and start supporting your immune system. Nutrition Although this is an extremely stressful time, both personally and professionally, this is not the best time to resort to "comfort foods" especially if comfort foods tend... Continue Reading
April 28, 2020
It's been said that cancer does not discriminate. It does not matter your age, gender or social status: anyone can become a cancer patient. COVID-19 does not discriminate either. But if the two would intersect—if a cancer patient would also contract COVID-19—the outcome could be very serious. Like patients with other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, those with cancer are at a higher risk for developing severe complications with COVID. Additionally, cancer patients on chemotherapy can be immunocompromised, which means their white blood cell counts are low or not well-... Continue Reading
April 28, 2020
Spring cleaning. Some do it because it is a tradition, others do it in preparation for barbecues and other get-togethers, while others do it to simply because their mothers told them to. For whatever reason, 91% of Americans will engage in some form of spring cleaning, a practice that can be traced back to biblical times. But for all the reasons you might consider dusting off the tops of the china hutch, we wanted to offer you yet another—cleaning can be good for your health. Cleaning Reduces the Presence of Allergens Spring cleaning isn’t the only tradition linked to the season. For about 50... Continue Reading
April 27, 2020
In our previous post by the Augusta Health Dietitians, we suggested to include the whole family in meal planning . In addition to suggesting recipes, even the kids can help with meal preparation. Here are more fun ideas that you might want to try out: Kathy Berger, RD, offered additional ideas for 'cooking with your kids". She recommended " make-your-own pizzas ." These can be made by dividing refrigerated pizza dough into 4 sections and rolling them out. Have each family member then top their pizzas with their preferred toppings and bake. Encourage creativity by offering several toppings,... Continue Reading
April 24, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Augusta Health employees are working in new roles—in preparation for a potential surge of COVID patients at Augusta Health, they have been redeployed to other areas of the hospital to support those efforts. Their skills and talents, along with their willingness to help wherever needed, has resulted in their using their work hours to make a difference in a new way. Zachary Allen, Personal Trainer from the Augusta Health Fitness Center , is one of the redeployed employees. He has been cross-training in the laundry department to assist this vital team with... Continue Reading
April 23, 2020
As experts work to slow the COVID-19 spread, they focus on issues such as learning how the virus spreads, determining who has the virus, and learning who has developed immunity. Because it's a new virus, but linked to other viruses, these answers are complex. Allison Baroco, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist at Augusta Health, and Stefanie Bartley, BSN RN an Infection Prevention Specialist, discuss two important concepts—asymptomatic carriers and antibody tests. What is an asymptomatic carrier? How many asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers do we have? "An asymptomatic carrier is someone who has... Continue Reading
April 22, 2020
So many of us are dealing with a lot of change, stress and uncertainty during this time. However, in speaking with my fellow Augusta Health Dietitians, we have all agreed upon one "silver lining"—the connections we are creating with our family members during meal time. Instead of nights full of sports practices and homework, we are sitting around the table enjoying a healthy meal and each other's company. According to Augusta Health dietitian Cheryl Miller MS, RD, "One of the first things you can do as a family is to plan the meals together. Let each family member pick a night and they get to... Continue Reading
