Category: Healthcare

Regional West Physicians Clinic welcomed four physicians

Aug. 23 Healthcare, Tidbits no comments

SCOTTSBLUFF — Regional West Physicians Clinic is pleased to announce that four physicians joined their staff in July.

Anesthesiologists Daniel Williams, MD, and Wendy Williams, MD, joined Regional West Physicians Clinic-Anesthesiology at the beginning of July.

The Williams, who are married and have three young daughters, both earned their medical degrees at The University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver. They completed transitional internships at Gundersen Lutheran Clinic, La Crosse, Wis., and anesthesiology residencies at The University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver.

Dr. Wendy Williams received additional medical education at the Universitaet Bern, Switzerland. She is a skilled ski jumper and previously trained for Olympic competition.

Having served as a “locums tenens” or “temporary visiting” anesthesiologist at Regional West Medical Center, Dr. Daniel Williams developed a fondness for western Nebraska and the Scottsbluff-Gering community. The Williams decided to relocate from Loveland, Colo., to Scottsbluff. Both physicians are board-certified in anesthesiology.

Dr. R. Gregg Wilroy, DO, who holds dual board-certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and pain medicine, joined Regional West Physicians Clinic-Neuroscience Pain Clinic in mid-July.

Dr. Wilroy earned his medical degree at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Vallejo, Calif. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Northside Hospital & Heart Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla., and a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Penn. He was awarded a Fellowship in Pain Medicine at The Institute for Pain Medicine at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh.

Dr. Wilroy served in the U.S. Army Infantry and Military Police at Fort Lewis, Wash. He relocated from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he worked at Brooke Army Medical Center. He is an active volunteer with the Wounded Warriors Project.

Former Scottsbluff resident Joseph Margheim, MD returned to his hometown to serve as an emergency medicine physician at the Regional West Medical Center Emergency Department. Dr. Margheim joined Regional West Physicians Clinic-Emergency Medicine at the end of July. He has two young daughters and his wife is due to have a baby in October.

Dr. Margheim served in the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., and Seoul, South Korea. He earned his medical degree, with distinction, from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, in 2009. He recently completed his residency in emergency medicine at Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, Kalamazoo, Mich.

School physicals are important

Aug. 09 Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Parenting, Sports Health no comments

By JOE DUTTON

Staff Reporter

Photo by Joe Dutton | Pediatrics Specialist Dr. Cynthia Guerue at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff encourages all

With the first day of school just around the corner, local pediatricians are advising that students be checked and vaccinated to help promote their health and well-being in the classroom.

According to Pediatrics Specialist Dr. Cynthia Guerue of Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, there are four key ages and areas that physicals are performed: Head Start, kindergarten, seventh grade and sports physicals.

Guerue said the state of Nebraska requires all children to be vaccinated before entering public schools. She said she also sees children that come from Wyoming to get their immunizations, which are not required in Wyoming, but are in Nebraska.

Guerue mentioned different requirements are put into place depending on what grade level a child is at for immunizations. She said Head Start requires vaccinations for all of their programs and kindergarten physicals also require a dental and an optical exam by a separate optometrist and dentist. She said there are numerous different shots depending on grade level, but at the medical center they do more than just a sports physical, they check the overall health of the children.

“When our kids come here, we don’t do a ‘sports physical,’ it’s basically a well-child check,” Guerue said. “The parents may want their sports physical form filled out and we ask a lot of questions and it’s one of the things that we do in our pre-participation evaluation instead of just a ‘sports physical.’”

She said the reason they ask a lot of questions is to evaluate the overall health of the child and they may reveal areas that need treatment or areas that need further investigation. She said they want children to perform at their best in schools and if they don’t feel at their best, they won’t be able to perform at their best.

“If kids aren’t at their optimum health, they are not going to be able to optimally perform in the classroom,” Guerue said. “As part of our school physicals or any sort of well-child check that we do, we are looking at the overall health of the child and that is the most important thing.”

Well-child checks are more than just getting just a quick exam, Guerue said. They are getting a full self-exam that is complete and from physicians who are trained specifically in pediatrics. She said they typically see an average of five patients a day and they do set aside days where they just do physicals.

“There is a difference between the exams that they will get at their regular doctor and what they would get at an immediate care facility,” Guerue said.

Guerue said during any physical she and her staff ask questions about symptoms like asthma, difficulties with heat, concussions and injury related illnesses so that children can be at the best health before participating in any sport.

“There’s nothing worse than getting a month into your season and then having your asthma act up and not being able to perform,” Guerue said. “Then it takes two weeks before you decide it is your asthma and not just ‘I’m in bad shape.’ We want to get that in the forefront of their mind before the season starts so that we can be actively assessing it.”

Also, a part of the sports physicals when they perform them is one of the few times doctors see adolescents, Guerue said.

She said her and her staff ask them about their safety and any other health issues. She said the pre-participation evaluation they provide involves behavioral health issues and they hope to help kids open up in a safe environment within the doctor’s office.

“We are also asking things about safety, do they feel safe at home, we ask about drinking and smoking, depression issues, drug abuse, things like that,” Guerue said. “We are giving those kids an opportunity to open up and create an open door to talk about some things that they won’t get at just a sports physical.”

She said they also try to identify issues such as ADHD and ADD in children, which they get those referrals mid-year after issues have taken place. She said if anything has been seen within the previous year, then they should come in during the summer and talk about management of the situation and get an early start in treatment early in the school year so they are not struggling halfway through the year.

Guerue said they are always accepting new patients and are booking out through September, but sports physicals are due by the first day of sports practice and advises that June is the best time to be thinking about getting a child in for physicals for the following year.

For more information on setting up an appointment for a routine physical or immunization check, contact the Regional West Physicians Clinic at 308-630-1811.

Important changes Oct. 1 at Regional West Immunization Clinic

Aug. 09 Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Parenting no comments

Before you take your children to the Regional West Immunization Clinic or doctor’s office for vaccinations, check your insurance coverage.

If you have insurance that covers the cost of vaccinations, even if it includes a high deductible or co-pay, your insurance company will be billed for your child’s vaccinations.

Before scheduling vaccinations, it’s important to know how your children’s immunizations are covered under your policy and wellness benefits. If you have not met your deductible, you may be required to pay out of pocket for your children’s vaccinations.

New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that take effect Oct. 1 will limit Nebraska’s Vaccines for Children program to children 18 and under, who are Medicaid-enrolled, uninsured, American Indian or Alaska Native.

VFC vaccines will no longer be available to fully-insured individuals.

Physicians clinics throughout the state and Regional West Immunization Clinic will be required by the new federal policy to bill individual insurance companies for vaccinations for those with insurance coverage.

The CDC defines fully-insured as: “Anyone with insurance that covers the cost of vaccine, even if the insurance includes a high deductible or co-pay, or if a claim for the cost of the vaccine and its administration would be denied for payment by the insurance carrier because the plan’s deductible had not been met.”

To comply with the new federal mandate, the Regional West Immunization Clinic is developing a system to bill insurance companies for immunizations provided at the clinic when the vaccination by donation policy ends Sept. 30.

2012 Mission of Mercy free dental care event starts Friday in Alliance

Jul. 12 Health & Fitness, Healthcare no comments

Volunteers are in the midst of the final push to get everything ready for the 2012 Alliance Mission of Mercy free dental care Friday and Saturday.

Alliance Mission of Mercy Community Chair D.N. Taylor Jr., dentist, has some important information to share with those planning on using the service.

“It is going to be hot Friday and Saturday, and we want to make sure everyone dresses accordingly and takes appropriate steps to bring whatever they need to stay cool and comfortable,” he said.

People may start lining up as early as Thursday evening at the registration/hospitality building (the former Alco Building, 1327 W. 3rd St. on the west side of the Alliance Plaza) so people can bring everything needed for an overnight stay. Portable potties will be available.

“There will be overnight and day time security both days, provided by the Alliance Police Department, Box Butte County Sheriff’s Department and Nebraska State Patrol,” Taylor said.

There are several businesses at Alliance Plaza that will be open during the event. A number of parking spots have been reserved for people doing business with them. People attending Mission of Mercy are not to park in the designated area as a courtesy to those businesses.

The event will run from 5:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days. The Hospitality Committee will be available during those hours both days, both inside the buildings and outside,” Taylor said. “Every effort will be made to get people inside and comfortable as quickly as possible.”

The facility will have a kids corner for games, family activities and movies. A food service area will also be available, as well as registration/waiting areas and restrooms.

“It would help if people would bring a list of medications with them, “Taylor said, “and we will be asking them to provide information about medical conditions when they are going through the dental triage process.”

After completing those procedures, escorts will be available to take patients to the dental services building located on the east side of Alliance Plaza as openings become available.

“We have dentists and hygienists from Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and, of course, Nebraska,” he said. “We hope to serve up to 1,200 patients from 2-year-olds to adults. They all will work very diligently to treat as many patients as possible. But please remember, this is first come, first served … so there is a possibility that those who get in line too late may not be aided. We will continue to treat until we run out of providers, or run out of time on Saturday.”

The only area where there may be a need for more volunteers is help with parking direction. Please contact facility chair Alan Cornish at 308-762-3035 or 308-760-0593.

Regional West confirms its coverage of all Medicaid-eligible patients

Jul. 12 Health & Fitness, Healthcare no comments

In response to a large number of calls in the past few weeks to Regional West regarding changes to Medicaid coverage, the medical center and Physicians Clinic have issued this statement:

All Regional West Medical Center and Regional West Physicians Clinic providers participate in all Medicaid plans, including Arbor Health and Coventry Cares. All Medicaid-eligible patients are assured of Medicaid coverage, whether or not they enroll in either the Arbor Health or Coventry Cares managed care plans.

Patients who have questions about their Medicaid coverage or their health care provider’s participation in a specific plan should contact Coventry Cares at 1-800-865-2673 or Arbor Health at 1-888-738-0004.

Make Social Security online services ‘par for the course’

Jul. 12 Healthcare, Retirement, Social Security, Tidbits no comments

For many retirees (and near retirees), there is nothing that they look forward to as much as a day on the golf course. The game recently has been made more pleasurable by the use of computers and GPS technology. A hand-held electronic unit acts just like a personal caddie, providing quick and accurate yardage information — and much more. It saves time … as well as mental and physical effort.

So golfers should be among those retirees (and near retirees) to recognize the value of technology in other aspects of life, such as Social Security’s online services. Just by logging onto www.socialsecurity.gov, you can handle such important Social Security business as:

n Applying online for retirement, disability, or Medicare benefits;

n Getting a personalized estimate of future benefits with our retirement estimator;

n Accessing your Social Security statement online;

n Changing your address or phone number in Social Security records once you start receiving benefits;

n Signing up for or changing direct deposit

One thing that golfers everywhere hate is slow play — waiting on the tee box, and then waiting again in the fairway. While we can’t eliminate waits on the golf course, going online to www.socialsecurity.gov can eliminate the time you would spend sitting in traffic or waiting in lines at an office.

If you happen to be a golfer (or any other person) who loves tradition and hates to try new things, here’s a thought. 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of three of golf’s legends — Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead. All of these golfing greats were quick to adapt to the newest golfing innovations of their day — and you should, too. Just go online to www.socialsecurity.gov and take a look at what we offer.

Once you do, you’ll think of every other way of handling Social Security business as a bogey.

By Sheri Olsson

Social Security District Manager in Scottsbluff

Arbor Health Plan now serving Neb.’s rural Medicaid population

Jul. 12 Health & Fitness, Healthcare no comments

Arbor Health Plan, a Nebraska health maintenance organization, announced recently that, effective July 1, 2012, it launched Medicaid managed care services to eligible beneficiaries living in 83 counties in rural Nebraska. Arbor Health Plan was one of two health plans chosen earlier this year by Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services to serve this area. Arbor Health Plan is a joint venture between AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.

Arbor Health Plan is providing covered physical health and vision services with a focus on improving quality outcomes for Medicaid patients. It utilizes the “medical home” health care delivery model that centers on the patient’s relationship with a primary care physician. The patient’s PCP will coordinate care through Arbor Health Plan’s innovative care management programs.

The company, based in Omaha, is led by Executive Director Thomas Smith. A veteran health care executive, Smith has more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, provider network management, risk management and government relations for managed care organizations in the commercial, Medicaid and Medicare markets.

“It is a privilege to bring our well-established commitment to improving the health of the people we serve to Medicaid recipients living in rural Nebraska,” said Michael A. Rashid, president and chief executive officer of AMFC. “We look forward to working with providers, community partners, the state and our BCBSNE partner to make a positive difference in the lives of Nebraskans in need.”

“AmeriHealth is a proven Medicaid leader with a long history of serving Medicaid members,” said Steven S. Martin, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. “When you blend AmeriHealth’s operational and care management expertise with our 73-year commitment to improving access to quality health care for Nebraskans, the result is a strong organization uniquely positioned to serve the state’s Medicaid population.”

Early full-term babies may face later school woes

Jul. 05 Health & Fitness, Healthcare, Parenting no comments

CHICAGO (AP) — Even for infants born full-term, a little more time in the womb may matter.

The extra time results in more brain development, and a study suggests perhaps better scores on academic tests, too.

Full-term is generally between 37 weeks and 41 weeks; newborns born before 37 weeks are called premature and are known to face increased chances for health and developmental problems.

The children in the study were all full-term, and the vast majority did fine on third-grade math and reading tests. The differences were small, but the study found that more kids born at 37 or 38 weeks did poorly than did kids born even a week or two later.

The researchers and other experts said the results suggest that the definition of prematurity should be reconsidered.

The findings also raise questions about hastening childbirth by scheduling cesarean deliveries for convenience — because women are tired of being pregnant or doctors are busy — rather than for medical reasons, the researchers say.

Women should “at least proceed with caution before electing to have an earlier term birth,” said lead author Dr. Kimberly Noble, an assistant pediatrics professor at Columbia University Medical Center.

The study involved 128,000 New York City public school children and included a sizable number of kids from disadvantaged families. But the authors said similar results likely would be found in other children, too.

Of the children born at 37 weeks, 2.3 percent had severely poor reading skills and 1.1 percent had at least moderate problems in math. That compares to 1.8 percent and 0.9 percent for the children born at 41 weeks.

Children born at 38 weeks faced only slightly lower risks than those born at 37 weeks.

Compared with 41-weekers, children born at 37 weeks faced a 33 percent increased chance of having severe reading difficulty in third grade, and a 19 percent greater chance of having moderate problems in math.

“These outcomes are critical and predict future academic achievement,” said Naomi Breslau, a Michigan State University professor and sociologist. Her own research has linked lower IQs in 6-year-olds born weighing the same as the average birth weights at 37 and 38 weeks’ gestation, compared with those born heavier.

The study was published online Monday in Pediatrics.

The research “will cause quite a stir,” said Dr. Judy Aschner, a pediatrics professor and neonatology director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“There are still a lot of babies who are being delivered more or less electively at 37 and 38 weeks, with people thinking, ‘This is no big deal — these babies are full-term.’ I think this is a big deal,” Aschner said. She was not involved in the study.

Aschner said no one is recommending trying to delay childbirth for women who go into labor at 37 weeks or 38 weeks.

“I don’t want to panic moms whose babies come at 37 weeks,” she said. “But those elective early deliveries really need to stop.”

Some hospitals including Vanderbilt require obstetricians planning elective C-sections to complete a checklist and if appropriate boxes aren’t checked, the operation can’t be performed, Aschner said.

In the study, 15 percent of children were born in C-section operations but there was no information on how many of these were elective or medically necessary procedures. C-sections can cause birth complications that also increase chances for developmental delays. But the researchers took that into account, along with other risk factors including low birth weight, lack of prenatal care, smoking during pregnancy and neighborhood poverty — all of which could contribute to academic difficulties. And they still found that birth at 37 weeks and 38 weeks was an additional risk.

How one woman helped change the treatment landscape for a rare swelling disease

Jun. 01 Healthcare no comments

(ARA) – For more than 30 years, Janet Long’s life was a medical mystery. At the age of 7, she began experiencing unexplained, repeated and painful episodes of swelling all over her body.

For years, Long went from doctor to doctor to try and find a cause and a remedy for her swelling attacks, yet every doctor she saw was baffled by her symptoms, and a diagnosis was never made. As Long got older, her swelling attacks became more severe and debilitating, making it hard for her to do everyday tasks, like driving a car, typing on a keyboard, or holding down a job and maintaining an active social life.

“At my sickest, my swelling attacks would come one after the other, most frequently in my stomach and abdomen. I was pretty much incapacitated. During an abdominal attack, I would often look like I was four to six months pregnant,” Long says. “It was very painful, and I spent a lot of time just lying on the bathroom floor due to the pain, nausea and vomiting.”

Over the years, Long’s swelling was mistakenly linked to an assortment of conditions, ranging from allergies to sinus drainage. One physician even told her that there was nothing wrong with her, that it was all in her head. Despite the frustration of never knowing what was causing her swelling attacks, Long did not give up. She took control of her health by not taking “no” for an answer. Finally, at 40, Long was diagnosed. The cause – a rare, potentially fatal genetic disorder called Hereditary Angioedema (HAE).

HAE affects about 6,000 people in the United States. HAE is caused by a deficiency in a protein in the blood that controls swelling and is characterized by repeated swelling attacks that can occur anywhere in the body, including the arms, legs, hands, feet, stomach, genitals, face and most dangerously, the tongue or throat where swelling can cause death by suffocation.

Despite finally getting an accurate diagnosis of HAE, Long’s relief was short lived; she soon realized there were no viable treatment options available for her HAE. Recognizing the need for more awareness and better management options for people living with HAE, Long became empowered to ensure that she and the voices of all HAE patients were heard. She became executive vice president of the U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA), the premier advocacy organization for people living with HAE. Throughout the last 10 years, the organization has led the charge in advocating for more research and better treatment options for people with HAE. The HAEA’s efforts have been instrumental in the FDA approval of and access to new targeted therapies available for people with HAE.

While Long’s lengthy road to an accurate diagnosis and fight for treatment options may seem unique, it can be a common story for the 30 million people in the United States living with one of 7,000 rare diseases. Without widespread knowledge of many of these rare diseases and with a lack of medical experts and treatment options available, people living with rare diseases must become empowered to take control of their own health.

Long believes that everyone deserves access to a quick and accurate diagnosis and effective therapy – no matter how rare their disease – and has some tips for other people to advocate for their own health.

Get involved

There is strength in numbers, so get involved with a patient advocacy organization like the HAEA. By becoming a part of a group dedicated to increasing awareness about your disease, you will be able to connect with others who share your journey and you will have access to more resources to help strengthen your own individual advocacy efforts. Create or join a listserv of people with your condition and refer often to your patient association’s website to stay updated on disease-related events or news. Become a volunteer for your patient group, perhaps adding your own life experience to educational materials that can be used to help raise disease awareness.

Educate your community

Educating others can be easy. Ask your doctor to write a letter about your condition to share with your school or employer, or print off information from your patient group website that you can use to explain your condition to doctors and emergency medical staff in your community. “You can also reach out to your local newspapers, radio and TV stations and ask them to help you raise awareness about your disease,” says Long.

Become your own expert

Today’s easy access to health-related information and resources on the Internet gives patients the ability to educate themselves about the latest disease research and treatment options, and as a result, become a more informed advocate. Just make sure the resources are from a reputable source, like the National Institutes of Health, a professional medical society website or the official patient advocacy group website. Staying up to date on new treatment developments can also help you better work with your doctor to identify the best treatment option for you.

To learn more about HAE and patient empowerment, visit www.HAEA.org, the official website of the US HAEA.

New health clinic to provide special care

May. 24 Healthcare no comments

By BRANDON NELSON

Staff Reporter

A new outreach clinic, specializing in neurosurgical health care, will open after Memorial Day in Scottsbluff.

Mountain View Clinic will open a new location at 921 W. 36th St. on Tuesday, May 29.

Based in Casper, Wyo., Mountain View also administers care in Montana, Idaho and across Wyoming. Clinic Director Starla Atkinson said outreach offices are set up to meet the need for neurological care in rural areas.

For about 14 years, the outreach clinic program has operated in rural Wyoming communities. In the last 10 years, four surgeons have traveled even further east, beyond state lines. Atkinson said this will be the first time the program has an established location in the Panhandle.

“It’s a brand new area for us,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said they are choosing to develop their program by extending the reach of their expertise as far as possible.

“Take the care to where the people are, “ Atkinson said. “That’s the direction we’re going.”

No referral is necessary and appointments can be made by phone.

“If they need to be seen, we’ll figure out a way to see them,” Atkinson said. “We will do whatever we have to do to take care of them.”

Two doctors, Thomas Kopitnik and Kamal Thapar, will work in the Scottsbluff clinic once a week every other week. Members of the Central Wyoming Neurosurgery group, Kopitnik and Thapar are both specialized neurosurgeons and have performed thousands of surgeries.

Treatment and surgery for spine conditions are their most common procedures, Atkinson said. The clinic can also treat facial, neck and head conditions.

The doctors use a company plane to reach their patients. Atkinson said patients in some parts of Idaho have limited access to specialized health care. She said outreach clinics like Mountain View are working remedy that situation.

“We’re trying to bring top-notch neurosurgical care to the people, so they don’t have to travel to the doctor,” Atkinson said.

More information is available at www.mvclinic.com. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 877-266-4700.