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The Minnesota Ice Hawks remind us that tonight (February 28, 2010) is the final, regular season home game. The game was scheduled to get underway at 5:35 p.m., so you've still got time to head over and see the action.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
This weekend my apartment building lost a large section of roof overhang due to ice dams that had built up and then melted. Ice dams happen when eves can't handle the snow melt and the eves freeze, leading to more and more ice dammed up behind the eves.
[Ice chunks that fell from the roof February 27, 2010. Please click to enlarge. Copyright.]
Let's just say I wouldn't want to be standing underneath when these chunks of ice let go! They're quite heavy (probably a big part of the reason they caused the overhang to give way). My parents had one of these ice dams a few years ago and my brothers made a small cut carefully using a saw and heat. That allowed the water to escape and the dam melted away.
A couple words of warning. If you have one of these, be careful about walking near your overhang. Secondly, if you plan to try to get rid of one, get some advice from people with expertise first. And third, be prepared for the possibility of significant damage if you do not take action.
[A portion of the roof came off, along with the ice. Please click to enlarge. Copyright.]
[The lost overhang produced exposure to the inner wall, and exposed insulation. Please click to enlarge. Copyright.]
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
If you want to follow me on Twitter, just enter jeffhansel
into the "find people" category. I'm @jeffhansel, otherwise known as "Hansel's Pulse."
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
Dori Randall of Claremont, Minnesota has concluded that she would rather live as comfortably as possible without the side effects of medical interventions that might extend her life, but at a cost (potentially traumatizing side effects).
She actually made the opposite decision 18 years ago, when she was treated for breast cancer. But, this time, she had no insurance and says she had to wait until she turned 65 in order to qualify for Medicare. By that time, it was too late.
She was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer.
Randall and her husband of 37 years, Jim, had a previous medical bill of $40,000 from a surgery she had earlier.
They have whittled the $40,000 down to $16,000 by making payments slow but sure. Jim is an over-the-road trucker and continues his work while Dori continues her many life joys. She wants it that way for as long as possible. She likes her cats, her many sentimental belongings, her books, crocheting and jewelry making. And she loves getting to see her kids, grandkids, friends and neighbors.
She shared her story with Post-Bulletin readers this weekend, a testament to her interest in helping others accept the dying process as simply another part of the process of life.
I entered a conversation on Friday with a different woman in Rochester that took many directions. Eventually, she mentioned she lives in Claremont. It took the wind out of me, because I had never met anyone that I knew to be from Claremont (a relatively small community) until I met Dori and Jim Randall.
Then, a few days later, I meet this other woman. I asked her if she knows Dori and she said yes, they are part of the same church community. I told her the weekend newspaper would have an article about Dori. The woman said the church has a prayer chain.
"We pray for her every week," she said, adding that, individually, they pray for Dori daily.
It's important to note that the American Cancer Society says screening for colon cancer should begin at age 50 (earlier if you have risk factors, such as a family history of colon cancer or intestinal polyps). A polyp doesn't start out as cancer, but it can turn cancerous, the Cancer Society told me Friday.
And colon cancer is one that can actually be prevented if the polyps are removed. So the Cancer Society recommends that you get screened with a colonoscopy (and I note that there is a "virtual" colonoscopy available now where you swallow a vitamin pill-sized camera that takes pictures of your intestinal tract). If a polyp is found, it gets removed and cancer doesn't get the chance to develop.
I recognize that this might not be possible if you have not insurance. But it might be worth 'finding a way,' if you're able. I had my first-ever colonoscopy last year (?) because I have a family history of polyps. Fortunately, I had none, though I did have one diverticulum (kind of a dent in the intestinal tract that, if numerous enough, can cause problems by catching seeds, etc.).
Colon cancer symptoms include:
Blood in the stool, a change in stool habits, diarrhea, constipation, change in stool consistency for more than two weeks, persistent gas or pain or discomfort in the abdomen, the feeling that your bowel hasn't completely emptied, unexplained weight loss, weakness or fatigue, says MayoClinic.com.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
I recently began to follow Dr. Kevin Pho, who's a techie, as well as a New Hampshire internal medicine physician. On his Weblog, he says he provides "provocative physician commentary on breaking medical news."
He wrote Wednesday (February 24, 2010) that "a 2006 study found that '74% of (pediatricians) had one or more parents refuse at least one vaccination in the past year; 32% of those parents changed their minds after education efforts from the doctor. Only about 16% of pediatricians said they sometimes discharge families if the parents won’t relent. Having almost one-third of families actually change their mind when it comes to vaccines is encouraging."
There are a couple of things I find interesting about this. First, the concept of physicians refusing to treat patients because Mom or Dad say no to vaccination. That's like refusing to treat patients who, say, decline to take recommended high blood pressure medicine (because, perhaps, like me, they think 1 or 2 points above "normal" is just fine). Or, maybe refusing to treat patients who exercise like they should — but eat lots of pizza, beer, bacon and french fries, with no appetite for fruits or vegetables.
At what point is a patient's informed decision making about acceptable risk ... acceptable? With vaccines, parents sometimes believe that the medical prevention is riskier than going without. But some pediatricians refuse to treat children whose parents decide against vaccine. I'm not weighing in on who's right or wrong. I just think it's interesting.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy has expanded the $7.2 billion non-profit's efforts to better serve various population groups.
To address the importance of the topic to him, Noseworthy made a video to share with the institution's employees.
In it, he "talks about Mayo’s renewed commitment to diversity and discusses a model for diversity at Mayo," says an announcement.
"We serve our mission — providing the best care to every patient — when we live and work together in a community that welcomes and respects everyone … a community of richly diverse people contributing their unique ideas. Greater diversity in every sense of the word will allow us to better serve the needs of all of our patients with a deeper level of compassion and understanding," Noseworthy is quoted as saying on Mayo's education diversity blog.
The video was published this month (February, 2010):
Watch the video here. Mayo has more than 32,000 people who work in Rochester, Minnesota alone. Behind his right ear outside is the Plummer Building.
"We're not where we need to be with respect to diversity," Noseworthy said. Despite good intentions for years, there's not enough diversity in the leadership of Mayo, he says. Mayo Cardiologist Dr. Sharonne Hayes has been named director for diversity.
"Our goal is to build greater diversity into every level of the organization," Noseworthy says.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
Mayo Clinic researchers who helped conduct a research study say "blacks are substantially less likely than whites to know that they have atrial fibrillation or to use warfarin, the most common treatment for the condition."
According to MayoClinic.com, "during atrial fibrillation, the heart's two upper chambers (the atria) beat chaotically and irregularly — out of coordination with the two lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. "
The "irregular and often rapid heart rate" causes symptoms of "heart palpitations, shortness of breath and weakness."
The Mayo researchers learned that blacks were one-third less likely than whites to have received a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.
"They further found that the odds of blacks being treated with warfarin, which reduces stroke risk by 60 percent, were one-fourth those of whites," the clinic announced.
Thus, the researchers believe their study "could help explain why the black population in the U.S. has a higher incidence of both stroke and death from strokes, compared to the white population."
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
Mayo Clinic plans to offer free blood pressure screenings and body mass index checks on Saturday at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the mall says.
Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Time: 12 to 3 p.m.
Location: Macy's Court
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
Dr. Robert Frantz and his climbing team have reached the 19,300 foot summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and got to watch the sunrise over Africa.
Why would anyone submit themselves to such a torturous journey, that produced nose bleeds, rapid heart rate, low oxygen to the brain, frequent urination (due to trying to stay hydrated), extreme shortness of breath, sleep disturbance, extreme cold and exhaustion?
Frantz did it in part so he could understand what his patients experience when they have symptoms from pulmonary hypertension, a sickness of the blood vessels of the lung that constricts the vessels and causes symptoms much like those Frantz experienced.
He climbed by moonlight, continually turning around to see if he could see the Southern Cross in the sky. A porter had to poke him with a stick because he worried Frantz would stumble and "fall off the mountain."
"I actually had tears in my eyes because I was a little anxious of the whole thing in terms of whether we'd be safe and whether we'd get sick and it was very, very hard and we were carrying the good wishes of a lot of our patients with us and so it was really very emotional and a relief and a real joy to have accomplished," Frantz said. He has badly sunburned lips because it didn't occur to him to put sunscreen on them. But the other symptoms have eased now that he's back down at a lower elevation (12,000 feet).
He's been fascinated during his climb by lizards, unusual plants, frost that crystallizes in a way that it doesn't in Minnesota and various types of volcanic rocks.
His comments suggest he literally took his patients with them, in mind and spirit.
"I think it's just more of an awareness of what it must really be like to live day to day potentially with symptoms like this," Frantz said. People from New Zealand, England, Canada and all over the world are climbing the mountain.
Frantz said he has the "tendency" to stumble back to the wrong tent after his frequent bathroom trips during the night and fellow climbers have gotten used to his apologies (and laugh about it during the day). He expects to be back in the U.S. within a couple of days.
"It's just been a tremendous experience," he said.
• Listen to the satellite-phone interview with Frantz: Download Frantz 3
The interview takes a few seconds to get going and is scratchy sometimes because of the phone reception, but keep in mind that Frantz is talking to us from Africa — at 12,000 feet.
• Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
People often ask how much it costs to get an air medical ambulance ride to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Mayo Medical Transport generally flies emergency medical helicopters within a regions of about 200 miles of Rochester. That's a pretty wide range, reaching all the way down to Des Moines, Iowa; as far north as Brainerd and Duluth, Minnesota; as far east as Madison and Appleton, Wisconsin; and as far west as Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The cost of a helicopter ride truly varies, depending upon a variety of factors. If you're in an emergency situation, worry about cost later. Or, a good medical helicopter service should be able to quickly assess your situation.
Factors that affect price can include the services needed, distance, expertise of medical staff required, equipment, supplies used, etc.
"It is important to keep in mind that these are upfront costs, the right crew with training and high level of care provided by Mayo One crews can actually lessen costs downstream by fewer medical procedures, shortened hospital stays and decreased mortality. There are an increasing number of studies being done on this," said Glenn Lyden, a spokesman for Mayo Medical Transport and the "Mayo One" helicopter service.
Mayo reviews all air medical transports afterward to check their medical necessity, as well as to confirm quality of service, Lyden said.
"In many cases insurance covers the cost of air medical transport because of the value it brings to the health care spectrum. Also in Minnesota, many times Minnesota no-fault and other automotive insurance can pick up all or part of the cost, depending upon the situation," Lyden said.
A flight to Mayo might cost in the range of $500 to $10,000. But that's just a number I came up with (which Lyden says is "in the ballpark") to give you a rough estimate.
"The other part of the equation is that, while upfront costs of a transport may seem high, data does show that the right crew with the right vehicle for a particular patient does lessen costs downstream by fewer medical procedures, shortened hospital stays and decreased mortality," Lyden said.
By Jeff Hansel, member Association of Health Care Journalists
Health Reporter for the Post-Bulletin newspaper, 18 1st Ave. S.E. in Rochester, Minnesota 55904
Twitter Hansel's Pulse: @Jeff Hansel
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